Wednesday, July 31, 2019 Jarena Lee (1783–1864) was the first authorized woman preacher in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Her spiritual autobiography—the first by an African American woman published in the United States—describes her childhood and her journeys across the United States. Though born to free black parents, she was hired out from the age of seven and worked far …
All in All
Black Women Mystics (a worthy focus in this time of heightened racism) Tuesday, July 30, 2019 Mysticism is not all ecstatic visions. People who have endured great suffering and let it open them to a new consciousness or perspective are often mystics. They discover that they are always sustained by Love’s presence. James Finley has a beautiful image for this …
God’s Abiding Presence
Black Women Mystics Monday, July 29, 2019 Today, I’d like to feature the words of a modern mystic I am honored to know. Dr. Barbara Holmes is a teacher in our own Living School, a former lawyer, professor, and author of several books. She has taught me, our staff, and students so much. I hope you will go deeper with …
Why Are You Here?
Mystic: Howard Thurman Thursday, July 25, 2019 By Richard Rohr Today, as you read this second excerpt from Howard Thurman’s book Jesus and the Disinherited, hold an open heart and mind. In other words, read with a contemplative stance. The meditation ends with a question that I’ll hope you’ll sit with—as Thurman and his companion did for five hours—and not …
A Subtle Peril
Mystic: Howard Thurman Wednesday, July 24, 2019 By Richard Rohr Howard Thurman lovingly critiqued Christianity, which has often ignored the direct teaching and witness of Jesus in relationship with those who are oppressed. This excerpt is from one of Thurman’s most well-known books, Jesus and the Disinherited. I think this message is important today and always. To those who need …
Faith Teaches
Mystic: Howard Thurman Tuesday, July 23, 2019 By Richard Rohr Like many mystics, Howard Thurman saw that humans need to relate to a God that is both beyond rational thought—what I might call a force field of love—and very relatable and personal. This is why Christians have both Jesus and Christ: In Jesus, God was given a face and a …
You do not Belong to the World..,
Monday July 15: I think for peacemaking it is so important that we are home, that we know to whom we belong. Jesus says it very clearly; he says: “You do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Therefore, I am sending you into the world as my Father has sent me into …
The Way of Change…
Friday, July 12: It is my growing conviction that in Jesus the mystical and the revolutionary ways are not opposites, but two sides of the same human mode of experiential transcendence. I am increasingly convinced that conversion is the individual equivalent of revolution. Therefore, every real revolutionary is challenged to be a mystic at heart, and one who walks the …
The Most Universal is the Most Personal…
Thursday, July 11: When only our minds and hands work together we quickly become dependent on the results of our actions and tend to give up when they do not materialize. In the solitude of the heart we can truly listen to the pains of the world because there we can recognize them not as strange and unfamiliar pains, but …
It’s All How You Look at It…
Wednesday, July 10: The great conversion in our life is to recognize and believe that the many unexpected events are not just disturbing interruptions in our projects, but the way in which God molds our hearts and prepares us for his return. Our great temptations are boredom and bitterness. When our good plans are interrupted by poor weather, our well-organized …
- Page 1 of 2
- 1
- 2