When it comes to being around others do you feel a part of or apart from?

No matter how much we may convince ourselves that we don't need or want fellowship God knows that's not true. We were created for each other, for community. God desires a relationship with us, so much so that He sent Jesus to bring us back to Him and to make it possible for us to have the rich reward of eternal life with God. Part of the beauty of God's fellowship with us is how it is accomplished by our interaction with other people. << MORE >>

One of the facts of life is that the longer you live the more encounters you will have with death. People live, people die. Sure as the sun rises and sets.

We Christians hold on to the Son also Rises. Jesus Christ was raised from death and the glory of Easter is something to live for everyday. But you can't have Easter without Good Friday. We are still in the Easter Season and yet news of death continues to swim around me.<< MORE >>

Many spiritual masters emphasize the importance of taking time each day for quiet contemplative prayer. Our world is so full of noise that in order to hear God's voice we need to go someplace where we can "be still and know" (Psalm 46:10).

I am still, after some years, learning to do this. I truly do value my quiet time in the morning. I usually read from a few daily meditation books I have as well as from the Scriptures. But having the quiet-let-go-of-my-thoughts-and-agenda praying still needs some work.<< MORE >>

Joseph Campbell had a wonderfully perceptive and insightful mind and his excerpt on the Campbell Facebook page yesterday about Jesus, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection certainly had me thinking and nodding my head.

I believe that the death of Jesus of Nazarene on a cross was much deeper than some cosmic transaction to square humanity with God.<< MORE >>

I wrote the following article back in April 2007 and in reading it again and contemplating my own journey the past five years it still resonates with me. The journey Jesus took to Jerusalem to fulfill his mission is full of drama and many lessons for all of us. And, of course, the mission that redeems us and call us to live in a new freedom and join Christ in changing our world is the outcome. The Kingdom of Heaven is indeed at hand!

The three most sacred days of the Christian liturgical calendar are upon us. << MORE >>

It has been two months to the day since my father, Thomas Marshall Gilbert, Jr. passed away. There has been time to reflect, time to grieve and time to ponder his life and his death. Inevitably, it has led me to ponder my own life, and yes, my eventual passing from this life.

But what I want to write about here is what it meant to be with Dad in those final hours. It brought together family, especially my sister and brother, to a vigil at his hospital bedside. It was a holy time.<< MORE >>

We are all addicted. For some it is more obvious. It could be alcohol, drugs, sex, food or money. For others it is more subliminal. It could be the way you spend your time. Or maybe it is your patterns of thought.

If we are all addicted it follows that we all need a recovery program. The genius of Richard Rohr’s book Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps (St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2011) is how he takes each of the twelve steps of the Alcoholics Anonymous program and applies them to our need for true spiritual growth. << MORE >>

There are a number of things that Christians take as a matter of faith. That is part of the way God works; certain things are not supposed to be "figured out". We accept them on faith because they are beyond human understanding. The Mind of God (Mind of Christ) contains much knowledge and wisdom, but also great mystery.

This doesn't mean we don't ask questions. Questions are essential to learning. Questions also help us wrestle with matters of faith.<< MORE >>

Like all seekers of God's wisdom I find myself at times over analyzing my spirituality. Our Truth and Reality, however, is that we are already in and with God. We must merely believe and recognize it!

The hard part is our busy society keeps us churning and distracted. Letting go of our personal agenda is very difficult. When we think that maybe it was easier in earlier times perhaps we should consider the demands on Jesus during his ministry. Once he started healing others, preaching powerful wisdom, being available to all who me, word got around and he was constantly besieged with crowds.<< MORE >>

My father passed away just over two weeks ago. I am working on a tribute article to post that will include spiritual insights and a recognition of all that happened during his holy death.

But for this brief posting I am hoping to convey to you the importance of living each day of your life to the fullest and to appreciate that we are but passing through before we pass on. We don't know how many days we will have in our lifetime; each one - each moment, truly - is precious. I would even say sacred.

When death comes I want to be ready. The only way to do that is to prepare by acknowledging that God has given me a beautiful gift. I have life! Despite the daily struggles, the challenges and the drama, this should not be underestimated.<< MORE >>