I have often read the phrase, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” In my twenties, full of vim, vigor, and myself, I read and promptly sloughed off this passage from John 14 as “read and just as quickly forgotten.” Like almost all Scriptures I read then, I was more preoccupied with reading the Bible than thinking and even being what that passage meant. Sixty years later, I find myself reading that same passage, now in its entirety (not just to memorize or justify Jesus), so I might become what I read. I offer you the entire passage below for your pondering and reflection. Read it three tim ..read more

you_know_you_are_goicsp_proof070217-1Download This is a free download of my book on how contemplation can perhaps not change your diagnosis but change your mind and heart to find genuine peace and stillness in the silence of the upper room of your inner self. I did it, and continue to do it, so it works for me. If you want to give this to someone with cancer, AIDS, terminal illness, or none of the above, it is my gift to you for supporting me ..read more

What follows is my list of resources of heresies of the Church beginning with the Apostles. I trust you to do the homework and make your own conclusions. I remember reading a Micky Spillane novel in my near teenage years entitled, “I, the Jury.” I remember it being a bit too spicy for my age but titillating to the burgeoning push of my mind into unknown areas of thinking and feelings. That book came to mind in my Lectio Divina, buried all these years in the dusty bin of discarded books and ideas of yesteryear, those discarded into more substantial values and Christ-centered motivations. I am ..read more

When I observe the rich virtual and technological wonders of shared communication on the Internet and Television, I am reminded of the saying, “Caveat Emptor,” let the buyer beware. All communication always has assumptions and an underlying purpose for exposure on the airways. Advertisers, the inconvenient distraction to most things I watch, want you to know and buy their product. They want to earn money. Nothing wrong with that. What I find terrifying because of its insidious intrusion into my values system is a program that promotes those ideas that are opposite to mine and pulled off as leg ..read more

There are few more controversial and problematic concepts than that of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ as both God and Human in expiation for the dissonance caused by the choices of humanity that lead to a failure to reach our destiny as designed by our nature. Each year, the Catholic Church, conscious of its need for collective and individual mercy, trudges through the readings of Lent in the Eucharistic Liturgy, which culminates in the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah. I call to your attention two resources that I used in my Lectio Divina meditations to help me surmoun ..read more

(Excerpted from a book I am putting together on The Christ Principle, entitled, “CHRIST AS MYSTIC HERO: A Lay Cistercian reflects how Christ is the archetypal hero on humanity’s march to Omega.“) THE SIMPLICITY OF MYTH WITH CHRIST AS MYSTIC HERO Before I embark on a series of reflections on how The Christ Principle gathers all knowledge, love, and service unto himself as an Archetype or Paradigm of what it means to be human, I encourage you to take the time to listen to Joseph Campbell, the noted commentator on human behavior. Slow down your life and speed up your enlightenment. Here is a seri ..read more

In a much wider sense, the analogy of wineskins fits perfectly with what I consider a paradigm change that happens inexorably. The problem is, that we notice it and don’t learn from it, or we don’t learn it and continue to always do what always did so that we always get what we always got. Here are some of my reflections on reality using this metaphor from what happens in my life when I place new wine in old skins. The Question About Fasting.o 33 And they said to him, “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same; but yours eat and drink ..read more

This blog continues my previous comments on original sin (The Genesis Principle), which are my ideas about noise in the physical and mental universes and my continuation of an exploration of the noise of the spiritual universe. Rereading the previous blog on “Original Sin: The Background Noise of Existing as a Human” might be beneficial. My premise is that if there is noise in the physical universe. We can hear that, and then there is noise in my other two universes that make up one reality, the mental universe, which leads to the spiritual universe. Still, the spiritual universe is also a mor ..read more

Before you get a chance to think that I am an Atheist-phobe, let me pop that balloon. My view of reality states that each human, and especially me, all have an Achilles heel, a blind spot as you look out your car door window at what is behind you, a place you never looked because you never thought anything was there. This human idiosyncrasy plays out in almost every person, institution, political, and religious fringe on both extremes of any issue. I bring this up because my Lectio Divina for this morning challenged me to refrain from letting this concept hold me hostage and keep me from, as D ..read more

Way back in 1965, I remember coming out of lunch at the refectory at St. Meinrad College of Liberal Arts in Indiana and making a beeline to the radio to listen to Paul Harvey. Such a compelling voice and good thinking are always timeless and of value. Here are a few YouTube clips that still ring true for me today. God be with you, Paul Harvey, and thanks for the rest of the story. uiodg ..read more