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Monk in the World Guest Post: Pat Butler

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Pat Butler’s reflection, “The Secret Place Studio.”  “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”—Matthew 6:6 Just as an artist needs a quiet studio to practice his or her discipline, a monk in the world needs a quiet studio to pray. We might call it a cell or prayer closet; I prefer to think

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May 20, 2020

Finding Nourishment in a Time of Pandemic ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dear monks, artists and pilgrims, I wrote this reflection last Sunday morning, Mother’s Day in the U.S.: Each day John and I walk with Sourney up the canal and down the river that slice through Galway. Yesterday the swan we’ve seen nesting across the smooth water for several weeks was out with her new babies, five tiny grey cygnets swimming behind her as she searched for food. Back at home, the starlings have nested again outside our building in the large fuchsia bushes as they do each May. The young ones old enough to fly come to our balcony with

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May 17, 2020

Monk in the World: Conversion 6 ~ Reflection Questions and Blessing

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. 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. This week I invite you to ponder the following questions as guides for your practice of conversion. Are there areas of your life which could benefit from an infusion

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May 16, 2020

100th Birthday Video Request

Dearest dancing monks, On June 23rd and 24th John and I each turn 50 years old! It marks the official end of our Jubilee sabbatical year. This year has been a tremendous gift for us and we will be sharing more in the coming weeks about some of what we discovered. We were planning to have a combined 100th birthday party in Galway to celebrate, but due to the pandemic, we sadly had to cancel our celebrations. So we are coming to you, our beloved community with a request for a birthday present: Would you consider creating a short (15-20

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May 14, 2020

Monk in the World Guest Post: Michael Schoenhofer

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Michael Schoenhofer’s reflection “Awe.” Awe: It’s a key to well-being “an overwhelming feeling of  reverence, admiration, wonder produced by that which is grand, sublime, powerful. . .” (Dictionary.com ). Joshua Tree National Park My wife Mary and I traveled out west for a little sunshine and warmth during the last week of January. Our aim was to walk the trails in Joshua Tree National Park near Palm Springs, California. We flew to Las Vegas, rented a car,

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May 13, 2020

Monk in the World: Conversion 5 ~ Suggestions for Practice – 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. 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. Consider writing the words “always we begin again” somewhere you can see them regularly as a reminder to be gentle with yourself on the spiritual path.  This is an invitation to respond to

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May 10, 2020

Praise Song for the Pandemic now in French

? Praise Song for the Pandemic from Christine Valters Paintner on Vimeo. The combined views of our YouTube and Vimeo versions of the Praise Song for the Pandemic video have reached over 150,000 and over a million on Facebook! We are grateful to know many are using this in their online worship services. Diane Ellison wrote to us to ask permission to translate the poem into French which we share gratefully below. Chant de louange durant la pandémie Loués soient les infirmières, les médecins et tout le personnel médical qui prennent soin des humains et qui, par leur présence, réussissent

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May 9, 2020

Monk in the World Guest Post: Nancy Joan Brighid neé Muire, OblSB

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Nancy Joan Brighid neé Muire’s reflection “Lessons in Humility.” Most of my life I thought I was successfully managing to get and then control what I wanted. Money was coming in, I owned my home. I had a husband. Then in 2010, disaster struck. By 2012, I was divorced and living on my own. I had bought a home and small acreage in southwestern Colorado and was managing it as a homestead farm. I had a sweetheart,

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May 6, 2020

Monk in the World: Conversion 4 – Guided Meditation by Christine Valters Paintner + Audio ~ 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. 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.   I invite you to pray lectio divina with the following scripture passage: Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new

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May 3, 2020

More from Christine Around the Web This Week

Christine was featured on the Ave Explores podcast this week to talk about “The Soul of the Artist” Christine has a new poem titled “Spring Ephemerals” in Bearings journal online which celebrates spring’s arrival and our intimacy with the more-than-human world. You can read it here>> St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Arlington, VA is having an online art exhibition in response to the pandemic – here is a collection of poems shared including mine on p. 27 “Always” under the theme of Solace. This poem comes from her second poetry collection The Wisdom of Wild Grace, being published by Paraclete

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May 1, 2020