Aelred of Rievaulx came from a long line of married priests. He was the fourth generation of priests in his family, and his great grandfather had been shrine bearer for Cuthbert in Durham. Aelred is a perfect example of Celtic Christianity having thin boundaries with the traditions around it. He was an Anglo-Saxon, an Englishman, … Continue reading Spiritual Friendship: Finding God In Our Human Relationships →

Brigit of Kildare was a saint and founder of monasteries in Ireland. Along with Patrick and Columcille she is said to be one of the three patron saints of Ireland. Her legacy and impact on Irish and Scottish Christianity is profound. Her legends are likely the amalgamation of a medieval abbess and a pagan goddess … Continue reading Brigit of Kildare: Mary of the Gaels →

Today is the first Sunday of the month when we share guest posts from people living and teaching the Contemplative and/or Celtic Christian way around the world. One of the beautiful things about the internet is that people doing amazing things in isolated parts of the world can learn from one another and grow together. … Continue reading The Face in the Leaves →

Panentheism is a way of understanding the relationship between God and creation. There are many different ideas about how the universe and the creator of the universe interact with one another. Is God separate from the universe? Is the universe made of God? Did God create from nothing? These kinds of questions have been asked … Continue reading Panentheism: Encountering the Divine in Nature →

Today I would like to share a guest post with you from my friend Carl McColman. Carl is a full-time contemplative writer, blogger, podcaster and speaker. He is the author of numerous books, including The Big Book of Christian Mysticism, Unteachable Lessons, and the forthcoming Eternal Heart. Find Carl online at www.anamchara.com. His newest project is a really cool … Continue reading Unknowledge Base: Explore Christian Mysticism Online →

The term recollection comes originally from Greek philosophy. For Plato recollection was associated with the forms. It was a kind of remembering in which sensible objects remind us of their eternal forms. In this sense recollection is something like the religious devotion inspired by icons. The painted image triggers our deeper knowing to help us … Continue reading Recollection: Purity of Heart and the Kingdom of Heaven →

“Then the Lord God formed a person from the dust of the ground and breathed into their nostrils the breath of life, and the person became a living being.”Genesis 2:7 Our breath is a gift from God. It is what gives us life. It is how we commune with the created world. With each breath … Continue reading Breathing: The Way to Pray Without Ceasing →

We are starting to form a little tradition in The Virtual Chapel where we put together a community article at Easter time. The way this works is I pose an open ended question in the Chapel, let people know that their responses will be used for this purpose, and then copy and paste all the … Continue reading What is the Deeper Meaning of the Easter Story? →

One of the things which makes the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus so powerful is that the story is told and retold from a myriad of different perspectives. We have the canonical gospel stories of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John as well as a number of others which didn't make it into the Bible … Continue reading The Gospel According to a Tree →

During Lent I have been writing about thoughts and feelings which the desert monastics referred to as demons. I wrote an article which you can find HERE about the method of soul healing described by Evagrius of Pontus. So far I have used the teachings of Evagrius and Cassian to name three demons and discuss … Continue reading Understanding Shame →