Advent Readiness and Mutual Hospitality
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Advent Readiness and Mutual Hospitality

Our home has a Christ room. The room is simple, outfitted with an enormous depiction of Rembrandt’s “Return of the Prodigal Son,” and remains intentionally open for short-term stays of all kinds.  We have hosted family members and friends (and friends of friends), kindred community-cultivators, monks and nuns, refugees, respite-seekers and people yearning for imaginative…

St. Peter and the Spirit of Advent

St. Peter and the Spirit of Advent

Not too long ago, one of my dear friends traveled to Rome. Among many noteworthy moments, including an evening worship with the Archbishop of Canterbury and Pope Francis, he shared one ordinary experience that became the most spiritually profound of the entire trip. It was the moment he entered St. Peter’s Basilica. The church is…

Something to Believe: How Advent Can Lead the Way
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Something to Believe: How Advent Can Lead the Way

I was a little mystified when, in mid-November, I got an email ad announcing 25% off the price of Christmas decorations. The great day of feasting was not yet upon us, the calendar promised one more month of fall and yet, when I went to check out the sale, I couldn’t find autumnal decor items…

What’s So Ordinary About Ordinary Time?
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What’s So Ordinary About Ordinary Time?

As summer winds down and school years begin, we still find ourselves in Ordinary Time. Officially, Ordinary Time received its name because these days are ordinal, that is, they are numbered. At Mass on Sundays, you will often hear the priest say that it is the Sunday of such-and-such a week in Ordinary Time. All…

The Goodness of Gray, the Holy Innocents, and the Kairos (Time) of God

The Goodness of Gray, the Holy Innocents, and the Kairos (Time) of God

It’s a gray day, one of those types where the clouds hang heavy and seem to block out all sunlight. Inside a cozy lamp-lit room, I am sitting in a circle of ministers training to be spiritual directors and practicing the art of listening. Around the circle, person after person tells a story from their…