Articles on Community
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When we have become
When we have become completely free from the need to judge, we will also become completely free from the fear of being judged. ~Henri Nouwen
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Glimpsing God in the Dark Night
Article by Margaret Benefiel (December 2017 eNews) When 20 young contemplative leaders gathered at the beautiful St. Benedict’s Monastery nestled in the mountains of Snowmass, Colorado with Tilden Edwards, Thomas Keating, Richard Rohr, and Laurence Freeman for five days in August, one of the first themes that surfaced was societal impasse. In the midst of…
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Spiritual Companions across the Centuries
Today’s post is by Margaret Benefiel “Rebuild my church.” God used these words from Francis of Assisi’s story to speak to me as I sat in prayer with two spiritual companions in Greensboro, North Carolina, after a heartbreaking disillusionment. I had left a job that I had thought was my dream job, my dream shattered.…
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Compassion through Contemplation
Article by Catherine Kerr (featured in November 2017 eNews) Compassion means to understand another’s pain at such a deep level that it’s like feeling it yourself. Many mentors have told me over the years that the essence of pastoral ministry is connection and presence, being with. One seminary professor liked to say that the most…
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Sisters on Retreat
Today’s post is by Francie Thayer My two (biological) sisters and I don’t get to be together all that often. We live in different time zones and have lives that make it tricky. But once a year we do get together—just us—for a “Sisters’ Convention.” For two or three days in various locations, we gather…
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Saint Bonifacia’s Ordinary Way
Today’s post is by Mary van Balen The liturgical calendar in early August celebrates the lives of three women saints: St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), St. Clare, and Saint Bonifacia Rodriguez y Castro. If you’re like me, you’re familiar with the first two. But who was the third, Saint Bonifacia? Her memorial…