Welcoming in All of the Selves as Beloved ~ A love note from your online abbess
Dearest monks and artists, One of my favorite lines from the Rule of Benedict is “All guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ, for he himself will say: I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (RB 53:1). The heart of hospitality is to welcome in that which is most unknown, most strange, most discomfiting, as the very face […]
Finding the Mystic Within ~ A love note from your online abbess
Dearest monks and artists, Welcome to all of our new subscribers who signed on during our sabbatical time! I have thoroughly enjoyed taking this time to step back from email and social media and allowing more time for silence and reflection. Summer lends itself to a holy pause and a time to look ahead to […]
Summer Sabbath Time at the Abbey until August 6th ~ A love note from your online abbess
Dearest monks and artists, We like to take some Sabbath time each summer to step back from the work at hand and have time for play and free flow of ideas. Usually this happens in August, but because we will be traveling back to the States for a family visit in July, we decided to […]
Celebrating the Summer Solstice + Self-Study Sale ends tomorrow ~ A love note from your online abbess
Dearest monks and artists, In the northern hemisphere we approach the celebration of the summer solstice, the longest day. The seasons are connected to the different cardinal directions, as well as the four elements. Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th century Benedictine Abbess, allied the direction of the south and the season of summer with the element […]
Feast of St. Columcille + Self-Study Sale ~ A love note from your online abbess
Delightful to me to be on an island hill, on the crest of a rock, that I might often watch the quiet sea. That I might watch the heavy waves above the bright water, as they chant music to their Father everlastingly. That I might watch it’s smooth, bright-bordered shore, no gloomy pastime, that I […]
Feast of Pentecost and Embracing Holy Surprise ~ A love note from your online abbess
Dearest monks and artists, “What is serious to men is often very trivial in the sight of God. What in God might appear to us as ‘play’ is perhaps what He Himself takes most seriously. At any rate the Lord plays and diverts Himself in the garden of His creation, and if we could […]
Do you have the soul of a pilgrim? ~ A love note from your online abbess
Dearest monks and artists, Two years ago I published my book The Soul of a Pilgrim which developed out of my own lifelong love of journeying. My father worked for the United Nations when I was a child and we had the privilege of traveling back to Austria where he was from, as well as other […]