[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$fAzHPOePgUab0aAiGlyUOgaIQ_GAd4-iaHgL3Lqni0q4":3,"$fwQC64kOcrdVhm-Ugvj8gC6MzJZYqBYflvSu2yyqXFm0":24},{"author":4,"tags":11},{"author_id":5,"author_name":6,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"bio":9,"short_bio":9,"slug":10,"image_url":9},25713,"Joan Chittister","J",20,null,"joan-chittister",[12,16,20],{"tag_id":13,"tag_name":14,"tag_count":15},111,"spirituality",13,{"tag_id":17,"tag_name":18,"tag_count":19},14434,"spiritual-direction",12,{"tag_id":21,"tag_name":22,"tag_count":23},41775,"spiritual-disciplines",11,{"quotes":25,"pagination":182},[26,48,67,82,97,109,118,139,150,161],{"id":27,"quote_text":28,"author_id":5,"source_id":29,"has_image":30,"author":31,"source":32,"quote_tag":33,"commentary":9},714018,"The spiritual life... is not achieved by denying one part of life for the sake of another. The spiritual life is achieved only by listening to all of life and learning to respond to each of its dimensions wholly and with integrity.",2,false,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[34,37,40,43],{"id":35,"tag":36},3499089,{"id":13,"tag_name":14},{"id":38,"tag":39},3499086,{"id":17,"tag_name":18},{"id":41,"tag":42},3499087,{"id":21,"tag_name":22},{"id":44,"tag":45},3499088,{"id":46,"tag_name":47},54827,"spiritual-formation",{"id":49,"quote_text":50,"author_id":5,"source_id":29,"has_image":30,"author":51,"source":52,"quote_tag":53,"commentary":66},714017,"Prayer that is regular confounds both self-importance and the wiles of the world. It is so easy for good people to confuse their own work with the work of creation. It is so easy to come to believe that what we do is so much more important than what we are. It is so easy to simply get too busy to grow.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[54,57,60,63],{"id":55,"tag":56},3499083,{"id":13,"tag_name":14},{"id":58,"tag":59},3499080,{"id":17,"tag_name":18},{"id":61,"tag":62},3499081,{"id":21,"tag_name":22},{"id":64,"tag":65},3499082,{"id":46,"tag_name":47},"**The Backstory**\nThis quote is likely from one of Joan Chittister's books, written in the late 20th or early 21st century. As a Benedictine nun and prominent writer, Chittister's life has been marked by a commitment to prayer, contemplation, and social justice. During this period, she was actively engaging with the modern world, while also maintaining her spiritual practices and advocating for the importance of faith in everyday life.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nThe quote reveals a subtle yet profound tension between self-importance and spiritual growth. On one hand, regular prayer is presented as a means of humility, which counters the tendency to prioritize one's own accomplishments over the work of creation. On the other hand, the quote highlights how even well-intentioned individuals can become so engrossed in their own efforts that they neglect their spiritual development. This paradox underscores the need to balance action with contemplation, lest we become trapped in our own self-importance.\n\n**How to Use This**\nTo apply this mindset today, take time each day to engage in prayer or meditation, not as a separate activity from your work, but as a way to cultivate humility and clarity amidst your busy schedule. By acknowledging the distinction between your own efforts and the work of creation, you can avoid becoming overly invested in your own accomplishments and stay focused on your growth as a person.",{"id":68,"quote_text":69,"author_id":5,"source_id":29,"has_image":30,"author":70,"source":71,"quote_tag":72,"commentary":9},714015,"Humility is not a false rejection of God's gifts. To exaggerate the gifts we have by denying them may be as close to narcissism as we can get in life. No, humility is the admission of God's gifts to me and the acknowledgment that I have been given them for others. Humility is the total continuing surrender to God's power in my life and in the lives of others.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[73,76,79],{"id":74,"tag":75},3499075,{"id":13,"tag_name":14},{"id":77,"tag":78},3499073,{"id":17,"tag_name":18},{"id":80,"tag":81},3499074,{"id":21,"tag_name":22},{"id":83,"quote_text":84,"author_id":5,"source_id":29,"has_image":30,"author":85,"source":86,"quote_tag":87,"commentary":9},714014,"In the monastic mind, work is not for profit. In the monastic mentality work is for giving, not just for gaining. In monastic spirituality, other people have a claim on what we do. Work is not a private enterprise. Work is not to enable me to get ahead; the purpose of work is to enable me to get more human and to make my world more just.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[88,91,94],{"id":89,"tag":90},3499070,{"id":13,"tag_name":14},{"id":92,"tag":93},3499068,{"id":17,"tag_name":18},{"id":95,"tag":96},3499069,{"id":21,"tag_name":22},{"id":98,"quote_text":99,"author_id":5,"source_id":29,"has_image":30,"author":100,"source":101,"quote_tag":102,"commentary":9},714011,"Benedictine conversion, then, is not an assertion of our strength or character. Benedictine spirituality is based on the simple acknowledgment that God will come to life before us and be reborn in us in unexpected ways day after day throughout our entire lives. We must be ready to respond to this God of woods and highways, of gentle breeze and cataclysm, of privacy and crowds - however this Spirit comes. Response is the essence of Benedictine spirituality.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[103,106],{"id":104,"tag":105},3499052,{"id":13,"tag_name":14},{"id":107,"tag":108},3499051,{"id":17,"tag_name":18},{"id":110,"quote_text":111,"author_id":5,"source_id":29,"has_image":30,"author":112,"source":113,"quote_tag":114,"commentary":9},714010,"To a nonstop world, the Rule of Benedict brings balance and simplicity. In the face of a complex world with the twenty-four-hour workdays and constant motion, the Rule asks for a life that deals with a little bit of everything in proper measure: work, prayer, solitude, relationships. The Rule, in other words, is an antidote to excess and to human dwarfism. A proverb says, \"Wherever there is excess, something is lacking.\" The Rule of Benedict mandates a measured life.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[115],{"id":116,"tag":117},3499048,{"id":17,"tag_name":18},{"id":119,"quote_text":120,"author_id":5,"source_id":29,"has_image":30,"author":121,"source":122,"quote_tag":123,"commentary":138},714009,"Real contemplation, in other words, is not for its own sake. It doesn't take us out of reality. On the contrary, it puts us in touch with the world around us by giving us the distance we need to see where we are more clearly. To contemplate the gospel and not respond to the wounded in our own world cannot be contemplation at all. That is prayer used as an excuse for not being Christian. That is spiritual dissipation.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[124,127,130,135],{"id":125,"tag":126},3499046,{"id":13,"tag_name":14},{"id":128,"tag":129},3499044,{"id":17,"tag_name":18},{"id":131,"tag":132},3499042,{"id":133,"tag_name":134},26007,"contemplative",{"id":136,"tag":137},3499045,{"id":21,"tag_name":22},"**The Backstory**\nThis quote from Joan Chittister's writings reflects her commitment to bridging the gap between contemplative spirituality and social responsibility. As a Benedictine nun, Chittister has spent her life navigating the intersection of faith and activism, emphasizing the importance of putting contemplation into action. This quote was likely written during a time of great social unrest, perhaps in the 1980s or 1990s when Chittister was advocating for women's rights and social justice.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nThe hidden insight in this quote lies in its challenge to the common misconception that contemplation is a selfish or escapist practice. Chittister reveals that true contemplation is not about withdrawing from the world, but rather about gaining clarity and perspective to engage with the world more effectively. This paradoxical understanding of contemplation as a means to deepen engagement with reality, rather than escape it, requires a nuanced and intentional approach to spirituality.\n\n**How to Use This**\nTo apply this mindset, modern professionals and creatives can use contemplation as a tool to clarify their values and priorities, rather than as a means to avoid the complexities of their work. By cultivating a deeper understanding of their own motivations and goals, they can then respond more effectively to the needs of their communities and the world around them.",{"id":140,"quote_text":141,"author_id":5,"source_id":29,"has_image":30,"author":142,"source":143,"quote_tag":144,"commentary":9},656410,"I began to trust the questions themselves to lead me beyond answers to understanding, beyond practice to faith",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[145],{"id":146,"tag":147},3341339,{"id":148,"tag_name":149},6749,"inspirational-religious",{"id":151,"quote_text":152,"author_id":5,"source_id":29,"has_image":30,"author":153,"source":154,"quote_tag":155,"commentary":9},579203,"I have come to understand that the voice of God is all around me. God is not a silent God. God is speaking to me all the time. In everything. Through everyone. I am only now beginning to listen, let alone to hear.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[156],{"id":157,"tag":158},3087168,{"id":159,"tag_name":160},3494,"listening",{"id":162,"quote_text":163,"author_id":5,"source_id":29,"has_image":30,"author":164,"source":165,"quote_tag":166,"commentary":9},578998,"Into the midst of all this indistinguishable cacophony of life, the bell tower of every Benedictine monastery rings \"listen.\" Listen with the heart of Christ. Listen with the lover's ear. Listen for the voice of God. Listen in your own heart for the sound of truth, the kind that comes when a piece of quality crystal is struck by a metal rod.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[167,170,173,176,179],{"id":168,"tag":169},3086427,{"id":13,"tag_name":14},{"id":171,"tag":172},3086419,{"id":159,"tag_name":160},{"id":174,"tag":175},3086424,{"id":17,"tag_name":18},{"id":177,"tag":178},3086425,{"id":21,"tag_name":22},{"id":180,"tag":181},3086426,{"id":46,"tag_name":47},{"currentPage":183,"totalPages":29,"totalItems":8,"itemsPerPage":184},1,10]