Field notes on life and mission with God in post-Christendom
If God already knows what we need before we ask him, why pray?
We pray not to inform God of what we want, as though he is ignorant of our desires and needs. No, we pray in order to “exercise our desires,” as St. Augustine put it, so we can be made ready to receive what God is wanting to give us.
[Continue reading] about Expanding (and Directing) Desire Through Prayer
Jesus Christ, our High Priest, arises to this rank not because of his physical ancestry, but "thought the power of a life that cannot be destroyed" (Heb 7:16). I've been reading Fr. John Behr's book The Mystery of Christ: Life in Death, and one of … [Continue reading] about A Life That Cannot Be Destroyed
“Normal” church life has been disrupted by the pandemic, which has given many people an unexpected opportunity to rethink what worship is, and what it’s for. This week I’ve been thinking about this quote from Gregory the Great (Bishop of Rome, … [Continue reading] about Imitate What You Receive
These words from Dame Julian of Norwich really landed for me the other day (she talks often of Jesus as our "Mother," FYI): We make our humble complaint to our beloved Mother, and he sprinkles us with his precious blood, and makes our soul pliable … [Continue reading] about Our Humble Complaint
I've really connected with this prayer from Edward Pusey, one of the leading figures of the Oxford Movement in the 19th century. I've begun to use it as a gateway into contemplative prayer. Let me not seek out of Thee what I can only find in Thee; … [Continue reading] about Above the Weary Round of Harassing Thoughts