I have always been stimulated by the different ‘maps’ of the spiritual journey that have been employed by patristic writers and especially by Bernard of Clairvaux in his sermons and other exhortative writings.   For example, in On Loving God, Bernard outlines four degrees of love: we love ourselves for our own sake, we love God for our own benefit, we love God for God

I was moved by the homily of Fr. Michael Kennedy, SJ, given Thursday morning.  He was speaking on the theme of ‘life’, that walking in the presence of God is walking in the presence of the living.  He said the God of love does not want victims: by being a victim we don’t dwell in the land of the living and God’s invitation through his Son is to unconditional forgiveness, unconditio

Last week I talked about ‘listening’ in the Rule of St. Benedict, specifically verse 1 of the Prologue, ‘listening with the ear of the heart’.  I talked about its multi-layered dimensions:  that ‘listening with the ear of the heart’ is not just a surface level of hearing.  It goes far deeper; it involves emptiness, surrender so that the hea

This morning I like to speak about ‘listening’, by turning to the commentary and reflections of Sr. Aquinata Bockmann on the first verse of the Prologue of the Rule.  Sr. Aquinata in her latest book, A Listening Community, emphasizes the importance of the Prologue because it points out the “basic attitudes” that are to be cultivated and developed for anyone

 This coming week we will have our Visitation with Abbot Joseph of Snowmass.  What preparation do we need, individually and as a community, to receive God’s gift, a gift given through the Spirit?  Like Mary’s Annunciation, like Mary’s Visitation with Elizabeth, the Spirit hovers over our lives ready, with our cooperation,