In late May 1966, a thirty-nine-year-old Vietnamese monk named Thich Nhat Hanh arrived at a Trappist abbey in Kentucky's hill country to meet a man he had corresponded with but never seen. He was partway through a tour of the United States, sent to explain to Americans who assumed Vietnam's war had exactly two sides... Continue Reading →
The Clause and the Wall.
The rise of Christian nationalism in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia In 1894, a Seventh-day Adventist in Sydney was convicted of violating the Sunday laws. The sentence offered two options. Pay the fine or sit in the public stocks for two hours. The Adventists observed Saturday as their Sabbath and worked on Sundays. That year, they... Continue Reading →
Liturgy and Community, Part Two.
Liturgy Part II: Sent Liturgy and Community, Part Two. Where We Left the Monk Recap in three sentences, using the cards from Tuesday. God gathers the assembly. The assembly receives before it acts. The test of a liturgy is the kind of people it makes. Ask yourself what you brought on the card today: which... Continue Reading →
Liturgy and Community: Gathered & Sent Part I & II
This will be two blog posts: one for today (Tuesday) and the other for Thursday. The Monk Who Could Not Pray In 1930, a Benedictine at Saint John's Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota, was coming apart. His eyesight was failing. He had severe headaches and could not sleep. By one biographer's account, he could not read,... Continue Reading →
Have You Ever Thought about the smell of Fertilizer? By Julie Peller Ph.D
Green Junction On recent walks around my neighborhood, I noticed the smell of lawn fertilizers. The use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides – a choice to make lawns look more like carpet than natural grass/plant growth – exposes people, animals, and the environment to toxins. When the odor is detectable, the air is contaminated. We... Continue Reading →
The Mountain Merton Never Climbed
In late November 1968, Thomas Merton rode in a car near Madras, heading to see the ancient stone temples at Mahabalipuram. Spotting hills in the distance, he asked his Catholic driver if those were the mountains where Ramana Maharshi had lived. The driver smiled and said yes. The driver was wrong. Arunachala, the sacred hill... Continue Reading →
You must be logged in to post a comment.