Home Building

by Chris Koellhoffer, IHM   April 26, 2026

Spring is not only a time of awakening for all things green and growing. It can also usher in a season of moving from one living space to another—out of the dorm and back to living with family or friends; out of a home one has outgrown to a larger, more suitable space; out of a spacious apartment one no longer needs and into a more downsized way of dwelling. Spring can also invite an awakening of the soul and a search for spiritual accommodations more in line with the growth of our spirit.

The words of my dear friend, Hafiz, sent me in this direction. One of the most beloved poets of Persia, Hafiz lived in the 14^th century in what is now Iran. His lyric poems celebrate love, spirituality, and protest. Decades ago, his writing drew me into a lively and cherished friendship.

Lately I’ve been unpacking this single sentence from Hafiz: “What we speak becomes the house we live in.” I wondered: what does my speaking and writing reveal about the place where I dwell? Over a period of thirty years, I’ve offered hundreds of presentations and guided retreats and contributed a peace and justice column to every issue of Journey. For the past sixteen years, I’ve written this blog, Mining the Now.

Often retreatants or directees think very kindly of me and imagine that I’m living perfectly the words I speak or write. Don’t I wish this were true! In reality, I’m simply preaching what I need to hear and then living in hope that my words might have something to say to others. There are times when I feel that the words hanging above the desk in my office are passing judgment as I write, for they remind me that, “Words are so powerful, they should only be used to heal, to bless, to prosper.”

I’m aware of what the house I live in looks like when my words evidence gossip or criticism or annoyance, and also aware of how my living space is restored when I praise, I affirm, I welcome. At all times, I’m consoled by the words of the spiritual writer Henri Nouwen. He wondered, “Can we only speak when we are fully living what we are saying? If all our words had to cover all our actions, we would be doomed to silence! Sometimes we are called to proclaim God’s love even when we are not yet fully able to live it…But by proclaiming our ideals and visions with great conviction and great humility, we may gradually grow into the truth we speak.”

I’m clinging to the hope of just that kind of living and I encourage all of us to hold on to Nouwen’s words whenever the space between what we aspire to and how we live seems a chasm. I suspect what we long for is a world where the Holy One’s dream of abundant life for everyone aligns with the way we speak and think and act. Where the words that come out of our mouths and the thoughts that linger in our hearts reveal the deep desire to live into something larger than us.

So just what does the house you live in look like? What do your thoughts and words reveal about the essence of who you are and what you most deeply desire? What might your actions and your everyday living have to say about the world where you live, about the world you long to dwell in, about the people and places you cherish and protect, about those you name and claim as kin in the Universe? May we all be faithful to building just such a home!

Takeaway
Sit in stillness with the Holy One.
Reflect on or revisit your sense of the spiritual home where you live.
What words might best describe the state in which you aspire to dwell?
God listens lovingly to your desire. Ask the Holy One to move in and dwell with you there.

Featured Images: Andrey K, Unsplash; Brad Weaver, Unsplash

NOTE:
Thank you for your prayerful remembrance of our April 11-18 IHM Chapter, which was a deeply contemplative time. I’m delighted to announce our new IHM leadership team of these amazing women:
Sister Annmarie Sanders, IHM president, and our IHM councilors, Sisters Kathleen Lunsmann, Mary Elaine Anderson, and Lisa Perkowski.

May 8-15:
The summer retreat season has begun!
Please hold in your prayer all who will be part of a directed retreat at Mercy by the Sea in Madison, CT. I’ll be one of the guest directors for this retreat. Thank you.

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