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Reflections

Category: Pilgrimage

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Update on In-Person Pilgrimages

Dearest monks and pilgrims, It seemed time for an update on our in-person pilgrimages as it has been a while since we posted about this on our website and we continue to get inquiries.  We have not scheduled any in-person programs since the pandemic and we won’t be doing so for the foreseeable future.  The reasons for this are many including the intensive time investment and financial risk of planning programs in uncertain times. Primarily though, it is because of my own health challenges over the last couple of years. Due to being immune compromised and ongoing fatigue and pain,

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August 9, 2023

Some Updates from Your Online Abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, This past Monday our Wisdom Council gathered together online for our semi-annual time of reflection, inspiration, and planning. We are extraordinarily blessed with a group of 14 members who are heart-centered, contemplative leaders committed to helping Abbey of the Arts continue to flourish and serve this community in challenging times.  We first created the Wisdom Council several years ago when John and I realized we wanted more support for what was emerging, we wanted it to be a truly collaborative vision. While we are not a registered charity or non-profit structure, primarily because we went that path

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January 31, 2023

Does Your Heart Long to Journey to Celtic Lands? ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, These northern hemisphere days when the nights grow longer and the sun lower in the sky is my favorite time of year. I especially love that the sun rises later and later so I am able to get up on calm mornings and stand at the threshold of sea and shoreline to witness the beauty that unfolds. (The photo above is from a recent October morning walk).  This is the time of year when the ancient ones honored the growing darkness as the season of mystery, rest, and incubation. It is the time when the

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October 30, 2022

Join Us On a Virtual Pilgrimage to Ireland ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, We are thrilled to be offering a second virtual Celtic pilgrimage starting a week from tomorrow which will be the eve of Samhain and the Feast of All Hallows. Journey with us over nine days as we deepen into Celtic wisdom and hear the stories of Kevin, Ita, and Enda. Each day’s live session (via Zoom) also includes film footage from various sacred sites in Ireland including Glendalough and two of the Aran Islands as well as our wonderful guides Dara Molloy, Deirdre Ní Chinnéide, Pius Murray, Fr. Michael Rodgers, Pádraigín Clancy, and Órla Mc Govern. (All

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October 23, 2022

Update About In-Person Programs ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dearest monks and pilgrims, Now that the pandemic seems to be (at least temporarily) subsiding many of you are looking for meaningful travel opportunities. We decided early on in 2022 to cancel all of the in-person programs we had scheduled. There were several reasons for this — it takes an enormous amount of work to plan for these pilgrimages and to keep having them delayed the last couple of years hasn’t been sustainable for us so we have chosen to focus our energy in other directions for the time being. The pandemic is still ongoing and new variants can emerge

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March 8, 2022

Join Us for a Virtual Celtic Pilgrimage ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, Tomorrow is the eve of St. Brigid’s feast day, a threshold time in the Celtic imagination where the doors to the Otherworld open wider and we are invited to rest into this liminal space and listen for our heart’s true calling.  As the pandemic continues on, many of you have asked us if we would consider creating a virtual pilgrimage. We are delighted to invite you into this sacred space with us. Nine days of giving yourself the gift of dwelling in time outside of time and letting your imagination bring you on a journey of

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January 30, 2022

Join Abbey of the Arts on retreat in 2021!

We are delighted that all of our 2020 pilgrimages and retreats have been full for several months now (you are always welcome to add yourself to our cancellation list as we do have folks drop out). We are scaling back on our live offerings for 2021 to allow more time for writing but are thrilled to announce the following programs which are currently open for registration: Writing on the Wild Edges: A Creative Retreat on the Island of Inismor (Ireland) with Christine & John Valters Paintner May 9-15, 2021 – limited to 18 participants More details here>> Poetry and the

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January 18, 2020

Upcoming Programs

My Heart Feels Lean: Behold the Darkness, Cradle the Light
My Heart Feels Lean: Behold the Darkness, Cradle the Light
15 Dec 23
Seeing the Light: A Poetry Reading with Kenneth Steven
Seeing the Light: A Poetry Reading with Kenneth Steven
18 Dec 23
Centering Prayer
Centering Prayer
20 Dec 23

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