The Celtic Monk

Sanctuary in Rostrevor, Northern Ireland   Why come to worship?  It seems an odd wondering as the second Sunday in Lent approaches, on our annual journey towards Jerusalem with Jesus and his disciples.  A journey that inevitably takes us through the events of Holy Week--its horror and its mystery; and on to Easter morning which if we'd been there held some horror and mystery of its own. Remembering the disciples weren't coloring eggs, filling baskets with jelly beans, or parading with lillies quite yet. This year the church I'm serving, has an extra opportunity for Lent, the addition of a mid-week worship service that includes the Lord's Supper.   It's quite out of the ordinary for protestants who have historically been happy with a monthly or quarterly inclusion of the sacrament to have the opportunity to partake weekly. There were times in my ecumenical past that I received the sacrament on a daily basis and still do...

         It was time. Actually, it was time months ago.  But I finally doned work gloves to weed and rake the Labyrinth.  I'd begun the task back in September. Really?  Yes, September.  Half a weeded Labyrinth was better than none.  I could simply walk over all those things that just won't stop growing!          How did it escape me that there would be "upkeep?"  Did I really think those truckloads of gravel would stop things from growing here in the tropics?  In a matter of weeks it seemed that a little moss formed where the palmettos shaded the path, then a little (okay a lot) of humidity turned the moss into soil and voila! things sprouted.  Without diligence on my part, it just kept on growing.         I find the same to be true in other areas of my life as well. There's a lot of upke...

        As promised, here are some ideas for your practice of The Examen which can transform and deepen your spiritual life. I've done a lot of study about this spiritual discipline and have practiced it intermittently for the past few decades. The suggestions below are just that; options for how you might wish to practice the prayer.  May it bring you joy day-by-day in 2013 and beyond. Take a moment to remember you are beloved of God, just as you are.  There is nothing that can separate you from the love of God. Remember and give thanks for the gifts that God's love has bestowed upon you today; sunshine, friendship, an answered prayer, strength for a challenge, daily bread, etc. Ask God for a blessing that will make this prayer time more than a human endeavor; then watch for an insight that comes not from within you neither heart nor mind, but from above. Trusting in God's love, review the past 24 hour...

  Taking time off between Christmas and the New Year is a luxury of which I've rarely been able to indulge.  This year it's a special treat. I've already used the time to clean my Inbox of the 400 emails that I was going to read some time . I've also read through the email box named "Inspiration" where I put things along the way that look interesting but which I didn't have time for at the moment.   The idea of time has come up in enough conversations lately that I've noticed the trend.  Some of those conversations centered around the beleif that time seems to be moving faster than ever; blink it's Christmas, blink it's summer.  I attribute the seemingly increased pace of time to the fact that I'm getting older--it takes me more time to prepare and more time to let go.   But other conversations regarding time have to do with a vague sense that "the times" in which we are living are changing--perhaps even on a co...

This morning on my way to the church, I left a container of Christmas cookies on the step of a camper that was by the side of the road.  Well, perhaps I'm already ahead of myself. Last Sunday morning as we were on our way to church, there was a camper/rv at the side of a two lane divided highway.  I was a little irritated as I drove by thinking how unsafe a place to park not only for the owner, but for travelers.  However, by the time we passed by later in the day, I noticed it was gone. Then Tuesday morning on another little road I frequent, the camper/rv was back again this time at the side of an even more narrow two lane road. Really quite out of place. Surprised to see it a second time, I began to wonder about the folks who owned it or were in it.  Why weren't they at one of the 100 rv parks around here.  Why at the side of the road with no electric, no water. While leaving home this morning, I packed a container wit...

We had a momentous occasion at our house this week.  A car transport pulled up at 7:30 in the morning and took away a car that my husband had purchased almost 40 years ago.  As I write it's on its way to Oceanside, CA...to its new owner.  Many parts and pieces that never got attached went along with it, including a OEM bumper sitting in the passenger seat. It never occured to me that this day would come. I sometimes wondered if I'd find a note attached to his Last Will and Testament with instructions for him to be buried in that car! We are both at that place in life when we're wondering what to "hold on to" and what to "let go of." Many conversations have taken place leading up to this major letting go. As we face into retirement we've begun to plan on where we'll live and what we'll take with us.  Over the almost 24 years of our marriage we've managed to collect a lot of stuff -- in addition to what we both brought into this uni...

Hafiz is a 14th century Persian poet.  The likes of Goethe and Ralph Waldo Emerson commented on his works. Goethe wrote that "Hafiz has no peers" which is high praise. Though I don't think any new writings of Hafiz have been discovered, his poems are often re-translated by folks with better linguistic ability or even just a better handle on  his body of work. I find in his poems an uncanny sense of the Presence of the Divine. In his poem, An Enthusiasm To Express Discovery  Hafiz wrote: "The greatest and most lasting art, the impetus of it, I feel, always comes from a wanting to help.  A wanting to free, and an enthusiasm to express discovery... the artist...becomes aware of inner spheres and minlges with them, and then puts those experiences into what they most care about for the world to touch and see if the world wants. I know all my poems come from a wanting to give something useful." It's not often I sit down to ...