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Monk in the World guest post: Meg Watson

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Meg Watson’s reflection initiation & ritual: After 72 years of life, I am finally beginning to understand how important it is to have rites of initiation.  I wrote before about two of the rituals I perform each day, i.e. making my bed and washing dishes.  But as I was remembering a conversation I had with a friend today, I suddenly began to understand what rites of initiation are really about: they are meant to make life sacred. I was thinking

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Feast of St Gobnait and a Celebration of Love ~ A love note from your online abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, On the 11th of February this past week was the Feast of St. Gobnait.  I only learned about St. Gobnait after moving to Ireland. She is a 5th-6th century monk who fled her home in County Clare and headed first for the island of Insheer. It is not clear why she fled, only that she was seeking refuge on the Aran Islands. Click here to read my reflection on her at Patheos>> I am delighted to have a poem about St. Gobnait published in the online journal Headstuff here.  Gobnait features in our upcoming online

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Call for Submissions: Monk in the World Guest Post Series

We welcome you to submit your reflection for possible publication in our Monk in the World guest post series. It is a gift to read how ordinary people are living lives of depth and meaning in the midst of the challenges of real life. There are so many talented writers and artists in this Abbey community, so this is a chance to share your perspective. The reflection will be included in our weekly newsletter which goes out to more than 10,000 subscribers. Please follow these instructions carefully: Details: Please click this link to read a selection of the posts and get a feel for the tone

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Invitation to Photography: Return to Me with Your Whole Heart

Welcome to this month’s Abbey Photo Party! I select a theme and invite you to respond with images. We began this month with a Community Lectio Divina practice with our reflection on the first reading for Ash Wednesday. I invite you for this month’s Photo Party to hold these words in your heart as you go out in the world to receive images in response. As you walk be ready to see what is revealed to you as a visual expression of your prayer. You can share images you already have which illuminate the theme, but I encourage you also to go for a walk with the

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Monk in the World guest post: Jenneth Graser

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Jenneth Graser’s reflection the unfolding process: The deep down longing of my heart in this life for the longest time has been to know God and be known by God.  Over the past 8 or so years, this has taken on a completely different flavour as our family has grown.  Going back in time to around 2002, my life twisted in an unexpected way when I came back home to South Africa after attending a Ministry School in Toronto, only

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Grow in intimacy with the Earth Monastery this Lent ~ A love note from your online abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, The season of Lent begins this Wednesday and we are offering an online retreat experience for this holy time which extends through the first week of Easter. We invite you into a contemplation of the Earth as Original Monastery and to nourish an earth-cherishing consciousness. Jesus begins his own ministry with a time out in the wilderness, seeking the ways that creation can challenge us and nourish us and reveal new directions. Imagine spending 40 days yourself listening for the wisdom of wilderness. The monk here and now is supposed to be living the life

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The Soul of a Pilgrim is named one of the best spiritual books of 2015!

The wonderful folks at the Spirituality and Practice website have named Christine Valters Paintner’s book The Soul of a Pilgrim: Eight Practices for the Journey Within a best spiritual book of 2015! From the book: “Pilgrimage calls us to be attentive to the divine at work in our lives through deep listening, patience, opening ourselves to the gifts that arise in the midst of discomfort, and going out to our own inner wild edges to explore new frontiers.” Click here to see the list of all 50 best spiritual books>>

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Community Lectio Divina: Return to Me with Your Whole Heart

We are returning this month to our weekly invitations to community contemplation and creativity. The season of Lent begins next Wednesday, so we invite you into a lectio divina practice with the words from the first reading for Ash Wednesday from the prophet Joel: Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God. —Joel 2:12-13 How Community Lectio Divina works: Each month there will be a passage selected from scripture, poetry, or other sacred texts (and occasionally visio and audio divina as well with art and music).

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Monk in the World guest post: Judith King

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Judith King’s reflection on a soulful entry into the day: Soul Breakfast Preparation time: 1 Good Night’s Sleep Cooking Time: 45 mins-1hour (For best results try 3-5 times per week) Ingredients 1 Gratitude statement per foot on the floor first thing 1 Mindful Minute at back door or best view window I Lemon Cleanse (glass of hot water, good squeeze of fresh lemon and 2-3tbsps cider vinegar) 1x The-Way-of-the-Three-Steps (Sr Jose Hobday, Plains Tribe Prayer) * 10-15 mins of Body

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Feast of St Brigid + Free Mini-Retreat ~ A love note from your online abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, Tomorrow is the Feast of St. Brigid, one of the most beloved saints in Ireland. In late April I have a new book being released titled Illuminating the Way: Embracing the Wisdom of Monks and Mystics in which I explore 12 monks and mystics through the lens of archetypes, those great universal patterns we all contain within us. Brigid is featured inviting us to consider our own inner Healer. Here is an excerpt (and see below for a free mini-retreat to explore her feast day further): Most of what we know about St. Brigid comes

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