The Archive

Category: Speaking to the Soul

Day of Many Names

February 5, 2018 No Comments

February 2 is a busy day, a major feast of the church, although not always celebrated. The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple. The Purification of Mary. Candlemas.

Why Christianity?

February 4, 2018 No Comments

…the real reason I stick with Jesus is because he is a hand holder. He is not out there somewhere, and not high above us in the sky. Jesus – God with us – is beside us, holding our hands.

The Dorchester Chaplains, Models of Faith in Action

February 3, 2018 No Comments

I can learn to man the metaphoric life preserver locker and pass out words of life, words that would help others who are struggling and afraid.

If we want to be blunt about it, Simeon and Anna are essentially two old geezers who hang around the temple all the time. Simeon has visions now and then, and Anna is always prophesying. We can only imagine what the nice polite temple-goers think about all that. My bet is, because they’re old and a tad odd, they are not always taken seriously

Seeking the Will of God

February 1, 2018 2 Comments

Seeking our own will is like being content in a tiny room in a large mansion because we don’t recognize that what we thought was a wall is really a corridor.

Marking time

January 31, 2018 No Comments

Since then, each day comes with its burden of proof: the anniversary of a kiss; the caked-on accretions of a birthday; the unthinkable number of days, weeks, hours that have passed since she died.

Cross as Companion

January 30, 2018 No Comments

The cross was my constant companion. It traveled with me whenever I embarked on a new adventure. The words from Jeremiah are engraved on it:

Stability, Obedience, Conversion — Living the Rule of Benedict

January 29, 2018 1 Comment

Stability, obedience, conversion mean so much to me in my growth in Christ that I would be remiss not to hold them out to you. In these quiet weeks before Lent try exploring a spiritual rule, a guide, not a straitjacket.

Demon Possession: The Way It’s Always Been

January 28, 2018 2 Comments

These are the demons of our own time. Most of us are ridiculously happy with things just the way they are. If we weren’t, then things would be different. Do we really want to be free?

Three Women Ministers

January 27, 2018 No Comments

Part of their importance is that they are women, not women who were in direct contact with Jesus but who nonetheless heard and believed the message and worked to pass it on.