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On Fasting and Praying in Secret
The philosopher, David Hume, once made a distinction between something he called as genuine virtues and something he termed monkish virtues. Genuine virtues, he said, were those qualities inside us
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Haiti and the Theodicy Question
Where is God in the countless tragedies that happen in our world? Where is God when bad things happen to good people? Where was God during the Holocaust? These are
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Lessons from the Monastic Cell
Monks have secrets worth knowing. Here’s some advice from the Desert Fathers: Go to your cell and your cell will teach you everything you need to know. Here’s another counsel
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Good Books That Found Me This Year
An old adage says that the book you need to read finds you. I believe that, though obviously the book likes a little help from its reader who needs to
https://ronrolheiser.com/good-books-that-found-me-this-year/
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Reasons to Celebrate Christmas
For many people the thought of Christmas brings fatigue. It’s not the religious aspect that causes the tiredness, but the overdrawn rituals that surround it: the overly decorated shops, the
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Chastity and Christmas
Scripture and Christian tradition emphasize that Jesus could only be born out of a chaste womb, just as Christian Spirituality emphasizes he can only come to full bloom inside of
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Joseph and Christmas
There are countless persons, basilicas, churches, shrines, seminaries, convents, and even towns and cities named after St. Joseph. My native country, Canada, has him as its patron. Who exactly is
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Prayer with an Infallible Guarantee
There are several places in the gospels where Jesus assures us that if we ask for something in his name we are guaranteed to receive it. In Matthew’s gospel, for
https://ronrolheiser.com/prayer-with-an-infallible-guarantee/
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A Nun’s Story
When we think of a saint we tend to think only of someone who has been officially canonized by the church, but I have a few patron saints who have
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Respect for Each Other in a Polarized Community
We live today in a highly polarized world and within highly polarized churches. In this, we are not unique. A certain degree of polarization exists within every community and is
https://ronrolheiser.com/respect-for-each-other-in-a-polarized-community/