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Celebrate Pentecost and the Feast of St. Brendan (Free Preview Call) ~ A love note from your online abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, Today is Pentecost and tomorrow is the Feast of St. Brendan, one of my favorite of the Irish saints. Here is another excerpt from my newest book Illuminating the Way: Help me to journey beyond the familiar and into the unknown. Give me the faith to leave old ways and break fresh ground with You. Christ of the mysteries, I trust You to be stronger than each storm within me. I will trust in the darkness and know that my times, even now, are in Your hand. Tune my spirit to the music of heaven,

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Monk in the World guest post: Adam Brooks Webber

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Adam Brooks Webber’s reflection on dancing with the sunrise. I gather my weapons. No one else in the house is awake yet, save only the cat, and he’s too concerned now with the contents of his dish to pay any further attention to me. I ease the back door open and slip outside. The dew on the back steps chills my bare feet. The neighboring cottages are quiet, and there’s no one in sight. Good. I’d just as soon not be seen. With

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Writing as a Spiritual Practice ~ A love note from your online abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, I am away on the wild edges of Ireland this week and John and I are leading a writing retreat with a wonderful group of writers and pilgrims. So I leave you with this reflection I wrote last year on “Writing as a Spiritual Practice.” I am deeply inspired by monastic tradition, one of the great contemplative and mystical strands of Christian heritage, and also present in other religions. Monks were the keepers of wisdom through their commitment to spiritual practice and to the art of writing. Manuscripts were illuminated, bringing word and image together,

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Monk in the World guest post: Anne Knorr

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Anne Knorr’s reflection on reconnecting with the cycles of the Earth. The other night my husband and I hiked up to one of our favorite spots in the foothills of Boulder, Colorado we affectionately call the Moon Rock.  Our neighbors joined us on the 45-minute trek up the hill with picnic dinners and headlamps in tow.  Hiking to watch the moonrise is a ritual we happened onto several years ago when the full moon coincided with my birthday and my

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Celebrate the Celtic feast of Beltaine ~ A love note from your online abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, In the Celtic Wheel of the Year, today is the feast of Beltaine and the very start of summer. This is an excerpt from our online self-study retreat Sacred Seasons: A Yearlong Journey through the Celtic Wheel of the Year (click link for details and registration): Beltaine (which means bright fire) is another of the cross-quarter days, representing the mid-point between the vernal equinox and the summer solstice and it is often experienced at the height of spring. In Ireland it is considered to be the beginning of summer and the beginning of the light

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Illuminating the Way: new 12-month journey with FREE monthly teleconference

Starts Monday, May 23rd with Francis of Assisi! Join us for a FREE 12-month journey through Christine Valters Paintner’s newest book Illuminating the Way: Embracing the Wisdom of Monks and Mystics. Each month Christine will host a teleseminar where she will explore some of the themes of the monk and mystic featured, lead a meditation experience, and read one of her poems, as well as offer the opportunity to ask questions. The recording will be available if you can’t participate live on the call. This is a wonderful way to move slowly and intentionally through the material. You do need to purchase

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Christine is interviewed on The Soul Directed Life

Janet Connor interviewed Christine Valters Paintner about her new book Illuminating the Way. You can listen to the conversation here about embracing your inner monk, visionary, and pilgrim through the inspiration of Thomas Merton, Hildegard of Bingen, and Brendan the Navigator.

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Monk in the World guest post: Theresa Walker

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Theresa Walker’s reflection on waiting, letting go, and opening to creative gifts. Years ago, I waited anxiously to see if I would get the job I had interviewed for. I wanted the job very much. At last my interviewer called and said, “I’m sorry, but I still can’t give you an answer.” My spirits plummeted. Disappointment, anxiety, and a worrisome desire to achieve my goal gripped me. That night I dreamed a woman stood in front of me holding a baby. I reached out my

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Illuminating the Way: Embracing the Wisdom of Monks and Mystics is now available!  

  Illuminating the Way takes you on a journey through your inner life accompanied by twelve great monks and mystics from the Christian tradition. Each figure invites you to discover the energy and potential of a particular archetype–the inner sage in Benedict; the inner visionary in Hildegard of Bingen; and the inner orphan in Dorothy Day. From the prophet Miriam of the Hebrew Scriptures to twentieth century monk Thomas Merton, Paintner offers an array of challenging and enlivening models to explore. Christine is beloved by readers for her creative practices, guided meditations, and beautiful prayers and poems, and she has

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Embrace the wisdom of your inner orphan ~ A love note from your online abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, Illuminating the Way: Embracing the Wisdom of Monks and Mystics will be released very soon! In my newest book I explore twelve monks and mystics and how each of them invites us into a deeper connection to our own inner multitude, sometimes described as archetypal energies. Last week I shared an excerpt from my reflection on the Sovereign. This week I share from perhaps my favorite archetype of all, that of the Orphan, the tender and vulnerable part of ourselves we so often push away: The Orphan appears across myths, fairy tales, and popular culture,

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