In this little series on the mystics, my goal each week has been to hold up a particular gem of a Christian history to the light for closer examination. In doing so, we see both their exquisite beauty (why we read them) but also their flaws (how they can fall short), and even the awkwardness … Continue reading Humility or Humiliation?
On a morning when I awoke to find that my country was on the verge of closing its final international border to unnecessary travel, I couldn't help but find the opening words of the Psalm portion a little jarring: "He strengthens the bars of your gates." (Ps 147.13). Indeed. Never in living memory have we … Continue reading Contagion
One day last week, I slipped into the Art Gallery of Ontario on my lunch break. While I was there, I made sure to visit one of my favorite pieces of art, Emily Carr's Church at Yuquot Village. The piece shows a small white-washed wooden church against a backdrop of the forest. While the church … Continue reading Fire Breathing Green: The Multimedia Mysticism of St. Hildegard of Bingen
An image has come to my mind often lately, originally from one of those great BBC nature documentary series narrated by David Attenborough. It's an image of a barren and parched landscape that is suddenly flooded by waters flowing down from the mountains, and within a few days is completely transformed, the water unleashing the … Continue reading Refreshment and Rest: Reflections on John 4 and 2020
Earlier this week, our Lenten exploration of mystics looked at the Dark Night of the Soul as it was originally articulated by St. John of the Cross. In reading John's poem, it became clear that he wasn't talking about the Dark Night as a time of redemptive suffering or of testing by God, but that … Continue reading There Is No Map
Matthew Root 