Invitation to Poetry: Words for the Heart
Welcome to our Poetry Party #43! I select an image and suggest a theme/title and invite you to respond with your poems or other reflections. Add your responses in the comments section. Feel free to take your poem in any direction (ie, you can break the “rules” suggested below) and then post the image and invitation on your blog […]
Body-Words of Love
I am fashioned as a galaxy, Not as a solid substance but a mesh Of atoms in their far complexity Forming the pattern of my bone and flesh. Small solar systems are my eyes, Muscle and sinew are composed of air. Like comets flashing through the evening skies My blood runs, ordered, arrogant, and fair. […]
Monk in the World Guest Post: Jodi Blazek Gehr
I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Jodi Blazek Gehr’s reflection on her word for the year. Choosing a word to focus on each year has become a nourishing, soulful ritual. I love participating in an ancient practice of contemplation […]
Monk in the World Guest Post: Jodi Blazek Gehr
I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Jodi Blazek Gehr’s reflection on gratitude, wonder, and the sweet spot of life. As a Benedictine Oblate of a monastic community about 90 minutes from home, driving the country roads of the […]
Monk in the World Guest Post: Jane Thorley Roeschley

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Jane Thorley Roeschley’s reflection “Give Me a Word.” I was introduced to the practice of choosing a “word of the year” by spiritual directees and others who were saying things like, “My word this […]
Monk in the World Guest Post: Kate Kennington Steer

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Kate Kennington Steer’s reflection, poem, and artwork on the elements. I am currently spending a year exploring the elements in the company of the Kinship Photography Collective. My practice group (a special mix of […]
The Interconnectedness of All Things ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dearest dancing monks, artists, and pilgrims, We are entering what the ancient Celtic tradition calls the dark half of the year. The feasts of Samhain, All Saints’, and All Souls’ Day coincide as we make a journey of descent into the gifts of darkness. Tomorrow, November 3rd, Simon de Voil and Polly Paton-Brown will lead our Contemplative Prayer […]