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Dr. Tom has been sharing refreshing, insightful essays on his Sunday Morning Café blog since 2009. Each Sunday, he brings his extensive experience from resilience research, counseling, and consulting to help you find more connection, meaning, and joy in life. We're so glad you're here to grow with this community!
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Navigating Thanksgiving with Grace & Gratitude
You don't have to be grateful for everything that happens to you. But even in life's hardest moments, there may be something worth noticing, receiving, or savoring. This reflection explores the relationship between gratitude and resilience.
Dr. Tom Wagner
4 days ago3 min read
Lamb of God
What happens when you begin to see beyond the outsides of things? This reflection explores how small acts of kindness, authentic human connection, and a willingness to see the sacred in others can transform everyday encounters.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Oct 185 min read
Through the Temple Gate
Where have you found spiritual fruit—and what keeps you from returning there? This reflection explores the experiences, practices, and communities that help us nurture what is deepest within us.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Sep 206 min read
A Supernatural Delight
What if some of your deepest experiences of God happen outside the places you expect? This reflection looks for the Sacred in joy, music, love, and a crowded dance floor.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Sep 134 min read
Warts & All
What if the parts of yourself you’d most like to hide are the very places calling for loving acceptance? This reflection explores ego, the false self, and the freedom that comes from learning to sit with yourself—warts and all.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Aug 304 min read
Sousousiance
There’s a difference between keeping quiet and being quiet. This reflection explores what butterflies, Benedictine monks, and a week of silence taught me about going deeper.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Aug 165 min read
Co-habitating with Cobras & Other Common Human Experiences
How do you co-habitate with a cobra and not get bit? Discover spiritual reflections and practices for life’s toughest moments.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Aug 95 min read
The Boundary of Freedom: Acceptance
Ever been stuck wishing life was different? A sick trip to Ireland, the adventures of a marital counselor, and a monk’s unexpected wisdom all point to one powerful truth. What if the thing standing between you and peace… is your refusal to accept what is?
Dr. Tom Wagner
Aug 25 min read
The Beauty That Surrounds Us
What if Beauty is not waiting in some far-off sacred place, but standing in front of you at the checkout lane, behind the coffee bar, or in the people you pass every day? This reflection invites you to notice the people who sanctify the ordinary.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Jul 55 min read
Awe!
Awe can’t be scheduled, but we can cultivate a discipline of noticing beauty. This article is an invitation to slow down, pay attention, take in beauty, and practice wonder.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Jun 286 min read
Presents in Wrinkled Wrapping Paper
What if the path to intimacy with the Sacred runs straight through the lives of the sick, the frail, and the aging? This reflection explores how love reshapes itself when strength gives way.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Jun 75 min read
“I Shall Die, but That Is All I Shall Do for Death”: The Sequel
Could years of small surrender prepare you for the hardest letting go? This reflection explores Mary’s story of illness, recovery, contemplative prayer, and the kind of peace that does not arrive by accident.
Dr. Tom Wagner
May 3112 min read
Each and Every Soul Has Some Easter In It, No Exceptions
What if there’s a part of you that already knows how to “keep climbing” when things get hard? This reflection explores the resilience woven into every soul.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Apr 55 min read
A Recipe for Winter-Stark Days (and Nights)
What if nothing in your life—not even sadness or spiritual flatness—stands outside the Sacred? A reflection on winter-stark days and intimacy with the Sacred.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Jan 116 min read
Practicing Presence
Winter has a way of revealing what has been growing underground all along. Read on for a reflection on resilience, presence, and healing through Presence.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Jan 45 min read
This New Year’s Resolution: Procrastinate More
Not everything meaningful can be scheduled or optimized. This reflection considers play as a form of holiness in a world that rarely slows down.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Dec 28, 20255 min read
Emmanuel in the Mirror
In a season marked by dim light, unfinished grief, and unmet expectations, what does it mean to say that the Sacred is still here? Read on for a meditation on Advent, Presence, and the luminous quality that shines in our seemingly ordinary lives.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Dec 21, 20255 min read
Presents in Wrinkled Wrapping Paper
What if the path to intimacy with the Sacred runs straight through the lives of the sick, the frail, and the aging? This reflection explores how love reshapes itself when strength gives way.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Dec 14, 20255 min read
Hip to Be Holy Part Two
You don’t get to choose when fear taps you on the shoulder. But you can choose what steadies you. This piece invites you to consider what might ground you when life shifts.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Dec 7, 20255 min read
A Thanksgiving Primer
You don’t have to be an iconographer to frame something holy. This article invites you to consider how things like Thanksgiving traditions become the canvases that hold our most enduring stories.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Nov 23, 20255 min read
Explore the full archive of Sunday Morning Café blogs from 2009 through 2024.
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