• Irritations and the Spiritual Life

  Stanley Elkin once suggested that “it’s easier for a camel to pass through the eye of needle than for an irritated person to enter the kingdom of heaven.” True enough.

  https://ronrolheiser.com/irritations-and-the-spiritual-life/

• Substance and Appearance

  My old philosophical mentor, Eric Mascall, used to say that, in our time, all the goods are in the store-window and there’s very little under the counter. He was commenting

  https://ronrolheiser.com/substance-and-appearance/

• Struggling with Being Blessed

  Rock star, Janis Joplin, was once asked, “What’s it like being a pop idol?” Her answer: “It can be awful sometimes. You have no idea how hard it is to

  https://ronrolheiser.com/struggling-with-being-blessed/

• Suicide – The Most Misunderstood of All Deaths

  Death is always painful, but its pains are compounded considerably if its cause is suicide. When a suicide occurs, we aren’t just left with the loss of a person, we’re

  https://ronrolheiser.com/suicide-the-most-misunderstood-of-all-deaths/

• The Mother Tongue

  Hans Urs Von Baltasar once wrote: “After a Mother has smiled for a long time at her child, the child will begin to smile back; she has awakened love in

  https://ronrolheiser.com/the-mother-tongue/

• Helping Create a Symphony of Prayer

  Theologians make an important distinction between what they call “devotional” and “liturgical” prayer. “Devotional” prayer, they tell us, is private in nature and is meant to help sustain us personally

  https://ronrolheiser.com/helping-create-a-symphony-of-prayer/

• The Struggle for Sincerity

  We live with two great desires. Beyond our desire for intimacy we also want sincerity. But, like intimacy, this too is rather elusive. It’s not easy to be sincere. I

  https://ronrolheiser.com/the-struggle-for-sincerity/

• Providence and the Conspiracy of Accidents

  Some years ago, in a class in religious experience, a woman shared this story: She had been raised in a religious home and had been a regular church-goer until her

  https://ronrolheiser.com/providence-and-the-conspiracy-of-accidents/

• In Our Full Humanity

  Several years ago, in church, I witnessed this incident: A young boy, perhaps six or seven years old, was growing restless and fidgety. Finally in a voice loud enough to

  https://ronrolheiser.com/in-our-full-humanity/

• Conflicting Voices

  We are drowning in a sea of voices. Superficially, we see this in advertising. Everywhere around us, billboards, radio, television, newspapers, magazines, the internet, and the fashion industry, hold out

  https://ronrolheiser.com/conflicting-voices/