thoughtfully catholic

Occasional haiku writing mystically inclined Catholic.

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On The Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary

On The Most Holy Rosary of the Virgin Mary

Although this blog and its predecessor, Catholic Scot, contain thousands of words about prayer I have thus far written little about that mos

In this post I share the meditative, contemplative way that I pray the Rosary, for example:

The Institution of the Eucharist

Here we meditate on that great Mystery which the Catechism describes as the source and summit of Christian life.

“Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus, sacrificing His Body and Blood…”

Under the appearance of bread and wine Jesus made present to His disciples in an unbloody way the holocaust which would be made visibly and bloodily present on the altar of the Cross the next day....

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On The Most Holy Rosary of the Virgin Mary

Although this blog and its predecessor, Catholic Scot, contain thousands of words about prayer I have thus far written little about that most beloved and characteristic of Catholic devotions, the Rosary. There are various reasons for this. One of them is that at this point in history there have already been, at a conservative estimate, about 20 or 30 million other pieces about the Rosary written…

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Chill, ice-bearing wind, Haunting dreams, touching lives, of Winter river swans.

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The Jesus Prayer and the Gospel in Brief (Part II)

The Jesus Prayer with reflections inspired by the Gospel According to St John. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, You are the grain of wheat, Which by dying gives life, Have mercy on me.

Gentle Reader, it is not necessary for you to first read The Jesus Prayer and the Gospel (Part I) before proceeding to read this post. But if you do your life will be spiritually enriched and you shall experience great joy. Do not, however, let me in any way influence your decision whether or not to read this treasure among posts. The Gospel in Brief Why did I choose this title? Well, partly…

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The Jesus Prayer and the Gospel in Brief (Part I)

Dear Reader, if you don’t yet know what the Jesus Prayer is please bear with me for a few paragraphs while I set the scene, then all will become clear. So, I’ve been reading a book called The Jesus Prayer Rosary by Father Michael Cleary. The basic format he proposes is that for every decade (group of ten beads on a Rosary) a different short phrase or petition should be inserted into the Jesus…

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River-shrouding mist

Lingers upon the waters.

Winter's bleak, cold dawn.

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Nights growing longer, Auburn toned forest pathways. Nature dreams of sleep.

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So, I've been playing with AI generated art. What do you think?

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The Enemy Within

Now the serpent was more subtle than any of the beasts of the earth which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman: Why hath God comm

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Now there stood by the Cross of Jesus, His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen.

(John 19:25)

There were two who sat on there opposite the tomb, Mary Magdalen and the other Mary with her.

(Matthew 27:61)

This piece is not a contribution to the Magdalene Wars. I will not address the question of whether or not MM and Jesus were romantically involved (they were not). Nor shall I express an opinion on the wholly absurd and baseless accusation that the Catholic Church sought to denigrate the Magdalen by identifying her as one of those lost sheep whose recovery causes more rejoicing in heaven than that of ninety and nine righteous persons who did not need to be recovered. I should also say that although I feel bad about the other Mary mentioned in the Gospel this piece will not be about her either for reasons of space and limitation of knowledge.

‘What will it be about then?’ you ask perfectly reasonably. Well, you may not be aware of this but there is an ancient devotion to the Mother of Jesus called ‘The Seven Sorrows of Mary’ and the Gospel identifies the Magdalen as being present at the last three of them. So, what this piece attempts to do is to reflect on those three sorrows from a Magdalenian perspective and see if this teaches us any lessons for today....(click here to read more)

(via Mary Magdalene & the Dead Christ)

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Against, and Also For, an Austere and Simple Vision

Life is the flight of the alone to the Alone. (Plotinus) Under pretence of driving out the vendors from the temple, they have driven away the little ones who cried Hosanna! And in the midst of those walls, whitewashed and despoiled, they have placed a new divinity, powerful in evoking silence and void around her. She is called Ennui. Frederic Ozanam Recently I have been reading ‘Loyal…

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In Defence of Contemplative Prayer

By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. I will rise now, and go about the city in the street

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May is Mary's month, Mother of my second birth, My days now brighter.

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Imaginative Contemplation: The Priest, The Drunk, and the Dangerous Chair – thoughtfully catholic (wordpress.com)

 My intention here is to briefly outline the (or a) technique for imaginative contemplation and then illustrate it via the stories of ‘Eli and the (Apparent) Drunk’ and ‘Eli and the Dangerous Chair (or Stool)’.

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Birdsong of morning, Welcome new accents of spring. White Easter Lilies.

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Flourishing Imagination, Sound Theology

This piece is about Imaginative Contemplation, sometimes known as Visualisation Meditation or, if you are a Catholic, Ignatian Prayer (of wh

This piece is about Imaginative Contemplation, sometimes known as Visualisation Meditation or, if you are a Catholic, Ignatian Prayer (of which more later). Normally I am a hardcore contemplation kind of person. That is, I wait upon God using nothing but the bare word or silence. However, if you are going to commit to devoting a significant part of your day, every day, for the whole of the rest of your life, to prayer then it will help you to have a wide repertoire for your Smörgåsbord. (Also, having a willingness to boldly mix your metaphors isn’t strictly necessary but I find that it helps)....

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This documentary about an austere, contemplative Catholic monastic order, the Carthusians, in Korea is well worth watching. It is observational and without commentary, rather like a previous classic documentary, Into Great Silence, about Carthusians in France.