Abbey of the Arts

Transformative Living through Contemplative & Expressive Arts

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    • About John Valters Paintner
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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
    • 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
    • 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)
  • Calendar
  • Reflections
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Abbess love notes, Monk in the World

Monk In the World: Community 2 – Scripture Reflection by John ~ A Love Note from Your Online Prior

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims,

During this Jubilee year of sabbatical we are revisiting our Monk Manifesto by moving slowly through the Monk in the World retreat materials together every Sunday. Each week will offer new reflections on the theme and every six weeks will introduce a new principle.

Principle Three: I commit to cultivating community by finding kindred spirits along the path, soul friends with whom I can share my deepest longings, and mentors who can offer guidance and wisdom for the journey.

Nehemiah 1:1-11
Nehemiah Prays for His People

The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah. In the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in Susa the capital, one of my brothers, Hanani, came with certain men from Judah; and I asked them about the Jews that survived, those who had escaped the captivity, and about Jerusalem. They replied, ‘The survivors there in the province who escaped captivity are in great trouble and shame; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire.’

When I heard these words I sat down and wept, and mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven. I said, ‘O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments; let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for your servants the people of Israel, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Both I and my family have sinned. We have offended you deeply, failing to keep the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances that you commanded your servant Moses. Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, “If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples; but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are under the farthest skies, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place at which I have chosen to establish my name.” They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great power and your strong hand. O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man!’

At the time, I was cupbearer to the king.

Background
The Book of Nehemiah is unique among the Hebrew Scriptures because its author never intended it to be a religious text. Nehemiah is not a prophet or priest. He’s a bureaucrat. When we first meet him, Nehemiah is a public servant to a gentile king. But Nehemiah learns of the plight of Jerusalem after the Babylonian invasion and brings his concerns to the king. The king is moved by Nehemiah’s passion and so not only gives Nehemiah leave to return to the Jerusalem, but gives him the authority and resources to rebuild the city.

What eventually is edited into the Biblical text we now know as ‘The Book of Nehemiah’ is originally his personal journal and progress reports back to the king. There is a beautiful honesty in the lack of a dogmatic agenda. He’s not trying to make a great theological statement; he’s just telling what happens.

And what happens is simple. Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem and discovers, first hand, that the reports of the city’s demise are true. The walls have massive gaps and falling apart, leaving it under constant threat of attack. The people living there are largely impoverished and those who are doing moderately well are too afraid of losing what little they have to help their neighbors.

Under Nehemiah’s leadership, all that changes. It helps that the king sent him with men and supplies, but Nehemiah organizes work details. Everyone, according to their abilities, is given a task. The work of rebuilding, restoring the city is a collective effort. Everyone has a sense of pride and ownership, because they all chipped in to accomplish a common goal that benefited all of the entire community.

Reflection
The work that Christine and I do at Abbey of the Arts is not just about the two of us. It is in service of a community. And that work is accomplished by a community.

We have people who help us in the administration of the website and communications. We have guest teachers contributing content to online courses. And on our in-person pilgrimages, we have numerous local guides and businesses (from transportation, accommodation, and food to local experts taking our groups physically and mentally through the different places we visit).

When we first had the idea to lead a pilgrimage in the west of Ireland, we booked a nearby B&B and hired a couple of local guides to help familiarize ourselves with the locations we already knew we wanted to take our groups. Our choice of accommodations had more to do with proximity than first-hand experience staying there. And we were only hoping to “pick the brains” of a few local guides to help us fill in some information gaps for when we took our groups out on our own.

But after meeting with the B&B owners and sitting down to breakfast after a tour of their facilities, we knew this sweet couple understood hospitality on a truly profound level. And when the personal guides we hired started reciting poetry, between gushing about how delighted they were to talk more about the rich spiritual histories of the places they regularly took groups to . . . we knew we had to include these individuals are part of our pilgrimages. They were part of the local landscape as much as any rock or well.

Not only can I now not imagine doing our Galway pilgrimages without these people, I wouldn’t want to. And I doubt we’d get as many returning pilgrims without them. We are all part of the same sacred journey, the same spiritual community.

With great and growing love,

John

John Valters Paintner, MTS

Photo © Christine Valters Paintner

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Leave a Comment October 27, 2019

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

  • 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
  • Lift Every Voice: Contemplative Writers of Color – April Video Discussion and Book Group Materials Now Available
  • Hildy Tails 12: Is ait an mac an saol ~ by John Valters Paintner

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