A Blessing for Paradise*
Sacred Source of Joy,
help us to see glimpses
of heaven all around us,
in the urgency of each spring’s blooming,
in the simple gifts of water
to bathe in and drink,
in our morning tea or coffee,
steam rising in prayer,
in the dog’s pleading eyes,
or the warm embrace of a friend,
in the food which nourishes us
and the herbs given freely for healing.
May we behold the way
sunlight illumines and moonlight glows,
may we treasure moments of laughter.
May we see Paradise shimmering forth
wherever we look, savoring moments
of ease and hope in whatever forms they take,
to strengthen and nourish us,
to share a vision of Eden with the world.
Dearest dancing monks, artists, and pilgrims,
To cultivate a spirituality of blessing means to hold practices like gratitude, generosity, wonder, awe, joy, and delight at what it means to be human. Blessing reminds us of the Paradise that lies hidden at the heart of everything if we only have eyes to see.
It means to expand our awareness of the sheer gift that life is. To remember that there is always enough, an overflowing abundance of grace, but humans in their patterns of greed and grasping perpetuate a narrative of scarcity and withhold resources from those in need.
To be a blessing to the world means to hold this sense of profound gratitude for all that is, to allow our capacity for love and wonder to grow, while also resisting those who want to shape a narrow world of suffering.
When we attend to the beauty of the most ordinary of moments, we remember that the sacred that dwells here among us. Advent is a season to celebrate the incarnation, how the divine became enfleshed in a human body, entering as a vulnerable infant.
The journey to this holy birth is filled with danger and threat, but the season of Advent honors the birthing that happens in the midst of the growing darkness. The feast of Christmas invites a holy pause to wonder at this joy given form.
To bless something is to acknowledge its innate sacredness. To bless another is to weave them into a community of care and concern. Blessing is also an act of solidarity, to say to another, I am praying for you, I am celebrating you, I am grieving with you, and I know the Holy One is praying, celebrating, and grieving with us. Indeed, the act of blessing is to acknowledge God as the Source of Love and our care and kindess for one another and all creatures.
Our Advent retreat starts today and is filled with rich gifts that invite you to wonder and pause and bless. We will begin the journey with a 2-hour live online gathering tomorrow, December 2nd, where I will be joined by Sybil MacBeth who will guide us in the simple yet profound practice of praying in color.
Then throughout the days of Advent there will be scripture reflections from my husband John, blessing practice videos from some of our Wisdom Council members, and three guest teacher conversations I have with Anna Blaedel and Robert Monson of enfleshed (a website dedicated to creating meaningful prayer and blessings for those on the margins), Rabbi Zari Weiss, and Imam Jamal Rahman. Join us!
With great and growing love,
Christine
Christine Valters Paintner, OblSB, PhD, REACE
*Blessing written by Christine for a book of blessings (due to be published in spring 2026)
