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Monk in the World: Conversion 2 ~ Scripture Reflection by John Valters Paintner, Your Online Prior

Dearest monks, artists and pilgrims, During this Jubilee year of sabbatical we are revisiting our Monk Manifesto by moving slowly through the Monk in the World retreat materials together every Sunday. Each week will offer new reflections on the theme and every six weeks will introduce a new principle. Principle 7. I commit to a lifetime of ongoing conversion and transformation, recognizing that I am always on a journey with both gifts and limitations. Jeremiah 31:31-34 A New Covenant The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will

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Monk in the World Guest Post: Susan Fish

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Susan Fish’s reflection on creative work as offering in the midst of trying times. I’ve never been to Paris but when I saw the cathedral on fire this week last year, I held my breath. I like knowing that iconic sites like the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame de Paris are there. It is enough for me that they stand in my mind as signs and symbols, pointing. When Notre Dame began to burn, I recognized that

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Easter Blessings from Abbey of the Arts ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

How to Be a Pilgrim – Poem Video from Christine Valters Paintner on Vimeo. Dear monks, artists and pilgrims, Lent is a powerful season of transformation. Forty days in the desert, stripped of our comforts, and buoyed by our commitment to daily practice so that we might arrive at the celebration of Easter deepened and renewed. In many ways this Lent was far more austere than any of us anticipated. Often, we arrive at the glorious season of resurrection and celebrate for that one day, forgetting it is a span of 50 days, even longer than the Lenten season through

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Monk in the World: Conversion 1 – A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dear monks, artists and pilgrims, During this Jubilee year of sabbatical we are revisiting our Monk Manifesto by moving slowly through the Monk in the World retreat materials together every Sunday. Each week will offer new reflections on the theme and every six weeks will introduce a new principle. 7. I commit to a lifetime of ongoing conversion and transformation, recognizing that I am always on a journey with both gifts and limitations. “Translations vary, but in our modern day, conversatio morum suorum generally means conversion of manners, a continuing and unsparing assessment and reassessment of one’s self and what is most important

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Monk in the World Guest Post: Lita Quimson

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from Wisdom Council member Lita Quimson entitled, “Kindred Spirits: A Divine Encounter.” My Name is Lita, and I am the founder of On the Third Day (OTTD) Renewal and Formation Center, an ecumenical ministry of spiritual formation and accompaniment in the Philippines. The first time I came across Christine’s book, “The Soul of a Pilgrim”, I instantly connected with her heart. I immediately went to the Abbey of the Arts website and got even more excited because I found in there everything I was

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Let art, poetry, and music hold you in the paradox of these times ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

In a Dark Time Do not rush to make meaning. When you smile and say what purpose this all serves, you deny grief a room inside you, you turn from thousands who cross into the Great Night alone, from mourners aching to press one last time against the warm flesh of their beloved, from the wailing that echoes in the empty room. When you proclaim who caused this, I say pause, rest in the dark silence first before you contort your words to fill the hollowed out cave, remember the soil will one day receive you back too. Sit where

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Monk in the World: Sabbath 6 – Questions for Reflection and Closing Blessing

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, During this Jubilee year of sabbatical we are revisiting our Monk Manifesto by moving slowly through the Monk in the World retreat materials together every Sunday. Each week will offer new reflections on the theme and every six weeks will introduce a new principle. Principle 6: I commit to rhythms of rest and renewal through the regular practice of Sabbath and resist a culture of busyness that measures my worth by what I do. This week I invite you to ponder the following questions as guides for your Sabbath practice. What happens when you allow yourself to receive the full grace of Sabbath rest?

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A Different Kind of Fast: Part Seven – Embrace Mystery

Dear monks, artists and pilgrims, Let mystery have its place in you; do not be always turning up your whole soil with the plowshare of self-examination, but leave a little fallow corner in your heart ready for any seed the winds may bring, and reserve a nook of shadow for the passing bird; keep a place in your heart for the unexpected guests, an altar for an unknown God. — from Amiel’s Journal, translated by Mrs. Humphrey Ward John Cassian, one of the ancient desert fathers, describes three renunciations he says are required of all of us on the spiritual journey.

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Celtic Practice of Thresholds Webinar

We have collectively entered into a time and space of threshold, when the old has fallen away and the new has not yet come into being. In the Celtic imagination, thresholds were places where the veil between heaven and earth was especially thin and so we had access to a deeper connection with the spiritual wisdom of the divine, of the saints and mystics, and of our ancestors. Paraclete Press invited Christine Valters Paintner to speak about Celtic wisdom for the times we are in. Below is the recording of the session which includes teaching, meditation, and poetry. This is

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Earth as Original Monastery

Earth Monastery Virtual Book & Album Launch

[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] EARTH DAY: Wednesday, April 22, 2020 at 12 noon Eastern (9 am Pacific/5 pm Ireland/UK) Christine Valters Paintner will be joined by Abbey of the Arts Wisdom Council members Betsey Beckman, Simon de Voil, and Richard Bruxvoort Colligan for this free hour-long event. Christine will introduce and share a meditation from the book Earth, Our Original Monastery, Simon and Richard will share songs from the album, Betsey will lead us in embodied prayers, and Christine will read poems from her forthcoming collection this fall, The Wisdom of Wild Grace. Celebrate with us these important resources for our times! There

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