This morning Brother Joe and I will drive from Mt. Irenaeus to St. Francis Springs Prayer Center in Stoneville, North Carolina. We’re going to a Peace and Justice Retreat sponsored by Holy Name Province of the Franciscan Friars. We were there a couple of years ago and though I’ve given up hope of any real … Read more
I am convinced that only through working together can we win the disagreements and misunderstandings that lead to war. I am equally convinced that some countries like my own will never be at peace until they can see how much money they gain from being at peace. I believe all suffering is caused by ignorance. … Read more
On Sunday I found myself inside a church on Jamestown Island in Virginia. The church is a replica of the original that stood on that ground in the early 17th century. Posted at the front of the church were the Ten Commandments. One of them stated, “you shall not kill.” How often we hear reference … Read more
Last week I had the privilege of attending an educational forum in our area. One of the presenters that I heard was the young lady who authors a blog called, Twenty-Five Days. I could not get over the heart and deep presence of the capacity for social justice in a person so young. I felt … Read more
Recently I’ve come to have a greater appreciation for the feminine spirit in my life. I recently wrote about the Ruach and how the Hebrews long ago realized that the spirit of God was feminine or at least that’s how they depicted it. One of the lines in the Tao te Ching says, “the soft … Read more
In case you’ve been asleep for the past seven years, we are in an energy crisis. The leadership of our country has failed to recognize this fact and has failed to call on us the citizens to implement strategies that will protect not only our environment, but our very way of life. Renewable energy is … Read more
I’m home again after two days at Stella Maris Retreat in Skaneateles, New York. It was the annual meeting of the Kateri Tekakwitha Region Secular Franciscan Order. I’m humbled to be a member, much less a minister of our local St. Irenaeus Fraternity. The Secular Franciscan Order, originally known as the Brothers and Sisters of … Read more
Last Saturday my son asked my wife and I if we could define mysticism. I did my best but it’s like trying to define what strawberries taste like to someone who’s never tasted one. This morning I decided to give one of my extra books to our school library but before I did, I looked … Read more
Religion is about ritual, about morals, about systems of thought, all of them good, but all of them incomplete. Spirituality is about coming to consciousness of the sacred. It is in that consciousness that perspective comes, that peace comes. It is in that consciousness that a person comes to wholeness. –p.16, Illuminated Life–Joan Chittister, OSB
