The Cross Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy SpiritAnd blessed be God's Kingdom, now and forever. Amen. Invitatory Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration...

Five months ago, I had never heard the name Thomas Merton. I was in a tender season of healing when I was invited to join a pilgrimage to the Abbey of Gethsemani. Preparing for the journey, I began reading Merton’s Thoughts in Solitude. As I read, I sensed the deep...

My Friend, do you think a Soul Friend can be someone who is no longer walking this earth? I’ve decided without hesitation, the answer for me is yes! So, my anamchara is beyond a coffee date, but not beyond a quiet corner in my home once I light a candle and quietly...

Bibliophiles are familiar with the well-trod adage “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.” Vincent Pizzuto’s Contemplating Christ: The Gospels and the Interior Life proclaims, “Don’t judge this book by it’s spine.” Notably small yet densely laden, this book is both a...

His words across the miles reverberated across the stagnant waters of the muddy Chattahoochee and soothed my weary soul. I had slipped away from the noise of the conference when I saw the notification pop up on my phone: a voice message from Vincent Pizzuto. A...

‘A Spiritual truth to which our culture and society have so successfully numbed us is that the contemplative life is not a luxury or a quaint pastime but a matter of grave spiritual, social, and now even planetary urgency.’  Vincent Pizzuto, Contemplating...

It started with a broken heart. An utter sense of helplessness and hopelessness had taken hold, and it was making me physically sick. I was horrified with each nightly newscast, and then Renee Good was murdered. In desperate need of community, solace, and some...

Gospel: John 4:5-24 I would like to take you back three weeks ago to Feb 20th and 21st and the 42nd Annual Convention of the Diocese of East Tennessee. The theme of the Convention was “Equip Disciples”. So the question I have for you is this: what does it look like...