by Chris Koellhoffer, January 2, 2026
Blessings of the New Year to you! As we move more deeply into the days, weeks, months that make a year, I’m thinking this morning of the practice that in Ignatian spirituality is known as repetition. Repetition (repetitio) in this sense involves a deliberate return to a prayer experience such as a meditation or a scripture passage we’ve prayed with before so that we might deepen our understanding and discern God’s presence more fully. In repetition, we give earlier insights and movements of the soul a second or third listening. This returning helps us to mine these spiritual experiences and offers us a way into a fresh noticing of the Holy One at work in our lives and in the world around us.
It’s been my writing practice to excuse myself from creative writing during the Christmas holidays, and this is where repetition comes in. I’ve reviewed some earlier blog posts of the past few years and selected one that I believe still speaks to us in a timely way. Written on December 29, 2023 and originally published December 30 that year, the post highlights a story that is, sadly, still continuing today in a world that is both beautiful and broken. But it is not without hope for a better year to come, a hope that endures beyond a calendar year.
Please substitute “2026” for the year in the original text as you return and revisit, “How to Leave This World.”
Featured Image: Claudio Schwarz, Unsplash