Gathered Wisdom, Oct 20

A weekly collection of inspiration and resources for the journey, gathered from websites, books, and pass-alongs that have been shared with us. From The Wisdom Years – Spirituality for the Last Third of Our Lives.

In a world that constantly asks us to make up our minds about other people, a nonjudgmental presence seems nearly impossible. But it is one of the most beautiful fruits of a deep spiritual life and will be easily recognized by those who long for reconciliation.

— Henri J. M. Nouwen in Bread for the Journey: A Daybook of Wisdom and Faith by Henri J. M. Nouwen

To Practice This Thought:
Restrain your tendency to evaluate and criticize everyone you meet.

From Spirituality and Practice 

What is God’s Call?

In the Fall 2020 issue of Cowley Magazine, published by the Society of St. John the Evangelist, Brother Lucas Hall writes about feeling stuck. “I feel some paralysis and malaise over the experience of not really moving forward, not really doing anything productive, constantly planning to do things, waiting for my working life to begin anew,” he writes. For many who are retired, this is a familiar feeling. We used to have productive work to do; now we feel lost. “But we are not created for the purpose of work. We are not, fundamentally, doers of things, means to some end. God has made us out of love for us, not because some cosmic chores needed to be done,” says Br. Lucas. 

Read the article.

See more great articles in the Fall 2020 issue of Cowley Magazine.

The Wisdom of the Christian Mystics 

An e-course from Spirituality and Practice
By Tessa Bielecki and Carl McColman

November 2 – 27, 2020

Celebrate some of the women and men, both classical and contemporary, who have explored the Mystery of life. Over the course of our journey together we will consider the code of chivalry, the sorrowful mother, soul friends, personal touchstones, healing the sacred wound, the relationship between contemplation and action, the earth and the body as sacraments of Divine Presence, the breath as our guide to deep meditation, the mysticism of resistance, and more.

Read more about this e-course and sign up here: 

FROM Spirituality and Practice

Reframing – 2020

An e-course from Spirituality and Practice
By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

November 2 – 22, 2020

Would you like to explore spiritually literate, counter-cultural ways to see things differently? This 21-day program provides readings and practices to help you reframe your experiences, turning adversity into advantage, disillusionment into blessings, and stumbling blocks into stepping stones. Daily emails for three weeks will help you not be overwhelmed by the immense negativities afoot in our world today. Discover the gift of seeing things differently!

Read more about this e-course and sign up here

FROM Spirituality and Practice

Presence and Absence in Love

By Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI

We experience many painful goodbyes in life. There are so many times when someone we love has to go away, or we have to go away. There are many times when, for whatever reason, someone has to move on and irrevocably change a relationship. Almost always this is painful, sometimes so painful that it leaves us feeling restless and empty, as if all the color, energy, and joy have gone out of our lives.

But, as we know, usually this isn’t the end of the story. Most of the time, after the restless, dark heartache of a painful goodbye has worn off, we experience the opposite, a deep joy in sensing now our loved one’s presence in different way.

Read the entire essay.

FROM the blog of Fr. Ron Rolheiser

It’s Still a Wonderful World

From our friend Verna Rizvi: Found this on Facebook this morning from Steve Johnson. Steve is a longtime member of The Church of the Nativity in Huntsville, AL, (my old parish) and also a newscaster on the local CBS affiliate. 

“Talking to a friend yesterday, and he was in a dark place. Hard to be very comforting, since I’ve been in the same place for weeks.”

Read the FaceBook post, converted to a PDF.