Ten Years with Pope FrancisThe Religion News Service (RNS) is an independent, nonprofit, and award-winning source of global news on religion, spirituality, culture and ethics, reported by a staff of professional journalists. Because of its objective reporting and insightful commentary, it is relied upon by secular and faith-based news organizations around the world. That’s one reason we looked to RNS to see what’s being said about Pope Francis after his first ten years as Pope.
Dealing with Resilience Fatigue
Posted by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat on February 18, 2022
In a Wall Street Journal article dated February1, 2022, "Still Feeling Pandemic Miserable? There Are Ways to Dig Out," Alex Janin takes a cogent look at the findings of the General Social Survey conducted by the research organization NORC at the University of Chicago: 24% of Americans reported that they were "not too happy" in life in 2021, up from 13% in 2018, and the share of those who said they were "very happy" declined to 19% from 31% over the same period.
As we move into the start of the third year of the COVID pandemic,
Gratitude to Robert Bly
Posted by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat on November 29, 2021
Robert Bly, who died November 21, 2021, at the age of 94, had a tremendous impact on our spiritual lives and, we suspect, on the spiritual journeys of many of our website visitors. Here's a profile of his amazing contributions in our Remembering Spiritual Masters Project.
And here are some specific reasons why we honor his life and will miss his presence:
And here are some specific reasons why we honor his life and will miss his presence:
Director of Nomadland Salutes Compassion
Posted by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat on March 5, 2021
Our favorite spiritual film of 2020 is Nomadland which we summed up as "the remarkable odyssey of a feisty woman who finds community and her true self in her home on the road."
50 Years of the Same Street
Posted by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat on December 20, 2020
In our book Spiritual Literacy, we recounted a scene from the movie Smoke. Auggie owns a cigar store in Brooklyn and every morning at 8 a.m., he takes a photograph of his special place on Earth from across the street. He has over 4,000 of these pictures collected in albums. One day, he shows the albums to Paul, a regular customer, who pages through them rapidly. He is puzzled by Auggie's pictures and complains that they are all the same.
Words of 2020
Posted by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat on December 4, 2020
The deluge of events, the velocity of change, and the upheaval of our lives are mirrored in the language we use. Words, as a result, have both cultural and spiritual significance.
Every year, the Oxford English Dictionary's expert lexicographers choose a "Word of the Year" . . .
America's Moment of Reckoning
Posted by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat on June 5, 2020
Dr. Cornel West is an author, social critic, and democratic intellectual. He is Professor of the Practice of Public Philosophy at Harvard University and holds the title of Professor Emeritus at Princeton University. He has also taught at Union Theological Seminary, Yale, Harvard, and the University of Paris. He is well-known for his assertion that "Justice is what love looks like in public."
The Call to Service
Posted by Frederic Brussat on May 22, 2020
In his May 7, 2020, opinion column for The New York Times, the visionary David Brooks states that all young adults should have the chance to serve those around them — especially now during the coronavirus pandemic. He describes those just graduating from high school or college, or taking a break from college: "This is a passionate, idealistic generation that sees the emergency, wants to serve those around them and groans to live up to this moment."
The Pandemic as Portal
Posted by Frederic Brussat on April 21, 2020
I often return in moments of questioning to a quote from Arundhati Roy: "Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing." Roy is an Indian novelist, activist for anti-globalist movements, and a vociferous critic of U.S. capitalism and foreign policy. African-American activist Cornel West has called her "one of the few great intellectual revolutionaries in our time."
Moving Less, Staying Rooted
Posted by Frederic Brussat on March 2, 2020
Americans are not moving as much as they did in the past. They are staying in the same house for years on end. Henry Grabar reported in an article on Slate that just 11% percent of the U.S. population changed residences in 2017, down from 12% in 2013 and 13% in 2006. Not only are people not moving from state to state, they are not moving from house to house locally.
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About This Blog
Spiritual literacy is the ability to read the signs written in the texts of our own experiences. It is recommended and practiced in all the world's religions. Whether viewed as a gift from God or a skill to be cultivated, this facility enables us to discern and decipher a world full of meaning. More