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Radical Hospitality and Holy Disruption (new Patheos column)

I have a new Seasons of the Soul column up at Patheos: Let all guests who arrive be received like Christ, for he is going to say: I was a stranger and you welcomed me (Mt 25:35). ~ Rule of St Benedict 53:1-2 This quote from Benedict’s Rule is a foundational expression of the principle of hospitality at work: I am called to welcome in every stranger who comes to the door as the face of the divine. I love this invitation of the Rule. I consider what this means at its foundation: that everything that seems strange, foreign, or

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October 3, 2012

Invitation to Photography: Hospitality

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 October is hospitality, so I invite you to reflect visually on what either inner or outer hospitality – that radical act of welcoming in what feels most strange as the face of the holy – looks like for you.  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 (when you go

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October 1, 2012

October theme: Hospitality

Let all guests who arrive be received like Christ, for he is going to say:  I was a stranger and you welcomed me (Matt. 25:35). —Rule of St Benedict 53:1-2 For the month of October, we turn our attention to the principle of hospitality, as found in the Monk Manifesto: 2. I commit to radical acts of hospitality by welcoming the stranger both without and within. I recognize that when I make space inside my heart for the unclaimed parts of myself, I cultivate compassion and the ability to accept those places in others. The Abbey will be hosting a monthly

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October 1, 2012

New Review of Desert Fathers and Mothers (and Living Spiritual Teachers Project)

I am really honored by Spirituality and Practice‘s review of my latest book Desert Mothers and Fathers: Early Christian Wisdom Sayings — Annotated & Explained: In her absolutely brilliant introduction to the desert fathers and mothers, Paintner does a wonderful job explaining the desert as a place of deep encounter; the significant figures in this monastic tradition; the spiritual importance of the cell and the heart; the value of surrender and humility in relationship to the unceasing presence of God; and the challenges of viewing the wisdom sayings of the desert fathers and mothers as Zen koans — “texts to

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September 26, 2012

Silence as a Door to Reverence:
A CinemaDivina Prayer Offering

The theme for September here at the Abbey is silence based on the first principle of the Monk Manifesto: “I commit to finding moments each day for silence and solitude, to make space for another voice to be heard, and to resist a culture of noise and constant stimulation.”  (Please consider stopping by to sign the Monk Manifesto as a statement of your own commitment). You can read more about silence here and here and see the wondrous Photo Party (and the visual meditation) and Poetry Party celebrating the gifts of silence.  My latest column at Patheos also explores Silence as the Union

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September 25, 2012

This week’s winner!

Forgive my delay in posting the winner of the drawing from this past week’s Poetry Party on the theme of silence. . . I have been teaching in Ireland all weekend and arrived back yesterday trying to catch up with myself. I just spent some reflective time with the beautiful poems offered and my heart is, as always, full of gratitude for all my fellow monks and poets willing to share their heart’s expression with this community.  Pour some tea and linger there for a while and really experience the depth of silence’s gifts. The name I pulled in my

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September 24, 2012

Autumn Equinox: Honoring Harvest and Release

Oh autumn, how I love thee so. . . these next few months make my soul come alive in ways that summer never does.  I like to think of autumn and winter as true monk months – the time of releasing, letting go, surrendering into silence and stilless, of waiting and dwelling in Mystery. The autumn equinox falls on September 22nd this year—a time when the sun rests above the equator, and day and night are divided equally. It heralds a season filled with change, celebrates the harvest, and ushers in the brilliant beauty of death. Autumn is a season

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September 21, 2012

Happy Feast of St. Hildegard!

Underneath all the texts, all the sacred psalms and canticles, these watery varieties of sounds and silences, terrifying, mysterious, whirling and sometimes gestating and gentle must somehow be felt in the pulse, ebb, and flow of the music that sings in me. My new song must float like a feather on the breath of God. —attributed to St. Hildegard of Bingen Happy feast day of St. Hildegard!  This is an exciting year for those of us who love this fiery, powerful medieval Abbess.  She was finally canonized by the Catholic church on May 10th and on October 7th will be

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September 17, 2012

Guest post from Kayce Hughlett (Live it to Give it facilitator)

I am delighted to feature a guest post today from Kayce S. Hughlett, one of my fabulous teaching partners, and the facilitator of the upcoming Soul Care Institute class Live it to Give it: Essential Practices of Self-Care and Soul Nourishment (November 5-December 14, 2012), as well as co-teacher with Betsey Beckman of the LIVE SCI intensive Body Wisdom for Soul Care Practitoners (December 3-6, 2012 in the beautiful Pacific NW): There is a simple yet powerful question I pose to participants at the beginning (and throughout) each Live it to Give it class. What do you need right now? Upon asking

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September 16, 2012

Invitation to Poetry: Silence

Welcome to the Abbey’s Poetry Party No. 60! I select an image and suggest a theme/title and invite you to respond with your own poem. Scroll down and add it in the comments section below. Feel free to take your poem in any direction and then post the image and invitation on your blog (if you have one), Facebook, or Twitter, and encourage others to come join the party!  (If you repost the photo, please make sure to include the credit link below it and link back to this post inviting others to join us). We have started a monthly theme

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September 16, 2012