Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, Today in the Celtic seasonal calendar is the feast of Samhain and in the Christian liturgical cycle the Feast of All Saints (followed by All Souls tomorrow). It is a very special time of year when the northern hemisphere is moving toward growing darkness and is time of preparation for stillness and rest. In the Irish imagination, this is a threshold time, when the veil between worlds feels especially thin. Darkness invites us to rest into the mystery of things. This is one of my favorite moments of the year’s unfolding. Last year at this

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, This fall has been a season full of wonderful opportunities for journeying alongside our beloved dancing monks in person.  When you receive this love note, we will be in the midst of our third pilgrimage group in Ireland, something we love doing because we continually see this amazing landscape through new eyes and are blessed by the community that forms. As many of you know John and I arrived in Galway almost three years ago in the midst of a life pilgrimage.  It can be hard to explain sometimes how we ended up in this

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