Merton and me

Last night I attended a talk given by Walt Chura, SFO at Mount Irenaeus. Walt’s topic was the “Transformations of Thomas Merton.” Walt talked about the similarities between the transformations of Francis of Assisi and Thomas Merton and helped me to more clearly see each man and their journey to God and my own journey … Read more

Waking up

I’m in the process of waking up. It’s a journey and not a destination. I’ll never be fully awake but I hope that I continue to awaken to the reality of the world that has been created for all of us. This isn’t the Madison Avenue marketing world or the world as described on the … Read more

Feast of St. Bonaventure

This afternoon I had agreed to drive down to St. Bonaventure University and help a Franciscan friend with a computer I had donated to him. I had configured this Dell Inspiron equipped with Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic with Star Office. Fr. Bob Struzynski, OFM is a very bright man and a wonderful person, but … Read more

Paradox

I purchased a book from Amazon the other day and read it today not three hours after opening the package. It’s the first book I’ve read in awhile and I’d recommend it to anyone. It’s the “Promise of Paradox“and it’s more than timely. Too much of our packaged culture is set up as either/or when … Read more

A reflection on hospitality

Last weekend at St. Francis Springs Prayer Center in the coffee room I found a reflection on hospitality written by Henri Nouwen which really impacted me. I took a picture of the writing with my cell phone camera and mailed it to myself. I’ve transcribed some of it and included it here. I invite you … Read more

St. Francis Springs

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