“In the chapters to come, I speak often of my own mistakes – of wrong turns I have taken, of misreading of my own reality – for hidden in these moments are important clues to my own vocation. I do not feel despondent about my mistakes…though I grieve the pain they have sometimes caused others. … Continue reading The Crooked Path Home
God, Person or Presence
“A pious old man prayed five times a day while his business partner never set foot in church. And now, on his eightieth birthday he prayed thus: Oh Lord our God! Since I was a youth, not a day have I allowed to pass without coming to church in the morning and saying my prayers…Not a … Continue reading God, Person or Presence
The Virtue of Emptiness
“Early Christian monks went out to live in the desert in order to find emptiness. Modern life is becoming so full that we need our ways of going to the desert to be relieved of our plenty. Our heads are crammed with information, our lives busy with activities, our cities stuffed with automobiles, our … Continue reading The Virtue of Emptiness
The Road Not Taken
“Poet Robert Frost was awaiting admittance…into a student fraternity and was told confidentially that only one factor was delaying his entry: the fact that he took long walks in the woods by himself…He was caught being an individual, with an inner life of his own, instead of the dead and public machine life of joining … Continue reading The Road Not Taken
The Order is Love
“Were one asked to characterize the life of religion in the broadest and most general terms possible, one might say that it consists of the belief that there is an unseen order, and that our supreme good lies in harmoniously adjusting ourselves thereto. This belief and this adjustment are the religious attitude in the soul.” … Continue reading The Order is Love
From Fear to Faith
“Everybody’s got fear. Everybody’s afraid something bad is going to happen sometime. That’s life. But what’s important is that you don’t let it stop you from doing things, taking risks. Every decision is a risk, every choice leaves a choice behind. You can’t let yourself get paralyzed by the fear of what might go wrong. … Continue reading From Fear to Faith
Spot of Grace
“Each person is born with an unencumbered spot, free of expectation and regret, free of ambition and embarrassment, free of fear and worry, an umbilical spot of grace where we were each first touched by God. It is this spot of grace that issues peace. Psychologists call this spot the Psyche, theologians call it the … Continue reading Spot of Grace
