We are currently registering for four retreats and pilgrimages in Ireland next spring 2019. Please note: From June 2019-June 2020 the Abbey will be taking some sabbatical time and no live programs will be offered then. After the dates above, the next live programs will be scheduled in fall 2020. Due to fewer programs being on offer the ones currently available are starting to fill even more quickly than usual. Please get in touch with us if you are interested in joining us! Happy to answer any questions. March 26-April 3, 2019 Soul’s Slow Ripening – Monastic Wisdom for Discernment (Ireland)

[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Button_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] Dearest Monks, Artists, and Pilgrims, This email was sent to our newsletter list, but in case yours got caught in the spam filter here are the details to stay on our mailing list. You may be aware that on May 25th 2018, new Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) are coming into force in the EU. This means that we need to ask everyone on our email list (whether living in the EU or not) to opt in again to receive our communications. If you would like to receive regular soul nourishment from Abbey of the Arts along with updates about our

Each year for the past four years we have fostered a dog from one of the local shelters during our quiet season. Each year, when the time came to pass the dog we had grown so much affection for to their forever home, it was always with a mix of sadness and joy. I am grateful to all those families who keep in touch with photos of the life those dogs are loving. Chime arrived to us just after Imbolc, the first awakening of spring. We quickly realized the name didn’t work for her and started calling her Sourney after

We are thrilled and delighted to be releasing a brand new compilation of songs, curated from some wonderful musicians we know and love. These are songs for Celtic seekers as they are inspired by the tradition of pilgrimage in Ireland and accompany Christine’s newest book which will be released in September 2018 from Ave Maria Press – The Soul’s Slow Ripening: 12 Celtic Practices for Seekers of the Sacred. For six weeks we will be featuring the musicians from this album who so generously agreed to share their beautiful music with our community for this project. Next up is Simon

A love note from your online Abbess Dearest monks and artists, I thought I would send this bonus love note today, Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day, with a few links to past reflections on this season and time of year. Last year I shared a reflection for Valentine’s Day on Becoming Body Words of Love. And here are two poems for Valentine’s  – Saints Bowing in the Mountains by Hafiz and i carry your heart with me by ee cummings. Imagine me saying these words to you from the heart. Ash Wednesday: The Practice of Truth-Telling This is a reflection

Melinda Thomas has been working with the Abbey since 2015. She formats the newsletter and daily love notes, and uploads the blogs, including those from the Monk in the World Guest Post Series. Melinda has recently taken over managing the Abbey’s Dancing Monk email account. You can still reach Christine at that address but general queries and operational email replies will come from Melinda. Melinda is a writer, activist, and yoga instructor who lives in North Carolina with her young son. She is currently writing The Benedictine Path of Yoga: Integrating Monastic Wisdom with the Practice of Yoga, and blogs weekly at

The wonderful folks at the Intercommunity Peace and Justice Center in Seattle chose the theme of “New Monasticism” for their winter issue of Matter of Spirit. I am delighted to have my reflection “Living Monasticism” featured on the front page. Lots of rich reflections in there including one from Laura Swan, the former Prioress at St. Placid Priory where I am a Benedictine oblate. You can find my reflection as well as the whole issue here>> There is also an audio version for download narrated by someone else.