spiritual insights on religion, social justice and comparative theology
To have dominion over something is “to have control over” it or “power over” it. Usually when we think of having dominion, we think of a ruler having power over a region. I want to address the idea of dominion from the perspective of our feelings and our hearts. We have control over our feelings to … Continue reading “Dominion” by William Klein
Anxieties have a way of cropping up and getting in the way of life. I was struggling with a problem and a friend of mine was checking in on me. She dropped a text in the morning to see how I was doing. I told her, “I’m retreating into the day” by listening to theology … Continue reading “Retreating Into Your Day” by William Klein
“Each of us is a word of God spoken only once. We have a word to speak with our lives. If we don’t speak it, it may never be heard.” Sr. Peg Dolan, RSHM I love this quote, and it’s one that I always return to in life. Sr. Peg reminded me of how sacred … Continue reading “The Paradox of God in the Spoken and Unspoken”
In a talk given at the Religious Education Congress in LA, Father Ron Rohlheiser reminded the audience, “There’s an old saying that ‘familiarity breeds contempt’. That’s why G. K. Chesterton wrote, ‘Our perennial [enduring] spiritual and psychological task is to look at things familiar until they become unfamiliar again’”. There have always been those times in our lives where … Continue reading “Mindfulness” by William Klein
The invisible is made visible in fascinating ways. Vibrant energy is popping all around us and the act of creation is the life-giving flow that stimulates more life and opens the floodgates of grace to produce more beauty. I once heard that Picasso would look at a blank canvass for over twelve hours. He wouldn’t … Continue reading “Invisible Made Visible” by William Klein
The world lost a master academic and fearless champion for prayer. The great Cisctercian monk and Catholic theologian Father Thomas Keating passed away in November, 2018 at the age of 95. He was quite a man and his story was told in the documentary honoring his life by his nephew Peter Jones, “A Rising Tide … Continue reading “The Death of a Great Monk” by William Klein
History has witnessed mighty individuals fall due to callous egos. Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin come to mind and in recent years Saddam Hussein and Bin Laden. Shakespeare wrote compelling tragedies and histories about people who were caught up in the whirl of their own narcissism and the great bard depicted how it would ultimately be … Continue reading “The Power of Humility” by William Klein
Jeff Bezos’ base minimum wage was raised to $15 an hour. Good for him. It was the right thing to do. Other companies like Walmart have followed Bezo’s lead and raised wages for their employees as well to $11 an hour from the federal minimum wage. The last time wages were increased for the average … Continue reading “Raises For Working Poor Are A Necessity” by William Klein
Desperation has a way of taking us out of ourselves. Some of us are inconvenienced by injustice. In other words, the injustice that we suffer forces us to make decisions we may not always make. Those of us who live in freedom -- who are gainfully employed, who have a roof over our heads and … Continue reading “Developing A Heart Of Compassion” by William Klein
As I get ready to return to school, I was thinking about the things I want my students to learn. The most important lesson for me to teach in the first few days is “You’re an expert in your own experience.” The first few nervous days of school when students are trying to find their … Continue reading “You’re An Expert In Your Own Experience”
spirit beat 