Searching for Sacred

“If we love God and love others in Him, we will be glad to let suffering destroy anything in us that God is pleased to let it destroy, because we know that all it destroys in unimportant.   We will prefer to let the accidental trash of life be consumed by suffering in order that His glory may come out clean in everything we do.”   Thomas Merton, No Man in an Island We as a society do not like to suffer.   A billion dollar industry exists to medicate away our pain, sadness, worries, and discomforts.    We have complex coping skills to dull the pain of life.   We watch television, zone out with computer games, sleep too much, drink too much, stuff ourselves with comfort food – anything that will allow us a temporary escape from that which causes discomfort.     What do we lose by avoiding the path of suffering?   As Merton suggests in the above quote, suffering provides an opportunity to purify our intentions and longings.   In s...

I had a professor in college we affectionately called "The Sarge."  "The Sarge" taught Koine Greek, or Biblical Greek -- parsing verbs, translating passages.  It was brutal!  So brutal that I took up smoking cheap cigars the night before a test and had a flashcard bonfire at the end of the year.  Outside of Greek, this professor taught sociology and religion classes.  No "Sarge" in these settings.  In fact, she was one of my favorites.  In a time of deep spiritual crisis I went to her for advice.  I needed help dealing with doubt.  My faith journey is marked by a constant wrestle with doubt and fear of spiritual intimacy.  Her advice in 1997, "Cling to the Liturgy.  Let it carry you." I did not grow up with Liturgy -- rites, rituals, spiritual seasons, and a three-year cycle of reading through the Scripture.  But I was exploring Liturgy through prayer books as well as visiting Greek Orthodox and Catholic churches.  I wa...