One of the gifts of contemplative practice is the grace to reframe our understanding of our past and thus allow the transformative power of God to work through our past. Common, but misguided, ways of relating to our past include a tendency to remain stuck in nostalgia for past glories, successes, or titles, as if those things...

We must always remember that the waiting that we are called to during Advent is an active waiting, a season of raising up valleys, lowering mountains, and making straight a highway for the Lord (see Is 40:3-4). Many people will...

Theologian and Cherokee descendant Dr. Randy Woodley offers this Thanksgiving prayer: Great Mystery, I am humbled that I will never know everything about you, but I am grateful that through the lives of the other I can know more of you. While I thank you for those who are like me, I especially thank you for those who are different than...

When undertaking a prayer practice, there is a natural human tendency to want to set timelines and goals. There is some value to this sort of self-imposed structure, as it can help us cultivate discipline and positive habits in our prayer lives. Nevertheless, we must always remember that prayer is ultimately relationship. As such, trying to predetermine a point of “arrival” that will allow us to proclaim “success” in our prayer is...

Author and motivational speaker Regina Brett once wisely stated that “God isn't present in the past or future. The great 'I Am' is in the present moment.” Divine union can only be realized in the now, and likewise Dive gifts like grace, peace, healing, and love can only be given and received now. In that sense, it is ineffectual to focus our ...

Contemplative wisdom teacher Cynthia Bourgeault discusses how “dying before we die” brings new life from our awareness of mortality: he one who would save his life or her life will lose it and the one who’s willing to lose it, will save it (see Matthew 16:25)… The whole tradition we’ve had of ...

In his book A Grief Observed, C.S. Lewis proposes that, “You must have a capacity to receive, or even Omnipotence can’t give.” True mercy, grace, and love are big gifts, so much so that we can struggle with our ability to ...

This reflection and practice come from therapist Resmaa Menakem’s book My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies (Central Recovery Press: 2017), 137, 35: My grandmother was a strong and loving woman. But her body was frequently nervous… She would soothe that sense of impending disaster in...

Any number of distractions and obstacles can disrupt a burgeoning or even a regular prayer practice, beginning with the typical challenges of establishing a new habit – finding time, finding a place, adjusting to different lifestyle – and continuing with everything from perceived “lack of results” to major life events. When such disruptions inevitably arise, we must resist the temptation to frustration and instead....

Commitment to contemplative practice, like any practice, requires the cultivation of a certain discipline, and thereby, habit. If you are uncertain of how contemplative practices like Centering Prayer might fit into your life, you are welcome and encouraged to “test the waters,” engaging in prayer periods of different lengths and experimenting with...

The MMOC Contemplative Core Team grieves the passing of our friend and former member, Joy Kleucker, who had a particular fondness for the work of the Jesuit poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins !1844-89). We offer you two of his works today, in memory of Joy:...

This week, we offer you the painting “An Attempt to Stability” by Indian artist Prayag Jadhav. What does it stir in you? How is the Holy Spirit calling you to respond?..

Jesus tells us that “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (Jn 15:13) and challenges us, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (Jn 13:34). He then lives out this kind of love ...

Though Christianity has deep contemplative roots, contemplative insights and experiences can radically alter our concepts and perceptions of God to something beyond those typical to the Western Christian culture in which most of us were...