By Kathy Keary Part 1 of 4. Find all the articles here. As a spiritual director, it is not uncommon for people to seek my assistance as they sort out where God is leading them. We all engage in discernment throughout our lives with varying degrees of consequence. As we begin a series on discernment, […]
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Living in the Season of the Holy Spirit #5: Empower
By Fr. Ron Will CPPS All the reflections in this series can be found here: Living in the Season of the Holy Spirit. Welcome back to Precious Blood Renewal Center, as we continue our reflections on the season of the Holy Spirit. When we live under the influence of the Holy Spirit, we participate in […]
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Etched in the Landscape: Finding God in Creation
By Kathy Keary In our last article in the series, An Invitation to Something New: The Contemplative Life, I described a personal theophany, a profound experience when the presence of God unmistakably sang a divine love song to me at the ocean shore. As described in, Spirit of Love: Celebrating the Sacred, I was deeply […]
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Stay at Home Directed Retreat — Sept. 11-13
There is a longing in my heart for you to reveal yourself to me. There is a longing in my heart for love I only find in you, O God. If you have felt this longing in your heart — or if you’re missing that longing — a personal directed retreat maybe an opportunity God […]
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Living in the Season of the Holy Spirit #4: Intimacy
By Fr. Ron Will CPPS Welcome back to Precious Blood Renewal Center for the fourth in our series “Living in the Season of the Holy Spirit. We’ve been reflecting on the idea that the Feast of Pentecost propels us into the season of the Holy Spirit. When we live under the influence of the Holy […]
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Spirit of Love: Celebrating the Sacred
By Kathy Keary “The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior; he will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love, he will sing joyfully because of you, as one sings at festivals.” Zephaniah 3:17, 18a It was a gorgeous morning, not a cloud in the sky. The day […]
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Living in the Season of the Holy Spirit #3: There Are Different Gifts
By Fr. Ron Will, CPPS All the reflections in this series can be found here: Living in the Season of the Holy Spirit. Welcome back to Precious Blood Renewal Center. We have been talking about how the Feast of Pentecost propels us into the season of the Holy Spirit. When we live under the influence […]
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Prayers for Racial Justice, Day 2: The bones of the weary ache for an answer
Day Two, July 2 The bones of the weary ache for an answer, searching for vision, shout out with new strength. We are redeemed in the blood of Christ. We are washed in love. Sent by the blood, stained by the blood; we are servants of the blood of Christ. THE CUP THAT MAKES US […]
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What to do when you can’t shake the blues
By Fr. Garry Richmeier Over my 25 years as a counselor, people have often come to me saying they are feeling down or depressed. They wonder what is wrong and they want to fix it. I thought today I would share with you some of my experience about what to do when you’re feeling doing, […]
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Living in the Season of the Holy Spirit #1: Forgiveness
By Fr. Ron Will, CPPS Today we begin a seven-week series titled “Living in the Season of the Holy Spirit.” When we live under the influence of the Holy Spirit, we participate in a new creation. This is what we mean when we speak of the “Season of the Holy Spirit.” Over the next seven […]
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From the Heart: Contemplative Communication
By Kathy Keary The Circle is a method of contemplative communication where members find themselves totally present to others. Participants not only speak from the heart but also listen from the heart. It’s an effective tool in a spiritual, family, or secular setting and can be used for many purposes including healing, reconciliation, community building, […]
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Video 3 — Focusing: Listening to the Wisdom of the Body for Healing
By Kathy Keary This is our third video on focusing. Focusing is a life-giving spiritual meditation that honors the wisdom that lies within us. Focusing speaks to us in a way that can be felt in our bodies. Undoubtedly, we are living in troubled times, not only in our nation but in the world and […]
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The Healing Power of Contemplative Prayer
by Kathy Keary In our world today, so much is happening. It can gnaw at our sense of well-being. A common question in the hearts of many is: where do I turn to heal my wounded soul? The comforting power of contemplative prayer in times of difficulty cannot be overstated. The past few weeks we […]
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Video 2 — Focusing: Listening to the Wisdom of the Body for Healing
By Kathy Keary This is the second of three videos in this series. All videos are here. Today we continue our series of videos that look at Focusing, a technique developed by University of Chicago psychologist Eugen Gendlin. Gendlin found that his clients were more likely to improve if they had a relationship with feelings […]
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Spiritual Direction by Zoom or Phone
Feeling a bit disconnected from your spiritual life? Here are two ways to reconnect. During these weeks of “sheltering in place,” have you felt a longing in your heart? Perhaps a desire to feel God’s presence in your life more strongly? Do you wish you had someone with whom to talk about your spiritual desires? […]
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The Stay-at-Home Directed Retreat — June 26-28
Feeling a bit disconnected from your spiritual life? Here are two ways to reconnect. During these weeks of “sheltering in place,” have you felt a longing in your heart? Perhaps a desire to feel God’s presence in your life more strongly? Do you wish you had someone with whom to talk about your spiritual desires? […]
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Focusing: Reverencing the Wisdom of the Body for Healing 3
This is Part 3 of a 3 Part series. Read all the articles here. By Kathy Keary In our previous articles, background information and the mechanics of focusing were outlined. Videos supplemented the articles. I suspect that for many, this was your first exposure to this type of spiritual meditation. In this article, I will […]
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Taize June 4: Tonight we prayer for right relationships
By Dennis Coday The Taize Prayer Service post today to our website (see below) and Facebook page was recorded several days before the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the subsequent demonstrations and protests enveloped the nation. Already under stress from the ongoing covid-19 pandemic, this was much to endure. Despite predating the horrific […]
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Focusing: Listening to the Wisdom of the Body for Healing 1
By Kathy Keary This is Part 1 of a 3 Part series. Read all the articles here. Stress seems to be a part of many people’s lives. The sense of unease seems to be amplified during the pandemic. Many are unemployed and struggling to put food on the table. Some are teaching their children at […]
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Using Our Bodies in Prayer
By Kathy Keary In our series on contemplative living, an element that stands out is that prayer goes way beyond words. In a matter of fact, words in many instances are a barrier to intimacy with our Maker. When we engage mind, spirit and body in prayer, our whole being is engaged. The whole person […]
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The Fruits of Contemplation
By Kathy Keary This is Part 4 of a 4 Part series. Read all the articles here. I answered the call to divine communion through centering prayer nine years ago. Ever since, I have heard and accepted the invitation that lures me into the depths of my soul to spend sacred time with my Maker. The […]
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Contemplation: Going Deeper into Silence
By Kathy Keary This is Part 3 of a 4 Part series. Read all the articles here. In this article, I am relying on the wisdom of David Frenette in his book, The Path of Centering Prayer: Deepening Your Experience of God as the concepts presented are quite lofty but awe-inspiring in my humble estimation. […]
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The Seven Appearances of Jesus after the Resurrection: #5 At the Mount of Olives
By Fr. Ron Will This meditation is based on the Matthew 28: 16-20. Welcome back to Precious Blood Renewal Center for this 5th week of Easter meditations. Workplaces and churches may be opening up a little more in your part of the country than they were a week ago, but there are still lots of […]
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Contemplation: The Use of Breath and Image in Centering Prayer
This is Part 2 of a 4 Part series. Read all the articles here. In our introduction to centering prayer, we discussed using the sacred word as a method of expressing our intent to be open to the indwelling presence and action of God in the deepest center of our being. We now turn our […]
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Prayer in the Time of Pandemic
The Coronavirus pandemic has rapidly transformed life as we know it for lots of people across the world. For many, COVID-19 carries challenges and feelings of anxiety, fear, isolation, economic hardship and other stresses. However, we are not alone in our feelings knowing we can ease those fears by prayer. Today and every day let […]
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Contemplation: Communion with the Divine
By Kathy Keary This is Part 1 of a 4 Part series. Read all the articles here. The word, “contemplation,” means different things to different people. In this series of four articles, I am referring to contemplation as a deep loving communion with the divine. It is a resting and simply being in God. Contemplation […]
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The Seven Appearances of Jesus after the Resurrection: #3 At the Sea Shore
By Fr. Ron Will, CPPS In this meditation, we will join the Apostles after they have gone back to fishing on the Sea of Galilee, after the death and resurrection of Jesus. You can find the scripture passage here: John 21: 2-14. When Jesus appears to the Apostles on the seashore, at first they do […]
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Eyes and Heart Wide Open: The Practice of Contemplative Photography
By Kathy Keary For years I have captured the beauty of nature on my camera. As I look through my photos, I see breathtaking sunsets, the vastness of oceans, the immense varieties of trees, flowers, and faces, the splendor of mountains, and the density of forests. I am particularly drawn to paths as they speak […]
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The Seven Appearances of Jesus after the Resurrection: #1 Mary Magdalene at the Tomb
Happy Easter from Precious Blood Renewal Center in Liberty, Missouri! Christ is risen! Alleluia! Let us rejoice! We hope you had a chance to celebrate Easter Sunday by means of a livestream either from your own parish church or from one of the televised Easter Masses. Easter is the most important day of our liturgical […]
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What is a Silent Directed Retreat? Part 4
By Fr. Ron Will, CPPS Here we go with our next installment in this series about silent directed retreats. In Part 1, we talked about what a directed retreat is, and in Parts 2 and 3, we looked at some expectations about prayer during the retreat. Let’s continue to look at prayer, but from an […]
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The Play of Light: A Meditation
The following video was created by photographer Winterbottom and the music composed by Danyal Dhondy. You can use these brilliant images and beautiful music as a visual mediation. Just turn off the lights, watch, listen and then sit in silence for several minutes. No words necessary. Stained glass time lapse, Washington National Cathedral from Colin […]