Carl McColman's Blog, page 62
April 15, 2015
Contemplation and Grieving
Photo by Fran McColman
A reader named Monika wrote the following comment and left it on one of my blog posts:
I recently lost my husband of 49 years to a sudden brain tumor.I sold our home and cafe for economic reasons. I always wanted tolive in quiet contemplation when the right time came. I think that it is here and Ihave nothing but grief blocking any inner peace I am looking for. Where do I start?
All your posts seem so moving and joyful.
Thanks
Thank you, Monika, for your comment. I am s...
April 8, 2015
Contemplation and Conflict
The Wisdom of the Desert
I simply love this story of two desert fathers, which Thomas Merton recounts in his book The Wisdom of the Desert:
There were two elders living together in a cell, and they had never had so much as one quarrel with one another. One therefore said to the other: Come on, let us have at least one quarrel, like other men. The other said: I don’t know how to start a quarrel. The first said: I will take this brick and place it here between us. Then I will say: It is mine. A...
April 1, 2015
Joyful Contemplation (No Fooling!)
Why are all these pious people laughing? (Cover art from Between Heaven and Mirth by James Martin, artist: Anita Kunz).
If you are engaged in a serious and sustained practice of silent prayer and contemplative spirituality, then you need to be a very somber, sober, and serious person, for the mystical life is no laughing matter. . . .April Fool!
I was inspired to write about this topic not only because today is April 1, but also because of what is arguably the single most problematic topicin...
March 28, 2015
You can do it, my friend: you can thrive with a daily practice of silent prayer
Trust the path you are called to walk upon. Photo by Fran McColman
In my travels I hear a lot from people who get discouraged regardingsilent prayer.
Some folks tell me their minds race too much when they try to pray in silence.
Others tell me they’re so busy, they just can’t seem to find the time to pray.
Still others talk about how they get bored during their silent time, or fidgety, or overwhelmed with a feeling that they’re not making progress.
My friends, it’s easy to get discouraged whe...
March 25, 2015
Psalm 131: Humility, Silence and Hope
A Silent, Restful Place: Monastery of the Holy Spirit, photo by Haven Sweet.
Sometimes I get asked “Where is contemplation in the Bible?”
One obvious answer to this question is Psalm 131.
It’s a short Psalm, only three verses. Here it is in its entirety from the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (but every translation works):
OLord, my heart is not lifted up,
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.But I have calmed and q...
March 19, 2015
“Just a touch of wildness” — Did Evelyn Underhill inspire C. S. Lewis?
One of my favorite contemplative authors from the early twentieth century — Evelyn Underhill — corresponded with another favorite author, C. S. Lewis.
Evelyn Underhill
Underhill (1875-1941) was the leading English author on Christian mysticism in her day. Lewis (1898-1963) became renowned especially for his imaginative spiritualfiction.
Several of herletters to him are preservered in The Letters of Evelyn Underhill, published shortly after her death in 1941. We learn from the letters that Lew...
March 6, 2015
Why We Need Contemplation
Ss. Teresa of Avila and Brigid of Kildare, St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Macon, GA. Saint Teresa and Saint Brigid were two great contemplatives engaged in making the world a better place.
I amtroubled by the idea that it’s harder to be a child today than it was when I was young. Is that just my personal angst, the anxiety of someone moving rapidly through midlife? Or is there some truth to my worrisomeintuition?
Well, consider the followingsobering statements, all culled from recent articles on...
Let’s go swimming.
God is an ocean of silence, mercy and love. Let’s go swimming. pic.twitter.com/GMbPdqWK57
— Carl McColman (@CarlMcColman) March 6, 2015
February 25, 2015
Making (and Keeping) a Personal Rule of Life
Living Intentionally
Every January, lots of folks make New Year’s Resolutions. This year I will lose weight, exercise more, improve my diet, pay off my credit cards. Sadly, though, it seemsthat by Valentine’s Day (if not before) most New Year’s Resolutions are long forgotten.
New Year’s Resolutions point to two basic truths about being human. First, to be alive is to seek to grow, to improve, to make improvements in our health, our relationships, our quality of life. But the second truth is the...
February 19, 2015
The Dazzling Darkness
Photo by Fran McColman
“There is in God (some say)
A deep, but dazzling darkness”
— Henry Vaughan
“Truly, you are a God who hides himself,
O God of Israel, the Savior.”
— Isaiah 45:15
“Your brightness is my darkness.I know nothing of You and, by myself,I cannot even imagine how to go about knowing You.If I imagine You, I am mistaken.If I understand You, I am deluded.If I am conscious and certain I know You, I am crazy.The darkness is enough.”
— Thomas Merton,
Prayer Before Midnight Mass,
Christmas 1941...
