Dearest dancing monks, artists, and pilgrims,
Blessings at this time of Lughnasa which is the Celtic festival to mark the beginning of harvest and time of gathering in.
Lughnasa is a time to gather in and to reap what has been sown. The other side of the wheel from Lughnasa is Imbolc, February 1st, when the very first signs of spring started to rumble awake on the earth. In these last six months, we have seen a cycle of flourishing and fecundity, both around us and perhaps also within.
It is sometimes thought of as the time of “first fruits” and is when the grain is gathered in. One of the central rituals for this feast is cutting the first corn and making it into a loaf for the Mass at church on August 1st or 2nd. In the Hebrides in Scotland, it is recorded that families would celebrate Lughnasa on August 15th in connection with the feast of the Assumption of Mary. Each family member would take a piece of the bread and walk sunwise around the festival fire and sing a song to Mary.
The other liturgical connection is the Feast of the Transfiguration on August 6th, tying Lughnasa with the appearance of Christ in glory to Peter, James, and John on the mountain. The Apostles are filled with an ecstasy from which they do not want to awaken. In some Christian traditions, the interpretation of the text is that rather than Christ changing, the eyes of the Apostles were opened so they could see him in his true form.
We are back after our summer sabbatical and are delighted to step into a new program year. It feels very much a time of harvesting the seeds that were planted in the spring as we did so much of our planning for this season.
We have multi-week programs coming this year on the fairy tale of the Handless Maiden (a rich story about the healing of the wounded feminine and the integration of the sacred masculine and feminine), an Advent retreat on Holy Resistance with the wisdom of some modern mystics, a retreat on the practice of lectio divina, on chronic illness and the wisdom of wounds for Lent, and one for the season of Easter to companion a book I have coming out then on Practicing Resurrection.
We also have some wonderful mini-retreats with guides like Wisdom Council member Dena Jennings, Claudia Love Mair, and Te Martin on Ignatian spirituality, Mourning Pages, and Songs for Death and Dying. Celtic retreats for Samhain, Winter Solstice, and Imbolc led by several beloved Wisdom Council members. And mini-retreats from other wise leaders like Father Adam Bucko, Cynthia Winton-Henry, Ally Markotich, Dorcas Cheng-Tozen, and Kat Armas on creativity, service, justice, and the great dance of life.
Simon and I are returning with our monthly contemplative prayer services in October on the first Monday of every month. The video podcasts for our Cultivating Seeds of Liberation prayer cycle will be released in October and November as well.
And if you are in a financial position to help support our free resources and scholarships and our 21st year of ministry we invite you to consider joining our Sustainers Circle.
These are some of the fruits we will be offering in the coming months. Join us at the table to feast on the riches! You are welcome here.
With great and growing love,
Christine
Christine Valters Paintner, OblSB, PhD, REACE
Image paid license with Canva
