I bought a copy of A Writer’s Diary by Virginia Woolf. She began the book by mentioning Christina Rossetti in her first entry1. Woolf says, “If I were bringing a case against God she [Rossetti] is one of the first witnesses…
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Prayer and Meditation Simplified
Meditation centers our mind. If Christian meditation is new or elusive to you, here are three suggestions to get you started. This can be done in 15 minutes a day. Breathing: Close your eyes and breathe through your nose and…
Tagged with: 500, Ascetic Prayer, Breathing, Breathing Meditation, Christian formation, Christian Mysticism, Christianity, Dave Small, Dave_Small, Interior Castle, Lord's Prayer, Luke 11.1-4, Mystical Prayer, Our Father, Prayer and Meditation, Silence, Spain, spiritual formation, St John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, Teresa of Avila Turns 500, The Interior Castle, Theresa of Avila, Vanderbilt Divinity Library;
Posted in Revised Posts
Posted in Revised Posts
Preoccupations
A healthy spirituality expands instead of contracts our worldview. I wrote this short story a number of years ago about an early experience I had with Christian fundamentalism. Full of a thousand preoccupations as they are, they pray only a…
Tagged with: 500, Christian formation, Christian Mysticism, Christianity, Dave Small, Dave_Small, Distractions, Interior Castle, Jimmy Jazz, London Calling, Reptiles, Rock Music, Spain, spiritual formation, St John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, Teresa of Avila Turns 500, The Clash, The Interior Castle, Theresa of Avila, Theresa of Avila Turns 500
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The Great Reversal
If we distill the original Christian “gospel” to it’s essence, it’s this: Jesus is Lord, not Caesar. Of course, “Caesar” becomes a “fill in the blank”: “Jesus is Lord, not __________.” The core behavior of the Christian faith is to love one another. The…
Tagged with: Caesar, Humility, Love one another, Politics and Faith, Teresa of Avila, Teresa of Avila Turns 500, The Gospel
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In the Bleak Midwinter – Christmas 2020
Photo: by Janet Small – Nativity Arrangement by Our Grandchildren Yet it was you who took me from the womb; you kept me safe on my mother’s breast. On you I was cast from my birth, and since my mother…
Tagged with: Christina Rossetti, Christmas, In the Bleak Mid-Winter, John 1.18, John 1.3-4, John 1.5, John 1.9, Psalm 22, Star and Bucks Coffee Shop, Teresa of Avila, Teresa of Avila Turns 500
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 | Dave Small on Spiritual Greed |
 | celestinedesignsandm… on Spiritual Greed |
 | Christy B on It’s Only Practice |
| Dave Small on It’s Only Practice |
| Christy B on It’s Only Practice |
Teresa of Avila Turns 500 