Thomas Merton once wrote, “Let us come alive to the splendor that is all around us and see the beauty in ordinary things.” The busyness of life—work, family, commitments, and our seeming ever-lengthening to-do lists—can sweep us into a lifestyle of frantic doing and accomplishing that can lead to a lack of presence and awareness to the splendor that is all around us. Wonder and praise can sometimes take a backseat as we become hyper-focused on what needs to be done. Practicing presence is a lifelong journey, but what a wonderful journey it is, as our awareness for divine goodness and beauty and grace deepens and expands within us, and as our desires become channeled in a way that leads us toward joy, peace, and contentment. Mark Longhurst’s book, The Holy Ordinary: A Way to God (October 2024, Monkfish), explores this exact topic and helps readers awaken to the sacred in the ordinary. What does it look like to live contemplatively as life uniquely unfolds for each of us, even in the busyness? Influential author and theologian Brian McClaren says this of Longhurst's book: “For years, I’ve been wishing for a book that could introduce ordinary people to the spiritual life in a healthy, honest, accessible way. Mark Longhurst has written what I’ve been waiting for.”

Mark Longhurst is a writer, an “ordinary mystic,” and member of the new monastic “Community of the Incarnation.” He works as the Publications Manager at the Center for Action and Contemplation and is a former pastor who served United Church of Christ churches for 10 years and worked as a faith-based social justice activist in the Boston area for 10 more. A graduate of Harvard Divinity School and a longtime yoga practitioner, Mark lives in western Massachusetts with his family. Click here for the episode page and show notes.

(00:00:01) Introduction

(00:02:39) Why Write this Book?

(00:04:17) Struggling to Notice the Holy Ordinary

(00:09:24) What Do We Mean by "Deeper Reality"?

(00:11:50) Reflection No. 1: Letting Wonder and Praise Sing through Our Lives

(00:14:41) What Does it Look Like to "Receive Grace"?

(00:17:23) Emptiness and Letting Go

(00:22:33) Contemplation: Not a Flight From the World

(00:28:35) What is Holiness?

(00:35:34) Reflection No. 2: Thin Places

(00:37:34) Mark Longhurst's Spiritual Journey

(00:40:50) Contemplative Practice and the Importance of Community

(00:44:44) The Holy Ordinary and Lived Experience

(00:46:04) Reflection No. 3: Welcoming the Holy Spirit Into Our Inner Margins

(00:48:30) Contemplation and Desire

(00:56:48) Final Thoughts

(00:58:56) Conclusion