Meditations

Mechthild of Magdeburg (1210-1280), in Northern Germany, was a complicated and profound spiritual writer and nun. And she was something of a free-spirit, whose prayers speak to a modern audience. She sure speaks to me, especially when she connects prayer with dancing. Why not prayer as dancing with God? We get so stiff and formal […]

Joy arrives at the same time you actually get something you have been seeking. It could be finally seeing and embracing a beloved friend or family member, after a time of missing them. As Charles Dickens said: “The pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again.” Joy could come when receiving some […]

Sometimes a hymn can speak to you, almost as if from heaven. Such a hymn is “O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go.” It has haunted, yet calmed me over the years. I even wrote music for it. It is inspired and worthy to gently meditate: Oh Love, that wilt not let me go, […]

You are God’s gift to yourself. That may sound strange, but it is nonetheless the truth. As I wrote to myself back in my twenties, shortly after my first encounter with the Holy Spirit, “God gave me, me, long before I asked.” By that I meant there was more to me than I had imagined; […]

Augustine of Hippo (354-430), famously said: “Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore, seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand.” And Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109) added, “I do not seek to understand so that I can believe, but I believe so that I may understand; and what is […]

This breath prayer may seem at first a bit strange and difficult, but I assure you it works. I invite you to breathe in and out something we all need, but most of us do not get enough of: silence. Breathe in silence, and breathe out silence. And while doing so, listen to the subtle […]