ESSAYS | copelandwrites

STEPHEN COPELAND

AUTHOR & STORYTELLER

A Dog’s Contemplative Wisdom

It is morning in Indiana, dawning a new day of liberating nothingness, where we’ll gauge the day’s success through a holiday filter: by e...

Franciscan Media: A Necessary Film for Our Divided Age

The path forward for us as a country is mapped out in the 2019 Netflix biographical drama The Two Popes—a film that creatively depicts th...

Franciscan Media: Star Wars and Christian Mysticism

Over the last four decades many have tried to pin down the possible spiritual or religious origins of Star Wars. Often these attempts hav...

Franciscan Media: Surprised by Grace

To be surprised by grace, as seasons blur together, as monotony defines our days, as boredom tests our worth, is to open our hearts to th...

Franciscan Media: The Only Way Forward

On the brink of election season, it already feels like the tension in our country has reached a peak unparalleled in my lifetime. This pa...

A Sacred Reset

Note: This blog is not an attempt to assign spiritual meaning amid a global pandemic but rather an attempt to uncover existing spiritual ...

Franciscan Media: A Time for Grace

When I first started going on contemplative retreats, I remember how difficult it was to give myself grace in my journey inward. I was un...

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