Tag Archives: spiritual growth

Radical unprotectedness.

Earlier this week, as I was fishing for information on St. Francis of Assisi, I came across a phrase attributed to Simon Tugwell, who describes Franciscan spirituality as “a way of radical unprotectedness.” The meaning of “unprotectedness” seemed obvious to … Continue reading

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Stripped and broken, beautiful still.

“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”  He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. (John 12:32-33) When we think of the beauty of God, it … Continue reading

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Getting older is getting freer

“Why bother.” “You’re only going to fail.” “No one will support this.” Being obedient to God can be daunting.  For one thing, if I am honest with myself, even when I sense very strongly that God is calling me to … Continue reading

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Only Jesus.

Suddenly, when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.  As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of … Continue reading

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Wide open spaces

Vulnerability has been on my mind a lot lately.  In our culture, we get a lot of encouragement and advice to help us avoid being vulnerable.  In business or at war, we are trained to identify vulnerabilities, to protect or … Continue reading

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Sweepings of wheat

Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land, saying, “When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain; and the sabbath, so that we may offer wheat … Continue reading

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Edge of heaven

This Sunday, we will encounter John the Baptist, the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, urging us to repent, to turn and be baptized.  What a sight this cousin of Jesus must have been, this young man from … Continue reading

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A bit of goat

Pictured here is a photo of my great uncle Newman, taken many years ago at his farm near Santiago, Chile.  Newman developed quite a reputation as a leader in “the goat business.”  He was held in high esteem for developing … Continue reading

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Welcome to the edge

All Saints day is one of four Principal Feast days, commonly marked by the administration of baptism.  Today (and this coming Sunday) we celebrate all those who are members of the Body of Christ, as we “express the intercommunion of … Continue reading

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The center holds

This morning I found some old papers from graduate school, from when I studied creative writing at the University of Southern California.  It was May 1992.  One of our teachers assigned our motley crew of fiction writers the following exercise: … Continue reading

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