Category Archives: Spiritual Practice

The miraculous failure of Maurice Bellière

Catholic Church, Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, Spiritual PracticeBy Eamon 25th May 2020 Leave a comment

Fr. Maurice Bellière was adopted by Saint Thérèse of Lisieux as her ‘little brother.’ She told him that she would return after her death to help him with his missionary vocation. Fr. Bellière ended up a dismal failure. In exploring his story, this essay asks whether Saint Thérèse kept her promises.

Bad Buddhists

Buddhism, Spiritual PracticeBy Eamon 20th October 2017 Leave a comment

What is the meaning of Bodhidharma’s coming from the West? Thus begins one of the teaching dilemmas, or koans, through which practitioners of Zen Buddhism strive for Enlightenment. If a student imagines he has the answer to the question, the master may well rise up and clout him with a stick. If the answer is a good one, he might clout the student even harder.