Visit the Abbey of the Arts online retreat platform to access your programs:

Earth, Our Original Monastery book excerpt

Mercy by the Sea retreat center has shared an excerpt from the introduction of Christine Valters Paintner’s forthcoming book Earth, Our Original Monastery: Cultivating Wonder and Gratitude through Intimacy with Nature:

Everything in creation becomes a catalyst for my deepened self-understanding. The forest asks me to embrace my truth once again. The hummingbird invites me to sip holy nectar, the egret to stretch out my wings, the sparrows to remember my flock.

Each pine cone contains an epiphany; each smooth stone offers a revelation. I watch and witness as the sun slowly makes her long arc across the sky and discover my own rising and falling. The moon will sing of quiet miracles, like those which reveal and conceal the world every day right before our eyes.

Click the link to read the whole excerpt>>

Click here to pre-order online at Amazon or directly from Ave Maria Press>>

You might also enjoy

Monk in the World Guest Post: Kathleen Deyer Bolduc

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Kathleen Deyer Bolduc’s reflection Light in the Darkness. One of my favorite scriptures—one that I repeat to myself often—is from the book

Read More »

Monk in the World Guest Post: Mary Bellon

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Mary Bellon’s poem and reflection Return to the Ocean. This poem reflects a journey back to origins, which for me includes the

Read More »