SHARE YOUR WORD FOR 2016
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 January 6, 2016 and you are automatically entered for the prize drawing (prizes listed below).
A FREE 12-DAY ONLINE MINI-RETREAT TO HELP YOUR WORD CHOOSE YOU. . .
As in past years, 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. Even if you participated last year, you are more than welcome to register again.
Subscribe to our email newsletter and you will receive a link to start your mini-retreat today. Your information will never be shared or sold. (If you are already subscribed to the newsletter, look for the link in today’s email).
WIN A PRIZE – RANDOM DRAWING GIVEAWAY ON JANUARY 6TH!
We are delighted to offer some wonderful gifts from the Abbey:
- One signed copy each of Soul of a Pilgrim, Eyes of the Heart, The Artist’s Rule, and Water, Wind, Earth, and Fire.
- One space in Sacred Seasons: A Yearlong Journey through the Celtic Wheel of the Year
- 4 people will win their choice of self-study online classes from the 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 to receive ongoing inspiration in your in-box. Share the love with others and invite them to participate. Then stay tuned – on January 6th we will announce the prize winners!
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712 Responses
The year past has been one of unexpected and challenging thresholds. Larry, my husband of 49 years, bravely faced Alzheimer’s and painful physical disability. Yet we had no reason to believe death would visit us. Unexpectedly on the first day of spring, I found myself alone. As we journeyed toward autumn, I, the strong and capable, inexplicably crossed a threshold. And found myself on the other side. Weak and unwell, despite excellent medical care. Winter brought yet a new threshold. I was blessed to spend two weeks in a ‘new’ world: Germany and Christine’s beloved Austria. Standing on that threshold changed how I viewed my ‘world’: Canada. The Word that has chosen me for 2016 is: SEEK. Seek the Sacred.
Presence.
I desire to be more open and receptive to the presence of God and the Holy Spirit in my life.
My word for this year is trust
Last year my word was surrender it was an intense experience surrendering to God
Trust is the perfect word to follow my surrendering I’m ready to walk a pathway of trust.
Several words seem to vie for attention but ENCOUNTER is the one that has emerged for 2016. Once I acknowledged its giftedness and its invitation I realised deep within my gut how much I desire to encounter the Holy One in new and varied ways. I await with eager anticipation and with a certain amount of anxiety as I know that challenge and affirmation go hand in hand
I believe I’ve received the word courage. In 2015, I started taking a step toward pursuing a dream but shrunk back in fear. In 2016, I pray that courage will overcome the fear.
The word that came to me is “meet.” It’s to be in place, at this moment or any moment. When thoughts, challenges, events, people, and so on, occur or appear, I will not step back nor reach out. I will meet all where I am and allowing that which I meet to do the same. There seems to be an honesty and honoring in this that resonates with me.
I haven’t received my 2016 word yet. In 2015 my word was acceptance and I feel.like I could use the same one again
A few days ago the image of God came to me as a wise, compassionate grandmother. She spoke to me, “Hush child.” My word for 2016 is child. What does it mean to be a beloved child of God to one who was given away by her earthly biological mother and abused by her adoptive mother? What does it mean that God does not require words or some great feat to earn love, grace, mercy, compassion?
My word for 2016 is WANDER. I like how it also sounds like “wonder.” I was remembering pleasant days in a city, not my own, in the fall. Each day I’d set out in a different direction, curious about what I may find. I took photos of objects I called “lost and found,” explored neighbourhoods, encountered people, stopped for a rest in a cafe I hadn’t been in before. I never knew if I could also walk all the way back to the lodge where I was staying. I always did. Besides the fresh air and exercise, I experienced joy in the curiosity. Perhaps “curiosity” could be my word as well. I’d like to approach my work in this way too i.e wandering with curiosity, being open to the “lost and found,” being pleasantly surprised by encounters along the way. To wander is not about the finished product. Not at all.
During Advent many of the devotions and resources kept referring to “light”. Even our homily on Christmas Eve was about light.
I have chosen the phrase “seek the light” which I feel has been calling to me during Advent. I believe it has many opportunist for my focus in 2016.