The presents have been wrapped and unwrapped, the feast prepared and consumed, the guests come and gone, and the Christmas music that filled us with joy a few days ago has turned to noise in our ears. A sense of general ennui now fills the air, as the holiday that was filled with so much … Continue reading Beginnings (A Christmas Reflection)
This week’s practice is part three of a four-part year-end series that focuses on doing the work to set ourselves up for success in the year to come. Two weeks ago, I explored the idea of values, discovering and naming those core ideas and beliefs that form the basis of our motivation and desires. Last … Continue reading Annual Review
Much of this end-of-year series exploring values and goals in the sacred life will be spent in the contemporary worlds of positive psychology and coaching; this week’s practice, however, comes from the Ignatian Christian spiritual tradition, which like these more recent disciplines, understands the importance of putting our life under the microscope to see what … Continue reading Discernment of Desires
There’s a seeming contradiction in our tradition of Advent. On the one hand, it’s a time of waiting patiently in the darkness of life for the beautiful in-breaking of God, in the coming of Jesus: We as a people living in darkness wait eagerly to see the Great Light. Yet at the same time, it … Continue reading When the Dawn Comes
Last week’s exploration of Minimalism as a sacred practice made me think about how I might similarly simplify my spiritual life. I thought about what it might look like to go back to the basics. And so, for this week’s practice, I returned to a venerable Christian practice of prayer, protection, and identity that dates … Continue reading The Sign of the Cross
Matthew Root 