Author Archives: Jonas

Hemlock Hospice

Posted on October 31, 2018 by Jonas

Until recent years, eastern hemlock trees (tsuga canadensis) have been an enduring presence in our cultural and natural environments. Hemlocks can grow for hundreds of years to more than 150 feet tall on trunks measuring six feet in diameter. They … Continue reading →

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The Patron Saint of Ecologists

Posted on October 12, 2018 by Jonas

October 4th is Saint Francis’ feast day, but the weeks of late September and early October might as well be Francis’ feast month. On any given Sunday during this period, people in many denominations bring their pets to church to … Continue reading →

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“Something we’re just learning how to see”

Posted on September 17, 2018 by Jonas

When I take a walk in the woods, I’m entering a complex ecosystem of trees, shrubs, ferns, insects, birds, in other words a dynamic community of a variety of life forms. Like the research participants walking through green spaces in the … Continue reading →

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A Walk in the Woods

Posted on August 28, 2018 by Jonas

“I think that I cannot preserve my health and spirits, unless I spend four hours a day at least—and it is commonly more than that—sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields, absolutely free from all worldly engagements.” … Continue reading →

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Praying with the Earth

Posted on August 15, 2018 by Jonas

The ageless mountains are full of your glory the vast seas swell with your might the shining skies expand beyond our imagining so we pause to praise we wait in wonder we listen to learn of the mountain glory within … Continue reading →

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“Everything That Rises Must Converge”

Posted on August 1, 2018 by Jonas

Flannery O’Connor (1925-1964) was a writer whose Catholic faith deeply informed her fiction, and no thinker influenced her more than Teilhard de Chardin. Afflicted with lupus, an autoimmune disease that led to her early death, she found comfort in Teilhard’s … Continue reading →

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“The sacred place where life begins”

Posted on July 16, 2018 by Jonas

Indigenous peoples around the world have for centuries been considered inferior, both racially and culturally, to people of European ancestry. This has certainly been true in the US which has an awful history of systematic violence toward Native Americans by … Continue reading →

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Learning to see

Posted on June 27, 2018 by Jonas

In November 2016, I attended a retreat at the Garrison Institute, a renovated former Capuchin Monastery in a scenic setting by the Hudson River. Presentations by Thomas Keating, a Trappist monk and priest, provided a contemplative approach to exploring the … Continue reading →

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It’s all about seeing

Posted on June 21, 2018 by Jonas

Teilhard’s The Human Phenomenon (previous translation title The Phenomenon of Man) begins with the following prologue: These pages represent an effort to see and to show what the human being becomes, what the human being requires, if placed wholly and completely in the … Continue reading →

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Praying with Teilhard de Chardin

Posted on June 4, 2018 by Jonas

One of 28 titles in the Companions for the Journey series published by Saint Mary’s Press, Praying with Teilhard de Chardin by James W. Skehan, SJ, offers both an excellent introductory essay about Teilhard’s life and accomplishments and a way to engage … Continue reading →

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