John of the Cross is two amazing things: a saint, and one of the greatest poets in the Spanish language.
Author Archives: Mike Mason
The Gospel According to Job: Five-Minute Version
Watch this on YouTube or read the text below.
A Lenten Motto: Anticipate Adversity
Most of us, I think, have an expectation that life will be good to us. When trouble rears its ugly head, we are surprised, even offended. We watch the news; we know terrible things happen to people all the time. But somehow we think we’ll prove the exception.
Practicing the Presence of People: An Introduction
A group who is studying my book Practicing the Presence of People asked me to provide a short video introduction. Watch the result on YouTube. I’m not a dynamic speaker, so if you’d rather read than watch, I’ve added the script.
Binary Thinking: A Simple Lesson in Theology
Imagine you’re a robot with a binary brain, all 1’s and 0’s.
Now picture yourself looking at a flower.
Dearest Sister Wendy: A Surprising Story of Faith and Friendship
In my “Christmas Shelfie” I featured a book by Sister Wendy Beckett, a Carmelite nun who became rather famous in the 90’s as an astute and winsome commentator on art, both in a series of books and also in popular TV specials.
My Visit to the Sleep Clinic
As research for my current project, a book on the spirituality of sleep, I arranged a visit to the Sleep Clinic in Parry Sound, an hour’s drive north of where I live.
The Real Santa Claus: A Christmas Parable
This one’s not in my book Twenty-One Candles: Stories for Christmas because it was written later. Merry Christmas, everybody!
Christmas in El Salvador, 1981
An American priest visited a displaced persons’ refuge in El Salvador in 1981 and wrote the following reflection. It could just as easily apply today to a migrant camp in Lebanon or a bomb shelter in Ukraine.
