Merton’s Heart is a hillside clearing just across the Allegany River south of the campus of St. Bonaventure University. It’s always a reflection point for me. Tonight proved to be no exception when I arrived on campus. A quick look to my right and just past McGraw Field the beloved view of that hillside clearing … Read more
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. This quote from Jeremiah has been with me lately. It’s one that I keep meditating on. In a few hours I’ll graduate from St. Bonaventure University. … Read more
Today, a calligrapher whom I commissioned to do some special work for me asked for the full quote, “Sit finis libri, non finis qaerendi.” She wanted to know where that came from and who wrote it for attribution. All of this invited to think of the whole quote and the one which continues to inspire … Read more
Today started out rainy and I even made it all the way up to Mt. Irenaeus only to turn around and drive back down the hill. I wasn’t ready for everyone. I have days like that. Instead I opted for a nap in Cuba, New York and then a drive to St. Bonaventure University where … Read more
This came today from the Merton Institute and I really liked it. It’s my experience with contemplative life. Contemplation is also the response to a call: a call from Him Who has no voice, and yet Who speaks in everything that is, and Who, most of all, speaks in the depths of our own being: … Read more
Theme change for the first time since I began blogging on WordPress a few years ago. I liked my old theme, but was ready for something different. This has been a year of change and I’ve experimented with my life a bit. I followed my heart back to St. Bonaventure University even when the lure … Read more
Last night I was walking back to my car from Friedsam Library at St. Bonaventure University and I as I looked into the night I could barely make out the familiar lines of Merton’s Heart. It’s a clearing on the mountainside just south of the campus of St. Bonaventure University. As I looked up and … Read more
Tonight is feeling a bit more like fall. It’s down in the high forties. It’s almost midnight as I sit here blogging about my day. Although it’s a bit cool, I’m at peace in this hermitage I enjoy in our home. There is nothing like silence and solitude and I experience much of that each … Read more
This letter that came from the Merton Institute is timely today. Sometimes I feel an overwhelming sense of despair and lately it has been tugging at my shoulder from time to time. This letter Czeslaw Milosz though fifty years ago rings true for me today. [Letter to Czeslaw Milosz, Feb, 1959] Milosz, life is on … Read more
