Gratitude and Thanksgiving ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess
Dearest Monks, artists, and pilgrims, The United States celebrates the feast of Thanksgiving this week. I have always loved this time of gratefulness and sharing with loved ones. My heart overflows with gratitude for this beautiful community we have created together. I delight daily in knowing there are dancing monks all over the world. The […]
Christine Interviewed at Encountering Silence
Christine joins Carl McColman at Encountering Silence to explore the intersections of silence, spirituality, contemplation, creativity, and living as a monk in the real world. “I believe in the revolutionary power of stillness and spaciousness, and of practicing presence to life’s unfolding. I believe this commitment can change the world.” — Christine Valters Paintner Christine […]
Christine Interviewed at Encountering Silence
“I believe in the revolutionary power of stillness and spaciousness, and of practicing presence to life’s unfolding. I believe this commitment can change the world.” — Christine Valters Paintner Christine joins Carl McColman at Encountering Silence to explore the intersections of silence, spirituality, contemplation, creativity, and living as a monk in the real world. She also offers a […]
Join Us for an Advent Online Retreat ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess
Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, This is my favorite time of year, these months of autumn’s arrival, then this time of remembrance in the church of those who have passed away, and finally the season of Advent which asks us to quiet ourselves and listen to the holy birthing happening within each one of us. […]
Join us for Honoring Saints and Ancestors (an online retreat) ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess
Inheritance I take down the generic white jug from the shelf, the one made with ten thousand others in a factory in Taiwan. I wish it were the Meissen porcelain one with the blue onion pattern that survived two world wars, but not my need for funds to finish graduate school. I long, too, for […]
Harvesting the Gifts ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess
Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, It is a very full season of life for me right now, having facilitated our Writing on the Wild Edges retreat at the end of August with John here in Ireland, then traveled to Germany to lead our pilgrimage in the footsteps of St. Hildegard of Bingen with Betsey Beckman […]
Feast of Saint Francis ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess
St. Francis at the Corner Pub Approaching the door, you can already hear his generous laughter. He stands on the bar upside down for a moment to get a new perspective on things, a flash of polka-dotted boxers as his brown robe cascades over his head, sandaled toes wiggling in the air in time with […]