Ave Maria Press is having a huge sale on their e-book versions of their titles including 7 of the 8 books Christine Valters Paintner has published with them (AND this includes her newest one coming on April 3rd). Sale goes until April 15th! Earth, Our Original Monastery is $8.99 The Soul’s Slow Ripening is $4.99 The Wisdom of the Body is $2.99 Illuminating the Way is $2.99 The Soul of a Pilgrim is 99 cents! The Artist’s Rule is 99 cents! Water, Wind, Earth, and Fire is 99 cents! Visit Amazon, B&N, Kobo, and GooglePlay to purchase! Note: Eyes of

Praise be the nurses and doctors, every medical staff bent over flesh to offer care, for lives saved and lives lost, for showing up either way, Praise for the farmers, tilling soil, planting seeds so food can grow, an act of hope if ever there was, Praise be the janitors and garbage collectors, the grocery store clerks, and the truck drivers barreling through long quiet nights, Give thanks for bus drivers, delivery persons, postal workers, and all those keeping an eye on water, gas, and electricity, Blessings on our leaders, making hard choices for the common good, offering words of

Dear monks, artists, and pilgrims, During this Jubilee year of sabbatical we are revisiting our Monk Manifesto by moving slowly through the Monk in the World retreat materials together every Sunday. Each week will offer new reflections on the theme and every six weeks will introduce a new principle. Principle 6: I commit to rhythms of rest and renewal through the regular practice of Sabbath and resist a culture of busyness that measures my worth by what I do. Exodus 20:1-11 The Ten Commandments Then God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house

I am really delighted to have four poems published at the online journal impspired! You can read them at this link  – “Wittgenstein in Connemara,” “Love Letter,” “Nocturne,” and “Poetry on Four Paws.” The editor also let me know that the last time they published my poems back in August, it was the most read page on their website and I am the second most read author on their site since starting. What all that means is I have an amazing and wonderfully supportive community of readers which is all a writer can dream of. A deep bow of gratitude to

In April 2020 Christine Valters Paintner’s book Earth, Our Original Monastery is being published by Ave Maria Press. The book explores concepts like earth as the original cathedral, scripture, saints, spiritual directors, liturgy, icon, and sacrament through wisdom of the Christian mystics and the Hebrew and Christian scriptures. Like most of Christine’s books there is a rich array of experiential exercises (both contemplative and creative) included in each chapter that lends itself well to a retreat experience. We have a companion album of songs being released shortly as well and we are in the process of creating a cycle of

We are so delighted that Richard Bruxvoort Colligan and Simon de Voil, two sacred musicians we work with extensively at Abbey of the Arts, are collaborating together and offering a livestream event next Wednesday (January 22nd). You can sign up below. They are both such soulful musicians as well as gorgeous presences bringing beauty into the world. We have a new album being released very soon to accompany Christine’s book *Earth, Our Original Monastery* (available to pre-order) and both Richard and Simon have songs featured on it! They each are a part of the Patreon platform, so you can support

Mercy by the Sea retreat center has shared an excerpt from the introduction of Christine Valters Paintner’s forthcoming book Earth, Our Original Monastery: Cultivating Wonder and Gratitude through Intimacy with Nature: Everything in creation becomes a catalyst for my deepened self-understanding. The forest asks me to embrace my truth once again. The hummingbird invites me to sip holy nectar, the egret to stretch out my wings, the sparrows to remember my flock. Each pine cone contains an epiphany; each smooth stone offers a revelation. I watch and witness as the sun slowly makes her long arc across the sky and