Monastic Commitment
Tomorrow I head down to the Priory for our annual Oblate retreat, the topic is “The Heart of an Oblate” and I am looking forward to spending time with some of my Oblate friends. Sister Lucy asked if I would consider being a mentor this coming year to someone who is becoming an Oblate candidate, […]
Practicing Resurrection S-l-o-w-l-y
For the season of Easter I made a commitment to practice resurrection of the body, both my own body and the Earth’s body. It has been a good process as I continue to discover places of my own healing and how they are woven together with the healing of the greater body. As a part of […]
Surrender
As I get older, I am slowly learning to take myself and my work less seriously. It is the fruit of embracing humility–that monastic virtue whose root is humus, meaning “of the earth.” At the same time, the more I let go of plans that don’t feed me, and the more I allow myself to go […]
The Fire of Courage
In the Christian church, today is the feast of Pentecost. It is considered to be the birthday of the church because it celebrates when the Spirit descended upon the disciples and filled them with the fire of courage to go and spread the message of liberation witnessed to them. Vestments and banners usually are red, filling […]
Allium Fireworks
Allium is one of my new favorite flowers (after peonies, of course). For some reason I had never seen or noticed them before. They look to me like purple dandelion seed pods or a tiny fireworks display. Blessings upon your weekend. May you discover new beauty you never noticed before! -Christine Valters Paintner @ Abbey […]
Dreams of Africa
In the last couple of weeks we have watched Blood Diamond which takes place in Sierra Leone and The Last King of Scotland which is about Uganda. They were both heart-rending films. I also have been reading A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmeal Beah which addresses the Sierra Leone story from the perspective of a boy soldier […]
Peonies
Yesterday I splurged on a bouquet of peonies and proceeded to fall completely in love with them when I got home. I have never before spent so much time gazing at and inhaling the scent of these splendid flowers. I cultivated my new love through the lens of my camera. Some days the abundance […]