Ben (Contemplative in the Mud)
@contemplativeinthemud.com
“The great need of our age, in what concerns the spiritual life, is to put contemplation on the roads of the world.” — Jacques and Raïssa Maritain
Benjamin Embley | English, français, español, ไทย | Living on Wabanaki land | contemplativeinthemud.com
Benjamin Embley | English, français, español, ไทย | Living on Wabanaki land | contemplativeinthemud.com
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The Extreme Need for a Contemplative Gaze
Apparently Pope Leo can turn anything into a meditation on our common home or discourse on Christian contemplation. And sometimes he is open to doing both at once. That’s what happened this w…
contemplativeinthemud.com
At this week’s general audience, Pope Leo evoked a pressing and widespread need for grateful contemplation of creation.
(To put it mildly, I love this catechesis...)
(To put it mildly, I love this catechesis...)
Jacques Maritain being Jacques Maritain (On the Grace and Humanity of Jesus, 125—absolutely one of the best books ever written in my view):
January 24, 2026 at 12:26 PM
Jacques Maritain being Jacques Maritain (On the Grace and Humanity of Jesus, 125—absolutely one of the best books ever written in my view):
Pick up the nearest book. Turn to page 42, and post the second sentence.
"The Lord made me come into His repose,
As with a spear He fixed my heart."
"The Lord made me come into His repose,
As with a spear He fixed my heart."
January 21, 2026 at 12:43 PM
Pick up the nearest book. Turn to page 42, and post the second sentence.
"The Lord made me come into His repose,
As with a spear He fixed my heart."
"The Lord made me come into His repose,
As with a spear He fixed my heart."
A poem — just a poem.
Not the Usual Winter
It’s quite rare around here that the snow stays on the branches on the slopes of the sinuous trunks  …
contemplativeinthemud.com
January 19, 2026 at 12:08 PM
A poem — just a poem.
I was looking for available copies of this book for another reason, but one gifted and dedicated by Raïssa herself showed up in the search. Ordered without hesitation. Just arrived yesterday. Ah, so beautiful—and a signature so delightfully familiar, yet original, from the Œuvres complètes!
January 17, 2026 at 7:55 PM
I was looking for available copies of this book for another reason, but one gifted and dedicated by Raïssa herself showed up in the search. Ordered without hesitation. Just arrived yesterday. Ah, so beautiful—and a signature so delightfully familiar, yet original, from the Œuvres complètes!
Reposted by Ben (Contemplative in the Mud)
Conservative Catholics, for years: Women have a Special Genius that is receptivity to others & others’ suffering, our essentialist gender views are not sexist because we value that genius so much. 🥰
Right wingers today: Toxic maternal empathy is a threat to the nation & must be forcibly suppressed.
Right wingers today: Toxic maternal empathy is a threat to the nation & must be forcibly suppressed.
January 15, 2026 at 1:43 PM
Conservative Catholics, for years: Women have a Special Genius that is receptivity to others & others’ suffering, our essentialist gender views are not sexist because we value that genius so much. 🥰
Right wingers today: Toxic maternal empathy is a threat to the nation & must be forcibly suppressed.
Right wingers today: Toxic maternal empathy is a threat to the nation & must be forcibly suppressed.
Special Mass, on Sunday, for the K of C. Ah, well, I guess they've colonized the Sunday obligation. Every EMHC—just them and the priest. I walk past two of them to receive from the priest, thank you very much. There are only two letters in that organization's name that don't make my skin crawl.
January 11, 2026 at 4:44 PM
Special Mass, on Sunday, for the K of C. Ah, well, I guess they've colonized the Sunday obligation. Every EMHC—just them and the priest. I walk past two of them to receive from the priest, thank you very much. There are only two letters in that organization's name that don't make my skin crawl.
Reposted by Ben (Contemplative in the Mud)
Le harcèlement en ligne c'est comme le trolling : répondre et interagir c'est donner (inévitablement, systématiquement) des munitions à leurs auteurs.
Je crois qu'il ne faut jamais engager, mais ignorer voire bloquer (après avoir documenté au besoin).
Je crois qu'il ne faut jamais engager, mais ignorer voire bloquer (après avoir documenté au besoin).
January 10, 2026 at 10:12 AM
Le harcèlement en ligne c'est comme le trolling : répondre et interagir c'est donner (inévitablement, systématiquement) des munitions à leurs auteurs.
Je crois qu'il ne faut jamais engager, mais ignorer voire bloquer (après avoir documenté au besoin).
Je crois qu'il ne faut jamais engager, mais ignorer voire bloquer (après avoir documenté au besoin).
Pope Leo continues to show himself a disciple of the contemplative tradition that's espoused in Novo Millennio Ineunte (also esp. NMI 49 and Dilexi Te 5, 79):
January 8, 2026 at 2:30 PM
Pope Leo continues to show himself a disciple of the contemplative tradition that's espoused in Novo Millennio Ineunte (also esp. NMI 49 and Dilexi Te 5, 79):
Epiphany reading:
January 4, 2026 at 7:26 PM
Epiphany reading:
“We must, therefore, constantly examine our spirituality and the ways in which we express our faith, in order to ensure that they are truly incarnate. In other words, we must be capable of contemplating, proclaiming and praying to the God who meets us in Jesus...
Pope Leo at Angelus: “The Incarnation demands a concrete commitment to the promotion of fraternity and communion. Through this commitment, solidarity becomes the criterion of all human relationships, calling us to strive for justice and peace, to care for the most fragile, and to defend the weak.”
January 4, 2026 at 3:56 PM
“We must, therefore, constantly examine our spirituality and the ways in which we express our faith, in order to ensure that they are truly incarnate. In other words, we must be capable of contemplating, proclaiming and praying to the God who meets us in Jesus...
“Made holy by the Holy Spirit, we receive Christ as one who lives in our inmost selves, and with Christ we receive the Father, who makes his dwelling place among those disposed to receive him.” — St. Basil
January 2, 2026 at 12:39 PM
“Made holy by the Holy Spirit, we receive Christ as one who lives in our inmost selves, and with Christ we receive the Father, who makes his dwelling place among those disposed to receive him.” — St. Basil
Reposted by Ben (Contemplative in the Mud)
“Prayer is to be commended, for it places into our heart thoughts of God. And the indwelling of God in the soul is this: God being firmly set, through his actions and ours, in our memory.” — St. Basil
January 2, 2025 at 6:59 PM
“Prayer is to be commended, for it places into our heart thoughts of God. And the indwelling of God in the soul is this: God being firmly set, through his actions and ours, in our memory.” — St. Basil
Reposted by Ben (Contemplative in the Mud)
No se olviden de los pobres. Así tendremos esperanzas de que Dios no se olvide de nosotros.
December 29, 2025 at 9:55 PM
No se olviden de los pobres. Así tendremos esperanzas de que Dios no se olvide de nosotros.
Reposted by Ben (Contemplative in the Mud)
May esteem for silence, that admirable and indispensable condition of mind, revive in us, besieged as we are by so many uplifted voices, the general noise and uproar, in our seething and over-sensitized modern life. ~ Pope St. Paul VI (Office of Readings) #HolyFamily #Christmas
December 28, 2025 at 2:20 PM
May esteem for silence, that admirable and indispensable condition of mind, revive in us, besieged as we are by so many uplifted voices, the general noise and uproar, in our seething and over-sensitized modern life. ~ Pope St. Paul VI (Office of Readings) #HolyFamily #Christmas
Reposted by Ben (Contemplative in the Mud)
À la crêche le soir de Noël, de quel côté sont pauvreté et vulnérabilité ?
December 24, 2025 at 7:27 PM
À la crêche le soir de Noël, de quel côté sont pauvreté et vulnérabilité ?
Reposted by Ben (Contemplative in the Mud)
«For Balthasar, Jesus’ willingness to experience the vicissitudes of human life tells us something about who God is in eternity. The all-powerful God shows himself to us through the medium of vulnerability.»
Excellent essay, rigorous, charitably feisty.
Excellent essay, rigorous, charitably feisty.
December 24, 2025 at 3:15 AM
«For Balthasar, Jesus’ willingness to experience the vicissitudes of human life tells us something about who God is in eternity. The all-powerful God shows himself to us through the medium of vulnerability.»
Excellent essay, rigorous, charitably feisty.
Excellent essay, rigorous, charitably feisty.
Although I'm always in the mood for a good theology of vulnerability, the lead up to Christmas just heightens the feeling (Brendan Byrne, A Costly Freedom, xiv):
December 22, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Although I'm always in the mood for a good theology of vulnerability, the lead up to Christmas just heightens the feeling (Brendan Byrne, A Costly Freedom, xiv):
Reposted by Ben (Contemplative in the Mud)
As my favourite Christmas carol puts it:
Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother,
and in His name all oppression shall cease.
Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother,
and in His name all oppression shall cease.
"Loving an oppressor does not mean allowing him to keep oppressing us, or letting him think that what he does is acceptable. On the contrary, true love for an oppressor means seeking ways to make him cease his oppression; it means stripping him of a power that he does not know how to use."
December 22, 2025 at 6:51 AM
As my favourite Christmas carol puts it:
Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother,
and in His name all oppression shall cease.
Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother,
and in His name all oppression shall cease.
A very much “more than 𝘳𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘦𝘭𝘪” reflection on the entrance antiphon and responsorial psalm for the Fourth Sunday of Advent:
December 21, 2025 at 3:53 PM
A very much “more than 𝘳𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘦𝘭𝘪” reflection on the entrance antiphon and responsorial psalm for the Fourth Sunday of Advent:
“Mother Earth and all she gives birth to belong to Grandfather. All the world and those who live on it are his. He formed the land on the ancient deep waters and shaped the solid ground on the rivers.”
Psalm 24:1-2 FNV
4th Sunday in Advent
Psalm 24:1-2 FNV
4th Sunday in Advent
December 21, 2025 at 12:52 PM
“Mother Earth and all she gives birth to belong to Grandfather. All the world and those who live on it are his. He formed the land on the ancient deep waters and shaped the solid ground on the rivers.”
Psalm 24:1-2 FNV
4th Sunday in Advent
Psalm 24:1-2 FNV
4th Sunday in Advent
This problem was, I think, at the heart of Pope Francis' theology of contemplation:
December 20, 2025 at 2:18 PM
This problem was, I think, at the heart of Pope Francis' theology of contemplation:
Reposted by Ben (Contemplative in the Mud)
Pope Leo: “Creation is crying. But many powerful people do not hear this cry: the wealth of the earth is in the hands of a few, very few, increasingly concentrated – unjustly – in the hands of those who often do not want to hear the groaning of the earth and the poor.” www.vatican.va/content/leo-...
December 20, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Pope Leo: “Creation is crying. But many powerful people do not hear this cry: the wealth of the earth is in the hands of a few, very few, increasingly concentrated – unjustly – in the hands of those who often do not want to hear the groaning of the earth and the poor.” www.vatican.va/content/leo-...
“It is the Spirit who is the protagonist of the Church’s historical mission. The Church must move beyond an activist mentality and open itself to the contemplation of the work of the Spirit within Christian communities and throughout the world.” — Achiel Peelman
New entry on favourite authors list:
December 19, 2025 at 1:28 AM
“It is the Spirit who is the protagonist of the Church’s historical mission. The Church must move beyond an activist mentality and open itself to the contemplation of the work of the Spirit within Christian communities and throughout the world.” — Achiel Peelman
The colours and the framing just feel like this time of year, this time of day:
December 18, 2025 at 2:22 PM
The colours and the framing just feel like this time of year, this time of day:
I have no words for my gratitude to the Pgaz K'nyau (Karen) in the mountains of Chiang Mai province. For the past 12 years, everything good I've done flows out of the weeks they healed and saved me.
Thailand: Compassion in the villages of Chiang Mai - Vatican News
Among rice paddies and temples in northern Thailand, Idente Missionaries live alongside families in villages, transforming their shared life into a ...
www.vaticannews.va
December 18, 2025 at 12:41 AM
I have no words for my gratitude to the Pgaz K'nyau (Karen) in the mountains of Chiang Mai province. For the past 12 years, everything good I've done flows out of the weeks they healed and saved me.