Your Online Monastery for Your Spiritual Practice

Litany of Guadalupe and the Story of Dance

Here at Abbey of the Arts we have a commitment to seeking out and uplifting a wide range of cultural expressions of artistry and Spirit. Our culminating song/prayer dance on our Birthing the Holy CD/DVD features a tune composed by an indigenous Guatemalan composer, Tomás Pascual from the 17th Century. This song was adapted by our dear friend, Laura Ash with bilingual lyrics she wrote to honor Our Lady of Guadalupe. It’s a beautiful blend of ancient and new devotions! When we came to filming the dance/prayer, I found a gorgeous shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe here in the Northwest at

June 13, 2023

Abbess love notes

Where Love Lives Poem + Day 5 Mary Prayer Cycle

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, We have two treats for you today! The first is the video podcasts from Day 5 of our Birthing the Holy Prayer Cycle. Last Spring we created a prayer cycle and audio podcast series to accompany my book Birthing the Holy: Wisdom from Mary to Nurture Creativity and Renewal. Today we continue our release of the companion video podcasts for the Birthing the Holy Prayer Cycle with Day 5 Morning and Evening Prayer. Day 5 morning and evening prayer explores Mother of Sorrows and Greenest Branch. Through her own experience with deep grief and loss Mary, Mother of Sorrows tends the

June 11, 2023

Christine Interviewed by Leadership Conference of Women Religious

I was recently interviewed on Leadership Conference of Women Religious on “Entering a Relationship with Radiance” for their summer journal. Read the interview below or download the PDF to see the printed version. Christine Valters Paintner heads Abbey of the Arts, a virtual monastery and global community offering programs and resources for contemplative practice and creative expression. She is the author of 20 books on prayer and creativity including three collections of poetry. Christine lives out her commitment as a Benedictine oblate and monk in the world in the west of Ireland. You have studied and written extensively about the mystics

June 8, 2023

Monk in the World Guest Post: Adam Brooks Webber

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Adam Brooks Webber’s reflection and poem on kinship with creation and adventures with God. The fourth point of the Monk Manifesto emphasizes our kinship with creation. That speaks to me strongly, because the earliest religious experiences of my childhood began with that sense of kinship. In the first such experience I can remember, I was about ten years old. I was sitting alone in a willow tree, when suddenly, unaccountably, I knew I was not alone. I

June 7, 2023

Books

Christine’s Article on Ancestors as Creative Allies in U.S. Catholic

Christine’s article Our Ancestors are Allies on Our Creative Journey was published in the May 2023 issue of U.S. Catholic. It is adapted from her forthcoming book The Love of Thousands: How Angels, Saints, and Ancestors Walk with Us Toward Holiness (releases from Ave Maria Press August 18, 2023). Here is an excerpt: We are alive because of our ancestors, that “great cloud of witnesses” mentioned in the letter to the Hebrews (12:1). Our grandmothers and grandfathers struggled, grieved, celebrated, and endured, and we can live our lives in ways that honor their memories. We can imagine that our ancestors

June 5, 2023

Abbess love notes

Day 4 Mary Prayer Cycle – New Video Podcasts!

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, Today we continue our release of the companion video podcasts for the Birthing the Holy Prayer Cycle which was created to accompany my book Birthing the Holy: Wisdom from Mary to Nurture Creativity and Renewal. The full prayer cycle is available here. Today’s video podcast for Day 4 morning and evening prayer explores Our Lady of Silence and Our Lady of the Underworld. Our Lady of Silence invites us into the heart of stillness and quiet where we can listen to the still small voice within. OPENING PRAYERHoly Mary, Lady of Silence, we come to you in quiet this day.

June 4, 2023

June Tea with the Abbess

I so enjoyed our Tea with the Abbess session. Since I can’t pour you a cup of tea myself I led a brief welcoming meditation then shared some of our programs for June and beyond. Such a joyful time with our wonderful community. We have a number of resources to support you in your contemplative journey including: June Lift Every Voice Book Club Practice of the Presence: A Revolutionary Translation by Carmen Acevedo Butcher. Abbey of the Arts Prayer Cycles – a free resource. The video podcasts for the Birthing the Holy prayer continue to release this month! Calendar of Upcoming Events

June 2, 2023

Monk in the World Guest Post: Tom Delmore

I’m delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Tom Delmore’s poems on the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven on earth. The Kingdom within, is a big shift for me. Raised in the Catholic faith and dad’s mantra of: brownie points and rewards are in heaven only. I am seeing the kingdom in the ordinary. These poems are thresholds to the Kingdom. The Kingdom of Heaven The Kingdom of heaven is like All those truths Jesus spoke In Matthew’s gospel, I’m sure. It is also,

May 31, 2023

Abbess love notes

Blessing Our Lives ~ A Guest Post at New Eden Ministry

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, I am delighted to offer this excerpt from my guest post at New Eden Ministry titled “Blessing Our Lives.” Blessings can be like warm bread for the hungry, a cold drink for those who thirst. They can offer hope and encouragement, steep us in gratitude, nurture our courage. Blessings bring us present to the grace of each moment. The word comes from the Latin, benedicere, which means to speak well of. Blessings help to remind us of the love and beauty of the Holy One in our lives and assist us to take nothing for granted.

May 30, 2023

Abbess love notes

Celtic Spirituality Retreat + Day 3 Mary Prayer Cycle ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, We continue this week with the release of our Day 3 Birthing the Holy video podcast that accompanies my book Birthing the Holy: Wisdom from Mary to Nurture Creativity and Renewal. Day 3 Morning and Evening Prayer take the themes of Star of the Sea and Vessel of Grace. Here is an excerpt from Day 3 Morning: Opening Prayer Stella Maris, Mary, Star of the Sea, we look to the night sky to see your brilliance shining upon the world. Be with us as a guiding light and safe harbour on our journey of surrender and trust. Show

May 28, 2023

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Reflections

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Litany of Guadalupe and the Story of Dance

Where Love Lives Poem + Day 5 Mary Prayer Cycle

Christine Interviewed by Leadership Conference of Women Religious

Monk in the World Guest Post: Adam Brooks Webber

Christine’s Article on Ancestors as Creative Allies in U.S. Catholic

Day 4 Mary Prayer Cycle – New Video Podcasts!

June Tea with the Abbess

Monk in the World Guest Post: Tom Delmore

Blessing Our Lives ~ A Guest Post at New Eden Ministry

Celtic Spirituality Retreat + Day 3 Mary Prayer Cycle ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Upcoming Programs

Recent Reflections

St Patrick and Answering the Call ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Monk in the World Guest Post: Jennifer Scott Mobley

St Colman, Solitude, and Pilgrimage ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Monk in the World Guest Post Call for Submissions

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