-
What is lectio divina?
Lectio divina is an ancient practice that dates all the way back to the earliest stages of the monastic movement. The spirit of it can be found in St. Antony the Great (251-356), though many credit St. John Cassian (360-435) with bringing the practice to the West from the East. Regardless of its earliest origins,…
-
Observations from my first Stephen Wilson Jr. concert
My wife gifted me (us) tickets to the first stop on Stephen Wilson Jr.’s Gary the Torch tour in Columbus, Ohio last week. I’ve been listening to Stephen Wilson Jr. for, I don’t know, eight months or so. Overall, I’d say he’s wrecked me. There’s something about the depth of the poetry combined with grungy…
-
Battle for Peace
Battling for peace is an oxymoronic truth. The find the origins of the word “peace” in the common Hebrew greeting shalom. Shalom refers to being intact, complete, and whole, to soundness and welfare. It expressed harmony and communion with God that resulted from the covenant. Shalom refers to communion with God that brings peace, and…
-
Crushed
In today’s Gospel from Mark 3, we read: Jesus withdrew toward the sea with his disciples.A large number of people followed from Galilee and from Judea.Hearing what he was doing,a large number of people came to him also from Jerusalem,from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan,and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon.He told his disciples…
-
Forty
I turn forty today. They say, “You’re middle age, Hope you didn’t waste your youth.” I do see years wasted. I see moments missed. I look back on regrets, mistakes, and sins. Yet I see more light than darkness, Dawn breaking on a dark horizon. I see gifts, grace, and virtue. I have hope for…
-
Compilation: Revival Blog Posts
Over the last few years, I’ve been blessed to contribute to the National Eucharistic Revival by writing for the blog/newsletter. I thought I would compile all the pieces in one location:
-
Pursuing Oblation
I am a novice oblate of the Benedictine Monastery of the Holy Cross in Chicago, Illinois. My wife is, too. God willing, we will make our final oblation on Nov. 8, 2026. Benedictine oblates live the monastic way of life insofar as their state in life permits — they are, we might say, “everyday monks.”…
-
Silence and Discretion
Recently, I had a bad cough. You know, the type that causes your chest and throat to burn and gives your once-six-pack-abs a good workout? Yes, that kind. The kind of cough that lingers as an evil tickle in the back of your throat. One false word, one false breath will cause it to explode…
-
Make Space not Plans
I was doing some late-night reading a few days ago, perusing the latest edition of The Catholic Worker, the bi-monthly newspaper from New York City that still serves as an organ of the movement. A man named Trevor Brannigan contributed an article documenting his time at Peter Maurin Farm, located in Marlboro, NY (50 miles…
-
How do you guys do it?
When people find out I have eight children, the most common question I get in response is, “How do you guys do it? How do you raise all those kids?” My most common response is usually, “we don’t do it very well.” And, that is true. Most of the time, we feel like we’re barely…
-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
Brad Bursa 