Papers About Spiritual Practices
Social Distancing and Social Distance: What’s the Difference?
–Social distancing provides a time for deeper reflection on social distance— Health and government officials define social distancing in disaster preparedness terms such as “shelter in place” and “Safer at Home” to prevent the spread of an infectious disease such as the new strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) by ordering people to stay in their residences…
Read MoreCollective Responsibility and Homelessness: Integrating individual and shared responsibility
William Johnston, S.J., one of the twentieth century’s mystical theologians, and who I once met, wrote the following in his book entitled: Christian Mysticism: “The inward journey can be described as a journey into the depths of one’s being, a journey to the true self and through the true self to God, who is at…
Read MoreIntegrating Scripture, Social Capital, and Social Reform
While there is no set and commonly agreed upon definition of social capital, common elements include the sum of the social, economic, and moral resources that accumulate through a network of mutual relationships; goodwill among the persons and organizations that make up the network to disseminate the resources within the network; and positive benefits from…
Read MoreIntegrating our Passions, Probity, and Prayers
The Spiritual Practice of Praying the Psalms and Seeking Social Justice Integrating our passions, probity, and our prayers can be accomplished by praying the psalms. These Old Testament prayers serve as examples of powerful petitions filled with passion and probity and often centered on social justice which can serve as patterns of prayers for us…
Read MoreDivine Offices of Prayer
Seven prayer offices have developed over the centuries to help ensure a day-long dialogue with God. “Seven times a day I praise you” (Psalm 119.164) is stated in the Psalms with the first office of prayer traditionally beginning in the middle of the night, the second one at 6 am, and the rest follow every…
Read MoreThe Divine Hours of Prayer and the Blues
Over the years, the Divine Hours of Prayers have often evolved into hours for the Blues for me as a result of choosing to spend significant time during these periods of time reflecting on my own personal plights and those within the communities in which I live, work, worship, socialize, and serve. I first learned…
Read MoreThe Wounded Healer: in the Spirit of Henri Nouwen
Henri J. M. Nouwen has made synonymous the “wounded healer” and the minister. In his book, The Wounded Healer[1]Henri J. M. Nouwen, The Wounded Healer, Image Book: New York, 1979., Nouwen describes wounded healers as individuals who “must look after (their) own wounds but at the same time be prepared to heal the wounds of…
Read MoreThe Spiritual Practice of an Inner Monastic Cell
The word “cell” has a long monastic tradition referring originally to the monk’s cave or room. Monastic writings are filled with sayings that note that the monk who lives in a cell lives in a sacred place. The English word for cell comes from the Latin word “cella” which means “small chamber” and from the…
Read MoreThe Night Watch (Vigils)
The Night Watch is one of the most powerful spiritual encounters that we can have with God. This experience has historical roots within the Christian tradition of daily prayer called the Divine Office. Over the past centuries, the Divine Office has also become known as the Liturgy of Hours. As many as seven hours of…
Read MoreThe Spiritual Practice of Silence
Within the context of religion, silence has long been understood as an important step in spiritual development. Silence has been encouraged in mind and spirit in order for transformative and integral spiritual growth to occur. Centuries ago, Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross promoted a prayer of simplicity within the Christian tradition…
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