We must acknowledge, with tenderness but also honesty, that our contemplative practices of welcoming and letting go whatever enters the field of awareness, means that all the psychological “padlocks” that we put in place to ...
Our objective union with God is the true source of all peace and fulfillment, and thus, it is fair to say that contemplative practice creates space for such fulfillment. Nevertheless, contemplative practices are not...
In contemplative practice, we seek to adopt a disposition of openness and receptivity. There is sometimes a concern, especially among beginning practitioners, about what we might open ourselves to, what we might receive. If we...
Episcopal priest Adam Bucko describes a simple prayer practice that sustains him, and reminds us that even our vocal prayer offers opportunity for contemplative practice:
One of the greatest lessons in my life...
To say it plainly, the contemplative dimension of prayer is essential to a fully actualized prayer life, one capable of embracing our communion with God. To begin to address why one can make such a bold claim, we must first ...
Our Archdiocese celebrates a major feast day this week, with the Feast of St. Louis on August 25. At moments such as these, it’s worth the effort to consider again what is intended in the naming and honoring of “holy people.” According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) in paragraph 2683, “have preceded us into...
Contemplation is a full, welcoming embrace of our union with God, and since God is an infinite source of transformative power, we should rightly expect time spent open to the Divine Presence to be transformative. However, the nature...
Contemplative prayer requires a release of control, precisely because we as human beings are not the primary actors in contemplation. Our conscious efforts to let go are in the service of welcoming God to heal, convict, dance, play, enflame, and love as God sees fit. It’s not really possible to control a boundless ...
Over the next three weeks, we will share excerpts from a work by Christian poet Sarah Trent. Contemplative practice involves a release of expectations, but that release is not always without suffering....