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Talking About The Faith Path
- Author Mark Dohle
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This is an interview that Sandy and I were part of a few years ago. She had a powerful NDE, and well I was just the monk who was there with her being part of the conversation.. I think I took up too much...
The Journey of a Monastic Pilgrim
I do believe that in belonging to the Priesthood-Of-The-People, the persons who belong to my congregation or those who struggle the way I do. So I will often pray for those consumed with violence and have no way to deal with it. Our struggles can make us more...
Doorways
Ever since I was a child I have always loved doorways. They represent mystery, a different world that perhaps could be explored. It is like a package that is wrapped and just waiting to be opened; a gift.
We have some pretty large doorways here in the Monastery. Slowly we are having...
Praying with Mary
My soul magnifies the Lord
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
Because He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaid.
I was talking with a wonderful guest we had here for a retreat last week. We talked about many things and one of the subjects she brought up was the...
Dealing With Being Sick
I have often said that there is no real meaning to the word “mature adult’ for me. We are a mixture of being centered, scattered, loving, hateful faithful, and being faithless. How we deal with this merry-go-round that we call life tests us to respond in one way or...
To Endure
Patient endurance is what you need now,
so that you will continue to do God’s will.
Then you will receive all that he
has promised. – Hebrews 10:36
Life can become very difficult. There are some ways to deal with difficult times. One way is to escape it or try to. That seldom...
(Judy, Robert, Janie)
A Talk With My Sister Judy
I was talking to my sister Judy today. She texted me about how much she missed our brother David. I texted her back on how much I missed him as well. He lived here off and on for four years before his death. He would come up and stay while he...
Lessons from Holy Week
Holy Week has some powerful truths to tell us if one can ponder them. This also means contemplating one's life. If a Christian, this can lead to a deeper understanding of one of life’s mysteries. That is of course, why there is so much injustice in the world, so much...
A nursing home visit, some shopping, and an intelligent worker
The Monastery is about 15 miles from a town called Covington. It is a nice place and has a beautiful town square. We do not need to go there often Just for the occasional doctor appointment near the Hospital. It is starting to grow...
Destructive Habits Often Overlooked
“Even if you ceased to love Me, I should always love you. Even if you no longer listened for My voice in the silence, I should still make it possible for you to hear Me. This is how every sinner finds Me waiting. Who could ever weigh My love, or set a price...
The Simple Apple
The more I write, the more a mystery, writing becomes for me. I often think that writing is like being a weaver with many different colored threads that are woven together to make the essay, or story, into a sort of multilayered work of art. Then when people read, they take the...
I am going to love everyone
in my 30-foot circle. -Bail Bardis
Gail is a good friend of mine. When talking to her she can come up with some interesting statements that grab my intention. One such statement went like this: “I am going to love everyone in my 30-foot circle”. When she stated this...
What is compassion?
“If you only knew what compassion really is—
the compassion you must strive to imitate!
Overlooking everything to stoop to a heart’s
needs, paying no attention to any disappointments or ingratitude, being even kinder to those who
have hurt you. Just be your Christ for them...
Light is deeper buoying us up
Hell on earth can be experienced,
sometimes all one can do is breathe,
be in the moment and face the demon,
in faith, knowing that in the darkness,
light is deeper, still buoying us up,
stand on the rock, the sure foundation,
all things pass, yet love is eternal...
The Habit of Self-reflection/Prayer
December 13—Holy Hour. . . . “Practice your faith. When you were learning to walk, you leaped forward at a venture, and little by little you became surefooted. Do the same in your inner life. Take a flying leap toward the Trinity, toward My mother, in...
My experience of the Internet as a monk
I started using the Internet in 1999. I was fifty years old and was a little hesitant to start. However, it did not take long for me to understand that the computer was quite easy to navigate.
Being curious about other belief systems I started joining...
Our support in our struggles
There is one word I heed and continually ponder; it alone is everything to me; I live by it and die by it, and it is the holy will of God. It is my daily food. My whole soul listens intently to God’s wishes. I do always what God asks of me, although my nature...
Inner Chaos and the Life of Prayer
“By yourself you are chaos. Do you fully realize this? Do you try to keep it in mind?
Have you humbled yourself today in thought or deed? Not to cause you distress nor diminish your strength,
but to tighten your hold on the power of your God, who is only...
Being Childlike Before God
““You’re not very sure of this, are you? There is always this distance that you put between God and His children, whereas I try to remove all distance. Oh, My beloved friends, come to Me more simply. I always make the comparison of the little child who throws her two...
Each human heart is a temple wherein God dwells
It does not take much to make most people feel more at ease.
More than we know, people are used to being ignored or passed over,
or, only given a cursory nod of attention. So, when someone smiles at them,
and talks to them it can be a time of...