Minute Meditations

There is a whole dimension of life to which we have to listen with our whole heart, mind-fully, as we say. Mindfulness is necessary to find meaning—and the intellect is not the full mind. The intellect, one has to hasten to say, is an extremely important part of our mind, but it isn’t the whole mind. What I mean here when I say “mind” is more what the Bible calls the “heart,” what many religious traditions call the “heart.” The heart is the whole person, not just the seat of our emotions. The kind of heart that we are talking about here is the lover’s heart, which says, “I will give you my heart.” That doesn’t mean I give you part of myself; it means I give myself to you. So when we speak about wholeheartedness, a wholehearted approach to life, mindfulness, that alone is the attitude through which we give ourselves to meaning.

—from the book The Way of Silence: Engaging the Sacred in Daily Life by Brother David Steindl-Rast

We tend to think that the opposite of work is leisure. Leisure is not the opposite of work; play is the opposite of work, if you have to have a polarity like that. And leisure is precisely the bridging of this gap between the two. Leisure is precisely doing your work with the attitude of play. That means putting into your work what is most important about playing, namely, that you do it for its own sake and not only to accomplish a particular purpose. And that means that you have to give it time. Leisure is not a privilege for those who can take time for leisure. Leisure is a virtue. It is the virtue of those who give time to whatever takes time, and give as much time as it deserves, and so work leisurely and find meaning in their work and come fully alive. If we have a strict work mentality we are only half alive.

—from the book The Way of Silence: Engaging the Sacred in Daily Life by Brother David Steindl-Rast

All morality that was ever developed in any tradition in the world can be reduced to the principle of acting as one acts toward those with whom one belongs. And the differences between the different codes of morality are only the limits that we draw for belonging: “These are the ones toward whom you have to act morally, and the others are ‘the others,’ outside.” And when you really live with common sense, that has no limitations; you live out of a morality that includes everybody, and therefore you behave toward everybody as one behaves when one belongs. That is what Jesus meant when he said “the kingdom of God”—and any other term of that sort that you get from any religious tradition will fit in here.

—from the book The Way of Silence: Engaging the Sacred in Daily Life by Brother David Steindl-Rast

Pained by opportunities missed,
and the many violations of life,
still we give thanks.

With humility we acknowledge
our general failure to imagine
much more compassionate alternatives to life in these times.

And when at last we realize
we don’t know where to go,
we are ready to be led into brighter days.

Disciples of the Prince of Peace
live in tension between grief for all that’s lost and never can be, 
and gratitude for all that’s given; an overflow of possibility.

—from the book Wandering and Welcome: Meditations for Finding Peace by Joseph Grant

Darkness is necessary. All life germinates in the dark and we spend fully one half of our lives in that state. Without pervasive darkness there would be no need for light, and still there are places and realities that light cannot illumine. Lightlessness also bears different aspects. It is the impenetrable cloak of mystery that hides the Holy and shades our lives with the nuance of not-knowing. Such darkness can both isolate and integrate us under its shadow. When plunged into blackness, our first instinct is to reach out for one another. Should we turn our headlights off, linger long enough in unknowing, and let our eyes adjust to the dimness, we might discover that most especially in dark times we are not alone.

—from the book Wandering and Welcome: Meditations for Finding Peace by Joseph Grant

We are constantly surrounded by advertising in a growing variety of forms. Ads creep into nearly everything we do. And this ramps up even more during the weeks leading up to Christmas. Advent invites us to take a break from the deluge of ads and seek something deeper and more lasting than the latest electronics or the best deal on that kitchen appliance that everyone needs this year. Advent invites us to seek a sense of peace and wholeness in our hearts and in our daily lives. If we do that even in small ways this year, we will have an immeasurable gift to share with our loved ones and possibly even with our world.

—from the book Simple Gifts: Daily Reflections for Advent by Diane M. Houdek

“By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn will break over us from above, to enlighten those who sit under the dark shadow of death, and to guide our feet onto the way of peace.” —Luke 1:78-79

Are you ready to welcome the glimmer of new beginnings?

With fresh fires and Christmas lights,
we mark the darkest days of the rolling year,
and call to mind how everything and everyone starts in the dark.

Dark days augur alienation and danger
yet darkness also draws us together;
a time for dimming our lights so we can see the stars.

This sacred season of birth pangs and beginnings 
offers time to lovingly look back
over a year of gifts, of losses, and of lessons.

—from the book Wandering and Welcome: Meditations for Finding Peace by Joseph Grant

Amid all the disaster and distress
that wheels around and swirls within us in chaotic times,
there are also always marvels to behold.

Let neither fear nor preoccupation
keep you from being touched
by wonderfully wounded life.

May you find a way in every day,
to share your great-fullness
for all that touches your eyes.

May you refuse to be crushed
but rather, look lovingly upon all with tear-washed eyes,
trained on woundedness, straining for wonder.

As you savor the sweet brevity of your days, 
may passion puncture you, letting out joy,
till warmly you are welcomed; a sight for sore eyes.

—from the book Wandering and Welcome: Meditations for Finding Peace by Joseph Grant

Pope Francis has proven to be a trusted guide in dealing with the stress of the Christmas season and the anxiety of daily life in general. In his apostolic exhortation Rejoice and Be Glad, he puts his finger on the dangers of a frenetic quest for happiness: “The presence of constantly new gadgets, the excitement of travel and an endless array of consumer goods at times leave no room for God’s voice to be heard. We are overwhelmed by words, by superficial pleasures and by an increasing din, filled not by joy but rather by the discontent of those whose lives have lost meaning. How can we fail to realize the need to stop this rat race and to recover the personal space needed to carry on a heartfelt dialogue with God? Finding that space may prove painful but it is always fruitful. Sooner or later, we have to face our true selves and let the Lord enter.”

—from the book Simple Gifts: Daily Reflections for Advent by Diane M. Houdek