Going on Retreat

How necessary it is for monks to work in the fields, in the rain, in the sun, in the mud, in the clay, in the wind: these are our spiritual directors and our novice-masters. They form our contemplation. They instill us with virtue. They make us as stable as the land we live in.  -Thomas Merton

On this night of the full moon, I am off for a few days of retreat with my spiritual director Abbess Petunia.  I will be listening to the wind, rain, and sunlight for their sacred whispers.  I will root myself among trees and allow the call of my night dreams to spill forth again into my life.

I am much in need of silence right now.  See you back here on Monday.  I’ll share some of what I discover.

-Christine Valters Paintner @ Abbey of the Arts

(in the meantime, make sure to scroll down and read this week’s Sacred Artist Interview!)