Spiritual Directions for the Journey
Posted in Big Questions, The Wisdom of... on Mar 12th, 2012
“Our tendency is to run away from the painful realities or to try to change them as soon as possible. But cure without care makes us into rulers, controllers, manipulators, and prevents a real community from taking shape. Cure without care makes us preoccupied with quick changes, impatient and unwilling to share each other’s burden. [...]
Posted in Big Questions, The Wisdom of... on Mar 5th, 2012
“So often in ministry, I have wanted to do it by myself. If it didn’t work, I went to others and said, “Please!” searching for a community to help me. If that didn’t work, maybe I’d start praying. But the order that Jesus teaches us is the reverse. It begins by being with God in [...]
Posted in Big Questions, The Wisdom of... on Jan 12th, 2012
Yesterday, I posted a wisdom saying from Harry Potter’s mentor Dumbledore. I had to admit I am not familiar with old Dumbledore but found his advice on death being the next great adventure for a person with a ‘well ordered mind’ to be ripe with wisdom. One of my mentors is Henri Nouwen and in [...]
Posted in Big Questions, The Wisdom of... on Dec 7th, 2011
“Let us not underestimate how hard it is to be compassionate. Compassion is hard because it requires the inner disposition to go with others to place where they are weak, vulnerable, lonely, and broken. But this is not our spontaneous response to suffering. What we desire most is to do away with suffering by fleeing [...]
Posted in Big Questions, The Wisdom of... on Nov 19th, 2011
“Ministry is acting in the Name of Jesus. When all our actions are in the Name, they will bear fruit for eternal life. To act in the Name of Jesus, however, doesn’t mean to act as a representative of Jesus or his spokesperson. It means to act in an intimate communion with him. The Name [...]
Posted in Henri Nouwen, This Sunday on Sep 5th, 2011
We are called to be as compassionate as God is compassionate. We are called to follow Jesus’ example as a son – “the younger son without being rebellious” and “the elder son without being resentful.” We are also called to grow into spiritual fatherhood – this means both father and mother, masculine and feminine. All [...]
Posted in Big Questions, The Wisdom of... on Aug 26th, 2011
“Every time we make the decision to love someone, we open ourselves to great suffering, because those we most love cause us not only great joy but also great pain. The greatest pain comes from leaving. When the child leaves home, when the husband or wife leaves for a long period of time or for [...]
Posted in Reflections from the Pulpit - Wandering with Deacon Mike on Aug 20th, 2011
For those dropping by either by accident or because you are members of St. Patrick’s and want to follow-up on some of the topics I referenced in the homily, here is a summary of recent posts you may want to check out: Middle-Aged Catholics: Missing in Action? What did Jesus really teach? What did Jesus [...]
Posted in Big Questions, The Wisdom of... on Aug 11th, 2011
“Good news becomes bad news when it is announced without peace and joy. Anyone who proclaims the forgiving and healing love of Jesus with a bitter heart is a false witness. Jesus is the savior of the world. We are not. We are called to witness, always with our lives and sometimes with our words, [...]
Posted in Books/Movies/Podcasts for the Road on Mar 12th, 2011
If you are looking for something special this lent I would encourage you to check out the online reading group at the Henri Nouwen Society. It started on March 9th and continues through lent and you can join at anytime. This lent the group is reflecting on Nouwen’s book- Here and Now: Living in the [...]
Posted in Henri Nouwen, Reflections from Fellow Wanderers on Jan 13th, 2011
In the midst of a crazy week this showed up this morning in my daily meditation from the Henri Nouwen Society. I was talking to a person the other day who also subscribes to these reflections and he was telling me how they are so often on target helping him with the challenges in his [...]
Posted in Henri Nouwen, Reflections from Fellow Wanderers on Jan 7th, 2011
Yesterday I wrote about one of my classmate from high school who passed away too early at 56. Paul’s gift to me was one of friendship and after writing the post yesterday the following shows up in my daily meditation from the Henri Nouwen Society: The Gift of Friendship Friendship is one of the greatest [...]
Posted in Books/Movies/Podcasts for the Road, Reflections from Fellow Wanderers, Stuff for Wandering on Oct 20th, 2010
Last Monday the St. Patrick’s Friends of Dismas group kicked off a study of the best selling book by Henri Nouwen, The Return of the Prodigal Son- A Story of Homecoming. The theme of the first evening was- Encounter the Painting. The painting in question is Rembrandt’s famous portrayal of the parable which was one [...]
Posted in Henri Nouwen on Oct 17th, 2010
This year at our Friends of Dismas monthly meetings at St. Patrick’s in Markham, we will be using Henri Nouwen’s best selling book- The Return of the Prodigal Son. In this story Nouwen uses Rembrandt’s painting of the parable as a way to examine our own journey from brokenness to understanding that we too are [...]
Posted in Henri Nouwen, Reflections from Fellow Wanderers on Oct 6th, 2010
It has been a difficult few weeks for many of my friends at the Dismas Fellowship. While we may wrestle with where we are and where events may take us, I offer this thought from Henri as food for thought and encouragement. Let us not lose sight of the reality that the most ordinary of [...]
