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)
    • Community Online Retreats
      • Lift Every Voice: Contemplative Writers of Color
      • The Way of the Hermit:
        A Spiritual Survival Guide for Dark Times
        with Kayleen Asbo, PhD
      • 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

Monk in the World Guest Post Series

Monk in the World Guest Post: Kathleen Schwab

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Kathleen Schwab's reflection, "Love God Like a Falcon."

On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.

(Psalm 63:6 NIV)

The relationship between God and a human being is unique, and describing it or making analogies can be tricky. After all, it is essentially unlike any other relationship we have with anyone or anything else. Over the last few years, I’ve found something that unexpectedly offers some insights into the human/God relationship: I’ve been studying birds of prey, and the falconers who work with them.

A process called “manning,” used in training hunting falcons, presents some intriguing parallels to the Christian life. Manning builds the bond between the human and avian partners, and makes them a strong team in the field. This type of training is available to us in our Christian lives too: I think of it as “God-ing.” It is something that God offers us at any time, and it will make us far more effective in finding our way through the unpredictable challenges of life.

To understand this analogy, you first have to understand what a unique relationship people have with their trained birds of prey. The issue is the falcons’ freedom: they can fly away if they want, go live on their own in the wild. While hunting, falcons climb hundreds of feet in the air: with the human earth-bound far below, the birds cannot be forced to return. Falconers win their birds over by demonstrating a human partner’s value, making landing yet again on the falconer’s glove the most attractive option.

To prove his or her value, a falconer takes the bird to a good spot, sends it high in the air, and then flushes out some game from the surrounding bushes. While the trained falcon gets lots of prey sent into range, the solitary falcon may have to wait patiently for hours until one animal happens to be in the right place. Most falcons quickly realize how much better life is with a human hunting partner, and choose to return again and again.

A trained falcon is an amazing thing: a wild creature that develops a working partnership with a human, yet retains its wild nature.

Here is where manning comes in as a part of the training regimen. Manning means falcons spending time with humans while not hunting. Falconers may do some manning on a rainy day when flying isn’t possible: the falcon spends the day in the house among people, sitting quietly on an arm while the human works on the computer, does chores, or watches T.V. The bird gets the chance to observe the ways of its flightless hunting partner on an ordinary day. Manning can look like nothing much is going on, but if done regularly, both falcon and falconer will have a much better sense of how to read each other’s body language, and how to respond quickly to each other’s signals. Manning builds both understanding and trust.

God-ing is spending time with God outside of church attendance and structured devotions: it means continuing attention towards God while we live regular life. “Remain in me, as I also remain in you.” (John 15: 4) God's attention does not leave us, although God has given us the freedom to ignore it. But if we spend time simply paying attention to God, to how God operates in our lives, if we study God as a mystery worth knowing, we will reap the rewards of a relationship like no other.

Like falcons, human beings have amazing freedom. God made us, but we can fly away from God, and choose to live life on our own. “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:45 NIV) We are not forced to believe in God in order to survive, or to have access to all the good things in the world. But if we decide to live under God's guidance, so much more will be available to us. God can direct us: God can help us to do more than we could ever hope to do alone.

But as for me, the nearness of God is my good. (Psalm 73:28)


Kathleen Schwab is a lifelong lover of God, a literature teacher, and a wife and mother. Together with her book partner Therese Kay, she is the author of Messages from God: An Illuminated Devotional, a five week devotional inspired by the synergy of words and art in medieval illuminated manuscripts. Visit her online at MessagesFromGodDevotional.com

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Leave a Comment January 16, 2019

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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