and I nodded, not knowing at all what she meant, for I was not, nor have ever been, Catholic. How then, I wondered, was my reading taste catholic? The word, at the time, meant Mary and popes, not expansive, far-reaching, inclusive. Now I give my old teacher’s words new meaning: yes, catholic in reading, inContinue reading ““A catholic taste,” she said”
Tag Archives: Henri Nouwen
Thirty-Two Blessings
Gratitude begets gratitude, just as love begets love. (Henri Nouwen, Life of the Beloved) That I am begotten by love, Sustained That my heart beats And my feet move That the air is rich For me to breathe That love is patient, That love is kind That I can know What goodness is That IContinue reading “Thirty-Two Blessings”
From Ashes 11: The Poor in Spirit and the Fainting Minister
Poverty in spirit is the porch of the temple of blessedness…Till we are emptied of self we cannot be filled with God. Stripping must be worked upon us before we can be clothed with the righteousness which is from Heaven. (C.H. Spurgeon, “The First Beatitude”) I remember a dream I had once, when I wasContinue reading “From Ashes 11: The Poor in Spirit and the Fainting Minister”
From Ashes Part 3: Mental “Health” in the Valley of Weeping
I shame at mine unworthyness, yet fain would be at one with thee. Thou art a joy in heaviness, a succour in necessity. (John Dowland, Tears of Lamentacions of a Sorrowfull Soul) So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because ofContinue reading “From Ashes Part 3: Mental “Health” in the Valley of Weeping”
The Consolations of Writing 