Tag Archives: Esther Hizsa

DIY Prayer Retreat #11: Releasing Reality

Posted on July 12, 2018 by Esther Hizsa

Hi everyone,  I led our contemplative groups’ monthly retreat in June and this is what I used. For instructions and guidelines to help you lead a DIY, check here. May you be blessed as you open yourself to God in … Continue reading →

Posted in Prayer, Prayer Retreat Outline, Reflections, Resource | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Exactly What I Need

Posted on July 6, 2018 by Esther Hizsa

It’s also helpful to realize that this very body that we have, that’s sitting right here, right now with its aches and its pleasure, is exactly what we need to be fully human, fully awake, and fully alive. — Pema Chodron … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging, Creation, Overeating, Reflections | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

A Faithful Companion

Posted on June 29, 2018 by Esther Hizsa

See the whole universe, not only as something to love but as something that can love you back. –Pierre Teilhard de Chardin As many of you know, I have a Christmas cactus in the room where I pray, write, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Creation, Homelessness, Reflections | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How My Suffering is Ending My Suffering

Posted on June 22, 2018 by Esther Hizsa

In my post “Releasing Reality,” I referred to Anthony de Mello’s counsel to let our suffering end our suffering. How does that work? Suffering reveals my siren gods. It reveals the alluring attachments that toss me about. Suffering helps me notice … Continue reading →

Posted in Mindfulness, Prayer, Reflections | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Life below the Surface

Posted on June 15, 2018 by Esther Hizsa

Saturday morning at the annual SoulStream partner gathering at Sorrento, Lorie Martin, our retreat facilitator, invited us to enter the meeting room in silence. Pictures of creation were scattered over two long tables. She asked us to choose an image that … Continue reading →

Posted in Creation, Mindfulness, Prayer, Reflections | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Releasing Reality

Posted on June 8, 2018 by Esther Hizsa

I’ve been feeling out of sorts for a week or two–unmotivated to pray or read in the evenings. I just want to disappear and indulge in things that make me feel good. I feel this way whenever uncomfortable stuff gets … Continue reading →

Posted in Mindfulness, Reflections | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Forgiven

Posted on June 1, 2018 by Esther Hizsa

As I kneel at the altar to receive the Eucharist, it suddenly occurs to me that when Isaiah cried out, “Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips,” he may not have been speaking generally or just identifying … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections, Stories | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Tossed About

Posted on May 25, 2018 by Esther Hizsa

I think I’m doing fine until a miscommunication leads to a last-minute pick up from Sure Copy. Piles of photocopied class notes for the Living from the Heart course cover our dining room table. Hurriedly, I check, count, and paperclip each … Continue reading →

Posted in Homelessness, Ignatian Spirituality, Reflections, Wednesday Lunch Club | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Belated Valentine for You

Posted on May 18, 2018 by Esther Hizsa

Lately, I’ve been writing my posts on the week I publish them. But this week I was on Bowen Island co-facilitating the Living from the Heart course, so I knew I needed a stand-in. I found one, or should I … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry, Reflections | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

An Old Memory and a New Reality

Posted on May 11, 2018 by Esther Hizsa

“Where did you accept God’s invitation to be loving, to be grateful, to be yourself?” Father James Martin asks in his Daily Examen podcast. Wow. God wants me to be myself–unselfconsciously, unapologetically, gloriously me. What does that feel like? Like the girl … Continue reading →

Posted in Ignatian Spirituality, Reflections, Stories | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment