A Positively Poetic Priest

"In a world where people use the Internet an average of 30 hours a week and keep the TV or radio on 7.9 hours a day, we need to get unplugged from virtual reality and address our addiction to technology and the toxins it brings into our lives. Unplug, and look into the eyes of another human face - see the beauty of God's creation!" (p. 87 Spiritual Disciplines Handbook) We all know how much we time we spend looking at screens... right? In the quote above, it says people use the Internet on average 30 hours a week! That is an average of 4 hours and 15 minutes a day! For those of us who work in offices on computers, this average might actually be low. With all the constant distraction and interaction online, sometimes we simply just need to unplug. Put down the phones and tablets and computers, and spend some quality time with other people. God created us as interactive and relational beings. We all need some time where we are in personal contact with other people, in ...

Today I was witness to: people partying people escaping reality the backs of my eyelids Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania Truckers smoking cigarettes an abundance of food shared a father and a boyfriend working together a beautiful sunset a blue heron take flight a mother being cold family sitting around enjoying being together Today I was witness to: humanity and profound love always hand in hand 6/24/17

This week has seen its fair share of storms. Thunderstorms. Power outages. Flooding. More shootings. Political outrage and debate. Families torn apart. The world is a stormy place. Thankfully, Jesus offers peace in the midst of the storms. We all know this story from the Gospel of Mark. Jesus and the disciples get in the boat to cross the Sea of Galilee to get some time away from the crowds. Jesus is exhausted and along the short journey, he falls deeply asleep. Naturally, that is when a storm arises, lashing wind, waves pushing against the sides, scaring the disciples into thinking they were going to sink.  Of course, they over exaggerate.  Since most of the disciples were fishermen, they probably all knew how to swim and the sea of Galilee isn't that big.  Nor are there any sharks or crocodiles in the sea (again, too small), It would be a long swim to shore, but not impossible, so while the boat might have sank, they mo...

"On the pages of a journal, in the privacy of a moment, we can take tentative steps into truth and scour our feelings, hurts, ideas and struggles before God." (p.   57 Spiritual Disciplines Handbook) I will admit, I added journaling to the list for this summer because it is one of my favorite ways of working out my thoughts, prayers, and the ups and downs of all of my life, not just the spiritual. Not all journals are the same, just as not all people are the same. For some, journaling is writing long prose about how they are doing and what is going on in their lives. For others, journaling is making lists of activities and their consequences, or series of pictures or words tied together in personal meaning. Today, art journals or Bible art journaling are trendy activities. I have multiple journals for different aspects of my life and different kinds of creative moods. However, journaling is not only the process of writing or creating art, but also the process of re...

it is an active passivity the book lying there waiting for the reader to return held in time the story waits you wrap your arms around me the world moves on while I participate in eternity held outside of time the real story continues 6/6/17

  "How do you tend to recognize God's presence in your day?" Also known as the Examination of Consciousness, the Examen is a practice of questions which leads to seeing God in the details of our lives. Most people know of the Examen from the Catholic Jesuit tradition, popularized by Ignatius of Loyola. There are many different formats or ways of using an examen practice to deepen our spiritual lives. The focus in each one stays on the details of our daily lives and how and what affects our spiritual lives. In most examen practices, a time is set apart at the end of the day to reflect on where God was in the daily activities. By going through the different activities and looking at our bodily responses or where we saw God or writing down the words which exemplify the activities, we start to see patterns emerge which show us where God is at work. For many, questions of gratitude about our daily lives can be very helpful in long term spiritual growth. Many peo...

"A rule for life is a simple statement of the regular rhythms we choose in order to present our bodies to God as our "spiritual act of worship" (Romans 12:1). Each rule, or rhythm, is a way we partner with God for the transformation only he can bring." (p. 36 Spiritual Disciplines Handbook) Many of us have heard of the Rule of Saint Benedict or the Franciscan Rule of Life. These Rules were written by monks for monks as a way of structuring and ordering the common life of the monastery. However, having a rule of life goes all the way back to the book of the Acts of the Apostles. Acts 2:42 says, "They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." The earliest followers of Jesus thought that every Christian should follow these four ways of living: learning the teachings, being a part of the community, sharing in Communion, and praying together. Ever since then, Christians have been developing th...

ten minutes a day six days: an hour sixty thousand days one hundred sixty five years but double it twenty minutes, three days thirty thousand days eighty two years a lifetime of work being an expert day in and day out being responsible for change 3/15/17 (They say it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert. This is the math if you try to become an expert only spending 10 minutes a day. It would take 165 years to work up the hours needed.)