Dear friends, Two weeks into this winter hermit adventure, and I’ve already pretty much lost track of what day of the week this is, so at the moment I’m even more clueless than usual about when Ash Wednesday will arrive. Is it next week or the one following? All I know is that at some […]
Dear friends, Well, the long-awaited time has at last arrived! After more than ten years in the planning and ground-laying, I have arrived back on Eagle Island for six weeks of winter solitude. Six weeks!!! I have no official commitments until March 9. And while there will no doubt be trips ashore for groceries and […]
BLOG ADMINISTRATOR’S NOTE: Last October Cynthia received a wholehearted endorsement and reference to her book Mystical Hope in a blog entry by scientist, business executive, and entrepreneur Ricardo Levy. Cynthia was delighted at how profoundly the essence of her book was captured in such an unexpected context, that she suggested we re-post here. So thank you to […]
Christmastide greetings to you all! Surprise!!! I have a new home. On the Monday before Christmas I slipped off of Eagle Island in the trough between two storms, and early that afternoon closed on a little house in Stonington, Maine, a picturesque little fishing village about five miles from Eagle. It will serve as the […]
Dear friends and fellow contemplatives, We would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a joyous and blessed Christmas – and to share this brief excerpt of Cynthia’s writing capturing how one very special, timeless moment can glow “with the fullness of God.” There was one evening, almost eventless in its own […]
In early December Margaret Haines, founding president of The Contemplative Society, slipped peacefully from this life on her beloved Salt Spring Island, surrounded by family and close friends. She was 86 years old. Margaret was my mentor and my midwife. She entered my life at a critical point in my own spiritual journey and with […]
One of the things I most love about the line of work I’ve fallen into—writing books that push the Christian theological envelope—is that it brings me into conversation with so many fascinating people around the world. The majority of these folks belong to the general category of what I’d call “heartbroken Christians:” thoughtful, prayerful, sincere […]
Many years ago, it occurred to me that the fall also offers us a Triduum in those great three days encompassing Halloween (October 31), All Saints Day (November 1), and All Souls Day (November 2).
Dear friends, Welcome to our brand new Contemplative Society blogspot! All morning as I’ve pondered about how best to launch this initial post, I find myself wondering what Thomas Merton would have done if this technology had been available to him. I chuckle to think of him sitting there in his little cinder block hermitage […]