In ancient times, wise men and women fled out into the desert to find a place where they could be fully present to the divine 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 4, 2026 and you are automatically entered for the prize drawing (prizes listed below).
Read Christine’s book Give Me a Word: The Promise of an Ancient Practice to Guide Your Year for guidance and inspiration.
This book is designed to help you contemplate what holiness is birthing within your soul. Each day there are different practices offered to inspire, challenge, and support you in listening for the word that wants to be spoken to your heart.
The practices are not about resolutions or goal setting, they are not about achieving more in the new year or accomplishing tasks or goals. They are about listening for what is calling to you in a particular season of life. They ask us to trust a greater wisdom at work in the world than our own egos.
Through this book, you will be invited to release your thinking mind and enter into a space of receiving.
WIN A PRIZE – RANDOM DRAWING GIVEAWAY ENTER BY JANUARY 4th!
- One person wins a space in the mini-retreat Brigid’s Day (Imbolc) Deep Rest Retreat ~ Emergence with Christine Valters Paintner, Deirdre Ní Chinnéide, and Nóirín Ní Riain
- Two people win a space in our upcoming Way of the Monk, Path of the Artist retreat
- Two people win a space each in their choice of Self-Study retreats
- Three people win a Dancing Monk Medallion
Please share your word with us in the comments below
(and it would be wonderful if you included a sentence about what it means for you)
Subscribe to the Abbey of the Arts newsletter to receive ongoing inspiration in your in-box. You can choose daily, weekly, or monthly. Share the love with others and invite them to participate. Then stay tuned – on January 11th we will announce the prize winners!
270 Responses
HELD
A deepening trust that I am HELD in the palm of God’s hand.
A hopeful faith that our troubled world is HELD together by the grace of God.
A tender awareness of my hand being HELD by my ancestors as I navigate the year ahead.
My word for 2026 is release. I am hopeful about all this word will mean for my life this year and in the years to come.
Lean in to receive.
This phrase chose me. It is a combination of my agency, my attempt at better presence in every situation, coupled with letting go of trying to control everything in order to receive whatever gifts the day may bring.
The word I was given for the coming year is Fertile. It is a word with a lot of beautiful potential. It has some heaviness, too, as I am wrestling with the fertility of my own body. I’m game to work with it in the coming year, though, and see what it brings.
My word for 2026 is “inspiritus.” Upon receiving this word a couple of weeks ago, I decided to look up its meaning… there are many ways this word speaks to me… a meaningful interpretation is that the word represents a shift from surviving to thriving… it’s also connected to breath… the Holy Spirit, wisdom and therefore Sophia. It’s one big holy yes for me when it comes to my word for 2026! 💗
Sifting is my word for 2026.
I have been blessed with so many gifts of faith and love and learning; I have grown so much in creative courage and practice, now I welcome in a year of sifting – to seek, to refine, to learn more of God’s wondrous ways, each day with gratitude.
Sifting is my word for 2026.
Resonate is my word. To seal, to protect to cure over time. I will meditate on the word Resonate from a place of sincere gratitude. Thank you.
My word is “wholeness.” I need to work with the word. The book, Give Me A Word” just arrived; unfortunately not in time for the online retreat. I look forward to working through the book. “Wholeness” will be a challenging word to live into. It suggests that I live into the created and uncreated, embrace both the good and the bad that come my way, and embark on wholesome practices that help me grow spiritually.
The word that has come to me as an anchor for 2026 is “wonder”. It is a gentle reminder to stop, pause and receive beauty that is so easy to by-pass in every day life.
The word “hope” has chosen me. I look forward to its companionship and guidance in the new year.