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Great Christian Thinkers - 57 St. Clare of Assisi
Great Christian Thinkers - 57 St. Clare of Assisi
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Clare of Assisi One of the best-loved saints is without a doubt St. Clare of Assisi, who lived in the thirteenth century and was a contemporary of St. Francis. Her testimony shows us how indebted the Church is to courageous women, full of faith like her, who can give a crucia…
Great Christian Thinkers - 1 St Clement, Bishop of Rome
Great Christian Thinkers - 1 St Clement, Bishop of Rome
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St Clement, Bishop of Rome After the first witnesses of the Christian faith, mentioned in the New Testament writings, we find the Apostolic Fathers, that is, to the first and second generations in the Church subsequent to the Apostles. And thus, we can see where the Church’s jour…
The Monastery Of The Heart - 26 Epilogue
The Monastery Of The Heart - 26 Epilogue
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
Epilogue As we progress in this way of life and in faith, we shall run on the path of God’s commandments, our hearts overflowing with the inexpressible delight of love.” Benedictine spirituality is not a spiritual practice that waxes and wanes, comes and goes, as we grow and chan…
Lectio Divina the Sacred Art - 1 Introduction
Lectio Divina the Sacred Art - 1 Introduction
by Christine Valters Painter
INTRODUCTION They can be like a sun, words. They can do for the heart what light can for a field. —John of the Cross, Love Poems from God In October 2009 I was on pilgrimage in Ireland. We were visiting Glendalough, the ruins of an ancient Celtic monastic community founded by St.…
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 10 Year B
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 10 Year B
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Proper 10 Amos 7: 7-15 Ephesians-1: 3-14 Mark 6: 14-29 ‘The letter to the Ephesians sets the life of the Christian Church in the context of the cosmic plan of God. The letter will go on to give quite detailed advice about how Christians should live together, day to day, but it is…
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - The Fourth Sunday of Easter Year B
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - The Fourth Sunday of Easter Year B
by SPCK - Jane Williams
The Fourth Sunday of Easter Acts 4.5-12 1John 3.16-24 John 10.11-18 Today’s readings are deeply challenging. Christian mission has sometimes been done as though determined to prove that we are right and everyone else is wrong, whereas all of today’s writers think that Christians …
The Monastery Of The Heart - 22 Spiritual Tools
The Monastery Of The Heart - 22 Spiritual Tools
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
Spiritual Tools “These are the tools of the spiritual craft.” Benedictine spirituality is clear: Beware the spirituality, the Rule implies, that lacks balance, that lacks the fullness of the spiritual life, that revolves around mystique and mystery, around esoteric ritual or secr…
Great Christian Thinkers - 17 St. Hilary of Poitiers
Great Christian Thinkers - 17 St. Hilary of Poitiers
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Hilary of Poitiers I reflect now on a great Father of the Church of the West, St. Hilary of Poitiers, one of the important episcopal figures of the fourth century. In the controversy with the Arians, who considered Jesus the Son of God to be an excellent human creature but on…
Great Christian Thinkers - 46 Symeon The New Theologian
Great Christian Thinkers - 46 Symeon The New Theologian
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
Symeon The New Theologian Also bearing reflection from this period is an Eastern monk, Symeon the New Theologian, whose writings have had a notable influence on the theology and spirituality of the East, in particular with regard to the experience of mystical union with God… Take…
Great Christian Thinkers - 61 St. Matilda of Hackeborn
Great Christian Thinkers - 61 St. Matilda of Hackeborn
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Matilda of Hackeborn Saint Matilda of Hackeborn, one of the great figures of the convent of Helfta, lived in the thirteenth century. Her sister, St. Gertrude the Great, tells of the special graces that God granted to St. Matilda in the sixth book of Liber specialis gratiae (B…
Hymn: The spirit of the Son of Man
Hymn: The spirit of the Son of Man
by Michael Docker
The spirit of the Son of Man Is caught where we're found praying As Jesus prayed; that what we are Be one with what we're saying. The spirit of the Galilean Is caught when we're found singing As Jesus sang; a suffering song Shall frame the lives we're bringing. The spirit of the …
Reflection/Meditation: My Father’s Way
Reflection/Meditation: My Father’s Way
by Marjorie Dobson
Reflection/Meditation: My Father’s Way Many years ago a story was told by the Hebrew people – indeed it is still being told today. It sounds something like this: ‘My father was a wandering Aramean; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien and there became a great natio…
Imagining the Lectionary: Stay Alert (Proper 27A; Ordinary 32A)
Imagining the Lectionary: Stay Alert (Proper 27A; Ordinary 32A)
by David Perry
Imagining the Lectionary: Stay Alert (Proper 27A; Ordinary 32A) Reflection accompanying image “stay alert street living statue mime artist” So stay alert. You have no idea when he might arrive (Matthew 25:13) This living statue mime artist was making a valiant effort on the che…
Imagining the Lectionary: Held firm and strong (Epiphany 3B)
Imagining the Lectionary: Held firm and strong (Epiphany 3B)
by David Perry
Imagining the Lectionary: Held firm and strong (Epiphany 3B) Reflection accompanying images “Held firm and strong 1”, “Held firm and strong 2” and “Held firm and strong 3” The cross-shaped mooring bollards in the photographs convey such a real sense of hefty, unbreakable streng…
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - The Fourth Sunday of Easter Year B
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - The Fourth Sunday of Easter Year B
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
The Fourth Sunday of Easter John 10.11-18 Gaze on the desolate mountains, the stony ground where sheep must scavenge for food, and the scant grass that only blazed in brief spring. Other dangers abounded, snakes lurked and wolves prowled and threatened the flocks and who was ther…
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Trinity Sunday Year B