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Monk in the World Guest Post: Patri Hernandez

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series. Read on for Patri Hernandez’s reflection “Why the Islands Have Captivated My Heart.” Feeling I needed to strengthen my spiritual connection to Goddess, I travelled back to the Canary Islands a few years ago and found Her there, waiting for me. She revealed herself so beautifully and simply! I was born in one of the islands 53 years earlier, but somehow could not understand the nature of the world or the nature of my own heart. Goddess had always been there when I

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Abbess love notes

Mary Prayer Cycle – New Video Podcasts! ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, Last Spring we created a prayer cycle with audio podcasts to accompany my book Birthing the Holy: Wisdom from Mary to Nurture Creativity and Renewal. I am delighted to share the first companion video podcasts lovingly produced by Betsey Beckman. We will release the video podcast series weekly over the next seven weeks. The full text and audio for the prayer cycle is available here. Each day of the prayer cycle focuses on the thematic and archetypal energies associated with a different name for Mary. Today’s video podcast for Day 1 Morning and Evening Prayer is on the theme Queen

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Monk in the World Guest Post Series

Monk in the World Guest Post: Patricia Leyko Connelly

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Patricia Leyko Connelly’s reflection on talking and listening to God. I remember that as a child of 10 or 12, I used to walk to school and church about 7 blocks to and from my home.  Sometimes I’d walk with other family members or some neighborhood kids but most of the time I was walking alone.  On those walks I imagine I would think about many things…maybe “why didn’t I finish my homework” or how much I

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Books

Watch the Love Holds You Poetry Book Launch Recording

We had a wonderful gathering of dancing monks to help launch my third poetry collection Love Holds You: Poems and Devotions for Times of Uncertainty which releases tomorrow, May 9th. I enjoyed spending this hour of music, storytelling, and poetry with our community. A deep bow of gratitude to Simon de Voil for sharing his gift of song with us. You can order your copy of Love Holds You here. I am most grateful for your support! With great and growing love, Christine Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE

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Julian of Norwich in Her Sick Bed ~ A Love Note and Poem Video from Your Online Abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, I am delighted to share I have a third poetry collection being published on May 9th from Paraclete Press titled Love Holds You: Poems and Devotions for Times of Uncertainty.  I have long loved the wisdom of Julian but like many, when the pandemic arrived, she became my patron saint of lockdown and compassionate retreat. She herself lived during times of plague, so knew the fears of times like that. Her gift to me was as a companion during the long quiet days full of the ordinary graces of life.  Since then I have had my own

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May Tea with the Abbess

I so enjoyed our Tea with the Abbess session. Since I can’t pour you a cup of tea myself I led a brief welcoming meditation then shared some of our programs for May. Such a joyful time with our wonderful community. We have a number of resources to support you in your contemplative journey including:  May Lift Every Voice Book Club The Purpose Gap: Empowering Communities of Color to Find Meaning and Thrive by Patrick Reyes. Christine’s forthcoming collection Love Holds You: Poems and Devotions for Times of Uncertainty releases May 9th! Join Simon and me for a free book launch

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Monks and Mystics

The Joy of God’s Love: Julian of Norwich

We are delighted to welcome Carl McColman on Saturday, May 13th (the feast of Julian!) to lead us in a mini-retreat on her wisdom about divine love.  This is an excerpt from his book, Christian Mystics: 108 Seers, Saints and Sages (published by Broadleaf Books). Julian of Norwich wrote a beautiful book about her visions, but it reveals very few details about her life; in fact, we have no idea what her real name is. The name by which she is known comes from her association with the Church of Saint Julian in the English town of Norwich, where at some point in her life she

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Monk in the World Guest Post Series

Monk in the World Guest Post: Polly Paton Brown

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Wisdom Council member and retreat contributor Polly Paton-Brown’s reflection on doll making as prayer. “That’s it. The trees are coming down and the field is going to be sprayed with round up. I’ve had enough!”  I read the words written on a Facebook page dedicated to the condition Atypical Myopathy. This condition causes death in horses who eat the seeds from sycamore trees that have become toxic. It has always been around but in recent years the numbers have rocketed, caused

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Abbess love notes

Visionary, Healer, Warrior, Sage ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dear monks, artists, and pilgrims, One of my favorite ways to do inner work is through the archetypes which are patterns or energies we find inside ourselves and appear across the globe in different traditions. They come to us as dreams, longings, synchronicities. I’ve written about them more extensively in Illuminating the Way where I connect archetypes like Mother, Prophet, Healer, Sovereign to the monks and mystics of the Christian and Jewish traditions. I also explored them in my book Birthing the Holy where I explored 31 names of Mary, each representing a different archetype like Virgin, Mother of Sorrows, Our Lady of the

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Monk in the World Guest Post Call for Submissions

We welcome you to submit your reflection for possible publication in our Monk in the World guest post series. It is a gift to read how ordinary people are living lives of depth and meaning in the midst of the challenges of real life. There are so many talented writers and artists in this Abbey community, so this is a chance to share your perspective. The link to the reflection will be included in our weekly newsletter which goes out to thousands of subscribers. Submit your own post from one of the following categories on the general theme of “How do I live

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