Practicing Spirituality with Edward Hays – Lent 2015

February 18 (Ash Wednesday) – April 5 (Easter)
Led by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Edward Hays has been a Catholic priest since 1958. After thirteen years in the parish ministry, including seven years as pastor to Native Americans, he made an extended prayer pilgrimage to the Near East, Israel, and India. He then served as director of Shantivanam, a contemplative center in the Midwest, and as the priest chaplain at the Kansas State Penitentiary in Lansing. A co-founder and moving spirit of Forest of Peace Publishing, he is the author of more than 30 bestselling books on contemporary spirituality.

Over his long and illustrious career, Hays has been a pioneer manifesting a daring mystical sensibility and an unbridled imagination that makes his vision consistently fresh and invigorating. He creatively uses parables and stories to discern God’s presence within the precincts of everyday life. He often presents startling images for believers: tears are “prayer beads,” a question mark is a “holy symbol,” sleep is “a sacrament as God’s Good Night News,” and a smile is “an outward sign of a laughing soul.” His prayers, original psalms, and daily rituals provide a framework a fresh and wide-ranging devotional life.

Edward Hays is above all a master of everyday spirituality. This is a tradition that goes back to Celtic Christians who sought the presence of God in household duties, and even farther back to Jesus, who framed his teachings around common activities. Hays encourages us to read and interpret what shows up in our lives, to find places of meditation and silence where we live and work, to keep an open house in our heart for all things, to sustain the art of long looking, and to cultivate a sense of wonder.

Take this e-course and sample the writings and practices of this master teacher who shows us new ways to connect with the Divine in the midst of our hectic and hurried lives. You will receive emails during the 40 days of Lent, each with a short passage from one of Edward Hays’ books and a suggestion for how you can practice that thought during the day. On the Sundays of Lent and Easter, you will receive one of Hays’ creative prayers or psalms. We will also have an online Practice Circle where you and your spiritual companions can share about your responses to the readings and your experiences with the practices.