Archive for Contemplative Spirituality

Today’s post is by Tilden Edwards “By the rivers of Babylon—there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion….There our captors asked us to sing one of the songs of Zion. How could we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” (Psalm 137) Like those Israelites forced into exile in Babylon, I […]

Today’s post is by Mary van Balen Sometimes the simplest of chores become prayer. It’s about paying attention and being present to the moment. That’s what wisdom teachers have always said whether they were early Christian monks living in the Egyptian desert or a contemporary Buddhist monk like Thich Nhat Hanh; a Sufi poet like […]

Today’s post is by Mary van Balen I like to celebrate Christmas—all 12 days of the season. So, while discarded Christmas trees line neighborhood sidewalks, mine still shines with white lights and carefully chosen ornaments. By the time you read this, Epiphany will have come and gone, and my tree will be back in the […]

Today’s post is by Patricia Farrell I think the most important qualification for a spiritual director is the commitment to a lifestyle of spiritual deepening. One of the very important things I learned, experientially, in the Shalem program is that doing spiritual direction is about the way I live my life every day. My own […]

Today’s post is by Carl McColman Back in 2003, I spent a day at a relatively new monastery near Sligo, Ireland. Like many small religious foundations just getting off the ground, it was struggling, although the members of the community were filled with optimism and a sense of purpose about their shared mission. I plied […]

Today’s post is by Tom Adams I was eager to attend the Gerald May Seminar on the Compassion of the Mystics with Bernard McGinn. Since embracing the practice of centering prayer a couple of years ago, my interest in love and how love grows has been front and center. I figured compassion and love were […]