Reflections

A Blessing for the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi*Wild and dancing God, you gave us the example of Francisto show us what it means to embody love on Earth.He danced in celebration of everything that you created:the sun, moon, stars, water, wind, earth, and fire,he called them each brother or sister,he cherished the birds, the wolf, and the grasshopper,and even Death became an intimate companion,a teacher of how precious life is.Francis saw the whole world as his monastery,as the place where your sacred presenceshimmers forth like silver.Give us the courage to follow his exampleof holy foolishness, to find our

A Fool’s Blessing*God of upturned expectations,bless us with holy foolishness.Help us take ourselves less seriouslyand believe in what we did not think could be done: impossible situations,limited resources, injustices demanding rectification,traumas needing healing. Grant us a restless heart when we witness oppressionand exploitation, hunger and war,poverty and destruction. Kindle in us a need to extend our handsin service to a hurting world, joining with kindred souls in communities of care, knowing ourselves to not be alone. Help us trust in the tiny seeds we plant,that they grow vigorously and flourish,let the ripples we send across the watersof life be multiplied

We are pleased to offer a reflection guide for my latest book A Midwinter God: Encountering the Divine in Seasons of Darkness which releases on Friday, September 13th. Download the reflection guide here. About A Midwinter God: “I believe we all carry grief that has gone unnamed and unmourned,” writes best-selling author Christine Valters Paintner. “Nothing in our culture prepares us to deal with darkness and grief. We are told to cheer up and move on, to shop or drink our way to forgetting the pain we carry. Yet I believe that being faithful to our own dark moments is