Enough

Sorry to have been away for a few days, but dental surgery and complications have made life, well, interesting the past four days!
I’ve been reading an excellent book and one I’d certainly recommend to anyone trying to understand Jesus and get a handle on who he was and who he wasn’t: Jesus The Man: [...]

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Nativity Sermon

Nativity SermonBy St. Isaac the Syrian (d. AD 700)
This Christmas night bestowed peace on the whole world;So let no one threaten;
This is the night of the Most Gentle One -Let no one be cruel;
This is the night of the Humble One -Let no one be proud.
Now is the day of joy -Let us not revenge;
Now [...]

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Approaching Faith

As I was going through some papers, I found a folded up piece of newspaper that I’d set aside quite a while ago. Finding it again today, Christmas Eve, seemed especially fortunate, and I wanted to share it with you. To me, it seems a way of looking at things that can bring each of [...]

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True Christianity?

I just received an email which started off:
My eyes ground to a complete halt at the last sentence on your home page: “Welcome to the world of true Christianity.” In place of “true,” you could have written “alternate” or “another” or “mystical.” But to use “true” means that some might interpret this as implying that [...]

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Simply Christian

Years ago, a Unitarian minister told me the story about a Unitarian who was walking along a road that forked. To the left the sign said “Heaven” while the sign pointing to the right read, “A Discussion About Heaven.” Being a Unitarian, the story went, he turned right.
I have to admit that throughout most of [...]

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Wonderful Forum and Site

I realize sometimes I’m out of the loop, but I just came across a fascinating forum that I’d think anybody who spends time on ChristianMystics.com would appreciate and enjoy.
Comparative-religion.com has a very active forum which I discovered because readers had visited my site from a posting there. Curious, I clicked over and I probably have [...]

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On Becoming

For a while, a fairly common slogan for personal growth was, “Become what you are!” I suppose I can understand it as, “Become your real self,” or, perhaps, “Be authentic.”
I remembered that slogan while I was listening to a lecture yesterday given by a Bishop in the Orthodox tradition. In a passing comment, he suggested [...]

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The Jesus Prayer and My Spiritual Practice

After some 30 years of journeying through a variety of traditions and approaches to God, as I get older I find simplicity wins out. When I was younger, I was always attracted by the opportunity to debate, study, experiment and, to my embarrassment now, even teach.
But health and time have made many things impossible for [...]

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Prayer Toward the Unknown

Submitted by a reader:
O Lord, You who steadied the hand of Peter as he began to sink on the stormy sea, if you are with me, no one is against me. Grant to me the shield of faith and the mighty armor of the Holy Spirit to protect me and guide me to do Your [...]

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Remembering St. Isaac the Syrian

From a collection of St. Isaac the Syrian from the main website:
Let yourself be persecuted, but do not persecute others.Be crucified, but do not crucify others.Be slandered, but do not slander others.Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep: such is the sign of purity.Suffer with the sick.Be afflicted with sinners.Exult with [...]

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