A weekly curated collection of essays, poetry, and reflections for your spiritual journey. From The Wisdom Years.
Listen: Open a window to God and breathe.
Delight yourself with what comes through that opening.
The work of love is to create a window in the heart ….
-From Rumi’s poem “Open the Window” published in
Love’s Ripening: Rumi on the Heart’s Journey
Know Limits
Br. Lain Wilson came up against his own limitations in the bicycle trip. He could not push one more rotation of the pedals. How do we react when we meet our limitations? Can we allow them to teach us something instead of seeing them as failure?
Listening to the Stories
We tell our stories because we all have survived something. “Our stories are a witness to the next generation and an opportunity to understand the universal as well as the particular in tales of trauma, healing, and survival,” says Barbara Holmes.
Loving Your Own Church and Your Neighbor’s Church as Well
Fr. Ron Rolheiser of Oblate Seminary reports that students from various Christian denominations have come through their PhD program in the 15 years of its existence. Happily, he says, not one of them has left his own denomination for another. That is part of the goal – not to foster conversion to another denomination but to strengthen the love and understanding of our own denomination. That will bring Christian unity.
Sacrifices, Crossing the Divide
Our sacrifices may not be grand, but every sacrifice we make for another person is applauded in the kingdom of God. And the first sacrifice we are called upon to make is to listen to others, especially to those with whom we disagree.
From Joanna Seibert.
Inner Softness and Prickly Exteriors
Is it really hard to hug a cactus? A sweet children’s book tells the story of Felipe the cactus whose family did not believe in giving hugs. So he went in search of some. Hint: the balloon thing didn’t work so well.
From The Marginalian.
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