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Struggles with Ego
Over the weekend I spent time in silent retreat meditating on Ephesians 1-3. One of the key disciplines of a silent retreat is taking time to quiet the soul. Henri Nouwen used the description of getting the monkeys out of the trees. We get all the distractions flying at us and chattering away in those first hours of silent retreat.…
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Finding New Blogs
There are a couple of blogs I have not yet added to my blogroll, but enjoy reading. I will then follow some of their blogrolls, which led me to one by Michael J Gorman. This post on Theosis was a good one. I deeply admire the Eastern Orthodox tradition and this post answers some great questions.
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My Great Loves
Happy Valentine’s Day! I confess my great loves today. First is my great love for God. I spent this weekend in a “silent” retreat contemplating Ephesians 1-3. I love Ephesians. For the past 15 plus years of my life it has been bedrock to my life. Once again I was blown away by my God’s great love for me. I…
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Standing Between the Living and the Dead
Intercession. The picture I see of intercession is found in Numbers 16. A plague has rushed through Israel’s camp (again) because of their complaining (again). Moses (AGAIN) intercedes for the people. He falls to his face asking God to stop the plague. He then sends Aaron out with the censer from the altar. The incense was offered up as a…
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Experimenting with WordPress Appearances
I have changed a few times because I start to like a look, then realize I can’t do some things with that look. The last look I had was something I liked, but I couldn’t find a way to get my Blogroll on it, and I like having my blogroll there. One reason I like having it displayed is when…
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Spiritual Reading
I am working my way through Thomas Merton’s Seven Storey Mountain again. I am not good at re-reading many books, but this one I’ve ready probably 5 times. It is his story of coming to faith and entering the monastery as a Cistercian brother. As he came to faith, he struggled his first year. He was a PhD student at…
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Learning from the Pentecostal Monks
I am lecturing on my favorite subject: Pentecostal monks. One monk who has been influential in my life has been Evagrius Ponticus. In preparing my lectures, I came across this thought from R.R. Reno in “Fighting the Noon Day Devil”: There are no intellectual solutions to spiritual problems. Acedia is fought with spiritual discipline. We hate that. We fantasize about…
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Really… Does Truth Matter?
I hear clips like this one, and realize millions listen to this guy… Honestly, do we even CARE about truth anymore?
