a somewhat more direct take on things than i usually muster, this essay was a long-time coming and is indicative of a new direction i’m taking.
ruminations on the cognitive nature of contemplation and its situation within our social, somatic, economic, and mechanized lives.
thanks to focolare media for sharing this.
this year is the 50th anniversary of the passing of swami abhishiktananda, benedictine monk and sannyasi. and i was invited by dimmid to write an essay on how/why swamiji’s life and message are still important and instructive for their journal dilitato corde.
swami abhsihiktananda was, it’s said plenty but bears repeating, a pioneer of interreligious dialogue, leaving his native france in 1948 for india and never returning. his embrace of advaita and his struggle to articulate his spiritual message in terms honest to the reality of his “double belonging” to the church and to the vedantic tradition make him an immensely compelling figure.
as i did with fr. bede griffiths a few months ago, rather than focusing on the more outgoing aspects of swami abhishiktananda’s thought and life, i turned to the foundations of his formation in monasticism. in this essay i look at his close and at times fraught relationship with the psalms.
it was good fun to write, requested as more of a reflection than a scholarly essay, so i placed myself in this one more than i usually do. other interesting takes are being added as the issue fills up in celebration.
requiescat in pace et lux perpetua luceat ei.
a bit back i had an essay on fr. bede griffiths, osbcam appear in new camaldoli’s newsletter. the new camaldoli hermitage is a community of camaldolese hermit-monks who trace their spiritual heritage back to st. romuald and st. benedict. i’ve visited a few times now, and i’m never disappointed in the monks’ welcome, community atmosphere, and the tremendous land the hermitage sits upon overlooking the pacific ocean in the santa lucia mountains.
folks who write on bede usually focus on his more speculative and experimental views, his interreligious models, etc. given my own proclivities, i took the chance to write about bede as a simple monk, who was, despite all the changes in his life and spirituality, devoted to the divine office (liturgy of the hours), the public prayer of the church that’s been sung throughout the day every day in all sorts of communities since the early years.
other solid stuff in here too.
My essay on earth, death, body, and the myriad of species we share our home with is out now in Macrina Magazine. You can find it here, if you like.
Hope everyone is well!
pax inter spinas
Today Macrina Magazine published the first part of a two-part essay of mine entitled “We Are the Dreamer: Earth and Body in Times of Plague.” The essay is a longish meditation on encountering land and other species, my sna poems series, problems with the concept “nature,” contemplative anthropology in a Christian context, my own anxieties during the heights of the pandemic, death, and the unparalleled Middle English poem Pearl.
It’s got a lot more “me” in it than most of my essays, and I’m very grateful to Macrina for bringing it out. The essay is set at Waterloo Quartzite Outcrops SNA, and my sna poems entry for that spot can be found here.
I hope you might take a look and see what else Macrina is publishing too. And stay tuned for the second installment next week!
pax inter spinas
for all those who keep the season of holy fasting we call “lent” in english (or those who are interested in world religions for whatever reason), i’ve got a new essay out in the benedictine magazine spirit & life.
it’s based on an interaction i had with some other guys here in milwaukee last year as well as some studying of the nature of christian atonement i did years and years ago now (when i first read william langland’s tremendous poem, piers plowman—read piers if you haven’t!).
all i’ll say here is that the essay involves the devil as a monstrous fish and the holy cross as a tricky hook. enjoy!
for any readers out there who are interested in monastic spirituality, i’ve got a new essay up at macrina magazine on devotion to the sacred humanity of christ and its monastic origins.
lots of good work being done over at macrina, so take a look around if you have an interest.
I’m always grateful for the support of Spirit & Life, the Benedictine magazine that the congregation of sisters I’m affiliated puts out every other month. But especially so right now. On the occasion of the Exultation of the Cross coming up on the 14th of this month, they’ve published an essay of mine that brings together American neo-bohemia, altered states of consciousness, devotion to the Sacred Humanity of Christ, and contemplation. (!) You can find it here.
This is by far my most personal essay so far, and I find it’s getting easier over the years to just say what I want to say. Spirit & Life has helped foster that growth for sure—if you like what you see there, please subscribe; it’s free and a very pleasing material publication!
pax inter spinas
In celebration of all things Benedictine and in the wake of The Saint Benedict Prayer Book coming out, Paraclete has also recently posted a brief life and translations of prayers I’ve written up on the first (modern) Benedictine oblate to be beatified, Blessed Itala Mela.
If you have an interest in Benedictine history, the liturgy, or arcane mystics that you didn’t even know were a thing, I hope you check it out, and support Paraclete while you’re at it if you’re able to.
Pax
Anyone looking for a liturgically-focused read to set your trajectory on Advent might appreciate this new, brief meditation of mine just posted. Thanks to Dappled Things for giving this a home!
And, in the shameless self-promotion department, if you enjoy that, you might just want to pick up my wife’s and my new book, O Shining Light: Old English Meditations for Advent and Christmastide, available from Gracewing.
Jacob Riyeff 