Reflections

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”

For Rest on the Sabbath*Sanctifier of holy rest,on the seventh day you paused,laying down the work of creation,and entered into sacred stillness.Let us remember we were freed from slaveryin Egypt and you continue to call usto be people of liberation.Kindle in us the strength to say noto a world of perpetual busyness.Inspire us to set aside our plansand goals to receive the lavish giftof rest for ourselves,to rediscover the paradise within.Let the Sabbath be a time of profound renewal,a gushing forth of the holy well,a time of intimate connection with you,and a rekindling of our sacred desires to be of

Summer Solstice Blessing*Radiant One,creator of the cosmosand the luminaries which light our way,bless this day of longest lightand the gift of the sunto bring warmth to our livesand abundance of growth,sweetness of blueberries,refreshment of lemons,nourishment of kaleand a thousand other kinds of food.We sing in gratitudealong with the sparrows and robinsrising each morningto celebrate another day.Help us rememberthe universe came into being14 billion years ago,with ancient skies unfurling,stars spilling across the heavens,and manifesting in every living thing.Light is our inheritance,calling us to be bearers of radiance,bringing new lifefrom the fertile darkness. Dearest dancing monks, artists, and pilgrims, In the northern hemisphere

Dearest dancing monks, artists, and pilgrims, This Friday, June 12th, we are delighted to welcome Brother Richard Hendrick, OFM Cap. for a retreat on moving From Intention to Attention: Becoming Really Present in Prayer. We will encounter this flow through the lens of the Christian contemplative tradition, looking at the Desert Fathers and Mothers, the Franciscan masters, the teachers of the practice of the presence of God, and the sacrament of the present moment up to our own day to garner tools that will help us in our own personal meditative life and practice today. This poem is from Brother Richard’s Facebook post on March 22nd: