I KneelI kneel before my mothergently clip each nail,her fingers gnarled like ancient oaks, toes red and splayed,ankle joints fused. I take a sock and scrunch it down,into a small halo and place the opening over her toesthen slide it up over her arch, around her heel, up her calf,a slow pilgrimage.My own hands struggle from the same disease, but for this I am still able. I behold her body, a shrine of vessels and fluid,her long vertical scars over each knee and hip, every wound, a story of survival. In a world of rushing and doing, this is my protest,nothing is more important than this quiet tenderness,emptying her commodeeach morning so that even toenails

It is finally here! We have created a book for the 52 dancing monk icons created by Marcy Hall for our community. Each icon has a short summary of their life, followed by a creative invitation and beautiful prayer (these were written by Melinda Emily Thomas, Christine and John Valters Paintner wrote the summaries). Immerse yourself in a vibrant journey of faith and creativity in this essential resource from Abbey of the Arts. Featuring 52 colorful, playful icons of saints and mystics, each icon offers reflections, creative invitations, and prayers that explore the depth of contemplative living. Organized around the

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to our Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Krissy Kludt’s reflection and poem Of Dust and Water. Several years ago, I texted my father from a snowbound house in Tahoe, where I was spending a weekend away from my Bay Area home: “I miss winter so much it hurts.”  “Of course you do,” he told me. “You have a deep sense of place, fully integrated with your sense of self.” Wisconsin-raised, I’d known lakeshores, streams, and maple forests from childhood. I was born in the