Author: Marjorie George

Gathered Wisdom, Dec. 16, 2025

Marjorie George

There are two ways to live in a world that is often dark and full of tears. We can curse the darkness or we can light a light.
May we all help light up the world.

-Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, To Heal A Fractured World
Found at Well for the Journey

God Is Always More

Fully one-third of scripture is given over to dreams, visions, prophecies and other of God’s non-rational revelations. It takes a little effort to sort through and understand what God might be saying in these words, but if we seek we will find that God is more, always more.

Read the reflection.

From Society of St John the Evangelist.

King Herod and the Wise Men – A Christmas Challenge

“To bless another person is to give away some of one’s own life so that the other might be more resourced for his or her journey,” says Fr. Ron Rolheiser. That is what the Wise Men did. Good elders do that for the young, he adds.

Read the reflection.

From the blog of Ron Rolheiser.

Are We Open to Awe?

“I think people who live their lives open to awe and wonder have a much greater chance of meeting the Holy than someone who goes to church but doesn’t live in an open way,” says Richard Rohr. “Healthy religion, which always makes space for Mystery, gives us a foundational sense of awe.”

Read the reflection.

From Center for Action and Contemplation.

Get Alone

In this excerpt from a sermon by Charles Spurgeon, preached in 1886, we are encouraged to find time for silence and solitude with God. “Set apart some time every day, or at least some time as often as you can get it,” says Spurgeon, “in which the business of your mind shall be to take your longitude and latitude, that you may know exactly where you are.”

Read the sermon.

From Renovare.

What Brings a Person to God is Holy – Whether You Like It or Not

It was a very ordinary tree – not very tall, kind of battered-looking – but it held significance for the old Jesuit, and that made it important. Sometimes what is important to another can become important to us too.

Read the brief reflection.

From Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation.

Gathered Wisdom is an offering of The Wisdom Years, a ministry devoted to the spiritual journey of the last third of our lives.

If this post was forwarded to you, sign up to receive Gathered Wisdom in your email by subscribing at wisdomyears.org.

To learn more visit our website.

Daily Short Text Messages for Advent

Daily Short Text Messages for Advent

Marjorie George

Advent begins Sunday, Nov. 30. In this season of preparation for the coming of God into the world in human form, we are invited to make space in our lives, even if just for a moment, each day, to consider what it means that God’s love is available to us every minute of every day of our lives.

The Wisdom Years offers a daily (Mon through Fri) short text message sent to your cell phone during Advent, a thought to carry with you each day during what can be a hectic time.

If you would like to receive this text message, send your name, email, and cell phone number to Marjorie George at marjoriegeorge62@gmail.com.

And also – for more Advent prayers, meditations, and inspirations we recommend:

Throw off the Darkness from Monasteries of the Heart. Daily practices  will include scripture, good works, psalms, embodied movements, lectio, artistic responses, and holy leisure. Must have a Monasteries of the Heart account.

Advent Devotionals from Everything Happens with Kate Bowler.  Each day receive a short scripture, a reflection, and a blessing. Signup by subscribing to Kate’s substack account.

And His Name Shall be Called Advent Devotional from Upper Room. Reflect on the four names that reveal the promise of God’s presence in Isaiah 9:6: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.

Advent Word from the Episcopal Church. An inspirational online Advent calendar featuring a daily prompt word selected from the Sunday Lectionary readings.

Gathered Wisdom, Nov. 17, 2025

Marjorie George

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

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and to pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.
-John Muir
Found at Well for the Journey

Advent Resources

In her wisdom, the Church sets aside the four weeks before Christmas to help us prepare for the incredulous coming of God into the world in human form. We hope one or more of  these Advent resources will help to slow your soul as you ready yourself to receive him.

Throw off the Darkness from Monasteries of the Heart. Daily practices  will include scripture, good works, psalms, embodied movements, lectio, artistic responses, and holy leisure. Must have a Monasteries of the Heart account.

Advent Devotionals from Everything Happens with Kate Bowler.  Each day receive a short scripture, a reflection, and a blessing. Signup by subscribing to Kate’s substack account.

And His Name Shall be Called Advent Devotional from Upper Room. Reflect on the four names that reveal the promise of God’s presence in Isaiah 9:6: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.

Advent Word from the Episcopal Church. An inspirational online Advent calendar featuring a daily prompt word selected from the Sunday Lectionary readings.

Daily Text Messages from The Wisdom Years. A short inspirational message to your cell phone Mon-Fri, Dec 1 through 24.  Send your name, email address and cell phone number to marjoriegeorge62@gmail.com

Love Beyond Death

Death does not separate us from those we love, says Fr. Ron Rolheiser. Our faith tells us that we are in living union with each other inside the Body of Christ. “The real intent of our prayers and ritual celebrations for the dead is to continue to be in a more deliberate communication of life with them,” he says.

Read the reflection.

From the blog of Ron Rolheiser.

The Day I Learned Giving

They were in line to buy the circus tickets, standing right behind a large family of eight children. But when the father of that family got to the ticket counter to buy the tickets, he did not have enough money. Read what happened next.

Read the story.

From Awakin.

Contemplation Is Christianity

“Contemplation is not about escaping life but entering it more fully,” says Richard Rohr. It is not a separate path or a unique calling. It is Christianity itself, lived with depth and honesty.

Read the reflection.

From Center for Action and Contemplation.

Gathered Wisdom is an offering of The Wisdom Years, a ministry devoted to the spiritual journey of the last third of our lives.

If this post was forwarded to you, sign up to receive Gathered Wisdom in your email by subscribing at wisdomyears.org.

To learn more visit our website.

Gathered Wisdom, Oct. 17, 2025

Marjorie George

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

No matter how many of God’s invitations we ignore, there will always be an infinite number of others.
Fr. Ron Rolheiser

To Whom Are You Sent?

To discern our vocation, to determine what we are now called to do, we consider our skills, talents, and abilities.  What are we good at; what do we love doing? But always, says Br. Lain Wilson, we must ask, “To whom are you, the beloved of God, uniquely gifted by God—to whom are you being sent?

Read the reflection.

From Society of St. John the Evangelist.

Eloquence Of Silence

Empty spaces are essential, says Thomas Moore. Empty spaces make room for new ideas, for enjoying the landscape, for thinking a new thought.  Empty chairs invite others into our lives.

Read the reflection.

From Awakin.

Being Salt and Light

We are called to be “salt and light” – that is, manifestations of Christ – in the world. But how do we do that in ordinary life? Listen to and watch one or all four of these videos from Center for Action and Contemplation.

Watch the videos.

From Center for Action and Contemplation.

The Struggle to Will the One Thing

It is not easy to be human, says Fr. Ron Rolheiser. Our complicated lives offer too many choices. And yet, says Rolheiser, spirituality calls us to choose one thing.

Read the essay.

More about Ron Rolheiser.

Blinded by our Assumptions

Is growth always good? Is more always better? Does a happy God supply us with good things while an angry God punishes us? Job’s friends certainly thought so. But our assumptions, beliefs, and convictions can blind us to the truth, says Br. David Vryhof, SSJE.

Read the reflection.

From Society of St. John the Evangelist.

Gathered Wisdom is an offering of The Wisdom Years, a ministry devoted to the spiritual journey of the last third of our lives.

If this post was forwarded to you, sign up to receive Gathered Wisdom in your email by subscribing at wisdomyears.org.

To learn more visit our website.

Gathered Wisdom, Sept 17, 2025

Marjorie George

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

All of us are standing on someone else’s shoulders. Someone else who opened the door and paved the way . . . You have a responsibility to open the door and keep this moving.

 -Ruby Bridges, as quoted in “The Guardian” on May 6, 2021
Found at Well for the Journey

How All Things Hold Together

In his poem “The Coming,” Welsh poet R. S. Thomas pictures God the creator holding the globe in his hands with Christ looking on. Together they see the suffering and hopelessness man has wrought on the world they created. And Christ says, “Let me go there.”

Read the reflection.

From Society of St. John the Evangelist.

Read “The Coming”

A Choice for Love

“Love is a decision,” says Richard Roohr. “And we had better make the decision to love early in the day because once we’re a few hours into low-level resentment, anger, or disappointment, it’s too late.

Read the reflection.

From the Center for Action and Contemplation.

Mourning our Unfinished Symphony

None of us gets the entire symphony in our lifetime. And we need to mourn that incompleteness. “All of us will die with some unfulfilled dreams; none of us will find full, abiding, ecstatic embrace this side of eternity,” says Fr. Ron Rolheiser. How do we come to terms with that?

Read the reflection.

From the blog of Ron Rolheiser.

Simple Was Satisfying

What makes you smile? Tea on the patio with friends? A face-lick from your dog? It’s about paying attention to the small things. “If you’re completely preoccupied with your medical test or doctor’s appointment next week, you might miss the rare migratory birds outside your window right now,” says Susan Bauer-Wu in this Awakin essay.

Read the essay.

From Awakin.

Rethinking the Bucket List

An end-of-life Hospice counselor talks about what people really want in the “last chapter” of their lives. To live each day as if it is your last, says Kathleen Taylor, “discover your uniqueness, do some introspection.” In our last days, we become our authentic selves, says Taylor in this ten-minute TED talk.

Watch the video.

From Karma tube.

Gathered Wisdom is an offering of The Wisdom Years, a ministry devoted to the spiritual journey of the last third of our lives.

If this post was forwarded to you, sign up to receive Gathered Wisdom in your email by subscribing at wisdomyears.org.

To learn more visit our website.

Gathered Wisdom, Aug. 15, 2025

Marjorie George

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

You find me on the journey and guide my steps..
You encompass me with love wherever I go…
Your mysteries fill me with wonder!

 -Nan Merrill, Psalms for Praying
Found in Well for the Journey

Falling Upward – Our Fall Study

What is the container we build for ourselves in the first half of our lives, and what does that container reveal to us in the second half of our lives? Those are the questions for Richard Rohr in his classical work Falling Upward. This fall the Wisdom Years community will dig into those questions as we engage Falling Upward beginning Sept. 4. For all the details and to join us, click here.

Letting The Hero Die

When you finally get to the place where you don’t have to identify with the part of you that needs to win, needs to be recognized, needs to know, this is where your transcendent life begins. “Every defeat is just an angel, tugging at your sleeve, telling you that you don’t have to keep banging your head against the wall,” says Paul Weinfield.

Read the essay.

From Awakin.

Caring for Self and Others in Times of Trouble: Some Spiritual Tools and Tips

Breathe. Breathe again. Take time in your day to stop and take 10 deep breaths. That is one of 13 tips for living peacefully in these perilous times. Choose which ones are soothing for you and practice them as you can.

Read the suggestions.

From Grateful Living.

Being Ready for God

“What if instead of focusing on doing actions in times of powerlessness, you focused on states of being, like being patient, being charitable, being forgiving, or even being joyful? What if for one day you thought more about how you should be than what you should do?”

Read the reflection.

From Society of St. John the Evangelist.

The Descent into Hell

Is there a time in some people’s lives when the situation is so dire that we cannot even open the door to let Jesus in? Must we be the ones who initiate the action of inviting Jesus into those horrible times? No, says Fr. Ron Rolheiser. Jesus does not wait to have the door opened. When we are unable to act, Jesus walks right through the door to rescue us.

Read the reflection.

From the blog of Ron Rolheiser.

Gathered Wisdom is an offering of The Wisdom Years, a ministry devoted to the spiritual journey of the last third of our lives.

If this post was forwarded to you, sign up to receive Gathered Wisdom in your email by subscribing at wisdomyears.org.

To learn more visit our website.

Falling Upward – our Fall 2025 Study

Falling Upward – our Fall 2025 Study

Marjorie George

Living our most authentic spirituality in the second half of life.

This fall, the Wisdom Years will take on our most profound study of spirituality yet as we explore in depth Richard Rohr’s classic work, Falling Upward. In Falling Upward, Rohr explains that there are two tasks in human life. The first task is to build a strong “container” or identity; the second is to find the contents that the container was meant to hold.

In the first half of life we are concerned with surviving successfully. But at a certain life-stage we begin to long for more – a deepening spirituality that seeks to know what our personal “container” was truly meant to hold. The second half of life is a further journey, a deeper journey, in which we find that the failings of the first half of our lives are actually the foundation for the second half.

Starting September 4, we will divide the 13 chapters plus introduction of Falling Upward into two seven-week sessions.
Sept. 4 to Oct. 16 and Oct. 30 to Dec. 18. (No sessions on Oct. 23 or Nov. 27.)

We will each read Falling Upward on our own, then gather weekly on Thursdays at 4 p.m. (Central time) by Zoom for gentle but fruitful conversations.

If you would like to join the Wisdom Years community for this dynamic study using Falling Upward, send an email to Marjorie George at marjoriegeorge62@gmail.com.

There is no charge for this course, but you will need to provide your own book. (Note that Falling Upward was first published in 2011 then revised in 2023. You may use either edition for this course.) Purchase the book at St. Mark’s Bookstore (https://www.stmarksbookstore.com/) through their bookshop link (https://bookshop.org/shop/stmarksbookstoresa) or from your favorite book retailer.

Never let the cost of the book keep you from joining us. Scholarship funds are available.

Questions? Email to marjoriegeorge62@gmail.com.

Richard Rohr is the founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation which is dedicated to offering Christian contemplative wisdom through teachings, practices, and community engagement. The goal of CAC is to help people live out this wisdom in practical ways—so that they become instruments of love, peacemaking, and positive change in the world.

Gathered Wisdom, July 15, 2025

Marjorie George

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

Embrace with tender affection the whole of humanity, especially the poorest, the weakest, the least important.

Pope Francis, “I Ask You to Pray for Me: Opening a Horizon of Hope”

Found in Well for the Journey

The Questions That Come at Dusk

Sometimes it takes darkness for us to see what the light wants to show us. “The light we gain in darkness is the awareness that, however bleak the place of darkness was for us, we did not die there,” says Joan Chittister.  “We know now that life begins again on the other side of the darkness.”

Read the reflection.

From Center for Action and Contemplation.

Compassion is Never Small

The 90-year-old woman told the little boy she could not die yet because people kept asking her to make them a sandwich. “There are a lot of hungry people and many sandwiches to be made,” she said. There is nothing small about compassion, says Terry Hershey. It is the thread of life woven through each day.

Read the reflection.

From Terry Hershey Sabbath Moment.

Wingspan of the Soul

The prevailing cultural narrative wants us to believe that we aren’t adequate, aren’t prepared,  aren’t qualified. But the words of Colossians 1:9-14 say otherwise. In Christ, says Br. Keith Nelson, we understand the wingspans of our souls. We know that we are “empowered, prepared, qualified, rescued, and transferred.”

Read the reflection.

From Society of St. John the Evangelist.

What To Do When We’re Angry

Rebecca DeYoung talks with Nathan Foster of Renovare about handling our anger as Christians. We have to ask what is the source of our anger and is it aimed at the right person. The podcast is long – 38 minutes – but worth the investment of time.

Listen to the podcast.

From Renovare.

Book Review:
The Pilgrim Life: Finding God Along the Way

by Deborah Smith Douglas

From the introduction: “All our lives we are headed home. Home to a place we may not quite remember, but which we have always longed to find. Within our deepest selves beat pilgrim hearts.”

In this guidebook, a series of personal essays and deep study, Deborah takes us on a pilgrimage mapped out on the page. Her parts of the journey are: Setting Out, Getting Lost (and Being Found), Keeping Going, Night Roads, and Coming Home. Each of the 24 essays contain “counsel, stories, resources, and so many good laughs. (From the Forward by The Rev. Mary C. Earle.)

This is a book to read slowly and with time for reflection. Maybe even keep a journal close at hand.

Available from www.stmarksbookstore in the store and through our Bookshop portal on the website.

Gathered Wisdom is an offering of The Wisdom Years, a ministry devoted to the spiritual journey of the last third of our lives.

If this post was forwarded to you, sign up to receive Gathered Wisdom in your email by subscribing at wisdomyears.org.

To learn more visit our website.

Gathered Wisdom, June 15, 2025

Marjorie George

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

Sometimes you can swim with the current to the top of the tide, to the pause between flow and ebb ….
The earth is still turning, and gravity is still pulling …. But in that one spot, you experience stillness.

 -Patricia Hanlon, Swimming to the Top of the Tide
Found in Well for the Journey

Not this Time

When will the flashing lights of an EMS vehicle stop at your house? As we face our mortality, we need to take the time to make our inevitable passing as calm and meaningful as possible for everyone, says Sandy Reynolds of “A Crone in the Woods.” Reynolds offers fee-based workshops and retreats about preparing for our deaths. Investigate them in this article.

Read the article.

From A Crone in the Woods.

God is not in lockdown

The Kingdom of God is like treasure hidden in a field, according to Saint Matthew (13:44). The man digging wasn’t looking for treasure, didn’t expect to find any. But there it was. “He was probably in the middle of a rather ordinary job, perhaps digging up a field to sow some seeds,” says Br. Geoffrey Tristram. God is like that – God shows up in the most unexpected places.

Read the reflection.

From Society of St. John the Evangelist.

Microscope to Telescope: Expand Your Perspective

This practice invites us to spend some time with whatever thought we have been carrying around. Looking at the thought under a microscope is far different than looking at it through a telescope.

Read or listen to do this practice on your own.

From Grateful Living.

Meal-Based Social Action

Jesus didn’t want his community to have a social ethic; he wanted it to be a social ethic, says Richard Rohr. Mostly Jesus proclaimed this not by what he said but by what he did – eating with everyone.

Read the reflection.

From Center for Action and Contemplation.

Book Event

The Pilgrim Life: Finding God Along the Way by Deborah Smith Douglas.

From the back cover:  “Deborah Douglas not only invites us to become stronger in our faith; she cheers for us as we go along.  She celebrates each step.  She offers grounded encouragement and heartfelt joy.”   The Rev. Mary Earle, from the Foreword.

Deborah will be at St. Mark’s Bookstore in San Antonio on June 17 for Tea, Scones, & Conversation at 1:30 p.m.  She and Mary Earle will be in conversation about this book.  (They are close personal friends!  Promises to be rich!)

RSVP www.stmarksbookstore@gmail.com

Gathered Wisdom is an offering of The Wisdom Years, a ministry devoted to the spiritual journey of the last third of our lives.

If this post was forwarded to you, sign up to receive Gathered Wisdom in your email by subscribing at wisdomyears.org.

To learn more visit our website.

Story Time with The Wisdom Years

Story Time with The Wisdom Years

Marjorie George

Why should the kids have all the fun? This summer The Wisdom Years is going to read some of the great books we have read to our children – this time to see what they say to the grown-ups. What can we learn from the wise horse in The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse?  Where can we find the answers to Nikolai’s questions in The Three Questions? What does it mean to look for cherries now according to Kay Mijangos in Looking for the Cherries?

You don’t even have to buy the books; we will read to you. You just need to bring your blankie and listen. Every week will include conversation around what we can learn when we take the broader view.

All sessions will meet online using Zoom from 4 to 5:15 p.m. (Central time)

Our reading schedule:

Thursday, June 12, 4 p.m.
The Three Questions
by Jon J. Muth

Young Nikolai has three big questions around the right thing to do. He gets answers when he acts from compassion. Based on a story by Leo Tolstoy.

Thursday, June 19, 4 p.m.
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
by Charlie Mackesy

Four friends share their greatest fears and most important discoveries as they learn about vulnerability, kindness, hope, friendship, and love. The story speaks of life lessons, some that perhaps we still need to learn.

Thursday, June 26, 4 p.m.
Looking for the Cherries
by Kay Mijangos

The San Antonio author will read to us from her own book that is based on something her late husband used to say: “Always look for the cherries.” Look for the good. Kay’s husband was a well-known San Antonio artist, and the book is illustrated by his daughter.

To get the Zoom invitation code for each week, send your name and email address  to Marjorie George at marjoriegeorge62@gmail.com. Each week will use a different Zoom code, but you only need to submit your name once.

If you wish, you may purchase the books from St. Mark’s Bookstore bookshop. Search for the books at https://bookshop.org/shop/stmarksbookstoresa or your favorite book seller.

Questions? marjoriegeorge62@gmail.com