Articles
Thoughts from the Seton Cove
Joy and Love in 2012
Patricia Speier - 01/01/2012
What can we do? We can become a sign. Whatever happens, become a sign of joy and a fountain of divine love. --Bede Griffiths, OSB It is the time of year when I begin thinking of fresh starts. Not so much about New Year’s resolutions because I discovered long ago that making a list of “shoulds” and “oughts” was a futile project that only left me feeling like a failure by about the third week in January. So now I turn my attention to reflecting on a way I want to be in the New Year—if I can achieve some clarity on who I am becoming then the doing usually follows. That is why the above quotation caught my eye. More...
Patricia Speier - 01/01/2012
What can we do? We can become a sign. Whatever happens, become a sign of joy and a fountain of divine love. --Bede Griffiths, OSB It is the time of year when I begin thinking of fresh starts. Not so much about New Year’s resolutions because I discovered long ago that making a list of “shoulds” and “oughts” was a futile project that only left me feeling like a failure by about the third week in January. So now I turn my attention to reflecting on a way I want to be in the New Year—if I can achieve some clarity on who I am becoming then the doing usually follows. That is why the above quotation caught my eye. More...
Soul-Centered Leadership
Patricia Speier - 10/19/2011
I am writing this at what I hope is the end of a long string of days where the temperature regularly soared above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Today is Labor Day and there is some respite from the malaise of the heat that afflicted us all summer. The temperature is cooler but the dryness caused by the drought and the ensuing wildfires such conditions give rise to are still with us. More...
Patricia Speier - 10/19/2011
I am writing this at what I hope is the end of a long string of days where the temperature regularly soared above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Today is Labor Day and there is some respite from the malaise of the heat that afflicted us all summer. The temperature is cooler but the dryness caused by the drought and the ensuing wildfires such conditions give rise to are still with us. More...
A Failure of Empathy: Barriers to the Inner Ground of Love
Patricia Speier, D. Min. - 06/16/2011
I woke up on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend to a horrific story of a hit and run accident that had taken the life of a young woman just blocks from where I live. A neighbor had awakened early in the morning to find a 30-year-old woman dead and bleeding in his driveway where she had been thrown by the car that hit her. The dead woman’s mother, like the rest of us, had been left to wonder why the driver of the car had not stopped to render aide. She could not help but anguish over the thought that her daughter might still be alive if the driver had stopped. As of this writing, no one knows why the driver did not stop. It would be easy to condemn this driver of heartlessness and cruelty, but of course we just don’t know and it only adds to the tragedy to try to make ourselves feel better by vilifying another. More...
Patricia Speier, D. Min. - 06/16/2011
I woke up on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend to a horrific story of a hit and run accident that had taken the life of a young woman just blocks from where I live. A neighbor had awakened early in the morning to find a 30-year-old woman dead and bleeding in his driveway where she had been thrown by the car that hit her. The dead woman’s mother, like the rest of us, had been left to wonder why the driver of the car had not stopped to render aide. She could not help but anguish over the thought that her daughter might still be alive if the driver had stopped. As of this writing, no one knows why the driver did not stop. It would be easy to condemn this driver of heartlessness and cruelty, but of course we just don’t know and it only adds to the tragedy to try to make ourselves feel better by vilifying another. More...
Binocular Wisdom and the Way of Love
Patricia Speier D.Min. - 03/17/2011
Recently I was privileged to attend a retreat featuring John J. Thatamanil, a professor of comparative theology at Vanderbilt Divinity School. The subject of this retreat was a comparative reading of the Gospel of John and the Hindu Scripture the Bhagavad Gita. The Gospel of John is often called the mystical gospel with its emphasis on the union of Christ and humanity; "Abide in me as I abide in you." (15:4) "Abide in my love." (15:9). More...
Patricia Speier D.Min. - 03/17/2011
Recently I was privileged to attend a retreat featuring John J. Thatamanil, a professor of comparative theology at Vanderbilt Divinity School. The subject of this retreat was a comparative reading of the Gospel of John and the Hindu Scripture the Bhagavad Gita. The Gospel of John is often called the mystical gospel with its emphasis on the union of Christ and humanity; "Abide in me as I abide in you." (15:4) "Abide in my love." (15:9). More...
Relationship Begins with Listening
Patty Speier - 12/20/2010
One of the things I find most disturbing about the holidays is that there seems to be so little time for relationships. I know this is ironic since the winter holidays are supposed to be the time of peace, goodwill, and fellowship. But every year despite my best intentions, I end up feeling drained, exhausted, and somewhat alienated by the frenzied activities that begin with Thanksgiving and at least in the Christian tradition, quickly move into Christmas and New Years, finally culminating in the Feast of the Epiphany. More...
Patty Speier - 12/20/2010
One of the things I find most disturbing about the holidays is that there seems to be so little time for relationships. I know this is ironic since the winter holidays are supposed to be the time of peace, goodwill, and fellowship. But every year despite my best intentions, I end up feeling drained, exhausted, and somewhat alienated by the frenzied activities that begin with Thanksgiving and at least in the Christian tradition, quickly move into Christmas and New Years, finally culminating in the Feast of the Epiphany. More...