Dearest monks and artists, In spring of 2016 my ninth book will be published through Ave Maria Press titled Illuminating the Way: Embracing the Wisdom of Monks and Mystics. I am very excited to offer this set of reflections on the 12 dancing monks that have become the patron saints of our Abbey and connect each of them to an archetypal energy we can discover within ourselves. Today is the Feast of St. Francis, beloved by many for his passion for creation, his commitment to service and the poor, and his embrace of the inner Fool – that part of himself

Dearest monks and artists, I am delighted to share an article of mine published in the most recent issue of Network Ireland Magazine on Writing as a Spiritual Practice. Read on for more insight into how I approach this work: I am deeply inspired by monastic tradition, one of the great contemplative and mystical strands of Christian heritage, and also present in other religions. Monks were the keepers of wisdom through their commitment to spiritual practice and to the art of writing. Manuscripts were illuminated, bringing word and image together, to shine a light on the poetry, stories, and other wise

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, Another reflection from the Abbey archives for you on expanding our understanding of the divine: Let mystery have its place in you; do not be always turning up your whole soil with the plowshare of self-examination, but leave a little fallow corner in your heart ready for any seed the winds may bring, and reserve a nook of shadow for the passing bird; keep a place in your heart for the unexpected guests, an altar for an unknown God. — from Amiel’s Journal, translated by Mrs. Humphrey Ward John Cassian, one of the ancient desert