Praised be You my Lord with all Your creatures -Francis of Assisi
(dogs encountered across Austria, swan in Hallstatt, Austria)
Today we celebrate 18 years since Abbey of the Arts was created. In its first year it was a blog called The Sacred Art of Living where I was retraining myself to write for a broader audience after my highly academic training. A few months
I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to our Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Starr Regan DiCiurcio’s reflection and inspiration for writing your own prayer. Over the years I have spent considerable time in monasteries, primarily
Blessing of the Elements*Wild Elemental One,bless us through your gifts of wind, fire, water, and earth. May we awaken to new life each dawnand feel your holy breath sustaining us.Let the breezes whisper their secrets and the winds strip away what is no longer needed.
9 Responses
Thanks Suz! And Sue how wonderfully that you were intuitively connected to this feast. Although I have to admit that kind of thing happens to me quite a lot. ;-) I do love philosophy (majored in it in college) so I will have to check the title out!
Last night I was reading a book called The Philosopher’s Dog by Raimond Gaita (a great read so far, especially if you love philosophy and animals mixed together :)
The writer was recounting the last time he saw his pet cockatoo, and of course I burst into gales of tears. But then I couldn’t stop. By the end I was crying at God for all the animals who are suffering in the world (if I was an actor, this is what I would think of if I wanted to cry on cue).
I feel a bit pathetic about that really. But now I realise yesterday was the Feast of St Francis here in Oz. I don’t feel quite so ridiculously moronic now :)
Love those doggies! Good pictures of them, Christine! You really captured their uniqueness.
Thank you all. Ja voll Tess, Sie bellen auf Deutsch! :-)
Christine, I love these dogs, and all your beautiful animal photos (I’m remembering the sheep and donkey! the eagle, and loving pics of Tune).
Cute doggies. Do they bark in Austrian?
Oh, beautiful!
yes, I was missing Tune a LOT so I would soothe myself with other people’s dogs. :-) My macro lens helped me to be somewhat stealth about it! Animals are indeed holy vessels, certainly my Abbess brings me closer to God than most anything else.
oh, i love it–another dog stalker :-) i have been seeing all over town signs for the blessing of the animals. haven’t decided yet if i may sneak into a service to be a part of the festivities.
i always come back to dog is God spelled backwards…no coincidence in my mind!!! xoxoxoxo