Lifelong learning

The concept of “empowerment’ is useful for dealing with the process of aging. When growing older, one needs to be empowered to still think and act for oneself. Growing older has sometimes been seen as a journey into submissiveness, as a period when one is involved in the process of stripping away while making sense [...]

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The Spirituality of Children

Any educator must take note of the spiritual world in which children live, their experiences, hopes, dreams, as well as pains and fears. This requires intuition and empathy, a focused listening to children’s own stories, their real and imagined worlds. The vision of children can relate to the flowers, meadows, woods, and trees in nature, [...]

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God is not a banker or a personnel officer

God is not a banker or a personnel officer. I was reading “Primary Speech: A Psychology of Prayer” by Ann and Barry Ulanov this morning and found this a fascinating thought and how we can reframe our mindset to see how God answers our prayers. The words in bold are mine; they drew my attention [...]

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Feet and soul

What has feet in common with soul?
I’ve just returned from a 10-day silent retreat. During that retreat, I was meditating on Jesus washing the feet of his disciples (John 13:4-12). It dawned on me that soul, like feet, are neglected parts of our body. As I “looked” at Jesus washing the feet of his [...]

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Unlived potentials

“There is a story from India, the Ramayana, that relates one individual’s journey through life and his gradual enlightenment. In a notable episode Rama the King is holding court during the morning hours. In those good old days when the king sat on his throne to hold court, anyone in the kingdom could come and [...]

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Reframing

“There’s a wonderful story set in medieval times in which a man sees a laborer walking by with a wheelbarrow and asks what he is doing. “Can’t you see, I’m pushing a wheelbarrow,” the laborer replies. Another man comes by doing the same thing and he, too, is asked, “What are you doing?” He replies, [...]

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The “beam” in one’s eye, the “speck” in another’s

“Those inferior personality traits submerged in unconsciousness Jung called the shadow, “the thing a person has no wish to be”, “the sum of all those unpleasant qualities” from which one attempts to hide. The shadow, that which we reject in ourselves, may contain elements of evil and also highly positive elements. However, when the negative [...]

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Exodus is now

The prophet Isaiah records a powerful and compelling image for the Hebrew people. In it the God of Israel speaks a message that echoes down through the centuries. It brings strength and guidance to many people who follow the Judeo-Christian path.
“When you pass through the waters
I will be with you;
when you walk through fire
you shall [...]

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I can find my way home from here

A little girl got lost one day in a big town. The little girl ran up and down the streets of the big town where they lived but she couldn’t find a single landmark. She was very frightened. Finally a policeman stopped to help her. He put her in the passenger seat of his car, [...]

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Eucharistic Presence

For many people the term “Real Presence” of Jesus Christ means simply and solely his sacramental presence in the Eucharist.
We need to reflect, if only, briefly, on ways in which Christ is present in the Eucharist. I recall one time when, being distracted while distributing the Holy Bread at Communion, I inadvertently changed the accompanying [...]

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