Your Online Monastery for Your Spiritual Practice

Spiritual Formation with Music, St. Francis, and Frosty the Snowman (guest post from Richard Bruxvoort Colligan)

For the last several months, we have been embarking on an exciting creative project and collaboration. It started with choosing 12 dancing monks to be a part of the original Dancing Monk Icon series painted by Marcy Hall. These icons were meant to depict some beloved monks and mystics in a joyful and colorful way, reminding us of our call to dance through this life. I have been following with a series of poems I am slowly writing about each of these wondrous figures, choosing moments in their stories to illuminate. Then we had the inspiration to feature a dancing monk for each

November 10, 2014

Invitation to Photography: Honoring Saints & Ancestors

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 honoring saints and ancestors from the story in the Letter to the Hebrews. 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

November 9, 2014

Becoming a Monk in the World: Monk Manifesto

We are delighted to announce that our Monk in the World online course is now in a full-color booklet format including the wonderful illustrations from Kristin Noelle and reflections by Christine. You can order your copies directly through Blurb for $20 each, in a 7×7 inch format they make great companions for times of retreat and great gifts to help nourish the inner monk of someone you love. The $3.41 profit from the sale of each booklet goes directly to support our scholarship fund and Earth Monastery Project. We also plan to make a booklet with the dancing monk icon series (along

November 8, 2014

Worlds Coming Together (a love note from your online Abbess)

Dearest monks and artists, This has been an incredible couple of weeks with our renewal of vows for our 20th anniversary where American friends and Irish friends gathered with us together to celebrate. It felt like our worlds were coming together in a beautiful way. Then, just before the pilgrimage began, a shipment of our things from Seattle which had been in storage for the last two and a half years, arrived. This included two pieces of furniture from my father’s family in Austria, an oil painting of my grandmother, lots and lots of family photos, and some other mementos from

November 6, 2014

Monk in the World guest post: Lynn Domina

This week in our Monk in the World guest post series we have a reflection from fellow monk Lynn Domina. Read on for her wisdom on paying attention as a contemplative practice: The Pleasure of Attention Driving the route I ordinarily take from my home to the next town over, across a few hills and one mountain, around several curves always winding generally north, I pass thousands of trees. They all look alike, green in summer, red and orange in the fall, bare in winter. Many are conifers though, and so they do differ from the deciduous maple, oak, and ash. I

November 6, 2014

Sacred Rhythms Writing & Movement Retreat

In September, I traveled to beautiful Cape May, NJ to lead one of my favorite retreats: Sacred Rhythms Writing and Movement Retreat (I need to work on scheduling another one soon, perhaps in Ireland!) An amazing group of 18 dancing monks gathered and we had a time full of joy, depth, and beauty together. We followed the monastic hours of the day with time for yoga, dance, and writing, so that we could explore what happens to our writing when we move into a more embodied place. What unfolds and flowers is always powerful! Several dancing monks were willing to share

November 3, 2014

Invitation to Community Lectio Divina: Honoring Saints & Ancestors

With November we offer a new invitation for contemplation. Our focus for this month is honoring saints and ancestors. The month of November is traditionally a time when the Christian Community remembers those who have died. And so we are inviting you to welcome in the wisdom of those who have gone before us. I invite you into a lectio divina practice with some words from the Letter to the Hebrews. 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). How amazing it would be to discern together the movements of the Spirit

November 2, 2014

Writing Songs for Monks and Mystics (guest post by David Ash)

October 30, 2014

Monk in the World guest post: Sam Troxal

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Sam Troxal’s wisdom on marrying Haiku with other contemplative practices: I searched for a lake or some other sacred place my own front porch I live as a monk in the world by listening—learning to listen. Maybe I really should say I want to learn to listen, hugging the words of Thomas Merton’s prayer that even when I am off course, “the desire to please the Holy does in fact please the Holy.” For the longest time

October 30, 2014

Welcoming Your Multitude + St Brendan Poem (a love note from your online Abbess)

St. Brendan and the Songbirds Imagine the hubris, searching for the Saint-promised island, the stubbornness to continue for seven journeys around the sun. Each day on the rolling sea, his fellow monks jostled and tossed by waves. Brendan asks late one evening: How will I know when I find what I seek? Easter Sunday brings liturgy on the back of a whale, but as if that weren’t miracle enough, they travel onward. The ship is tossed onto sand and stone. they look up to behold a broad and magnificent oak frosted with white birds hiding the branches entirely, downy tree

October 29, 2014

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Spiritual Formation with Music, St. Francis, and Frosty the Snowman (guest post from Richard Bruxvoort Colligan)

Invitation to Photography: Honoring Saints & Ancestors

Becoming a Monk in the World: Monk Manifesto

Worlds Coming Together (a love note from your online Abbess)

Monk in the World guest post: Lynn Domina

Sacred Rhythms Writing & Movement Retreat

Invitation to Community Lectio Divina: Honoring Saints & Ancestors

Writing Songs for Monks and Mystics (guest post by David Ash)

Monk in the World guest post: Sam Troxal

Welcoming Your Multitude + St Brendan Poem (a love note from your online Abbess)

Upcoming Programs

Recent Reflections

Monk in the World Guest Post: Kiki McGrath

Writing on the Wild Edges + Prayer Cycle Day 2 Audio Podcast ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Monk in the World Guest Post: Jamie Alm

Creative Joy + Prayer Cycle Day 1 Audio Podcast ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

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