In the Coracle

Wendell Berry on Spiritual Journey

Pat — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 19:05:35 +0000

By Wendell Berry

And the world cannot be discovered by a journey of miles,
no matter how long,
but only by a spiritual journey,
a journey of one inch,
very arduous and humbling and joyful,
by which we arrive at the ground at our feet,
and learn to be at home.

Source: The Collected Poems of Wendell Berry, 1957-1982

via inward/outward

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Fun with Numbers

Pat — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:15:54 +0000

A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg

I’ve been alerted to an event that will take place later this week, something that happens once and only once over the course of history. Shortly after noon on July 8, comes the moment that can be called 12:34:56 7/8/9. To mark this momentous event, this week we’ll feature words that have three consecutive letters in order, something that doesn’t happen very often either (there are hundreds of everyday words, but we are talking here about unusual and interesting words).

It’s not exactly true that this sequence of time/date happens only once. If you follow the day/month/year convention, you can observe the same sequence next month, on August 7. And even though it appears to be a rare occurrence, such interesting patterns aren’t that unusual. Consider these from the past:
01:23:45 6/7/89
12:34.56 7/8/90
01:02:03 04/05/06

In a couple of years we’ll have 11:11:11 11/11/11. What other unusual patterns can you think of that are in the near future?

I love these patterns. They keep my mind working when I’m on a motorcycle ride; I’m always calculating the distance to the next odometer palindrome, or something weird like that.

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U.S. Nuns Facing Vatican Scrutiny – NYTimes.com

Pat — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:16:02 +0000

In the coffeeshop this morning I noticed this front-page article in the NY Times (or the Wall Street Journal, I’m not sure which. However, I found the online article at NYT…).

Seems there’s an evaluation of American nuns underway, and as you can read below, it’s unclear what the goal is. It’s going to be interesting seeing how this issue develops, and I hope and pray that the issue is explored with grace and humility.

Here’s a quote, but clickthrough the link below to see the whole story.

The Vatican is quietly conducting two sweeping investigations of American nuns, a development that has startled and dismayed nuns who fear they are the targets of a doctrinal inquisition.

Nuns were the often-unsung workers who helped build the Roman Catholic Church in this country, planting schools and hospitals and keeping parishes humming. But for the last three decades, their numbers have been declining — to 60,000 today from 180,000 in 1965.

While some nuns say they are grateful that the Vatican is finally paying attention to their dwindling communities, many fear that the real motivation is to reel in American nuns who have reinterpreted their calling for the modern world.

Read the whole article – via U.S. Nuns Facing Vatican Scrutiny – NYTimes.com.

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The Art of Spiritual Direction

Pat — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 02:03:21 +0000

“The art of spiritual direction lies in our uncovering the obvious in our lives and in realizing that everyday events are the means by which God tries to reach us.”

- Alan Jones, in the preface to the book “Holy Listening: The Art of Spiritual Direction” (Margaret Guenther)

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Pat — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:18:56 +0000

The Celtic Church, an Ideal Christianity

Here’s a short video clip that talks about Celtic Christianity. I wouldn’t agree that it’s ‘an Ideal Christianity’, but I do think it’s a healthy one, and one that I identify with. Enjoy this short discussion (2 min or so)

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Audiobook of Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places by Eugene Peterson Free Downloads – christianaudio.com

Pat — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:24:17 +0000

christianaudio.com offers an excellent book for download – the unabridged version of Eugene Peter’s first book in his new series on spiritual theology, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places. Link is below, and use the coupon code mentioned in the page.

Useful only for June 2009, it appears.

Free Downloads – christianaudio.com.

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Shared Links for May 24th

Pat — Tue, 26 May 2009 14:11:17 +0000

These are my links for May 17th through May 24th:

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Finding Sanctuary by Abbot Christopher Jamison (Book Summary)

Pat — Fri, 22 May 2009 12:55:46 +0000

“Finding Sanctuary: Monastic Steps for Everyday Life” (Abbot Christopher Jamison)

Finding Sanctuary

by Abbot Christopher Jamison

Liturgical Press (2006)

Description of the Book

Modern life is characterized by an overwhelming sense of busyness. The Rule of St. Benedict, written 1500 years ago for an Italian abbey, provides practical insights about Christian living that can be applied today and provide sanctuary from this busyness for everyday people and monastics alike.

Interpretation of the Book

Finding Sanctuary grew out of Abbot Jamison’s experience on the BBC reality TV show The Monastery, in which five men were immersed in the monastic life at Worth Abbey for 40 days and nights. Their experience, and the author’s, showed viewers of the TV series that the Benedictine spiritual tradition is a practical spirituality for contemporary life.

The book is broken into two major sections.

The first section is relatively short, and establishes the contemporary sense of busyness which dominates our everyday lives. It shows that today’s consumerism, while toxic, is not much different from the cultural environment encountered by the desert fathers, from whom Benedict evolved.

The second section introduces seven steps from Benedictine spirituality which provide sanctuary in contemporary culture. Abbot Jamison discusses the monastic practices of silence, contemplation, obedience, humility, community, spirituality and hope. In each chapter he describes monastic history, tells contemporary stories about that practice, and then provides practical suggestions for implementing the topic in everyday life. He also includes spiritual practices from other monastic movements such as the Jesuits, Carthusians, Eastern Orthodox and others.

Application

This book is an easily approachable spin on Benedictine spirituality. It compares well with Radical Hospitality by Fr. Daniel Homan, OSB and Lonni Collins Pratt.

Abbot Jamison’s section describing lectio divina in the chapter on Contemplation is the highlight of the book for me. It makes some key points that I’ve used in leading retreats and to my own small group : “the text is seen as a gift to be received, not a problem to be dissected. The first task to which the tradition invites the modern reader is: avoid imposing your questions and let the text question you. Humility is the key to wisdom.” (p. 64).

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Lectio, Psalm 18

Pat — Thu, 21 May 2009 14:42:45 +0000

Lectio divina this morning from Psalm 18.

Two items speak to me in this psalm:

The Lord is my rock (v1)

In the crazy transitions I go through, the fast pace of life even when I’m trying to squash all busyness like spiders, the one solid anchor I have is Christ. Christ the unmovable, the unchanging, the steady. I set my feet firmly on him.

Images of the hermit caves on the Skelligs in southern Ireland come to mind. Those rocks are not only the home for those ancient hermits – the home at the edge of the world, overlooking the edge of the world – but their home is the Lord. Not just reminds them of, or is as solid as, but is. Can i plant myself, my house, my job, my time in the same way?

so that my ankles to not give way(v36)

Six months after i broke my right ankle, it is still not at full strength. I step oddly and it turns, and I’m afraid of re-breaking it. I am cautious when hiking, running, doing exercise. I’m always conscious that something might go wrong. But if the Sacred Trinity provides a broad path for me, for my life and the choices and actions therein, can I trust the path and not focus on the risk of re-breaking what I’ve already broken?

Lord, help.

Posted via email from patl’s posterous

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Sacred Companions by David Benner (Book summary)

Pat — Thu, 21 May 2009 13:50:09 +0000

“Sacred Companions: The Gift of Spiritual Friendship & Direction” (David G. Benner)

Sacred Companions

by David G. Benner

InterVarsity Press (2002)

Description of the Book

Sacred Companions describes spiritual friendship and spiritual direction for the contemporary Christian who wishes to be intentional about growing in their Christian life. Benner writes as a psychologist and a spiritual director, specifically aiming to describe these ancient practices to protestant Christians for whom the practices are new and unfamiliar.

Interpretation of the Book

The book is organized in three major sections. The first describes spiritual friendship, an intentional relationship in which spiritual growth is a stated goal. The second section focuses on spiritual direction, and the third section outlines specific scenarios combining friendship and direction, for small groups and in marriages.

The author writes comfortably, providing an approachable environment for Christians of all backgrounds who wish to grow in fruitfulness and seek spiritual accompaniment as the means to help them. Benner lightly references his background as a psychologist, but focuses more on his (mostly self-trained) spiritual direction practice. He introduces classic practices such as centering prayer and the Ignatian Examen, usually by telling stories of his experience as a director or a directee.

Application

This may be the friendliest, most approachable book available on the art of spiritual direction.

It strongly prefers the approach of spiritual direction to more general spiritual friendship, but makes only passing reference to the Celtic approach of anamchara, or soul friendship. The last section’s discussion of spiritual accompaniment in small groups is intriguing, and the author has great hopes for this blend of spiritual friendship and the small group movement. I found myself wanting more information on this subject. He also writes from his experience working with his wife in bi-directional spiritual direction.

I must also note here that the book’s hidden gem is its 28-page annotated bibliography, organized by topics and referencing current and classic works in related fields. This section of the book would be worth the cover price, even if the book were disappointing.

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