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Orchard and Forest (a love note)

Dearest monks and artists, This is proving to be a powerful Advent season for me.  My husband and I have made the discernment to move to the west coast of Ireland at the end of December and so this threshold time left here in Vienna has become a profound opportunity for retreat, turning inward, savoring our experience of these days, and sharing with one another the dreams being birthed within us. We have taken on a shared rhythm of life for Advent that has become deeply nourishing and such a gift.  Part of that rhythm is a time of praying lectio

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December 12, 2012

Faith Squared Advent Calendar: Holy Darkness

The wonderful folks at Faith Squared have created an Advent calendar this year with new reflections each day.  Today’s featured writer is yours truly: I must be the Virgin and give birth to God. –Angelus Silesius Advent is my favorite liturgical season of the year. Images of waiting, darkness, and birthing make my soul sing.  We are each given time and space to grow more welcoming to unknowing, where so much promise and possibility dwell.  During Advent we honor a God who is far beyond our own imaginations and who calls us into the fullness of our own horizons. The 17th century German

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December 11, 2012

Abbey Bookshelf: Season of Mystery by Paula Huston

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

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December 10, 2012

and the winner is . . .

. . . 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.

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December 10, 2012

December: A CinemaDivina Prayer Offering

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

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December 9, 2012

Life Impulse and Death Impulse

To receive this love note from your online Abbess direct to your in-box, click here: “And how would God be known as the Eternal One if brilliance did not emerge from God?  For there is no creature without some kind of radiance–whether it be greenness, seeds, buds, or another kind of beauty.” —St. Hildegard of Bingen Dearest wondrous monk and artist souls, Thank you for all the beautiful replies I received from last week’s love note about following the thread to Mary and the gift of pears.  Many of you had similar stories to share connecting the Black Madonna and

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December 5, 2012

Invitation to Photography: Kinship with Creation

Welcome to the Abbey Photo Party! I select a theme and invite you to respond with images. Our theme here at Abbey of the Arts for December is kinship with creation, so I invite you to reflect visually on your own sense of connection with the natural world.  What wisdom does nature offer to your life? You can share images you already have, but I encourage you also to go for a walk with the theme in mind and see what you discover. How to participate: 1. Go to the Flickr Group I have created. You need a free Flickr

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December 2, 2012

December Theme: Kinship with Creation

Forest and field, sun and wind and sky, earth and water, all speak the same silent language, reminding the monk that he is here to develop like the things that grow all around him.  —Thomas Merton For the month of December, we turn our attention to the principle of kinship with creation, as found in the Monk Manifesto: 4. I commit to cultivating awareness of my kinship with creation and a healthy asceticism by discerning my use of energy and things, letting go of what does not help nature to flourish. The Abbey will be hosting a monthly Photo Party

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December 1, 2012

Visual Meditation: I live my life in widening circles

I live my life in widening circles that reach out across the world. I may not complete this last one but I give myself to it. I circle around God, around the primordial tower. I’ve been circling for thousands of years and I still don’t know: am I a falcon, a storm, or a great song? —Rainer Maria Rilke The mandalas come from various doors and gates in Paris and Vienna.

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November 30, 2012

Following the Thread

There is a thread I have been following these last few months while living in Vienna which I haven’t yet shared with you, mostly because of my own amazement and wanting to respect the call without putting too many words and explanations to it. It began in late summer when two different online monk friends sent me images of Our Lady of Czestochowa, one of the Black Madonnas found in Poland.  They were drawn to send them, I felt drawn to receive them.  My journey to Vienna has much to do with healing my relatinship with my father, and I

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November 30, 2012