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Reflections

Category: Abbess love notes

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Lughnasa Blessing

I know some of you are enduring terrible heat right now, but here in Ireland the turning toward Lughnasa brings a shift in light and air that hints at autumn’s coming which I love. July is the hardest month for me because of both too much light and heat – although this year it was the rainiest month and cooler than usual thankfully – so I celebrate this feast as it brings my favorite seasons ahead when I feel more creativity and aliveness.  Wherever you are in the northern hemisphere, you might honor this threshold of turning toward harvest. And

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August 1, 2023

Day 7 Mary Prayer Cycle + Summer Sabbatical ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, This week we are pleased release the final video podcast for the Birthing the Holy Prayer Cycle. Day 7 Morning and Evening Prayer honor Madonna Protectress and Mirror of Justice. Here is an excerpt from Day 7 Evening: Opening Prayer Mirror of Justice, you lift up all those on the margins; reflect the justice of Christ who redistributes power structures and gives amplification to the most vulnerable. You call us to solidarity with those who are in need and to remember that our own liberation is intimately entwined with the liberation of the whole human community and

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June 25, 2023

Entering a Relationship with Radiance + Day 6 Mary Prayer Cycle

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, We have three treats for you this week! The next installment of our Mary Prayer Cycle video podcasts is now available. Last Spring we created a prayer cycle and audio podcast series to accompany my book Birthing the Holy: Wisdom from Mary to Nurture Creativity and Renewal. Today we continue our release of the companion video podcasts for the Birthing the Holy Prayer Cycle with Day 6Morning and Evening Prayer. The full prayer cycle is available here. Day 6 morning and evening prayer takes as its theme Theotokos and Mystical Rose. Theotokos means God-Bearer and invites us to consider all

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June 18, 2023

Where Love Lives Poem + Day 5 Mary Prayer Cycle 

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, We have two treats for you today!  The first is the video podcasts from Day 5 of our Birthing the Holy Prayer Cycle.  Last Spring we created a prayer cycle and audio podcast series to accompany my book Birthing the Holy: Wisdom from Mary to Nurture Creativity and Renewal. Today we continue our release of the companion video podcasts for the Birthing the Holy Prayer Cycle with Day 5 Morning and Evening Prayer.  Day 5 morning and evening prayer explores Mother of Sorrows and Greenest Branch. Through her own experience with deep grief and loss Mary, Mother of Sorrows tends the

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June 11, 2023

Christine Interviewed by Leadership Conference of Women Religious

I was recently interviewed on Leadership Conference of Women Religious on “Entering a Relationship with Radiance” for their summer journal. Read the interview below or download the PDF to see the printed version. Christine Valters Paintner heads Abbey of the Arts, a virtual monastery and global community offering programs and resources for contemplative practice and creative expression. She is the author of 20 books on prayer and creativity including three collections of poetry. Christine lives out her commitment as a Benedictine oblate and monk in the world in the west of Ireland. You have studied and written extensively about the mystics

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June 8, 2023

Day 4 Mary Prayer Cycle – New Video Podcasts!

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, Today we continue our release of the companion video podcasts for the Birthing the Holy Prayer Cycle which was created to accompany my book Birthing the Holy: Wisdom from Mary to Nurture Creativity and Renewal. The full prayer cycle is available here. Today’s video podcast for Day 4 morning and evening prayer explores Our Lady of Silence and Our Lady of the Underworld. Our Lady of Silence invites us into the heart of stillness and quiet where we can listen to the still small voice within.  OPENING PRAYERHoly Mary, Lady of Silence, we come to you in quiet this day.

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June 4, 2023

Blessing Our Lives ~ A Guest Post at New Eden Ministry

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, I am delighted to offer this excerpt from my guest post at New Eden Ministry titled “Blessing Our Lives.” Blessings can be like warm bread for the hungry, a cold drink for those who thirst. They can offer hope and encouragement, steep us in gratitude, nurture our courage. Blessings bring us present to the grace of each moment. The word comes from the Latin, benedicere, which means to speak well of. Blessings help to remind us of the love and beauty of the Holy One in our lives and assist us to take nothing for granted.

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May 30, 2023