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Abbey Bookshelf: An Altar in the World (on belief and practice)

“Welcome to your own priesthood, practiced at the altar of your own life.” (xvii) “Christianity ‘is not a set of beliefs or doctrines one believes in order to be a Christian, but rather Christianity is to have one’s body shaped, one’s habits determined, in such a way that the worship of God is unavoidable.’ (quote from Stanley Hauerwas) In our embodied life together, the words of our doctrines take on flesh. If one of our orthodox beliefs has no corporeal value, if we cannot come up with a single consequence it has for our embodied life together, then there is

September 28, 2009

On Prayer

On Prayer You ask me how to pray to someone who is not. All I know is that prayer constructs a velvet bridge And walking it we are aloft, as on a springboard, Above landscapes the color of ripe gold Transformed by a magic stopping of the sun. That bridge leads to the shore of Reversal Where everything is just the opposite and the word ‘is’ Unveils a meaning we hardly envisioned. Notice: I say we; there, every one, separately, Feels compassion for others entangled in the flesh And knows that if there is no other shore We will walk

September 27, 2009

Mandalas – Part Two

Stop by Patheos for the second part of my article on Mandalas in the church.

September 23, 2009

Water, Wind, Earth, and Fire

I just got the cover design in the mail for my book Water, Wind, Earth, and Fire: The Christian Practice of Praying with the Elements from Ave Maria Press (coming in March 2010!). I really like the design a lot, especially the four symbols for the elements in the upper right (not as clear to see in the image). Very exciting to begin to imagine what this will look like – the container for all of my hard work and passion! I am also delighted at the advance reviews/blurbs from some of my favorite authors: “For too many centuries, too many Christians

September 18, 2009

Happy Feast of St. Hildegard

Hildegard of Bingen was my doorway into the Benedictine life. While in graduate school I was studying for my “History of Christian Spirituality” comprehensive examination (a fearful and awesome task if there ever was one) and actually had a slight disdain for those ancient monks. My spirituality up until that point had been quite infused by the Ignatian vision of working for justice. I was turned off by the body-denying practices of monasticism (at least in its earlier forms) and wondered how those who chose a cloistered life could truly be engaged with the suffering of the world. Of course,

September 17, 2009

Travel to Chiapas for Art & Spirit

This trip sounds amazing and I would be signing up if it didn’t conflict with a major event I coordinate for one of my jobs. So I am encouraging any of you who might be interested in traveling with a group of pilgrims for an experience that is sure to be filled with creative inspiration and spiritual depth: One Equal Heart Foundation and the Grünewald Guild are co-sponsoring a trip to Chiapas, Mexico, March 6-21, 2010, for artists and people interested in exploring creativity and spirituality in this rich and ancient place. We will have two wonderful women artists accompany

September 16, 2009

Celebrate with Me!

I just hit the “SEND” button to deliver our manuscript to the Publisher right on time. Awakening the Creative Spirit: Bringing the Arts to Spiritual Direction (co-authored with Betsey Beckman) is scheduled for publication in early February 2010 by Morehouse (SDI Imprint Series). More details to come! For right now I am just going to celebrate the completion of this phase of hard, hard work and what has been a labor of utter love and passion. (oh and now to get some of my other work done . . .)

September 15, 2009

Let Art Offer Both Joy and Solace

Two Visual Meditation Reprises for this day: The first, Happy Birthday to my dear friend, this one is for you. The second, in loving memory of the terrible loss of 8 years ago.

September 11, 2009

Mothers and Grandmothers

“And so our mothers and grandmothers have, more often than not anonymously, handed on the creative spark, the seed of the flower they themselves never hoped to see—or like a sealed letter they could not plainly read.” -Alice Walker, from In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens Last week I shared an encounter which made me wistful for my mother (pictured at right as a young girl). It was her birthday last week and I still miss her terribly six years after her death. I have come to embrace this ache as a beautiful sign of how much I loved her,

September 8, 2009

Monastic Wisdom

A monastery can never be merely an escape from the world. Its very purpose is to enable us to face the problems of the world at their deepest level, that is to say, in relation to God and eternal life. Everything in the monastic life down to the deepest level has to be viewed from this angle. –Bede Griffiths, The Golden String: An Autobiography The real monastic walks through life with a barefooted soul, alert, aware, grateful, and only partially at home. -Joan Chittister, Wisdom Distilled from the Daily: Living the Rule of St. Benedict Today

September 8, 2009

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Abbey Bookshelf: An Altar in the World (on belief and practice)

On Prayer

Mandalas – Part Two

Water, Wind, Earth, and Fire

Happy Feast of St. Hildegard

Travel to Chiapas for Art & Spirit

Celebrate with Me!

Let Art Offer Both Joy and Solace

Mothers and Grandmothers

Monastic Wisdom

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