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!
If this is your first time commenting at the Abbey, or you are including a link, your comment will need to be approved before appearing, which usually takes less than 24 hours.
680 Responses
2014’s theme for me is “Daring Greatly” – the concept in Brene Brown’s newest book about vulnerability.
“Planting” is the word that chose me.
It came to me instantly, but I struggled in accepting
This word came too easily
Should it be “plant” no it searching for more activity….
Should it be waiting,
Watching
Anticipating
No…”planting” is nestled in my heart
A friend introduced me to ” the on line monastary ” so I added it to my endless search for meaning in life, my word for this new year is ” expectation “. My mother came from Tralee, so I have great expectations, as I am sure she is somehow involved in my search
Tom
The word that appeared in my thoughts, as clear and round as the ringing of a bell a few weeks ago, was Clarity. I let it sit and carried it around and at times purposefully pondered what it might represent for me for the coming year.
It’s a perfect fit.
My word for the year is SEARCHING. Searching…to identify/ embrace as a friend my inner dark…to love when it is difficult…be some instrument of peace and justice…the mystery. Thanks for your support in the search.
Release—it only come last night while attending a candles and chant service.
Just in time!
The word that chose me is embrace.
Curious is the attitude i want to live into through this year…to become child-like in my stance toward the familiar and to see with new eyes the predictable and mundane that can be called my life… thank you for this opportunity…
My Abbey’s Word of the Year 2014 is
Ego sum, qui sum = I am who I am (Ex 3,14)
As an oblate of my Abbey I translate it to
I’m the one who is always present for you [although you might not see me]
Last year’s word “holy labyrinth” guided my actions throughout the year, in search of the center. The search is still alive. This year I am adding the phrase “acceptance of and living into the sacred unkown.”