Journal

He Didn’t Have To Do It

These past couple of years I’ve had the chance to go a couple of times to the Holy Land.  Every place where Jesus was has deep meaning.  A couple of places meet me with a special power each time.  One of them is the Garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem.   It is a place...

There and Back Again

Our pilgrimage to Israel and Palestine had several purposes.   We went to meet the peoples of this land.  We went to better understand the reality and complexity of the contemporary Holy Land.  We went to walk where Jesus walked.  Most importantly, we went to learn...

Henri Nouwen on Spiritual Direction (kind of!)

“Listening in the spiritual life is much more than a psychological strategy to help others discover themselves. In the spiritual life the listener is not the ego, which would like to speak but is trained to restrain itself, but the Spirit of God within us. When...

Monastic Life Experienced for a Weekend

[What does a monk do and why?  Members of the Coracle community just got some answers as we returned from an experiences that you’ll read about below.  It was great, truly great.  I asked the Abbot, Fr. Robert Barnes, “What is the deepest essence of why a monk does...

The Joy of Being a Pencil

This past weekend a young woman came to Corhaven to talk about Mother Teresa.  A freshman in high school, she’s working on a year long research project and had heard that Tara and I had met her. It’s true. I met Mother Teresa in 1995 when I spent a month in Calcutta...
Mother Teresa and Spiritual Maturity

Mother Teresa and Spiritual Maturity

Several years ago, I was given the opportunity to teach on how Mother Teresa’s life exhibited spiritual maturity, and it afforded the opportunity to explore the meaning of her long “dark night”.   It was a privilege for me, and this talk became...

“There and Back Again”

Our pilgrimage to Israel and Palestine had several purposes.   We went to meet the peoples of this land.  We went to better understand the reality and complexity of the contemporary Holy Land.  We went to walk where Jesus walked.  Most importantly, we went to learn...

A Hymn for Ash Wednesday

“Just As I Am” by Charlotte Elliot 1. Just as I am, without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me, and that thou bidst me come to thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come. 2. Just as I am, and waiting not to rid my soul of one dark blot, to thee whose...
“On Theosis” Audio

“On Theosis” Audio

A few years ago at St. Brendan’s in the City, I gave this sermon which was the result of about 10 years of journey.  It remains to feel like one of the most important sermons I’ve ever given, an attempt to wrestle into clear and simple words the goal and...

A talk on World Religions, Jesus, and Journey

Recently I had the opportunity to reflect on comparative world religions, Jesus, and my first trip around the world.  I sought to answer the nagging question, “If I had grown up in, say, Iran, would I be a Muslim?”   Confident that Jesus is true, the...

Abide in Me- John 15

To me, abide is synonymous with comfort and peace. So many stresses surround us, and fear/anger are easy reactions for me… especially when I have an imbalance of coffee or sleep (or exercise or quiet …).  And reactions can be lethal. Obey, respect, and accept are...

Accelerated Parenting

As a dad of young children, I sometimes think that my wife and I are workers at a muddy and chaotic construction site — setting (I hope) solid foundations. Every once in a while we emerge from behind the construction perimeter fence and go out on a rare date together,...
Coracle in Northern Virginia

Coracle in Northern Virginia

A common sentiment among those who retreat at Corhaven is how powerful it is simply to step back from the noise, and be still, and create space for God to enter in and speak, and even more than that, to encounter God’s love again. Simply stepping away from daily...
Nothing is Not Complex: Israel and Palestine

Nothing is Not Complex: Israel and Palestine

It is obviously a heartbreaking time in the Middle East, and tensions in the Holy Land are as high as they’ve been in some years.  Coracle has partnered with The Telos Group to offer a strange and powerful trip there February 3-13 along with 12 others, Bill and Todd...

Why I say “Yes!” to Get in the Boat

“Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.” – Rainer Maria Rilke, from Letters to a Young Poet One theme from the early years of my life is restlessness. I tend...

on Ruth Haley Barton

I have a brother and two sisters.  I love them all and wish you could meet them.  There’s a good chance that one of them, my sister Ruth, is already known to you. A funny, glee-full thing happens to me at least several times a year.   Someone will be talking to me...

Notes from “Honoring the Forgotten”

Notes from “Honoring the Forgotten” a first conversation about the slave cemetery at Corhaven held on January 16, 2015 (MLK Day Weekend) Corhaven is located at 2883 Quicksburg Road, Quicksburg VA  22847 Local residents of Shenandoah County and also the History Club of...