Share your Word for 2014
In ancient times, wise men and women fled out into the desert to find a place where they could be fully present to God and to their own inner struggles at work within them. The desert became a place to enter into the refiner’s fire and be stripped down to one’s holy essence. The desert was a threshold place where you emerged different than when you entered.
Many people followed these ammas and abbas, seeking their wisdom and guidance for a meaningful life. One tradition was to ask for a word – this word or phrase would be something on which to ponder for many days, weeks, months, sometimes a whole lifetime. This practice is connected to lectio divina, where we approach the sacred texts with the same request – “give me a word” we ask – something to nourish me, challenge me, a word I can wrestle with and grow into. The word which chooses us has the potential to transform us.
- What is your word for the year ahead? A word which contains within it a seed of invitation to cross a new threshold in your life?
Share your word in the comments section below by Monday, January 6, 2014 and you are automatically entered for the prize drawing (prizes listed below). Last year we had 840 people share!
A free 12-day online mini-retreat to help your word choose you. . .
This year I am offering all Abbey newsletter subscribers a gift: a free 12-day online mini-retreat with a suggested practice for each day to help your word choose you and to deepen into your word once it has found you.
Sign up here and you can start your mini-retreat today. Once you subscribe you will receive a confirmation email with access to the mini-retreat content (and you are free to unsubscribe at any time). If you are already a subscriber, the invitation will be in this week’s email newsletter.
Win a Prize – Random Drawing Giveaway on January 6th!
I am delighted to offer some wonderful gifts from the Abbey:
- 4 people will win a signed copy of Eyes of the Heart: Photography as Christian Contemplative Practice (mailed directly from me in Ireland to you, anywhere in the world)
- 4 people will win a copy of Naked and You Clothed Me: Homilies and Reflections for Cycle A with two reflections by Christine, plus also Richard Rohr, Rob Bell, Jan Richardson, Fr. James Martin, SJ, and many more!
- 4 people will win their choice of self-study online classes from following: Creative Flourishing in the Heart of the Desert: A Self-Study Online Retreat with St. Hildegard of Bingen, Soul of a Pilgrim: An Online Art Retreat, Seasons of the Soul, Lectio Divina: The Sacred Art of Reading the World, or Eyes of the Heart: Photography as a Contemplative Practice.
So please share your word (and it would be wonderful to include a sentence about what it means for you) with us below. Subscribe to the Abbey newsletter for your free gift. Share the love with others and invite them to participate. Then stay tuned – on January 6th I will announce the prize winners!
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680 Responses
COMMUNION. My word is communion. It is a depth connection with everything that I feel in my bones. It scares me due to the level of intimacy and inner authority it implies. I’m ready for the challenge!
My word that found me, one that will nourish and challenge me, is SHARE. This word found me through silence, prayer and trust as a result of looking through and praying with my last year’s calendar; a dream that I had during this time of retreat and daily “noticing.” Thank you!
My word is “aware”. In 2014 I want to remain consciously aware of God’s faithful presence in the world and in my life – in ways both large and small, in my encounters with the Holy One deep within me, through other people, and in God’s beautiful world.
The word that wouldn’t let go was “At Home”
Upon reflection I see that what I want to reach toward in the coming year is to be “At Home” is the ability to be at ease in my own skin, able to claim a place to stand in the world, to belong, to find shelter, sanctuary, and safe haven, to feel protected and able to survive no matter what, to be connected to the earth and others, to hold a rightful part in the world, to have value, acceptance, love, for who and where I am and for the world around me.
Poem:
Standing at the door
Beautiful beckoning
Breathing deeply
Feet planted on the ground
Body softens
No holding back
Light flows from within God’s dwelling
Whispering, Be –At Home, At Home
You are Home, Here, Now.
Oh Marie, thank you for sharing this exquisite painting. I could gaze upon it for hours and still more. And your poem reminds me of the richness of the word “home.”
Marie, I was scrolling through some of the older posts and found your touching poem and this exquisite painting. It literally took my breath away. Thank you for sharing!
Your painting is absolutely stunning! Thank you for sharing it.
My word for 2014 would appear to be “connect.” Or variations on that word-connections, interconnected-even disconnect. I’m not sure where this word is taking me, but it feels necessary. There are places in my life where I feel a need for stronger connections. There are things that feel disconnected, as well as things that may need to be disconnected. People, places and activities with which I need to reconnect. It promises to be an interesting journey.
I had a phrase given to me several years ago during a guided meditation with a spiritual mentor and dear friend. The phrase, “wake up” has remained in my heart since then and I remain drawn to it. But last night I was given a new word. HEAR. It has definitely been shimmering loud and clear. Thank you for the daily emails and the work that you all have encouraged me to do.
A new word came each day and eventually one threaded through all of them ~ a l l o w. I dreamed that I had a l l o w cereal for breakfast and then put on an a l l o w jumpsuit for the day, putting my arms through the a and then the o and then pulling up the w as pants while the two l’s composed the body of the garment. Thank you for heightening my awareness of the days that follow the 25th.
Joanie, that is an amazing dream! How cool to step inside and wear your word!
My word is “envelope” not the thing you mail cards i in -though it does work for an image if you think about it, to be surrounded
My word is Kindle. I was thinking of the breath that your blow to add a little oxygen to a fire to make it suddenly go up in flames. That breath, as St Hildegard would say, a feather on the breath of God. Also, the etymology of the word Kindle is from the 13th century, having to do with birth by a female (the word kennel is also derived from it.). I need to add that breath to my life this year.
My word is “Enter” – while I thought this was really easy to understand at first, as I’ve spent time pondering this in contemplation I feel it is drawing me to a much deeper level in my spiritual path as I let go and enter the journey.