Evagrius Ponticus (345-399 CE) was a Christian monk, really a hermit, who lived in the Egyptian desert. Evagrius is and has been an interesting figure for...
The vagaries of faith reside at the heart of Nancy Mairs' "A Dynamic God: Living an Unconventional Catholic Faith," which in some sense picks up where the...
Welcome to all the new people. I am mainly a lurker. I am a Roman Catholic, Benedictine oblate (Camaldolese/Benedictine) of New Camaldoli Hermitage in the Big...
Thanks you Michael for sharing your info. I wish you and everyone here a peaceful year. I was just wondering if you could what is a oblate? Also, I am an...
Thanks for your questions, Rafael. I guess the best way to describe a monastic oblate is by calling us lay monks (gender inclusive). We are not under any...
Michael, Thanks for the posts! What a wonderful way to start off the New Year! Ah, the Benedictines - I just love them! I know it is a blessing to be an...
A young friend of mine by the name of Eva received a masters degree from the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology in Berkeley, California a few months...
I have loved the posts I have read by you, Debbie and Michael. I too mostly lurk. I have introduced myself to the board once or twice because new people are...
This is all very affirming. I am amazed. I thought I was alone. The Kagyu and Nyingma traditions of Tibetan Buddhism practice long-term retreats, but they...
Satina, I have been thinking the same thing as you have .... in fact, I am seriously considering applying for the three year retreat at Gampo Abbey. But I...
Kevin, Where are you doing this degree? I have been looking for something exactly like this, but haven't found it. The closest I have come to a program I...
Debbie: It depends upon what you want to do. If you are looking for a historical study or a sociological study then you should look into programs dealing in...
I decided to post this info about Comparative Theology here instead of a personal email to debbie was the following: in case others were interested in...
Dear Debbie, Santina, Kevin, Thanks for your comments. I am not a scholar, however, I find what you have said encouraging and instructive. I am lucky that I...
Dear Chris, Thanks for your kind comments. I do agree with you. Michael "We cannot be peaceful if we are restless, full of anxieties about sins, weaknesses,...
Michael: You don't have to be a scholar. We all have different vocations and talents and goals. I find that your posts are wonderful, reflective and very...
Kevin Hunt who is mentioned in the review you copied here was a student of Father Robert E. Kennedy, a Jesuit priest and Zen teacher who has a web site and has...
Kevin, Thank you so much for all the information ... you have given me much to consider! What I have wanted to do is simply this .... study God. However, I ...
Michael, I am familiar with Oblates .... When in religious life, I was a Franciscan, and am familiar with Third Order Franciscans. When choosing communities,...
I am wondering if anyone else in this group studies Pema Chodron and tries to put her teachings into practice such as hopelessness and death and tonglen. There...
as part of Comparative Theology (CT). Remember, you need a theme or ritual or idea that can be compared and mystical theology could be compared to Buddhist...
Hi Debbie, Here's my thoughts on this for what they are worth. You say "I have also not wanted to to study God from a sociological, historical, anthropological...
As I pointed out to Debbie, Comparative Theology is a new academic field that attempts to do what she wants...study the nature of God not from a political,...
"[God] himself neither is nor becomes in any way at all any of the things that are or become, since he can in no way be ranked naturally with the things that...
"Divinity and divine things are in some respects knowable and in some respects unknowable. They are knowable in the contemplation of what pertains to divinity...
"Apophatic theology, then, leads to silence before God and silence about God—you might call it 'adoration theology.' As such, it is a condition for true...
Michael, how did you go about becoming an oblate? At the Benedictine web site I see that they say....."if you are between the ages of 20 and 50..." Did you...
