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Monk in the World Guest Post Series

Monk in the World: Mallory Morris

I am delighted to share another submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Mallory Morris’ photo essay on breathing deep and paying attention. Breathe deep; now look around. Breathe deep again; notice what sort of light you have. Breathe deep again; see who or what’s around you. Breathe deep again; time to pick up the camera. In recent years, I’ve had the time and space to explore my love of photography, deepening not just my skills, but my love of the camera, as well. Part of why I’ve fallen in love with

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February 11, 2026
Abbess love notes

Kinship with Creation ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

For Kinship with Creation*God of lavish fecundity,you overflow into nature in every moment,offering your gifts of beauty and nourishment.Nurture me with sacred rhythms of light and dark,rising and falling, fullness and emptiness,as the pulse of your loving presence animates every living thing.Help me to remember my own wildnessso that I come to knowevery bird, fish, insect, and animalas kinand to live in ways that renew and sustainearth and all her systems.Renew my vision so that I seebeyond the barriers I have constructed.Kindle my longing to join the great songof the sea, the trees, the mountains, and the flowers,which are already

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February 8, 2026

Monk in the World Guest Post: Jo-ed Tome

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Wisdom Council member Jo-ed Tome’s reflection Slower. Softer. Simpler. I did not exactly set out to become a monk. If someone had told my younger self that “monk” would one day be part of my self-description, I probably would have laughed and then quickly apologized because I was raised to be polite. But over the years, this monk-in-the-world identity has slowly revealed itself, not through lightning bolts or desert visions, but through the gentle rhythm of days

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February 4, 2026
Abbess love notes

A Book of Everyday Blessings ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

For Our Journey Through the Seasons*Creator of All,open our eyes to your Wordscribed on every leaf and petal,on every wing and paw.As the seasons unfold in their vibrant dance of change,may we read on their pages your callto blossom forth, to bear fruit,to surrender and yield, to rest into mystery.Let the journey of caterpillar to mothteach us the path of transformation.Let the patience of mountains and the singing of stonesgive us guidance for what it means to endure.Let the rise and fall of the sun and mooncircling the blue-tiled skyteach us about journeys to fullnessand to rest and release.May your

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February 1, 2026
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Monk in the World Guest Post: Anne Barsanti

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Anne Barsanti’s reflection on kinship with creation and poem “Ice Storm.” I find myself connected to all that surrounds me – human and nonhuman.  In reverence and reciprocity, I find the Divine. Earthwork is my everyday work of attention and appreciation. I try to be attentive to God’s work in all that surrounds me. I am in awe and stand in gratitude. I believe that God is in all things. I was inspired as I both witnessed and

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January 28, 2026
Abbess love notes

Imbolc and the Feast of St. Brigid ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

On Imbolc and the Feast of St. Brigid* Spirit of Rebirth,your new life pulses below the rumbling ground.Attune our earsto the renewal taking formbeneath the winter earth,snowdrops and crocusesin white and purple-petaled wonder,hedgehogs and bearsbeginning to stir from sleep. Let Brigid be our guideas we navigate the wayfrom rest to slow emergence;support us in nourishingthe fragile seeds of possibility. May her birds, the oystercatchers,lift our hearts on currents of love.May her devoted cowremind us of generous abundance.May the perpetual flame of her purposekindle our own sparks of initiative.May her mantle embrace usand offer protection.May the waters of her sacred wellsbless

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January 25, 2026
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In-Person Pilgrimages to Ireland with Turas d’Anam!

May 22–29, 2026 and September 4–11, 2026A few places remain Our good friends Nóirín Ní Riain and Owen and Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin are once again offering in-person pilgrimages to Ireland. Rooted in music, poetry, story, and sacred landscape, these journeys invite participants into a slower, more attentive way of walking; with place, with one another, and with the movements of the soul. Many of you have shared your longing for the kinds of pilgrimages Abbey of the Arts once led. While Abbey no longer hosts these journeys directly, we wholeheartedly recommend this pilgrimage with Turas d’Anam as a meaningful and resonant alternative.

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January 23, 2026

Monk in the World Guest Post: JoRene Byers

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for JoRene Byers’ reflection and poem Bravely Done. I bow to the natural world in gratitude every day, my heart is continually humbled by the constancy of love.  In the morning when I write, I sit in this great silence, and then, the creatures and land generously teach me.  When I see the lilies of the field and the birds, how they are so filled with goodness, and kindness, my heart rises up then, and I can feel

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January 21, 2026
A Song Among the Stones Cover Art
Abbess love notes

A Song Among the Stones ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

a day out of clean silkwashed like a child that’s lived for daysin fever, the light pure and perfectand nothing troubled left in all the worlda day to love a neighbourto see in the young field’s promiseGod rippling and strong, unquestionablefour men gathered from the islandwent down to the shoreready for the vessel, eyes full and wideand the moon rose over the rim of the earthand fell like fish upon the seatheir moon road north ~ Kenneth Steven, excerpt from A Song Among the Stones Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, Tomorrow we are excited to welcome Simon de Voil and

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January 18, 2026
Image: Peter Paul Metz, Mechthild of Magdeburg, 1896, St. Gordian und Epimachus church, Leutkirch im Allgäu, Germany, Photo by Andreas Praefcke/CC-BY-SA-3.0
Abbess love notes

New Podcasts and an Article from Christine Valters Paintner

Christine was recently interviewed about Give Me a Word and Breath Prayer. She also has an article about Mechthild of Magdeburg in U.S. Catholic. Mechthild of Magdeburg: Poet of Divine Love ~ Article in U.S. Catholic Image: Peter Paul Metz, Mechthild of Magdeburg, 1896, St. Gordian und Epimachus church, Leutkirch im Allgäu, Germany, Photo by Andreas Praefcke/CC-BY-SA-3.0 Liturgical Rebels Podcast: Conversation about Give Me a Word Artists for Joy Podcast: Conversation about Give Me a Word Artists for Joy Podcast: Conversation about Breath Prayer

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January 15, 2026