Reading Archives (Author)
Gratefulness Happens Before Thinking
Brother David Steindl-Rast
My vision of the world? My hope for the future? This topic sounds a bit big. Allow me to start small — say, with crows. They are my special friends. Just as I am writing these lines, one of them...
The Great Gesture That Unites Us
Brother David Steindl-Rast
I recognize, I acknowledge, I am grateful; in French these three concepts are expressed by one term: “Je suis reconnaissant.” I recognize the special quality of this joy: It is a joy fr...
Loving Your Enemy
Brother David Steindl-Rast
To love our enemies does not mean that we suddenly become their friends. If it is our enemies we are to love, they must remain enemies. Unless you have enemies, you cannot love them. And if you have n...
Letting Meaning Flow Into Purpose
Brother David Steindl-Rast
The only point where one can start to talk about anything, including death, is where one finds oneself. And for me this is as a Benedictine monk. In the rule of St. Benedict, the momenta mori has alwa...
Giving Up is Different From Letting Someone Down
Brother David Steindl-Rast
This inner gesture of letting go from moment to moment is what is so terribly difficult for us; and it can be applied to almost any area of experience. We mentioned time, for instance: there is the wh...
A Pledge For Grateful Living
Brother David Steindl-Rast
In thanksgiving for life, I pledge to overcome the illusion of entitlement by reminding myself that everything is gift and, thus, to live gratefully. In thanksgiving for life, I pledge to overc...
Three Great Forces
Brother David Steindl-Rast
The three great forces that the Christian Elders in the Egyptian desert identified as the enemies against which we’re battling are anger, lust, and laziness. The third one is called the noonday ...
Contemplation Vs. Social Change
Brother David Steindl-Rast
Brother David: You can’t really be a contemplative, unless you also want to change the world. You want to change yourself, and that’s where the struggle comes in. By ch...