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Category: Poetry

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Love Holds You Poetry and WritingMini-Retreat ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Whatever I Find hidden among the stones piled by lake’s edge — a beetle, a coin, a candy wrapper — let it be a portent, a cypher. Let me seek a new direction among what is hidden, lost, discarded, rather than always grasping at some bright, invisible future. —Christine Valters Paintner, Love Holds You: Poems and Devotions for Times of Uncertainty Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, This coming Friday, I am delighted to be leading an online program, hosted by Mercy by the Sea retreat center, called Love Holds You: Yielding to the Sacred Presence through Poetry and Writing. This mini-retreat

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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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Watch the Love Holds You Poetry Book Launch Recording

We had a wonderful gathering of dancing monks to help launch my third poetry collection Love Holds You: Poems and Devotions for Times of Uncertainty which releases tomorrow, May 9th. I enjoyed spending this hour of music, storytelling, and poetry with our community. A deep bow of gratitude to Simon de Voil for sharing his gift of song with us. You can order your copy of Love Holds You here. I am most grateful for your support! With great and growing love, Christine Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE

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Julian of Norwich in Her Sick Bed ~ A Love Note and Poem Video from Your Online Abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, I am delighted to share I have a third poetry collection being published on May 9th from Paraclete Press titled Love Holds You: Poems and Devotions for Times of Uncertainty.  I have long loved the wisdom of Julian but like many, when the pandemic arrived, she became my patron saint of lockdown and compassionate retreat. She herself lived during times of plague, so knew the fears of times like that. Her gift to me was as a companion during the long quiet days full of the ordinary graces of life.  Since then I have had my own

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When All Feels Lost Poem Video ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, I am delighted to share I have a third poetry collection being published on May 9th from Paraclete Press titled Love Holds You: Poems and Devotions for Times of Uncertainty.  This poem emerged early on in the pandemic. It was such a disorienting time for everyone. I sensed that in the middle of feeling lost was also a gift that could help me release my need for certainties and be present to what newness was unfolding in the midst of this time of forced rest. Read the poem slowly and see what is sparked. Then watch the

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Christine Interviewed on the Faith Conversations Podcast

Christine was interviewed about her forthcoming collection Love Holds You: Poems and Devotions for Times of Uncertainty on the Faith Conversations podcast. The format of this new book takes the reader on a journey. We get to experience it on the podcast as Christine reads a number of poems and helps us spend time reflecting on the content. These words from the back cover of the book are appropriate, “When it seems you walk alone, let these words help reveal love as the ground beneath you.” Listen to the podcast and poems here. Learn more and pre-order Love Holds You. (Available

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NEW YouTube Channel!

We have a new YouTube channel! This is another resources we are pleased to offer our dancing monks where you can follow new posts in our Lift Every Voice book club, our Prayer Cycle series, Poetry Videos, and Tea with the Abbess. Subscribe to the channel.

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