This series shares lines from the Prayer to the Trinity (“Holy Trinity Whom I Adore”) composed by Carmelite nun Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity 1880-1906 (Élisabeth Catez). Her prayer is one of great love, and reveals that our true belonging is in God. It is also a prayer with outward momentum. It seeks to enable […]
Read MoreAs winter begins we find ourselves longing for light in advancing darkness. This series of Morning Bell opens up the possibility of discovering the light within and through the darkness. It draws on Ian’s series of photos and meditations Seeking Light now available for download from Proost. The text for the series was written in real time in Advent, […]
Read MoreIn this series What can this be? we revisit a sequence we initially shared five years ago. We have long been drawn to Julian of Norwich [1342-c.1423] – one of the great unsung heroes of the contemplative tradition in the British Isles. Her ‘Showings’ or ‘Revelations of Divine Love’ manage to be both strange to the ear – and beautifully attuned to the challenges of contemporary life. Through […]
Read MoreThis series follows our body prayer for the Beatitudes ‘You are the Light of the World’ – now available to download from Proost. In times like these it seems particularly important to us that we are rooted in the Beatitudes – the great wisdom sayings of Jesus. To embody our prayers is to yearn for our praying […]
Read MoreOur series REFLECTING LIGHT draws on poems from Ian’s book Cave Refectory Road The images were all made on a visit this summer to the island of Iona, a much-prayed place that is very special to us. The lines from the Cave Refectory Road poems all, in different ways, seek to explore the possibility of finding light, […]
Read MoreOur series BREATHING DEEP draws on Ian’s book Breathing Deep: Life In the Spirit of Easter. As with the previous books in the series – Wilderness Taunts (Lent) and Some Small Heaven (Advent, Christmas & Epiphany) – this work began as a daily reflection in a church season. Breathing Deep is a journey through Eastertide, […]
Read MoreThis series – Devotions – is our 100th! However long you have been following Morning Bell, thank you for traveling with us on the journey into prayer and into life. Devotions draws on a series of poems of the same name written by Ian in the haiku tradition, and published in the Unfurling collection. Each poem expresses something of our own journey in […]
Read MoreThis series – The Beginning – is a return to our roots, following a path line by line through the opening chapter of St Mark’s Gospel. Probably written in the mid to late 60s AD, Mark’s gospel was probably also the first of the four gospels to come into being. There’s a sparse immediacy to Mark’s writing. Everything matters. Nothing is surplus. […]
Read MoreThis series – A Spirituality for Turbulent Times – is an invitation to shape a life of spiritual practice that brings good to the world in the demanding times in which we live. Ian’s text for the series comes from a piece he has written for Missional Conversations – a wonderful new book [edited by Cathy […]
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