Tag: Chittister
The Hallelujah of Thanksgiving
Gratitude is not only the posture of praise. It is also the basic element of real belief in God. When we bow our heads in gratitude, we acknowledge that the works of God are good. We recognize that we cannot, of ourselves, save ourselves. We proclaim that our existence and all its goods come not… Read More ›
Prayer for Pentecost
The Holy Spirit embodies the life force of the universe, the power of God, the animating energy present in all things and captured by none. On this great feast of Pentecost, the coming of the Spirit of God, I invite you to pray with me: May the Gifts of the Holy Spirit bring fire to… Read More ›
Online Video Course
A new online video course, “The Heart of the Rule of Benedict” with S. Joan Chittister OSB, will begin on January 2, 2012, through the Monasteries of the Heart website (www.monasteriesoftheheart.org). In this yearlong course, participants will have access to weekly three to five minute videos on Benedictine spirituality distilled by Sister Joan from the… Read More ›
Benedictine Spirituality: Peace in the Monastery of the Heart
Turn away from evil and do good; let peace be your quest and aim.” Over the archway of medieval monasteries were commonly carved the words Pax Intrantibus, “Peace to those who enter here.” These words were both a hope and a promise. Benedict’s vision of the peaceable kingdom was a real one. In a society… Read More ›
To Be Present to the Present
Being where we are — immersed in it, aware of it, alert to it — may well be the secret to living well, to living fully. It is a lesson to be learned. In a culture based on motion it is no small trick to allow ourselves to be present to the present, to see… Read More ›
To Live Life More Deeply
“I’ve gone to church all my life,” the woman said. “I don’t know why these things keep happening to me.” Her shoulders sagged a bit. “I just don’t know how much longer I can keep going on like this.” I could hear the sense of futility in her voice. But what is there to say… Read More ›
The Meaning of Our Memories
Memory is one of the most powerful functions of the human mind. It is also one of life’s most determining ones. What goes on in memory has a great deal to do with what goes on in us all our lives. Memory is a wild horse, unbridled, riderless, maverick. It takes us often where we… Read More ›
Thank you for…
Gratitude is not only the posture of praise but it is also the basic element of real belief in God. When we bow our heads in gratitude, we acknowledge that the works of God are good. We recognize that we cannot, of ourselves, save ourselves. We proclaim that our existence and all its goods come… Read More ›
The Secret of Forgiveness
The question is, What should we forgive and how do we do it? An ancient monastic story gives a flash of an answer, so subtle, so swift that its meaning is easy to miss. A young woman, the story goes, who is heavy with child and terrified of being executed for dishonoring the family name,… Read More ›
Coming to Know the Sacred
“Love God and do what you will,” John of the Cross wrote. It’s only when I got old enough, experienced enough and wise enough in the ways of mystics that I knew what John really meant. It’s not what we do that makes us holy. It’s what we love that makes the difference between being… Read More ›