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Saint Bernard in the fields at Clairvaux. For Hilary.

Saint Bernard in the fields at Clairvaux. For Hilary. That day as the sun set, its afterglow flooded the world with light like the meeting of heaven and earth; then the great bell of the abbey tolled the vesper; the workers in the fields lowered their scythes and bowed their heads or knelt on the sharp stubble; a grasshopper rested on the rough hem of my robe; nature held its breath and knew eternity I listened as the echo of the bell took all my listening, and then was heard no more; but listening remained; the silence became full of

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September 20, 2010

Happy Feast of Hildegard of Bingen

Today is the Feast of Hildegard of Bingen, here is a reprint from an earlier blog post last year about my love for her: 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

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September 17, 2010

$1000 donated to Gulf Oil Spill Restoration Fund

Last week I offered to donate 50% of the profits from registrations for two of the Abbey’s online classes for those who registered in the last couple of days.  I am delighted to report that the response was great and I was able to make a donation of $1000 to National Wildlife Federation’s Gulf Oil Spill Restoration Fund!  Thank you so much for your support of the Abbey.  (Registration for  Eyes of the Heart: Photography as a Contemplative Practice is still available – begin the class at any time!) You can make your own donation to NWF here. Make sure you go by this

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September 14, 2010

Invitation to Poetry: Autumn Blessings

Welcome to Poetry Party No. 47! I select an image and suggest a theme/title and invite you to respond with your poems or other reflections. Add your responses in the comments section. Feel free to take your poem in any direction and then post the image and invitation on your blog (if you have one) and encourage others to come join the party! (permission is granted to reprint the image if a link is provided back to this post) Please post your poem in the comments section below (feel free to include a link to your blog – it would

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September 13, 2010

Spiritual Renewal in Times of Crisis

Patheos periodically offers a theoblogger challenge to respond to a question in 100 words or less.  I wasn’t able to respond in time to be included in their list, but offer my response here.  Stop by their website to see the other responses.  Here is the prompt: Faced with an unexpected personal crisis, each of us is propelled on a unique journey through grief, without a clear road map or how-to instructions. With the recent release of the movie Eat, Pray, Love, about one woman’s spiritual quest after a bitter divorce, we’ve been thinking about the ways each of us seeks

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September 12, 2010

Latest Reviews of Water, Wind, Earth, & Fire

Two wonderful new reviews of Water, Wind, Earth, and Fire: The Christian Practice of Praying with the Elements (click the link to purchase your own copy on Amazon.com) Reviewed by Spiritual Directors International: Spiritual director Christine Valters Paintner describes sitting on an Oregon coastal shore piled with sand and stones, watching the setting sun while gulls glide on a Pacific Ocean breeze. She writes, “Here in this place, wind, water, earth, and fire all meet in a glorious window onto the Divine extravagance” (138). Encountering the four elements in one place is exactly what Water, Wind, Earth, and Fire does, inviting

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September 12, 2010

Living Contemplatively in the World

As a monk in the world, I am always seeking support for this path.  Yesterday I just started reading The Contemplative Heart by James Finley which is about how to live contemplatively in the world beyond the monastery and already in the first forty pages is a great deal of wisdom. Finley describes three aspects to contemplative living in the midst of busy lives and work which were articulated beautifully: The first aspect is being as fully present as you can to the task at hand.  When you are working on something be fully mindful to it as you engage it and do only one thing at a time. 

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September 8, 2010

Postcard from the Abbey: Companion

A postcard from the Abbey in honor of my anniversary today. This is my blessing for you, my dear readers, in the days ahead. May you be blessed with the grace of companionship. May your heart be embraced by the love of a kindred soul. May you span time together, stretched out over the beauty of the seasons, knowing the rise and fall, the fullness and emptiness of life. May love become your crucible of transformation, that place where deepening trust leads to a softened heart. And may your growing love of those you trust deeply lead you to expanding

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September 3, 2010

How to Be Alone

I just love this.  The line speaking to my heart today (keeping in mind my post from yesterday) is “Dance until you’re sweating, and beads of perspiration remind you of life’s best things, down your back like a brook of blessings.” How about you?  Where are you finding the solace of solitude these late summer days? How to Be Alone by Tanya Davis If you are at first lonely, be patient. If you’ve not been alone much, or if when you were, you weren’t okay with it, then just wait. You’ll find it’s fine to be alone once you’re embracing it. We could start

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September 1, 2010

Teach us again how to begin the dance

The world and time are the dance of the Lord in emptiness. The silence of the spheres is the music of a wedding feast. The more we persist in misunderstanding the phenomena of life, the more we analyze them out into strange finalities and complex purposes of our own, the more we involve ourselves in sadness, absurdity, and despair. But it does not matter much, because no despair of ours can alter the reality of things, or stain the joy of the cosmic dance which is always there. Indeed we are in the midst of it, and it is in

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August 31, 2010