In spite of the chaos that unfolds in Washington, D.C., this week, we invite everyone to pray for the country, for leaders, for global citizens and for all of creation. The very first verses of Scripture, Genesis 1:2, inform the three Abrahamic traditions: “The Divine Spirit breathed over the waters of chaos and brought forth…
“Justice in the life and conduct of the State is possible only as first it resides in the hearts and souls of the citizens.” —Plato “To all people of good will who are working for social justice: never tire of working for a more just world, marked by greater solidarity!” —Pope Francis When…
“Arise in splendor, Jerusalem! Your Light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you!” —Isaiah 60:1 Epiphany (<Gk.epi+phanein, a manifestation, an appearance, a bringing to light) signifies one of the oldest notions of creation from Greek mythology. The primordial god of creation and reproduction in the Orphic cosmogony, Phanes was the progenitor of…
Can and should the concept of normality, and therefore the expectation of it, go on retreat, not just during this time of pandemic, but always? Should the use of this word, currently said with hesitancy and a catch in the throat, be banished always to the category of the trash heap? For myself, or that…
The New Year threshold might feel something like a raucous homecoming after what we have all just lived through in 2020. Perhaps like the Prodigal Father of Luke’s famous parable, known for his outrageous welcome and embrace of the Younger Son who has disgraced himself and his family, enraged his righteous Elder Brother, dishonored his…
Our entire Prairiewoods staff celebrates with you as we turn a new year. In the depth of our hearts, we know this turning as so much more than a calendar page. This great turning of time acutely attunes our awareness to an ever-present, loving invitation to loosen our attachment to all we have associated with…
Two weeks ago, my blog post Word of the Year talked about how beneficial it can be to name the outgoing year with a single word. It can act as the period at the end of the year’s sentence—the summation of a whole year of highs and lows, insights and feelings, growths and setbacks. I…
“We may have ten possible images of tomorrow and for each one of these there may be ten images of the next day, giving a hundred possible images of the day after tomorrow and a thousand of the day after that, and so on, which means that the uncertainty of the future increases rapidly as…
A few years back my Grandma gave me a lovely book of daily meditations called The Book of Awakening: Having the Life You Want by Being Present to the Life You Have by Mark Nepo. (My Grandma knows all the good books!) This book is written as a daily reader. Each day there is a…
“Who is this that grows like the dawn, As beautiful as the full moon, As pure as the sun, As awesome as an army with banners?” —Song of Songs 6:10, New American Bible Love stories are best told with music and poetry, and the best ones sing us with timeless wisdom and beauty. Love stories touch us…