The Celtic Monk

          M. Scott Peck's best seller began famously: "Life is Difficult."  While I agreed with him whole heartedly 25 years ago and still do, I'm more aware today of the nuances, difficulties and my own ability to be present to life and changes especially when they present themselves as difficulties or challenges. In other words, the parameters of what constitutes difficult has changed for me.  It's been a journey.            For so long I saw events, people or situations in black or white; good or bad in and of themselves. If "a" happens its good, if "b" happens it will be bad--very, very bad.  What I realize now is that that kind of thinking and responding created its very own kind of hell and suffering.  Because "b" happens a fair bit of the time--and if I allow myself to only see "a" as good...and allow no room for "b"  "c...

        It is true that a picture is worth 1,000 words.  Above is the church of my youth.  I was baptized there. As a second grader, I made my First Communion there.  I was confirmed at that altar while in fourth grade and took the name of "Bernadette." I went to mass not only on Sunday, but Monday thru Friday most of my grammar school days because St. Alphonsus was also my school.  I was in the building next to this amazing sanctuary when the news came over the PA system that John Fitzgerald Kennedy had been shot and the country was for a few hours without a President.         Maybe surprisingly to some it was here that I learned the love, reverence and awe of God that I practice still.  All those days surrounded by statuary and stained glass imprinted something on my soul. I can hear phrases of the Latin mass echoing through the gothic architecture.  God befrien...

        I recently completed a paper on the theme of the dark night of the soul as found in John of the Cross and the interior castle as described by Teresa of Avila.  It was a timely topic for this season of my soul, as I both invited and allowed myself to step out of the false surety of Enlightenment thinking and into the place where mystics meet God.         The paper  opened with these assumptions from which to dialog with John and Teresa:  "the fullest understanding I bring to this theme is that the spiritual journey far from being a common path, is unique to each person as we undertake to follow the pull of the Spirit.  Implicit are these assumptions: Each person is uniquely created; There is a will great than our own and a purpose beyond what we see; though we can journey with others, no one else's journey is ours.  Ultimately, our spiritual journey is custom de...

                   As I sit here this morning, I am facing a pile of presents in brightly colored wrappings of Christmas red, gold, blue and green.  Personally I have no trouble seeing the stack before me--no anxiety--no heart quickening--but of course I know what each package holds.  Treasures I've purchased over the last six months (more earnestly in recent weeks) to delight the hearts of those I love.           Liam and Lauren and even Isaac at 15 would love to come into this special room and shake each one guessing what it might be.  Christmas fever is strong at this time of year.  Their joy can hardly be contained.  "Just let me open one Grammie; augh come on!" And yet, there is more to this season than our expectations of what might lie underneath even the shiniest of wrappings and bows.      ...

SOPHIA the BELUGA WHALE                      This is my favorite photo.  It's a Beluga Whale who has become the signature of all printed material of Peace River Spirituality Center.  You can see her in a quick glance at our brochure, letterhead, business cards, even on our mouse pad!                     It's not that I don't like the rounded white head of the Beluga, but there is something at the same time mysterious, ethereal and strong about this image.  Maybe the mystery is in the nature of the fluke--which we know is like the whale version of human fingerprints...no two exactly alike.  Maybe its the strength we imagine of this magnificent creature as she plunges herself into the deep.  Or simply the stark visual contras...

A LIVING PRAYER BENCH, ROSTREVOR, NORTHERN IRELAND   In my last posting I shared with you a breakthrough in my personal prayer life, several things coming together which became a new foundation.  So that my experience might be more helpful to you I thought I'd pull apart the pieces of that experience to share some semblance of a path, however imperfect, that you might wander upon in your own prayer journey. My initial intention for the day was simply to pray, to seek, to knock hoping for the door to be opened as Jesus tells us in the Gospel.  What I could not plan for was what would come from what seemed a rather simple posture of openness.  With a single question in mind I opened my journal to answer the question:  What are your images of God right now?  I sat with the question for only a moment when like water flowing over a waterfall or the rush of rapids all the pious sounding platitudes--well rehearsed from years of repetition--spilled onto...

PATH TO THE LABYRINTH SAM BUILT FOR ME IN OUR BACKYARD. How's your prayer life?   How has it changed over the years?  Does it make your heart sing?  Or do you have the sense that something is missing?  There has been some amazing theological reflection done in the past decade on spirituality during the second half of life .  Even before you wonder if you are in the second half of life let me ask you...do you remember Howdy Doody?  If so, you're here! I'm in my final residency (this week and next) with The Shalem Institute at a wonderful retreat setting outside of Baltimore.  Already we've had some amazing teaching, silence, peer group interaction and significant time with  our prayer partners.  Rosemary Dougherty who has literally  written the book  on prayer spent all day Wednesday with us lecturing and leading us in prayer practices.  This kind of rich spiritual experience makes our days which begin...