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A Happy Goodbye to a Faithful Friend
In 1995, the diocese gave me a gift: a one-volume Book of Christian Prayer. I was accepted into Aspirancy, a year to discern my call to the diaconate. The formation director said, “Deacons are required to say Morning and Evening Prayer. But I want you to start now.” He gave all the aspirants the same shiny new book. I look at that book now. It’s unusable. The spine has collapsed, some of the ribbons have been replaced by sticky notes, the pages sometimes need a little coaxing to stay open, and the leather cover is about gone. I was hoping the book would make it until the Church released the new translation…
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Two ways to grow in the spirit of gratitude
In the letter to the Ephesians, Saint Paul gives a very specific instruction: “Be filled with the Spirit… giving thanks always and for everything.” (5:19-20) Here are two simple ways to put this into practice, and change your life and life of those around you. One is to start a gratitude journal. Just recently, four of my spiritual directees had mentioned the benefits of keeping a gratitude journal. Each day they write down five or so specific things for which they are grateful. They each said it was having a profound impact on their spiritual life. One even invited his spouse to join him in the activity before their evening meal. It’s…
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How to Interpret the Upside Down Beatitudes
Jesus is turning what we value upside down. Blessed are the poor?!? Woe to the rich?!? Blessed are those who cry?!? Woe to those who laugh?!? Is he serious? I think we need to let the shock of what he’s saying sink in, and then figure out what we should do about it.
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When the Spirit Heals with the Gift of Tears
I didn’t expect to start crying, but I did. I was leading a healing retreat. I made the mistake of going off-script. The Holy Spirit took over. What I experienced then is often called the Gift of Tears. It is a gift from the Holy Spirit where a person is overwhelmed with God’s love. In my retreat talk, the Holy Spirit prompted me to describe a time when I was at the bedside of my dying father-in-law. The last few days of his life he was mostly incoherent. But in his final lucid moment, he turned to me and said, “You’re a good man, Scott.” Soon after he died. These…
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To follow with love and longing
“Did I tell you I saw my son?” a mother asked me in a spiritual direction session. About a year ago, her adult son cut off all contact. Since then, her texts, emails, and phone calls have gone unanswered. She suspects he’s blocked her. She doesn’t understand how he could abandon her. She’s heartbroken. I share this story (with her permission) for two reasons. First, some say the heartbreak of parental estrangement has become an epidemic (see Unpacking the Epidemic of Parental Estrangement | Psychology Today). Second, an image emerged that provided hope, not just for her, but for all. “You saw your son. What happened?” She said she was…
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What’s the most important step in the spiritual life?
‘ “I need to find a place to live.” Not surprisingly, this is a common request from the homeless people I meet with at Strong Life Rescue Mission each Wednesday. In my response, I look for a little step the person can take. My follow-up goes something like this. “Do you have a job or source of income?” I’m looking but no one will hire me because I lost my social security card. “I can take you to the Social Security office and get you a replacement.” They need an ID. I lost that too. “Let me take you to the DMV instead.” I can’t pay the fee. “They’ll waive…
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How to cope when the wine of life runs dry
In the presence of the divine groom, the waters in the jugs can’t help but be transformed into the wine of God, flowing in abundance, drowning the world in love, joy, peace, happiness. But we don’t always feel it. What do you do when the wine runs out?
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Enter the New Year “Filled with Expectation”
“The people were filled with expectation.” (Lk 3:15) This is how yesterday’s gospel reading for the Sunday celebration of The Baptism of the Lord began. It seems like a foreign phrase, “filled with expectation.” If someone were to ask me, “How are you feeling?” I doubt I would respond, “I’m filled with expectation.” I guess that it would be the same for most people. Christmas is receding in the rearview mirror. Maybe there are a few decorations to put away and a few bills to pay, but most have probably slipped back into the workaday world and the drudgery of daily life. Probably not “filled with expectation.” I look around and…
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One dark night, kindled in love with yearnings
I like to pray outside. It’s been a challenge when the temperature has been in the twenties, and the ‘feels like’ is 14 degrees! I’ve been starting a fire. Since my feet were the only thing getting warm, it’s been my “dark night of the sole”. In all seriousness, “One dark night, kindled in love with yearnings” is the opening stanza of Saint John of the Cross’s masterpiece, Dark Night of the Soul. In it, the saint provides a beautiful metaphor for divine healing. It’s like a fire that transforms a log of wood. He says the transformation takes place in several stages. First, the fire forces out the moisture. …
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Discovering A New Chapel of Ease in 2025
Jesus said, “When you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret.” (Mt 6:6) I wonder. As Jesus and his disciples traveled through the Judean countryside, where were they going to find this room? It’s not a stretch to think that the inner room Jesus mentions is not a particular prayer spot, but somewhere deep within our heart where God abides, that place Teresa of Avila calls our interior castle. I recalled a recent trip to Saint Helena’s Island, near Beaufort, SC. I visited the ruins of a Chapel of Ease. Chaples of Ease were built so people in remote locations would have…
