Author: tomstellawebsite

     “Adam hid in the Garden of Eden. Moses tried to substitute his brother. Jonah jumped a boat and was swallowed by a whale.      Man likes to run from God. It’s a tradition. So perhaps I was only following tradition when as soon as I could walk, I started running… …by the time I … Continue reading The Hound of Heaven

“…I have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.      I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”      I have a dream that...the … Continue reading I Have a Dream

“…I have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.      I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”      I have a dream that...the … Continue reading I Have a Dream

     “A grandmother playing with her five-year-old grandson on the beach is horrified when a wave comes up and swallows the child whole, dragging him out to sea. Falling to her knees, she addresses the heavens in a state of near hysteria. “Oh God, please return my beloved grandson to me and I will be … Continue reading Laughing at our Folly

The honoring of Jesus’ birth is obviously a Christian celebration. However, when Jesus is understood not merely as an historical person but as archetypal (one who is the embodiment of the Godly nature of all humanity,) Christmas can have meaning for all of us, whether we consider ourselves religious or not.       God of many … Continue reading Christmas Prayer

“Make ready for the Christ whose smile like lightening sets free the song of everlasting glory that now sleeps in your paper flesh like dynamite.”      These simple but explosive words of monk and mystic Thomas Merton convey the spiritual meaning of Advent, the four week period before Christmas when Christians are encouraged to prepare … Continue reading The birth of jesus/the coming of christ

“Only yesterday our vet told us that our sweet Golden Retriever is very ill, and tonight we’re supposed to go out to dinner with some friends. I’m torn, because we’ve been scheduling, canceling, and rescheduling this dinner for six months, and part of me really wants to go. But part of me is dealing with … Continue reading It’s Hard on the Soul

     “In mainstream religious traditions, a creator may be ostensibly worshipped while the creation itself is dishonored; our Western political system and economy are rife with people who claim, for example, allegiance with Judeo-Christian religions yet do not flinch at profiting from the destruction of Earth’s life support systems. Reverence is reserved for a disembodied … Continue reading Turning here into heaven

     “At one time or another, most people go through a period of sadness, trial, loss, frustration, or failure that is so disturbing and long-lasting that it can be called a dark night of the soul. If your main interest in life is health, you may quickly try to overcome the darkness. But if you … Continue reading Dark Nights

“The chief rabbi of the shtetl (small Jewish town), a sage renowned throughout the land as the greatest mind in Jewish thought, is approached by two young Seekers of Truth. They have traveled for weeks, a great distance, on foot, in order to sit at his feet.     “Rabbi,” asks one, eager for wisdom. “Why … Continue reading In Praise of Irreverence