Category Archives: Contemplation

Learning the Mystery of Contemplation

Posted on May 1, 2013 by John Armstrong

St. John Vianney (1786-1859),  a French priest who is widely respected for his pastoral work and parish ministry, once noticed an elderly man visiting his church every morning before work and every evening after work. One day, out of profound … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemplation, Mysticism, Prayer, Spirituality | 18 Comments

My Sisters the Saints (6) – An Inspiring Journey in Faith

Posted on April 13, 2013 by John Armstrong

Colleen Carroll Campbell’s journey to femininity did not lead her to embrace a kind of Catholic “fundamentalism” with regard to the social, professional and economic gains that she had previously experienced because of feminism. John and Carroll Campbell clearly share … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Church Tradition, Contemplation, Discipleship, Faith, Feminism & Women, Friendship, Marriage & Family, Mysticism, Prayer, Roman Catholicism, Sexuality, Spirituality, The Church, The Future, Women in the Church | 2 Comments

My Sisters the Saints (5) – An Inspiring Journey in Faith

Posted on April 12, 2013 by John Armstrong

As Colleen Carroll Campbell tried to settle into her new work at the White House she found that she had never been so profoundly challenged in her work but so deeply dissatisfied with her life in general. She writes: I … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Church Tradition, Contemplation, Discipleship, Faith, Feminism & Women, Marriage & Family, Mysticism, Prayer, Roman Catholicism, Sexuality, Spirituality, The Church, The Future | Leave a comment

My Sisters the Saints (4) – An Inspiring Journey in Faith

Posted on April 11, 2013 by John Armstrong

In the spring of 2001, five years after Colleen Carroll Campbell had moved from Memphis to St. Louis to write for the St. Louis Post Dispatch, she fell in love with John Campbell, a young physician in training who would … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Church Tradition, Contemplation, Discipleship, Faith, Feminism & Women, Marriage & Family, Mysticism, Prayer, Roman Catholicism, Sexuality, Spirituality, The Church, The Future, Women in the Church | 5 Comments

My Sisters the Saints (3) – An Inspiring Journey in Faith

Posted on April 10, 2013 by John Armstrong

As Colleen Carroll Campbell’s spiritual memoir, My Sisters the Saints, evolves we begin to understand how her relationship with men was being changed profoundly. These changes clearly grew out of the spiritual formation that was now powerfully shaping her life … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Church Tradition, Contemplation, Discipleship, Faith, Feminism & Women, Love, Marriage & Family, Mysticism, Prayer, Roman Catholicism, Spirituality, The Church, The Future | 9 Comments

My Sisters the Saints (2) – An Inspiring Journey in Faith

Posted on April 9, 2013 by John Armstrong

Colleen Carroll Campbell’s new spiritual memoir informs the reader, very early in the book, of how her reading St. Teresa’s biography brought deep change. She understood anew why her parents read the lives of the saints as she found in … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Church Tradition, Contemplation, Discipleship, Faith, Marriage & Family, Mysticism, Roman Catholicism, Sexuality, The Church, The Future | 3 Comments

My Sisters the Saints (1) – An Inspiring Journey in Faith

Posted on April 8, 2013 by John Armstrong

Collen Carroll Campbell is an accomplished, award-winning author, as well as a print and broadcast journalist. I have followed her writing and professional career, at least from a  distance, since I read her first book, The New Faithful: Why Young … Continue reading →

Posted in Church Tradition, Contemplation, Discipleship, Faith, Feminism & Women, Marriage & Family, Mysticism, Prayer, Roman Catholicism, Sexuality, Spirituality, The Church, The Future | 10 Comments

Listening to God’s Word with the Heart

Posted on April 5, 2012 by John Armstrong

Yesterday I made a point about the Hebrew word (dabhar) that is used for God's Word. This word means much more than the sound of words in our ear or the registry of a meaning upon our mind. The same … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemplation, Mysticism, Scripture | 2 Comments

The Promise of Rivers

Posted on December 14, 2011 by John Armstrong

In John 7 our Lord visits Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. John 7:1-10:21 covers a period of only eight days. But what an amazing eight days it was in terms of our Lord’s mission and what he revealed. People … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemplation, Prayer, Spirituality | 2 Comments

Practicing Mental Prayer

Posted on October 11, 2011 by John Armstrong

Once we realize that prayer is “friendly intercourse” with God, rooted in his deep love for us, we can begin to talk about the method for how we do this. I offer, based upon my own reading of various spiritual … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemplation, Mysticism, Prayer, Spirituality | Leave a comment