Reflections

I adore Paula Huston’s work and wise spirit.  She is a fellow monastic oblate and writer of several books on spiritual practice, including one of my favorites The Holy Way: Practices for a Simple Life.  I had the gift of participating in a writing workshop with her several years ago in New Mexico. Her new book Season of Mystery: 10 Spiritual Practices for Embracing a Happier Second Half of Life is a part of the current Patheos book club.  She again weaves together personal narrative along with riches from Christian mysticism to invite us gently into practices which are “antidotes to

. . . Rachel Parrish!  Rachel, please send me your email address and which Self-Study Online Class  you would like as your prize: (with a choice from Soul of a Pilgrim, Eyes of the Heart, Water Wind Earth & Fire, Seasons of the Soul, or Lectio Divina) Thank you to everyone who participated!  The photos are beautiful to longer with.  Come back for our next Poetry Party on Sunday, December 16th.

Abbey of the Arts is thrilled to offer another beautiful CinemaDivina meditation for this month of December.   Marilyn Freeman is a fellow pilgrim on the Benedictine path and she offers this videos as a way of inviting us to pray visually through the medium of film. (You can read her description of it here). Give yourself the gift of a holy pause for just three minutes right now.  Pour some tea, close the door, and turn off any distractions.  Breathe deeply, put your hand on your heart, and give yourself over to three minutes of reflection and see if you can welcome

The theme for November here at the Abbey is community based on the third principle of the Monk Manifesto: 3. I commit to cultivating community by finding kindred spirits along the path, soul friends with whom I can share my deepest longings, and mentors who can offer guidance and wisdom for the journey. In September I introduced the wonderful work of Marilyn Freeman, a filmmaker in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. and fellow lover of the Benedictine way. One of her art forms is the practice of CinemaDivina. Rooted in the contemplative prayer and listening of lectio divina, CinemaDivina draws on film