Faith & Life Inspirational Message

Although I am not Roman Catholic, I feel like the Pope is in some sense “my” Pope.   Of course I don’t think the Pope is my Pope in the same sense as a Catholic must see the Pope as his or her Pope.   I know quite a bit about Catholicism and I hang out with a fairly substantial group of Catholics.   I am a lay Benedictine monk, which means I am free to participate with the Benedictine monks in their life and worship.   I am grateful for everything the Catholic community has given to me.             But I am still not a real Catholic in the sense that someone must be if he or she is actually a full member of the Church.   And I recognize the Pope is the Head of the Roman Catholic Church and, as such, has a special relationship with all those who are full members of that Church.   But to see the Pope in that role is to have a too narrow view of the Papal Presence in our world.     ...

I very much enjoy reading things that make me think.   When I hit one of these pieces of literature, I realize how much my own routine imprisons my creativity and imagination.   I certainly do not think routine is bad.   I like my routine.   It makes me feel quite comfortable.   By nature routine is predictable and knowable.   There is usually a sense of security with our routines.   That is fine with me.             But I also know there is another facet of life that is just as intriguing.   The other facet of life points to the imaginative---the creative and innovative.   It is the side of life that is not routine.   It may be moments of serendipity.   It involves the unexpected and, even, the unanticipated.   Surprise is the dominant feature of this side of life.   I am drawn to this part of life, but I also confess it makes me somewhat uneasy and a little nerv...

The concept of friendship has been an important one for quite a long time for me.   And I am sure the phenomenon of friendship has been important to me since I was in the first grade, at least, and probably even before then.   I have taught a few times a college class on spiritual friendship.   Every time I have done that, it has been a special occasion.   It seems that teaching a course on friendship creates a special opportunity for significant personal development among the students.   And fortunately, I am the beneficiary of that experience, too. I have studied the idea of friendship, so I probably know more about the history, the philosophy and theology of friendship than most people know.   I have valued the way Aristotle talks about different kinds of friendships.   I appreciate the way Cicero, right before the time of Jesus, developed some profound ways of understanding how friendships are formed and how they should be lived.   Friendsh...

The words in my title come from a little online meditation piece I read from one of my favorite authors, Richard Rohr.   Rohr is a Franciscan who founded and runs a Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, NM.   I have been reading Rohr for a long time and still use a couple of his books in my classes.   He is a Catholic who has taught this Quaker a great deal over time.             Rohr always has a fresh way of putting things, even if I have thought about those things in my own way.   He makes me twist my head---symbolic of twisting my mind---and pondering something in a different way.   In a way the title of this little piece is evidence of that.   I never thought about God as a Divine Ambusher!   I don’t know that I would find that image for God in the Christian Bible, but I think the sense of the way God sometimes acts resonates with the title.   Let’s look at how Rohr puts ...

Recently I spoke to a group of people who are interested in Thomas Merton, the late 20 th century Trappist monk.   I have referenced Merton a number of times, so it is obvious that I like to read his writings.   As noted before, Merton lived in a monastery, Gethsemani, in the rolling hills of Kentucky.   When I teach an upper level seminar, it is usually on Merton’s spirituality.   Although Merton died tragically in 1968, interest in him and his spirituality continues in remarkable ways.   It is always easy to speak to a group that is inherently interested in the topic you address.   They give you the benefit of the doubt.   Typically, they assume you were much better than you probably were!   But that’s ok; I would rather be told good things than bad things!   Most people would, I assume.   So when the evening was finished, the Catholic nun who had invited me and had served as the host for the event handed me a little bag. ...

For the western Christian tradition (all those who are not Greek or Russian Orthodox, etc.), this week has brought us the season of Lent.   As usual, my childhood memory of Lent is non-existent.   Basically, Quakers did not observe Lent.   It is not so much that we were against it as that it was not necessary.   Quakers are a funny bunch.   At least originally, they sought to be serious about their faith on a daily basis.   I still find that laudable.   So it meant they were not inclined to set aside days and periods when a Christian should be more serious and others days and seasons when they could lighten up. On the surface, I still agree with my Quaker heritage.   However, I also know the downside of that heritage is that it could produce the sour, dour Quaker who took everything so seriously that there was no longer any spice to life.   There was no reason to laugh and, maybe even, celebrate things.   To be chronically serious is...

The title for today’s inspirational reflection comes from a sentence from my favorite Quaker saint, Thomas Kelly.   Oh, Quakers don’t actually have saints in the traditional Catholic sense.   But if we did, Kelly would be sanctified.   Clearly he was no more perfect than any other human being.   He was a man with some significant flaws, but who among us does not have significant flaws? Kelly died in 1948 at a relatively young age.   He had aspirations to be a world-class scholar.   In some ways he was on the path to achieve some of that dream.   And in other ways, he failed and suffered depression and other maladies because of that.   He taught at a couple Quaker colleges and wanted more.   He struggled to get a Harvard degree, but that did not bring him the success he sought.   He also was spending time in pre-war Germany in the 1930s.   There he saw the rise of Nazism and the horrors that would become WWII. Finally toward th...

I cannot recall the first time I heard the term, double-belongers.   I probably did not even know what it meant.   It is not a term I see very much; I think it is still fairly rare, at least in the circles I spend time.   I have no idea whether it is a technical term in the theological world, but it does not matter.   It makes some sense to me, even though I am not sure that I am a double-belonger.             Fortunately I learned some time ago that I could learn a great deal from people who are not like me and from traditions that are not my own.   The person who introduced this term to me, Paul Knitter, was until recently a professor at Union Theological Seminary in New York City.   I know Union.   In fact, when I was heading off to seminary, Union was one of the places I gave very serious consideration.   It was globally famous even in those days.   Before Union, Knitter taught for...

This silly little trio of words came to me in a class I was teaching about meditation.   But sometimes these little teaching tools come in handy when trying to explain things and help people move from ideas to action.   Let’s look at the function of each of these three ideas.             Meditation certainly gets much more attention than it did when I was a kid.   Maybe I was out of it when I was younger, but I don’t recall anyone in my church tradition talking about meditation.   Granted I did not grow up Catholic, but I am not sure young Catholic kids heard much about meditation either.   Perhaps meditation is only a grown-up thing.             I know there is a long and storied history of meditation in Christianity.   After studying Christian history and spirituality, I know Christians have always practiced some form of meditation.   I...

Recently I read a great opening line and now cannot even remember where it was.   But I do remember the gist of the line.   I think the line was used about Roman Catholics, but it really applies to all traditions and, certainly all denominations.   The author said there were three kinds of believers: the devout, those who doubt and those on their way out!   I certainly know some Quakers who fit all three categories.   I am confident I can come up with names of Catholic friends in all three.   And clearly in Judaism and, likely, every other major group, there is membership in all categories.            I suppose in our now secular age, we could add a fourth category, namely, those who were never in.   But they really don’t count, since they are not wrestling with the issues of faith, belief, membership, etc.   Or if they are wrestling with it, it is not in the context of the church or synagogue. ...

Growing up as a Quaker lad in Indiana meant that I never heard of this Feast Day, as the Catholic Church calls a day when a saint is remembered and celebrated.   Of course, the saints are not worshipped, but they do serve as models of faith.   They are human, but they also were so open to God’s Spirit working in and through them that they became servants of that Spirit in the world.   The implication is you and I also can become instruments of the Spirit.             Mary, the mother of Jesus, was one such saint.   In fact, for many of my Catholic friends and non-Catholic friends, Mary would be unique among the saints.   Only she can claim to be the mother of Jesus.   In that sense she has been accorded special status within the Christian Church.   In fact, she even plays an important role within Islam.   Many of us who are not Catholics do not “get it.”   Rather than be dismissive o...