A weekly curated collection of essays, poetry, and reflections for your spiritual journey. From The Wisdom Years.

Prophet
To fail to understand that we are called to be prophets who speak truth to power is to fail to understand what it means to be made in the image and likeness of God.
-Br. James Koester
Society of Saint John the Evangelist

Growing Old
What if we thought of aging as progressive enrichment, not merely diminishment, asks Milton Brasher-Cunningham in an essay pulled from nature. Reading about an overgrown pond in Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book Braiding Sweetgrass, Brasher-Cunningham concludes that “all of us are made of mud–the sacred, soggy stardust made to grow older and richer.”
From Don’t Eat Alone.

Living at the Speed of Jesus
Katelyn Dixon left her counseling job and waited for God to show her what was next. She waited, and she waited. With tears and impatience. Then she learned that learning to wait was actually learning to live – slowly, intentionally, creatively — at the pace God created us to live.
From Renovare.

Faith, Doubt, Dark Nights, and Maturity
When we feel bereft of God, maybe we are moving forward, not backward. Maybe we are moving into a new stage of a mature faith. While that darkness can be confusing, says Fr. Ron Rolheiser, it can also be maturing: It can help move us from being arrogant, judgmental, religious neophytes to being humble, empathic men and women.
From the blog of Ron Rolheiser.

Remain in Relationship
In a reflection on Jesus’ sermon about the vine and the branches, Richard Rohr reminds us that being connected – with God and with each other – is more important than being correct.

A Blessing for Learning to Delight Again
Blessed are you, the pragmatic,
You who have run the math and know what adds up—and what doesn’t.
You who have set it all down.
You who don’t hope or dream or plan anymore,
…because what’s the point?
From Kate Bowler’s Summer Blessings series.
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