How we are breathing in any given moment says a lot about our emotional and spiritual health, which can potentially affect our physical health as well. How are you breathing?
Just Breathe
Finding God in the Thin Places (On my Pilgrimage to Ireland)
In Ireland, there is a place outside Dublin called Glendalaugh where I regularly experience a thin place. Tradition has it that Saint Kevin settled there in a cave in the sixth century. It overlooks a lake as black as a moonless and starless night. A forest surrounds it, with ancient trees covered in moss and dark green leaves. Early in the morning a mist hovers above ground, like out of a fairy tale. It’s no wonder that Kevin chose this place for his home.
Finding God in the Silence
The first prayer I remember praying as a child was this: Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep.If I should die before I wake. I pray the Lord my soul to take.God bless mommy and daddy and puppy.... And on occasions, before going to sleep at night, …
Communion: No Sinners Allowed?
How did communion turn into a place to exclude people? And what did Jesus expect when he held up the bread and the cup, declaring them to be His body and blood?
Recovering the Ancient Prayer of Silence
In John 4, Jesus taught that true worship must be done “in spirit” because God is spirit. Now, granted, this phrase is quite nebulous and open to a wide variety of interpretations. But what did Jesus mean? A part of the answer lies in a very ancient tradition that turned to silence to solve this …
Ashes, Tattoos, the Sign of the Cross, and My Friend Connie
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. I was in first grade the first time I participated in an Ash Wednesday service. I attended a parochial school, and our teacher, a very stern nun, paraded us into the chapel where we all knelt and were told to be still and quiet, an …
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Spilled Coffee on Ancient Scrolls 