everyday spirituality Archives - Page 4 of 11

I’m Burnt Out on Outrage

Posted on October 25, 2017October 24, 2017 by Michael Rose

I was speaking with a friend today who was expressing indignation at a particularly twisted bit of theology. It was one of those things one can only shake one’s head, with mouth agape in wonderment, at such profound theological abuse. I found that in reading it, I had no energy to be outraged. Yes, it…

Loving our Lepers

Posted on September 12, 2017September 12, 2017 by Michael Rose

There is an old story about St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226), the founder of the Catholic order known as the Franciscans. The story goes that Francis was revolted by people with leprosy. As you may be aware, leprosy is a horrible and disfiguring disease. While leprosy is curable today, people did suffer terribly and from…

Who Mourns the Sparrow?

Posted on May 12, 2017May 12, 2017 by Michael Rose

Who will mourn the Sparrow? After all, what’s a sparrows life worth? How could we measure? Two for a penny? Four on sale? With no fanfare, no prayers, no eulogy No acknowledgement they ever lived Two for a penny? Four on sale? Surely it doesn’t escape its creators gaze Assuredly ascending in Her tender care…

Listen Deeply – a Contemplative Prayer exercise

Posted on April 22, 2017 by Michael Rose

The practice (grace) of seeing God in and through all things will serve us well in season and out. I invite you to sit quietly and turn your thoughts to Jesus. In this contemplative prayer exercise relax and picture Jesus and let that image come to rest in your heart. This is a gentle practice…

Punched, Naked and a Long Walk

Posted on April 11, 2017September 1, 2017 by Michael Rose

People who meet me today are shocked to learn that as a younger man I was a bouncer at a somewhat legendary honky tonk in Calgary, Alberta. It was a fairly rough place at times, and a night wasn’t complete without helping people leave the premises often under duress. In that position we had two…

Everyday Spirituality

Posted on March 28, 2017March 29, 2017 by Michael Rose

Once upon a time, there were two carpenters; framers to be precise. Each day they would arrive at the building site to pound nails and erect walls. The first, a glum man, was asked what he was doing. “I hammer nails,” he replied, looking sour. “Every day, hammer nails and more nails. Day in,…

Christ Climbed Down

Posted on December 23, 2016December 23, 2016 by Michael Rose

Christ Climbed Down Christ climbed down from His bare Tree this year and ran away to where there were no rootless Christmas trees hung with candycanes and breakable stars Christ climbed down from His bare Tree this Year and ran away to where there were no gilded Christmas trees and no tinsel Christmas trees and…

The Radical Middle. Healthy Faith in a World of Extremes

Posted on November 22, 2016October 25, 2019 by Michael Rose

Driving the backroads of rural Alberta can be an adventure into some of the most lovely country in the world. There is a unique beauty of the Alberta prairie. Driving the gravel roads can be a bit of a trick as different stretches of the road can be different than others – washboards, deeply rutted,…

Stubborn Gladness

Posted on November 20, 2016 by Michael Rose

I have been working with a group of folks to practice gratitude as a way of life. Just everyday folks walking faith out in everyday life. We are finding it not as easy as it would seem. We discussed how so much of what happens around us could be a nagging and persistent source of…

Spirituality and the Sense of Smell

Posted on October 25, 2016October 28, 2016 by Michael Rose

Last Sunday afternoon, my family and I took a walk in a park along the Old Man River in Southern Alberta. The gusty west winds had done their job relieving the old Poplar trees of their leaves. The gusty wind was shifting, and swirling the fallen leaves on the ground. With each step, the crunch of…