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Where there is injury, pardon. I heard one of the most radical ideas about pardoning from Abbot David Geraets, a Benedictine monk who was my teacher at a school for spiritual directors. During a lesson about Healing the Family Tree he said that we must ask forgiveness from family members who have injured us because … Read more
Where there is hatred, let me sow love Hatred is such a strong word. We can easily identify hatred out there but rarely do we sense it in here, in our own hearts. Yet hatred doesn’t spring forth whole in its easily identifiable ugly ways. It begins as small frustrations, angers, and resentments that are held, … Read more
Make me an instrument of peace When we think of the word instrument we often think of a musical object or a voice that uses vibration to create sounds. Sound vibrations range from pianississimo (very very soft) to fortississimo (very very loud); they can be staccato (short detached notes) or legato (flowing smoothly). Sound vibrations can also be dissonant or harmonic, … Read more
Every Christmas season since the tragic events of 2001, I have been praying a Novena for Peace and most years I’ve invited others to join me in the belief that a personal and communal commitment to peace will bring it about. While I have not yet seen peace break out throughout the world, I have … Read more
A novena is nine days of intentional thought (otherwise known as prayer) focused on a particular thing—in this case peace. Why should you participate? Because perception creates reality. When You Change the Way You Look at Things, the Things You Look At Change Religious traditions of all sorts have known for centuries that focused thought … Read more
Every morning since October 6, 2012, I’ve been texting prayers to my cousin as she works her way through a really tough time. It hadn’t been a conscious decision to do this. It just sort of happened and the weird part about it is that it happened at a distressing point in my own spiritual … Read more
I was half way through my early morning speed-walk and about to tackle a long hill when a white pickup truck turned the corner. I was walking in the street with cars parked on both sides so I ducked into an empty spot to let the truck pass. The truck was moving too slowly though, so … Read more
I’m guessing that most Valentine’s Day greetings today will be from one person to another. I’d like to share what I think is a close approximation to the kind of love greeting that, if we were silent enough long enough, we might hear from our Source today. For this greeting, I’ve taken a few liberties … Read more
Peace begins with a thought, an idea, a seed germinating in a heart that is watered with love, gratitude, forgiveness, compassion, and respect for all life. Peace isn’t simply the focus of nine days of prayer; peace is a way of life. So, water the peace seed in you. Feed your heart with the smiles of … Read more
Thinking about the enormity of the problems that war and violence generate can mask the reality that each of us has a responsibility to be a peacemaker, to choose peace in every thought and action. The choices we make in our everyday lives reverberate through the whole of the universe; each of us matters and … Read more