Abbey of the Arts

Transformative Living through Contemplative & Expressive Arts

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  • Books
    • Breath Prayer:
      An Ancient Practice for the Everyday Sacred
    • Sacred Time:
      Embracing an Intentional Way of Life
    • The Wisdom of Wild Grace: Poems
    • Earth, Our Original Monastery:
      Cultivating Wonder and Gratitude through Intimacy with Nature
    • Dreaming of Stones: Poems
    • The Soul's Slow Ripening:
      12 Celtic Practices for Seeking the Sacred
    • The Wisdom of the Body:
      A Contemplative Journey to Wholeness for Women
    • Illuminating the Way:
      Embracing the Wisdom of Monks and Mystics
    • The Soul of a Pilgrim:
      Eight Practices for the Journey Within
    • Eyes of the Heart:
      Photography as a Christian Contemplative Practice
    • The Artist's Rule: Nurturing Your Creative Soul with Monastic Wisdom
    • Desert Mothers and Fathers: Early Christian Wisdom Sayings Annotated & Explained
    • Lectio Divina–The Sacred Art: Transforming Words and Images into Heart-Centered Prayer
    • Water, Wind, Earth & Fire: The Christian Practice of Praying with the Elements
    • Awakening the Creative Spirit:
      Bringing the Arts to Spiritual Direction
    • Lectio Divina: Contemplative Awakening & Awareness
  • Poetry | Art | Music
    • Music + DVD
    • Poetry by Christine Valters Paintner
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      • Monk in the World art series by Kristin Noelle
      • Saints & Animals art series by David Hollington
      • Sacred Time art series by Alexi Francis
      • Mary block print art series by Kreg Yingst
  • Programs
    • Lift Every Voice: Contemplative Writers of Color Book Club
    • Community Online Retreats
      • Harriet Tubman and Howard Thurman-on Being Free
      • Writing Into Bloom
        with Christine Valters Paintner
      • Revelations: The Mysticism of Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe
      • The Wisdom of Wild Grace: A Weekend Retreat Online
      • The Spiral Way:
        Celtic Spirituality and the Creative Imagination
      • Sacred Balance:
        Aligning Body and Spirit Through
        Yoga and the Benedictine Way
    • Self-Study Online Spiritual Retreats
      • Creative Flourishing in the Heart of the Desert:
        An Online Retreat with St. Hildegard of Bingen
      • Dreaming of the Sea:
        A women’s discernment journey through the story of the Selkie
      • Earth, Our Original Monastery
        A Companion Retreat to the Book (SELF-STUDY)
      • Exile and Coming Home:
        An Archetypal Journey through the Scriptures
      • Eyes of the Heart:
        Photography as Contemplative Practice
        (Companion retreat to the book)
      • Journey with the Desert Mothers and Fathers
        (SELF-STUDY)
      • Honoring Saints and Ancestors:
        Online Retreat for the Season of Remembrance
      • Lectio Divina:
        The Sacred Art of Reading the World
      • A Midwinter God:
        Making a Conscious Underworld Journey (SELF-STUDY)
      • Sacred Rhythms of Sky, Sun, Sea & Stone:
        A Creative Retreat with the Elements (SELF-STUDY)
      • Sacred Seasons:
        A Yearlong Journey through the Celtic Wheel of the Year
      • The Soul of a Pilgrim:
        Eight Practices for the Journey Within
        (a companion retreat to the book)
      • The Soul's Slow Ripening: 12 Celtic Practices for Seekers of the Sacred (a companion retreat to the book)
      • Water, Wind, Earth & Fire
      • Watershed Moments
        in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures
      • Way of the Monk, Path of the Artist:
        A 12-Week Companion Retreat to The Artist's Rule
      • The Wisdom of the Body:
        A 10-Week Online Companion Retreat to the Book
      • The Wisdom of Mary and the Sacred Feminine
    • Live Programs: Pilgrimage & Retreats
      • Writing on the Wild Edges (Ireland)
      • Hildegard of Bingen (Germany)
      • Awakening the Creative Spirit: Experiential Education for Spiritual Directors in the Expressive Arts (Northwest)
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Monk in the World Guest Post Series

Monk in the World Guest Post: Elaine Breckenridge

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Elaine Breckenridge's reflection on Saint Brigid.

I went to Ireland last year and met Saint Brigid: monastic leader and pastor, protector and companion, soul friend and healer. Oh, I had known about Brigid as there are no shortage of books detailing her life as a person in history and her tradition as a goddess of the land of Ireland. But on this sacred journey, experience expanded knowledge as throughout my two week journey, time and again I met Brigid.

My visit to the Anglican cathedral bearing her name in Kildare was a surprise. Her image in the stain glass window actually took my breath away. There she was–a life-size figure on the same par as Patrick and Comicille (Columba). And what was she holding? A crozier! What looks like a shepherd’s staff is also the primary symbol of the office of Bishop. I knew of legends that described her “accidental” consecration as a Bishop in the church. Stories tell that the Bishop said the wrong prayer over her as she was being set apart as an abbess. But to see what I had considered to be a folktale preserved in the historical record of the church (the window) was amazing. That day, I met Saint Brigid, monastic leader and pastor.

I knew that Brigid was and still is a symbol of hospitality and abundance. Walking through the village of Kildare, that tradition came alive as I saw her image in a fine tile portrait in front of a local pub. A sign advertised a special sale on Brigid’s Ale. Fitting, since among her many occupations, Brigid is the patron saint of beer makers. Just a few doors down the road her cross was displayed lovingly in a shop window. I imagined the owners hung her cross asking for her special prayers of blessing and protection.

There are many accounts about the cross of Brigid being placed in homes and shrines asking for her blessing and companionship. I knew this but I was not prepared to see her large cross guarding this house on Inish Mor in the Aran Islands. In Ireland, the presence of Brigid continues to be a blessing: in the church, the market place and home. In Ireland I met Saint Brigid, protector and companion.

No pilgrimage to Kildare could be complete without a visit to the famous well there that bears her name. While countless wells and shrines in Ireland bear her name, this particular one includes a statue of her holding the likeness of a flaming torch, reminding visitors of her association with both fire and water. Passing through the threshold into the outdoor sanctuary was passage into a world of contemplation and beauty. I walked the pilgrims way to the well led by six stones and stopped to listen at each one. At each rock, I was given a word. Presence. Healing. Inspiration. Discernment. Love. Surrender. These words guided my retreat with the Abbey of the Arts that month. Well known for her ministry of spiritual direction, at the well, I met Saint Brigid, my Anam Cara or soul friend.

Brigid followed me home, from Ireland to Lodi, California. She has appeared in my dreams and in my prayers. Part of the Brigid tradition places her at the birth of Jesus and as a companion to the Holy Family. One night I had a special dream. As I awoke, I realized that she had done for me what she had done for Jesus and his parents. When I was an infant, I was hospitalized for many weeks. Yet, she had been a special presence, a companion when I thought I was alone.

I have carried the memory of being both abandoned and trapped in my mind and in my body, kept as I was in crib with only custodial care. But now I realize that I was not trapped but sheltered and protected under the holy mantle of Saint Brigid. She was there, the healer and had been present to me just as she had been present to the Holy family and to the many women in childbirth who called upon her name. In my home in California, I met Saint Brigid, my healer.

And so a new chapter of my spiritual journey begins. The wounds of childhood have left me with a fear of scarcity—whether it be around time, money, food or affection. What better practice than to team up with Saint Brigid not only the healer, but the patron of hospitality, abundance and generosity?

As I celebrate her feast day this year, the day after Imbolc, the first day of spring on the Celtic calendar, I look forward to a new birthing taking place in my soul. I know that whatever comes forth, Brigid, saint, leader, and my Anam Cara, protector, companion and healer will be with me.

 


Elaine Breckenridge is a dancing monk and an Episcopal priest currently serving St. John the Baptist Church in Lodi, California. Her passions include incorporating Celtic and Creation Spirituality into traditional liturgical forms, the music of Kristopher E. Lindquist (Kelmusic.com), yoga and living the Abbey of the Arts Monk Manifesto.

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8 Comments January 25, 2017

Upcoming Programs

  • Writing Into Bloom with Christine Valters Paintner
    • May 1, 2021
  • Revelations: The Mysticism of Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe
    • May 13, 2021
  • The Wisdom of Wild Grace: A Weekend Retreat Online
    • May 15, 2021 - May 16, 2021
  • View All Upcoming Programs

Recent Reflections

  • Monk in the World Guest Post: Reverend Deb Goldman
  • A mini-poetry reading from Christine plus other publishing news
  • St. Kevin Holds Open His Hand and Radical Hospitality ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess
  • Monk in the World Guest Post: Greta Kopec
  • Monk in the World Podcast + Harriet Tubman Mysticism ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

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