by Bill Haley | Sep 7, 2021 | Contemplative Life
From 1508 to 1512, Michelangelo painted his masterpiece on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Scenes from the Old Testament stunned the first viewers of these frescoes with their detail, imaginative rendering, and flash of vibrant colors across the spectrum. And...
by Bill Haley | Aug 19, 2021 | Contemplative Life
“Emptying precedes filling.” Eugene Peterson My favorite living novelist is the Canadian Roman Catholic, Michael D. O’Brien. I’ve read most of his thirteen novels, and his Father Elijah remains one of the most formative works of fiction in my life. For all...
by Bill Haley | Jun 25, 2021 | Contemplative Life
A few summers ago while vacationing in the High Country of North Carolina, my family found ourselves at a gym devoted to rock climbing, with high-pitched walls and many multi-colored hand and foot holds molded and screwed to the walls in a variety of patterns. ...
by Bill Haley | May 27, 2021 | Contemplative Life
“…so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” Philippians 2.15 Paul speaks of “a crooked and twisted generation.” I wonder,...
by Bill Haley | Apr 29, 2021 | Contemplative Life
“The great aim of the Holy Spirit is to get us abandoned to God.” -Oswald Chambers “The essence of spirituality is contained in this phrase: complete and utter abandonment to the will of God.” -Jean Pierre de Caussade These are bold statements from trusted...
by Bill Haley | Feb 25, 2021 | Contemplative Life
The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty…they are soon gone, and we fly away. Psalm 90.10 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 1 Cor. 15.55 On December 28, 1872 in Arizona’s Salt River Canyon, US Major...
by Bill Haley | Feb 5, 2021 | Contemplative Life
“These times are riven with anxiety and uncertainty, given the current global crisis… At first, it sounds completely naive to suggest that now might be time to invoke and awaken beauty. Yet this is exactly [my] claim…” John O’Donohue, 2004“Every good gift and every...
by Bill Haley | Dec 17, 2020 | Contemplative Life, Liturgical Seasons
It’s not a question of “If?” but rather “When?” and “Where?” Is it going to be in Safeway, or the Starbucks, or while wandering the hall of some shopping mall, past pilgrims lugging their gifts of Godiva, fragrances, and merino wool? It’ll probably happen after the...
by Bill Haley | Nov 12, 2020 | Church Unity, Contemplative Life, Justice and Mercy, Vocation
In May 2014, I had the opportunity to preach on this question, and I did something I’d never done before and haven’t done since. I wrote the sermon first as a long essay, writing it as completely as possible so I could get it all out on the page, and unsurprisingly...
by Bill Haley | Oct 29, 2020 | Contemplative Life
If your life is going great right now and all is well and you feel like you’re up for anything and can do most anything, stop reading and file this away for when that season ends and life feels quite a bit more overwhelming, or maybe read on and remember it for later...
by Bill Haley | Oct 1, 2020 | Contemplative Life, Justice and Mercy
[Author’s Note 10/5/20: I was saddened by the news of President Trump’s and the First Lady’s positive coronavirus results, and am praying for their health, safety, and a swift recovery. Let us all be in prayer for these things. This reflection has been...
by Bill Haley | Sep 16, 2020 | Contemplative Life
DOWNLOAD THIS REFLECTION >> And when Jesus got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we...
by Bill Haley | Sep 1, 2020 | Contemplative Life
Several years ago I had occasion to write a spiritual autobiography. I wouldn’t naturally have done that, but the assignment opened up a surprising opportunity to trace God’s fingerprints in my life and led to deep worship then and now. Something I had to do turned...
by Bill Haley | Jun 12, 2020 | Church Unity, Contemplative Life, Justice and Mercy, Peacemaking
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I’m writing to you in the wake of the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd and in the context of ongoing protests across the United States and the world calling for racial justice. I’m a Christian, and also...
by Bill Haley | May 15, 2020 | Contemplative Life
Video Transcript Below: St. Paul offers this testimony. He bears this witness: “I have learned in whatever situation to be content. I know how to be brought low and how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and...
by Bill Haley | Apr 23, 2020 | Contemplative Life
The opportunity for a father and son to go fly fishing for a trout is always a good thing, but in this case, it was for so much more. My own dad had died not even five days before, in the season of COVID-19. While his death was not caused by this particular...
by Bill Haley | Mar 18, 2020 | Church Unity, Contemplative Life
This most recent coronavirus is not the first humankind has had to contend with, and it won’t be the last. This pandemic serves as a not-so-subtle reminder that indeed all things are fallen and frail including our bodies, our planet, and our systems and structures. ...
by Bill Haley | Mar 6, 2020 | Contemplative Life, Spiritual Direction
It’s been almost two weeks since the news broke about the founder of L’Arche, Jean Vanier, and it hit many of us very hard, myself very much included. Sadly It’s become a bit ordinary for revelations to come out about the deep misdoings of Christian leaders, but...
by Bill Haley | Feb 14, 2020 | Contemplative Life
It feels a crazy time. For me at the moment, it’s all too easy to be often distracted, perhaps even a bit disoriented. There are always the challenges of work and family, and yet right now there is the particularly disappointing and even depressing state of our...
by Bill Haley | Jan 17, 2020 | Contemplative Life, Justice and Mercy
This coming Sunday is “Sanctity of Human Life Sunday”, or “Pro-Life Sunday”, kicking off a week of events, rallies, and protests (and counter-protests) for Christians and churches around the country and particularly in Washington, DC. I’m grateful for these...
