The theme for November here at the Abbey is community based on the third principle of the Monk Manifesto: 3. I commit to cultivating community by finding kindred spirits along the path, soul friends with whom I can share my deepest longings, and mentors who can offer guidance and wisdom for the journey. In September I introduced the wonderful work of Marilyn Freeman, a filmmaker in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. and fellow lover of the Benedictine way. One of her art forms is the practice of CinemaDivina. Rooted in the contemplative prayer and listening of lectio divina, CinemaDivina draws on film

. . .   Karla Grauberger!   You have won a space in my upcoming online retreat – Birthing the Holy: An Online Retreat for Advent with reflections by Macrina Wiederkehr, OSB and myself, and the wonderful art of Mary Southard, CSJ. Make sure to stop by and savor the wondrous poems offered there on the theme of community!  Thank you to everyone who participated for making the Abbey such a beautiful community of poets.

Bard Judith!  Judith, contact me to confirm your email address and you will be subscribed to my upcoming online retreat – Birthing the Holy: An Online Retreat for Advent with reflections by Macrina Wiederkehr, OSB and myself, and the wonderful art of Mary Southard, CSJ. Thank you to everyone who participated.  Unfortunately I didn’t get to comment on everyone’s image this time, but I did savor each one.  I am so grateful for this creative community.  Make sure to stop by and savor the beautiful images shared here. I am heading off to Ireland tomorrow for a week, so things

The wonderful folks at Englewood Review of Books have featured a marvelous review of my latest book.  Here are some excerpts: Truly, Paintner offers the commentary not of a learned academic—which she undoubted is—but of an amma who herself wants to speak a word to her readers. The result is a book that you will not want to put down and that you will no doubt revisit often for Paintner’s wisdom as much as the mothers’ and fathers’ wisdom. . . Paintner has offered a succinct introduction to and a lively commentary on the desert mothers and fathers. There are

If you have been following the Abbey for a while, you know that I consider ancestral work vital to the healing and vibrancy of our souls.  I believe that the stories of our mothers and fathers, and the generations before them, live on in our blood and shape our own gifts and wounds. I have experienced profound healing on this path.  I have even moved to the city of Vienna because of an ancestral call, and here each day I discover new dimensions to my father’s story, and so my own as well.  I consider my journey an essential dimension

. . . Alizabeth Rasmusen.  Liz will receive a space in my upcoming online retreat – Honoring Saints and Ancestors: Peering through the Veil. Deep bows of gratitude to each of you who participated in the Poetry Party.  Truly it is one of the great joys of leading this community to have such generous and creative souls be a part of it.

This month’s theme at the Abbey is hospitality. You can find more reflections here, here and here. There are lots of wondrous resources to share and upcoming classes to consider in support of your own journey of inner hospitality: Live it to Give it If you are a soul care practitioner in need of some support in practicing generous hospitality to your own beautiful self, please consider joining Kayce Stevens Hughlett for her upcoming online Soul Care Institute class Live it to Give it: Essential Practices of Soul Nourishment and Self-Care which begins November 5th and offers a wise and generous space for you