I cannot speak to you as yet from the experience of weekly Sabbath as I imagine it--a full day of rest that I hope one day to have as part of my spiritual practice. But I can speak of the restoring, restful smaller practices that help me redeem time and restore my tattered soul. I know what some of those restful moments are for me: They can be as s…

However we sense God’s call to go--to places that frighten or inspire us; to places we would choose gladly or do anything to avoid; to travel across boundaries or to stay put, physically and to deepen where we are--the greatest truth is this: we do not go alone. I hope you know that. I hope you know that Jesus is always with you. And that God doesn…

Bishop Mariann explores three ways that the practice of blessing can draw us closer to God and help us grow in our capacity to love. It seems as if we all must wrestle with things in life--hard things we would not choose but have come to us nonetheless. We must wrestle with them until the blessing reveals itself. That’s not to say that we are to pr…

Bishop Mariann takes us back to the days after the Ressurection and helps us experience Jesus on our own "roads to Emmaus" in our times of worship and in the celebration of the Eucharist. The Way of Love is the journey of a lifetime. It’s a way of knowing God, receiving and sharing Jesus’ love, and being a blessing to the world. For the full text o…

Prayer is a vital component of the Way of Love. Prayer does not have to be complex, long, or anxious. Prayer is a time in which we are able to bring our full selves to God trusting that God, with the help of the Holy Spirit, will hear our longings and concerns. So let me give you a bit of my personal testimony: how God spoke to my life in a time of…

Reflecting on Jesus’ life and teaching can shed spiritual light on your life. Jesus says in the Gospel of John that we can only speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen. So let me give you a bit of my personal testimony: how God spoke to my life through a particular story from gospels that hat has become part of my spiritual narrative…

Turning is but one of seven practices in the Jesus-focused life. It’s the starting point when we first make the decision to turn toward the one who has come to us. We turn to him in need of forgiveness and strength. It’s a choice we make every day, to turn toward him and then to follow where he leads. But remember, as you turn, that he turns to you…

So often we think of the Christian faith as an obligation, or as a set of beliefs that we must hold. There are obligations and beliefs, but if we get stuck there, we can lose sight of, or never experience at all, what is most important. At its heart, Christianity offers an invitation to experience a loving, personal relationship with God. It’s a re…