Articles on Spiritual Direction
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Five Gathered
Reflection on the Experience of a Group Spiritual Direction Workshop at Shalem Institute. I had the bountiful blessing of making four very close friends at the Group Spiritual Direction workshop on Zoom last June. It was not your typical friendship. Five individuals gathered together in faith, in silence, in prayer, and in profound empathy. The…
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Wider Than the Sea
As I pondered and prayed about my experience in Shalem’s new Heart Longings program, a familiar hymn came to mind, and the melody would not go away. As I listened to the tune in my head, I realized it provided the answer as to what I wanted to share about my experience. The hymn with…
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Evelyn Underhill: Foremother of Contemporary Spirituality
The Book of Wisdom promises that “In each generation wisdom passes into holy souls, she makes them friends of God and prophets.” In our own times we need to be on the lookout for these “friends of God and prophets” whom we will find in unlikely places. Although they appear to serve their own times,…
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Desmond Tutu as Christian Mystic
The three-fold division of Christian mysticism (purgation, illumination, and union) is essential in understanding Desmond Tutu’s life. Purgation exemplifies Tutu’s formation as an institutional church leader, illumination exemplifies Tutu’s role as confessor, and union exemplifies Tutu’s elder years as sage. As Tutu’s life proceeds through purgation, illumination, and union, not only does mysticism describe Tutu’s…
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Diana
On March 17th of last year, I was awakened in the middle of the night by intense pain shooting through my body. It felt like sharp knives cutting into my muscles. The pain continued until the morning, allowing me only fitful, unrestful sleep. When I finally pulled myself out of bed, I craved even more…
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Welcoming God with Open Arms
While Lent is sometimes thought of as a season to give up something, this Lent comes after a year of pandemic and unrest that has many feeling like they’ve already given up a lot. For some it has meant no in-person visits with family or friends for close to a year. Some have lost jobs.…