Real gratitude is a spiritual practice. It is impossible to be alone or simply “the boss” when we allow ourselves to be filled with the spirit of thanksgiving. To be grateful for material and spiritual blessings is a start. In a month of weeks full of bad news, this is...
Our Muslim sisters and brothers are halfway through their Ramadan observance now. This movable feast doesn’t always fall during summertime, but fasting from before sunrise to after sunset is obviously most difficult this time of year in our latitude because the nights are so short. As a spiritual practice this...
Thursday, May 25, 2017, is Ascension Day. This is an ancient observance, kept by the whole church since its early days, even as local variations developed in different countries. Here is a poem on the subject by Malcolm Guite, the poet-priest and chaplain of Girton College, Cambridge. He writes: “the mystery...
Advent Sunday ushers in, for Christians, a time of growing anticipation. And while it might seem “godly” to eschew the commercial holiday madness, preparing a place for generosity … tokens of love for our near ones, and, yes, gifts far beyond ourselves too… is an honest part of this season....
STUDY is a traditional spiritual practice. Right now, parents all over Montreal are buying school supplies for their children. Older students are choosing their courses, working out their schedules, gathering their assigned materials and readings. Teachers and professors are preparing for the new school year. Yet as Thomas Moore writes...
It is Lent. We prepare for Christ’s death and resurrection by turning to God in fasting, in prayer, and in acts of generosity. Let us set aside things that distract us from what is good and holy in God’s sight. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Let us...
As we get ready for Candlemas and pancakes, we pack away our Alleluias until Easter and, our Christmas decorations until next year. Maybe your collection of ornaments, like mine, includes some that have been broken and mended more than once. They still have sentimental value. But sometimes the thing is really beyond...
January is named for the Roman two-faced god Janus who looked both back and ahead. As a spiritual practice this week, consider simply allowing yourself to be fully in the present moment. That is the first of the “Spiritually Literate New Years Resolutions” offered by Frederic and Mary Brussat on...
Blessing the home on or near the feast of Epiphany (January 6th) is a tradition that dates from the middle ages. Using chalk, we mark our doorways with the inscription 20+C+M+B+16, calling to mind the magi, traditionally named Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar, who journeyed far from their homes to Bethlehem...
In these busiest, dizziest days between Canadian Thanksgiving and Canadian elections… with DIocesan Synod thrown in for good measure… the need for REST becomes obvious. If you want to read while resting, here is a link to John Mark Comer’s essay “The Gift of the Sabbath: I Am Not a Machine.” He...
Photo: On a beach in Morocco, people take up the posture of little Aylan Kurdi, whose whose death sounded a wake-up call to the world, How are you responding personally to the refugee crisis? By endorsing the recommendations of Canadian organizations that work with refugees, about how to ramp up our...
Whether you’re travelling or taking vacation time in place, here are two specific ways to open up to the refreshment a seasonal sabbath offers. (1) Consider prayerfully detaching from continuous electronic notifications. Decide how often you’ll check your mail and phone messages. Every hour? Three times a day? Every other day? Here’s...