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What Came to Me

What Came to Me I took the last dusty piece of china out of the barrel. It was your gravy boat, with a hard, brown drop of gravy still on the porcelain lip. I grieved for you then as I never had before. -Jane Kenyon The photo is of me as a young girl sitting on my father’s shoulder. I have shared some of my journey with him here before — his layers of addiction, his inability to offer unconditional love, his narrowness of vision. This is a part of my inheritance that I continue to name and own. His grief and despair

April 24, 2009

Say Yes

The last few days have been rich, moving in me in ways I have yet to name. The hermit part of my soul is asking for some nurturning right now before I speak too much about what is stirring. In the meantime I continue to receive gifts. I discovered this video at 37 Days (Patti Digh’s blog). It is poet Andrea Gibson reciting her powerful poem “Say Yes”. You can find the words here, but first listen to her speak them aloud. In the space of three minutes I felt myself both moved to tears and rising up in powerful hope.

April 22, 2009

“fragile, mortal, beautiful”

I am catching up on emails this morning and not sure what this says about me, but one of the notes that excited me most was from Rich at Pilgrim Path who sent me this link about a new book on relics called Rag and Bone: A Journey Among the World’s Holy Dead. Some of you may remember that I had some recent encounters with relics during Lent (Meeting the Saints in Walgreens and Altar for an Unknown God) and I am delighted to see well-reviewed writing exploring this practice across religious traditions. The author, Peter Manseau, writes: “These bones — fragile,

April 21, 2009

Sacred Artist Interview: Sybil Archibald

Sybil Archibald, also know as Painter of Blue, has a blog dedicated to spirituality and art and loves medieval illuminations (so you know I was going to like her right from the start). She has even co-authored a book called Lapis and Gold, on reclaiming the original tools and methods of medieval artists. We have only been recently introduced through this virtual world, but she is most certainly a kindred spirit and has been gracious enough to respond to my interview questions for the benefit of you, my dear readers. Read on for more sacred wisdom: ____________________________________________ Are you rooted in

April 20, 2009

Missing My Muse

Before I came to Houston for the SDI Conference I had spent several intense days writing, writing, and more writing and all through it Abbess Petunia was a quiet, faithful presence encouraging me on. Who is the muse in your own life? Make sure to stop by the Poetry Party — the random drawing for a prize is tomorrow! Become a fan of the Abbey on Facebook or follow the Abbey on Twitter (new!) © Christine Valters Paintner at Abbey of the Arts: Transformative Living through Contemplative & Expressive Arts Subscribe in a reader

April 16, 2009

Two Upcoming Retreats in Seattle

For those of you in the Seattle area, you are warmly invited to join me on one of the two retreat programs I am leading in the next month. Saturday, April 25, 2009: A Mini-Retreat for Young Adults (age 21-35) Exploring a Rhythm of Contemplation & Creativity We will explore the ancient practice of lectio divina and creative expression. We gather from 9:30-1:00 for a taste of retreat in the midst of everyday life. (sponsored by the Ignatian Spirituality Center — click link for more information and to RSVP) ************************* May 8-10, 2009 Transitions Weekend Retreat: Engaging the Seasons of Change

April 16, 2009

“A Call to Our Senses”

I plan to explore this idea of Practicing Resurrection more in the coming weeks. In the meantime, I was delighted to listen to the latest edition of one of my favorite radio programs — Speaking of Faith — on Restoring the Senses. Vigen Guroian speaks from Eastern Orthodox tradition about Easter as “a call to our senses” and offers such lush imagery from his own spiritual practice of gardening. Resurrected life is life fully embodied. Definitely worth a listen. There were excerpts read from two of his books: The Fragrance of Godand Inheriting Paradise: Meditations on Gardening which I then had

April 14, 2009

Invitation to Poetry: Practicing Resurrection

The Poetry Party is returning with our 33rd one! I fasted from them for Lent so I could return to them during this Easter season with renewed energy. I have been contemplating some ways to shift how I do this to simplify the process a bit and am trying out a new system. This is how it works: I select an image and suggest a title and invite you to respond with your poems or other reflections. If you have your own blog, please use the Mister Linky widget below to add a link back to your website and then

April 13, 2009

The Rise & Fall of Everything

I awoke this morning and took Abbess Petunia for her walk. The sky is grey and drizzly here in Seattle, just the kind of weather I love when I have a lot of writing to do. Checking into my favorite blogs I found a couple of very thoughtful posts on Easter that wrestle with the challenging side of believing in the resurrection: Tess at Anchors and Masts and my favorite “malcontent” Rachelle at her BlogHer column. I also wrestle with the historical, literal reality of resurrection. The Jesus of boundary-breakers is the one who speaks most profoundly to me rather than the

April 12, 2009

Resurrection Poems

Happy Easter Dear Readers! Two poems for you to celebrate the resurrection of the world around us (both by poets who are new to me): The first is a Northwest poet, Emily Warn. I heard her reading her poem “Hovering” from her book Shadow Architect on our local NPR station and fell in love with her use of language. Her book is based on the mystical character of the Hebrew letters. Go take a listen (click on one of the links below “Listen to KUOW Presents”). The whole piece is just under five minutes, I enjoyed both hearing the poet

April 12, 2009

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Reflections

Filter

What Came to Me

Say Yes

“fragile, mortal, beautiful”

Sacred Artist Interview: Sybil Archibald

Missing My Muse

Two Upcoming Retreats in Seattle

“A Call to Our Senses”

Invitation to Poetry: Practicing Resurrection

The Rise & Fall of Everything

Resurrection Poems

Upcoming Programs

Recent Reflections

New Prayer Cycle Launch and 20th anniversary celebration! ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Monk in the World Guest Post: Rochelle Rawson Naylor

Easter and the Journey to Joy! ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Monk in the World Guest Post: Lori DiPrete Brown

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