Tag: Thomas Merton

Eps 69: Guiding People from Fear to Solidarity

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Steven Hovater, a multi-talented man, is my guest today.

He creates several podcasts. He is a pastor. He makes apps. He is a family man: husband and dad of four (including two adopted daughters). And, as you will hear, he’s a lot of fun to converse with. I hope to have him back in the future as a return guest. Enjoy!

stevenhovater

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SHOW NOTES for episode 69

Steven’s Podcast – Spiritual Stepshovaterspiritualsteps

(He also creates The Craft of Ministry podcast and just recently the Twine Threads of Faith podcast)

MIN 3:00

Spiritual Steps is a vehicle for his faith community to not be dominated by fears and anxieties.

[ictt-tweet-inline hashtags=”#fear” via=””]You can’t simply be educated out of fear.[/ictt-tweet-inline] (Click the bird to tweet this!)

“Islamophobia is more phobia than Islam.”

John Barton – Click to read the article

cultural change feels fearful.

7:30

Spiritual practices and disciplines (mainly prayer)

Rewiring the brain.

9:30

How do we want to be in the world in common life.

12:00

The fruit of what you create.

When you think a sermon stinks but then it ends up blessing others.

15:30

[ictt-tweet-inline via=””]Part of our calling in the world is to join in the creative impulse of the divine.[/ictt-tweet-inline] (click the bird to tweet this!)

17:00

How missional living plays out in Steve’s life

19:00

Righteousness and Judgment properly understood.

25:00

The problem of available work in his area.

27:00

The types of work left for humans to do is going away and this changes how we see ourselves.

37:00

Being radically alive

40:00

WEBSITE: stevenhovater.com

on TWITTER:
https://twitter.com/StevenHovater

43:00

Making Prayer and completive prayer more accessible:

Thomas Merton

44:30

The Prayer of  Solidarity– click here to read.

46:30

Gregory Pastoral Rule – Click here to read

For other episodes related to human dignity, you will enjoy this episodes:

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Silence and peace

Timely short prayer write some 50 something years ago, or more.

I’m gathering up the energies to write something in long form. Several ideas brewing but not sure of my next choice. For now, the silence.

lake-and-leaves

Prayer of Thomas Merton

I beg you to keep me in this silence so that I may learn from it
the word of your peace
and the word of your mercy
and the word of your gentleness to the world:
and that through me perhaps your word of peace
may make itself heard
where it has not been possible for anyone to hear it for a long time.

Famous Thomas Merton Prayer

mertonstudents

Today, I want to share a prayer with you written by Thomas Merton because it’s one of my favorites.

This is a great go-to prayer when it’s hard to find your footing.

Sometimes we run out of things to pray when everything seems a mess; or if we are “in-between”. In those times I appreciate the psalms and I also rely on faithful brothers and sisters whose words have helped me be verbal when I am unable, but still dearly want to feel connection with the source of all love and goodness.

Be blessed today.

 

MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it.

Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

• Thomas Merton, “Thoughts in Solitude”

© Abbey of Gethsemani

Contemplative Reading Recommendations

Advent Season is the perfect time to get all high octane spiritually speaking. Read, meditate, pray, and learn from others, and you will be so enriched as you enter the Christmas season.

My favorite undertaker, and writer friend, Caleb Wilde has been blog writing about God and Greek influence. And it struck me how much the Contemplative stream of Christianity may help inform us about things and in places where our finite intellectualizing fails us. The intersection of life and death is one of those spots.

I asked Caleb who and what he’s read from this (as Richard Foster says) “Stream of Christianity”, and he asked for recommendations. So, I thought, I’d offer them to all of you.

Please recommend your favorites too.

My not-by-any-means exhaustive list of favorite Contemplative Stream writers.

By way of a high-qulaity but compact primer I recommend Richard Foster‘s who gives a fantastic overview to each of the 6 Streams of Christianity. His “Streams of Living Waters” book covers the basic 6 traditions categorized as: Charismatic, Holiness, Contemplative, Social Justice, Evangelical,  and Incarnational flavors (if you will) within all of Christianity through the ages since Christ.

Gaining Christian spiritual insights from devoted lovers of God outside your own era and your own experience of a specific faith tradition is an invaluable blessing, and very faith building. Foster outlines major points and people of the Contemplative Stream, starting with the apostle John, in the book you see below:

Classic contemplative standby: Frances of Assisi (1181-1226)

Brother Lawrence (1611-1691) The Practice of the Presence of God (short read, and free online. sweet.)

Frank Laubach (1884-1970)


Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941)

Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

Thomas Merton “In My Own Words”

Henri Nouwen 1932-1996)

Here are 2 useful previously posted articles on this Stream.
1. Kataphatic and Apophatic Prayer Explained
2.Meditation to Contemplation – Kataphatic to Apophatic Prayer (an prayer exercise/experience)

Prayer from the Path (Thomas Merton)

Thomas Merton

My Lord God

I have no idea where I am going.

I do not see the road ahead of me.

I cannot know for certain where it will end.

Nor do I really know myself,

and the fact that I think I am following

your will does not mean

that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that my desire to please you

does in fact please you.

And I hope that I have that desire

in all that I am doing.

I hope that I will never do anything

apart from that desire.

And I know that if I do this

you will lead me by the right road

though I may know nothing about it.

Therefore will I trust you always

though I may seem to be lost

and in the shadow of death.

I will not fear,

for you are ever with me,

and you will never leave me

to face my perils alone.

– Thomas Merton (1915-1968)