The Spirituality of St. Francis: This e-course looks at the trajectory of St. Francis's life of conversion: from privileged son and party-goer, to penitent and self-educated hermit, to founder of a spiritual movement focused on healing and friendship and helping people discover the joy and love of God in their lives. His commitment to intense and deliberate spiritual practice is one of the reasons that millions of people have been drawn to him. This course explores how his spiritual approach to daily living can be adapted today.
The Spirituality of Cats: Cats exemplify lessons and truths that are echoed in great spiritual traditions and practices such as seek watch carefully, play like it matters, voice your opinion, seek warmth, and find the love inside of you. in this e-course, wisdom from cats is linked to such teachings as surrender in Sufism, the Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh on love, the Hasidic master Rebbe Nachman on joy, Hildegard of Bingen on God as sun, the witness of Nuns on the Bus, and more.
A Month of Eckhart: This month of discovery draws upon three collections of poetic meditations on the writings of the medieval Christian mystic by Jon M. Sweeney and co-author Mark S. Burrows. Each email includes a poem from Eckhart, a commentary on the text by Sweeney, a lectio divina process to follow with the text, and a daily practice related to the theme of the poem. Eckhart shows us how the purpose of life is not to find directions where or how to go, but to find your unique path, which is often in and through the darknesses of life.
Darkness Is Good: Meister Eckhart Wisdom for Advent: This program, originally designed for Advent, focuses on the non-dualist medieval Christian mystic (1260 – 1329) who teaches that the purpose of life is not finding the light but living gracefully without easy illumination. Eckhart understood hardship; he knew what it was to be empty and losing hope. But it was also at those times when he discovered it was in the bereft moments that he began to locate God—in his emptiness. For Eckhart, this was the same God of the Nativity manger.
Exploring Religious Fluidity with Thomas Merton: This e-course explores the events, writings, and travels of the decade of Thomas Merton’s life when he plunged into texts, relationships, and spiritual practices of traditions other than his native Christianity. From there, Sweeney examines the bigger question: What does it mean to have a fluid, dual, or multiple religious identity? He looks at what Merton’s experience has to teach about what’s possible, how it works, and how to avoid problems.
