Abbey of the Arts

Transformative Living through Contemplative & Expressive Arts

  • Welcome
    • Prayer Cycle
      • Introduction to the Earth Monastery Prayer Cycle
      • Day 1 Morning & Evening Prayer:
        Earth as the Original Cathedral
      • Day 2 Morning & Evening Prayer:
        Earth as the Original Scriptures
      • Day 3 Morning & Evening Prayer:
        Earth as the Original Saints
      • Day 4 Morning & Evening Prayer:
        Earth as the Original Spiritual Directors
      • Day 5 Morning & Evening Prayer:
        Earth as the Original Icon
      • Day 6 Morning & Evening Prayer:
        Earth as the Original Sacrament
      • Day 7 Morning & Evening Prayer:
        Earth as the Original Liturgy
      • Prayer Cycle Leader Resources
    • About the Abbey
    • About Christine Valters Paintner
    • About John Valters Paintner
    • About the Wisdom Council
    • Monk Manifesto
    • Join the Holy Disorder of Dancing Monks
    • Subscribe to Our Love Notes
    • Website privacy notice
  • Books
    • 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
    • Poetry Videos
    • Dancing Monk Icons
    • Other Art Collaborations
      • 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
    • Live Programs: Pilgrimage & Retreats
      • Monk in the World (Ireland)
      • Writing on the Wild Edges (Ireland)
      • Vienna Monk in the World (Austria)
      • Hildegard of Bingen (Germany)
      • Awakening the Creative Spirit: Experiential Education for Spiritual Directors in the Expressive Arts (Northwest)
    • Lift Every Voice: Contemplative Writers of Color Book Club
    • Community Online Retreats
      • The Spiral Way:
        Celtic Spirituality and the Creative Imagination
      • Journey with the Desert Mothers and Fathers (Lent 2021)
      • Dancing with Fear in Troubled Times
      • Novena for Times of Unraveling
      • The Two HT’s-Harriet Tubman and Howard Thurman-on Being Free
      • Writing Into Bloom
        with Christine Valters Paintner
      • Sacred Time: Embracing an Intentional Way of Life (Spring 2021)
      • Poetry and the Sacred Garden of the World:
        An Online Writing Retreat
    • 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)
      • 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
      • 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
  • Calendar
  • Reflections
  • Contact

Abbess love notes

Celebrate the Sacred Feminine ~ A love note from your online abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims,

August 15this the Feast of the Assumption, a feast which celebrates Mary’s elevated role in the Christian church as the bringer of the holy to birth. Mary has received many names and titles over the centuries: Star of the Sea, Greenest Branch, Seat of Wisdom, and Gate of Heaven to name a few. She is multifaceted, offering us many possibilities for guidance and support on our own journeys of birthing.

Mary as Mother of Mercy

2016 was celebrated as a Year of Divine Mercy in the Catholic Church. The Pope wanted the whole Church to be reawakened to Mercy, which in the context of Christian teachings, refers to concepts such as forgiveness, healing, hope and compassion for all fellow human beings. He called for a ‘revolution of tenderness’ in the Church through a renewed focus on these values. I love that image of a revolution of tenderness, and Mary seems to be a perfect ally on that journey. What might the world look like if we embraced tenderness as a primary quality? What if being tender were at the heart of our spiritual journeys?

Divine mercy is that completely gratuitous and abundant, unearned grace.  When we pray the Hail Mary we describe her as “full of grace.” Mary is the embodiment of divine mercy, that lavish gift of kindness and care.

Mercy is defined as “compassion or forgiveness shown towards someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm.” Many of the biblical stories point us toward mercy, to show a generosity of heart and spirit especially toward those who are poor, marginalized, and living on the rough edges of society.

Mary as Mother of Mercy, extends her reach out to all those who are on the edges. She also calls us to extend this mercy within ourselves to all those places within that we have abandoned or exiled. She invites us to consider those tender and fragile places within which we have rejected for so long. At the heart of mercy is a radical hospitality where the stranger is welcomed in with abundant care and compassion.

We live in a world where terrible things happen every day, sometimes to people far away, and sometimes in our own homes and hearts. We are prompted to call out “How long O God?” in heartfelt lament. Mary is the one who hears these cries and meets us in our grief and anguish. Sibyl will be exploring Mary as the Mother of Sorrows in a couple of days. Mary as Mother of Mercy is her close sister. She is the one we long for, especially when we encounter our own frayed edges.

We see a world filled with violence toward one another, we ask for mercy.

We see children and the elderly dwelling in poverty, we ask for mercy.

We see the earth being slowly choked and poisoned, we ask for mercy.

We recognize the ways our own choices contribute to the above realities, we ask for mercy.

It is in the humbling journey toward lament and a reaching toward the mercy of Mary that we may meet ourselves in new ways. We learn to welcome in the vulnerable places. It is this revolution of tenderness that will move us to a new way of being in the world that relies less on force and power, and more on love and kindness.

View the powerful icon Our Lady Mother of Ferguson at this link>>

This reflection is excerpted from our self-study online retreat The Wisdom of Mary and the Sacred Feminine>>

With great and growing love,

Christine

Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE

Dancing Monk Icon © Marcy Hall at Rabbit Room Arts

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Leave a Comment August 12, 2018

Upcoming Programs

The Spiral Way:
Celtic Spirituality and the Creative Imagination

Hosted by the Rowe Center
February 1-21, 2021
with Christine Valters Paintner, PhD

Journey with the Desert Mothers and Fathers
Retreat for Lent 2021

February 17-April 1, 2021
with Christine & John Valters Paintner and Betsey Beckman

Recent Reflections

  • Celtic Spirituality and the Spiral Way ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess
  • Hildy Tales 3: Ní heolas go haontíos ~ by John Valters Paintner
  • Humility + Join us today for live prayer! ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess
  • Hildy Tales 2: Tús maith leath na hoibre – by John Valters Paintner
  • New Book Club for 2021: Lift Every Voice ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

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