Exploring Contemplation + Mysticism Through a Queer Lens
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A Monkish Friendship: Fr. Charles Cummings, OCSO (1940-2020)
“The monastic night watch is good practice in the art of waiting, as we patiently look for the coming of dawn. Monks and nuns wait in the dark, longing for the light of dawn but unable to hasten its coming. No one can force the dawn or bring it about in any way. It dawns Read more
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New Year, Same Past
There is the place in my life, paradoxically, where mystery is conceived and the best of myself is birthed. It never seems to be a place of great joy, but it is a place of great truth. Read more
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Thomas Merton, 51 Years Later
Many of you know I’ve enjoyed the work of Thomas Merton for some years now. To a degree, I echo the words of John Jeremiah Sullivan: “I can’t remember a time when Thomas Merton wasn’t a piece of my mental furniture.” Enjoying the writing of Thomas Merton does NOT mean I enjoy ALL or Read more
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Finding Words Among Poets and Prophets
I just completed my first preaching course during my second year of seminary at CTS where I was surrounded by poets and prophets every single day. From the speakers amid breaks and smiling faces greeting me at the door, to the deepest dedication to growth I’ve ever encountered at a conference… I am truly forever Read more
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Killing White Lies: Abraham Lincoln
If we can look upon the suffering of our fellow human and remain neutral because WE are comfortable, we have lost our humanity. Read more
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The Absurd Vocation
“One person plus one typewriter constitutes a movement.” –Pauli Murray Coming off a week-long class on activism, organizing and social movements in Durham, North Carolina (and my first full year of seminary at CTS), I climb back into the quiet walls of a Kentucky monastery: Gethsemani Abbey. Here, the silence seeps into my bones like Read more
What would it mean to queer contemplation? To disentangle contemplative spirituality from heteronormativity, patriarchy, and Eurocentricity, and instead engage with openness, curiosity, and a little weirdness?
Queering Contemplation: Finding Queerness in the Roots and Future of Contemplative Spirituality
Contemplation
Contemplation as a daily practice of reflection + action.
Mysticism
Mysticism as an accessible encounter of interconnection to self + others + the Divine.
Activism
Social Justice activism as the pursuit of love + liberation for all.
“Many poets are not poets for the same reason that many religious people are not saints: they never succeed in being themselves…”
— Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation
Dr. Cassidy Hall, DMin, MDiv, MTS, MA 