Where to Begin
Curated pathways into Pat's meditations
With nearly 850 meditations, finding a starting point can feel daunting. These curated pathways offer entry points based on where you find yourself right now.
Each pathway suggests four meditations that build on one another. You might read one per day over a few days, or simply start with whichever title draws you. There's no wrong way to begin—Pat's meditations meet readers wherever they are.
If You're Curious About Contemplative Prayer
For those new to contemplative spirituality or wanting to establish a practice
August 29, 2021
"Come Away"
Pat's most comprehensive introduction to contemplative options—Centering Prayer, walking meditation, chosen solitude, and more. She emphasizes that "it doesn't matter what form your practice takes" so long as you make room for the Beloved.
June 20, 2021
"Peace! Be Still!"
A foundational meditation on stillness, featuring Thomas Keating's insight that "silence is God's first language." Pat offers practical guidance: try one minute of silence today, two tomorrow, three the next.
July 25, 2010
"A Certain Place"
On establishing a prayer space. Pat explains how "the place becomes bathed in our prayer over time" and calls us to prayer even when we think we're too busy.
September 23, 2012
"Draw Near"
On the importance of intention in prayer. Pat writes that "if it's our intent to use the practices to enable us to draw near to God, God will indeed draw near."
If You're Going Through a Difficult Season
For those experiencing fear, loss, transition, or spiritual dryness
July 29, 2018
"Do Not Be Afraid"
Pat's most comprehensive meditation on fear, naming its many sources—from medical diagnoses to fear of failure to middle-of-night phone calls. Her antidote: presence in the present moment, where "there's nothing for us to fear."
October 11, 2020
"Outer Darkness"
A reframing of the "dark night of the soul" as gift rather than punishment—"a time to come to know God in intangible absence as well as tangible presence, a time to awaken to a new level of spiritual growth."
February 12, 2012
"The Touch of God"
Pat quotes Paul Claudel: "Jesus did not come to explain away suffering or remove it. He came to fill it with his presence." A meditation on God's companionship in pain.
August 21, 2016
"Set Free"
On hearing Christ's declaration over whatever holds us in bondage: "You are set free from your ailment." Pat writes that "no matter what our ailment is—no matter how big or how small—the Holy One will set us free."
If You Want to Go Deeper
For those ready for more challenging interior work
September 20, 2020
"Make Room"
Pat introduces Henri Nouwen's term "holy indifference"—learning to hold loosely the temporal things that can become barriers to our deepening relationship with the Holy One.
October 10, 2021
"Laid Bare"
On the vulnerability required to let go of "all the protective armor we've garnered over the years." Includes Charles de Foucauld's complete surrender prayer: "Father, I abandon myself into your hands."
February 17, 2013
"Are You Listening?"
Pat's most thorough treatment of scripture engagement—both Ignatian imaginative prayer and Benedictine lectio divina, with practical guidance for "letting the word seep into our being."
October 1, 2017
"Transformation"
Pat's most autobiographical meditation, sharing her own story of being "brought to my knees" at mid-life and the slow transformation that followed: "After ten years I could look back and see how different I had become."
Ready to Explore Who You Are?
For those exploring questions of true self, false self, and transformation
June 14, 2009
"A New Creation"
The finest treatment of true self in the collection. Pat uses the image of a seed planted by God in our "deepest selves" that grows into "the imago dei, the image of God that we were designed to be."
November 14, 2021
"Not One Stone"
Pat's most direct treatment of the false self, reimagining Jesus's Temple prophecy as a metaphor for "our persona that we present to the world"—and how "we are imprisoned in walls of our own making."
January 20, 2019
"A New Name"
On how biblical figures received new names when they surrendered to God—Abram to Abraham, Simon to Peter, Saul to Paul. "New names indicate the new creation we become once we are born anew in love, by Love."
April 6, 2014
"'Come Out'"
The Lazarus story as metaphor for spiritual liberation. Pat describes "letting go of whatever is holding us in bondage" as the Holy Spirit removes "first one binding and then another, freeing us for an ever more spacious new life."
If You Want to Connect Faith and Action
For those exploring how contemplation leads to compassionate engagement
June 9, 2013
"Compassion"
Pat's most comprehensive treatment of God's compassionate nature—and our call to "be open and available to be God's compassionate hands and feet in our world today."
January 15, 2012
"Persistent"
On God's call to social action: "good news to the poor... freedom for the imprisoned... justice for the oppressed." Pat insists this call "remains ours today."
June 7, 2020
"Unity"
Pat's definitive meditation on cosmic interconnection, inviting readers to picture the earth from space and recognize that "we are each and all mutually interdependent, part and parcel of the unity of our One creating, redeeming, sustaining God."
July 22, 2018
"The Dividing Wall"
On breaking down barriers: "Separation and hostility are not God's way! We are children, born to be 'members of the household of God,' dwelling in peace and love with each and all."