Carl McColman's Blog, page 61
June 3, 2015
Better to Light a Candle (of Silence) than to Curse the Darkness (of Language)
If a picture is worth 1000 words, how many words is silence worth?
Doeslanguage always limit the way we talk about, think about, or even pray to, God?
This question has been on my mind for the past few days.
This past weekend I attended a service at a nearby Episcopal Church. The liturgy came from Enriching Our Worship, a contemporary, inclusive language resource approved for use in Episcopal Churches. For the most part it was poetic and lovely. However, one phrase during the Eucharistic pray...
May 27, 2015
What Do Contemplatives Want? (or, Results from My Reader Survey)
Inspiration, right this way…
First a disclaimer aboutmy headline. I’manswering this question (What do contemplatives want?) based on the results from my 2015 readers’ poll. If you aren’t interested in the survey results, scroll to the bottom of the post to see my conclusions.
All the blogging gurus suggest that professional bloggers should survey their readers once a year or so. My last poll was in late 2013. The questions in this year’s survey were partially demographic (so I could get a sen...
May 20, 2015
The Last Instructions of Christ to His Disciples
The Ascension of Christ. Gold mosaic from Neamt Monastery, Romania
In the first chapter of The Acts of the Apostles, Jesus gives his disciples their last instructions before his ascension into heaven (Acts 1:6-12).
The first chapter of Acts is one of the easiest chapters in the New Testament to gloss over. After all, the real action of Acts begins with the second chapter, which recounts the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
If the Gospels tell the story of the life, ministry, death and...
May 13, 2015
Contemplation and the Ocean of Presence
Here’s a little video I filmed last monthat the Gulf Coast. It’s only about 45 seconds long and consists of the sunset and the surf. I offer it to you as a little moment of serenity. Please enjoy.
If you can’t see this video in your RSS reader or email, then click here.I know somepeople might find a little video like this boring. Compared to Hollywood culture or Madison Avenue culture, something as simple as the ocean or the gulf crashing gently on the shore might very well seem, well, singu...
May 12, 2015
Advance Praise for “Befriending Silence”
Befriending Silence
What do Brian McLaren, Fr. Daniel Horan OFM, Fr. Michael Casey OCSO, Br. Patrick Hart OCSO, and Phyllis Tickle have in common? They’ve all endorsed Befriending Silence.
Brian McLaren praisesBefriending Silence as“a great gift to all who hunger for meaning, mystery, peace, hope, and God.” Fr. Daniel Horan calls the book“an accessible and enlightening introduction to the beauty of Cistercian spirituality.” Fr. Michael Casey notes that “it will be found useful and stimulatin...May 6, 2015
Contemplative Leadership with Saints Benedict and Ignatius of Loyola
Saints Benedict and Ignatius of Loyola, Contemplative Leaders
In recent months I have become very interested in the topic of leadership.
Which might seem silly, since I do not manage people, or lead a congregation, or hold a military command position. But I’ve come to recognize that “leadership” is a topic that has broad implications, broader than just our job descriptions. And for those of us who embrace contemplative spirituality, it’s a topic that I think we need to be paying close attenti...
April 29, 2015
Please Fill Out My Reader Survey!
Keep calm and take the survey. Thank you.
Please fill outmy reader’s survey—and help me to make this a better blog.
I’m asking for this information (collected anonymously) to give me a better sense of this blog’s readers, which in turn will help me as I continue to create new content for the blog.
I invite everyone to participate, whether you are a newcomer to my blog or have been reading for years.
Thank you so much for your input. I appreciate it, and I hope it will lead to making this a be...
Contemplative Leadership Retreat in Tennessee, May 15-17
I’m excited about the upcoming contemplative leadership retreat that I’ll be facilitating in Monteagle, TN (between Nashville and Chattanooga) the weekend of May 15-17. I hope to see you there. Herearethe details:
“Mindfulness” is a hot topic today, with mindful approaches to health, business, leadership, and parenting trending in the news and online. For the Church though...
Five Ways You Can Enjoy a Deeper Personal Prayer Life
“We need to deepen our own personal prayer lives.” — The Most Reverend Wilton D. Gregory, S.L.D., Archbishop of Atlanta
Recentlythe Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta publishedaPastoral Plan, the result of much prayer, conversation and discernment. In the words of the Archbishop, it’s a plan “that will guide our Archdiocese for the next five years.”
You can download a PDF of the planhere. It covers a variety of initiatives and needs,under three topics: “Knowing our faith,” “Living our faith,” an...
April 22, 2015
A Prayer for Contemplatives
Sunset on the Gulf of Mexico, at Deer Lake State Park, Florida, April 2015.
O Divine Beloved, you are the source of life and the fountain of all goodness.
In the mystery of your silence werecognize who weare, for we arecreated in your image. You are beautiful, for you are Love. You are wisdom, for you are Truth. Weworship you and ask that you restore in usthe fullness of your likeness. Forgive us for all the ways that we have failed to embody your love, and heal us so that we may bring your m...
