Christine Valters Paintner's Blog, page 43

Health Update ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims,

I have mentioned a couple of times that I have surgery upcoming. Last summer I was diagnosed with a very large fibroid which has been causing ongoing discomfort and pain. I spent several months trying to determine the right treatment and get it scheduled.

For many reasons including the underfunded Irish public health service, the impact of the pandemic on it, and the bureaucracy that governs our private health insurance and options in Ireland, we eventually decided the best choice would be for me to travel to Vienna, Austria for a transabdominal hysterectomy (which will be covered by our insurance). A dear friend of mine in Vienna referred me to a gynecologist whom I have communicated with several times and feel a great deal of confidence in her opinion and skill. (I have also seen three other gynecologists now in Ireland as well so have things well covered and feel much clarity about my choice.)

Then recently I had some bleeding despite being in menopause for the last three years. The doctor in Vienna said I needed to arrive earlier than planned to get a sampling of uterine cells and test to see if they are cancerous in advance of the surgery. If they are, then she will not only remove my uterus, fallopian tubes, and cervix as planned, but also some lymph nodes. The chances of cancer are quite low, but it is important to rule it out or take necessary follow up steps.

John and I traveled to Vienna this past week and saw the doctor for the initial tests. I will see the anesthesiologist this week and get the results of those tests. My surgery is scheduled for March 30th and I will be in the hospital for up to a week depending on recovery. Then we will stay in Vienna until the end of April when I should be well enough to return to Ireland.

I feel a great deal of peace around this overall, although there is also a mixture of the vulnerability that comes with any surgery and anticipation over the potential relief my body will experience. I welcome it all in. 

Vienna is such a place of the heart for me with my father and grandparents buried there and having lived there before we moved to Ireland. 

We have good friends who will be taking care of our home in Galway and sweet Sourney. She is in excellent hands although of course I will miss her terribly. There is much about how this has all worked out that feels very right, many synchronicities that have cleared the path for which I am so grateful.

If you are on Facebook you may have also seen me post that my dear aunt Nancy (my mother’s younger sister) died last Sunday after going to the hospital to drain some fluid from her heart. The suddenness of her death is very hard and I am carrying my grief with me to Vienna but also feel her presence along with my mother’s as I navigate my own body journey. Please say some prayers for her husband Larz who is, of course, heartbroken as well as for Nancy that she finds release and joy in her transition. 

Melinda will be working behind the scenes to keep things running smoothly at the Abbey and offering a couple of programs herself including a yoga retreat on the elements and our April contemplative prayer service will be hosted by Simon and Polly Paton-Brown. On April 6th Simon de Voil and Kenneth Steven are leading a conversation on Iona and the Book of Kells. Our Lent retreat is being supported by a wonderful team. It feels joyful to have so many competent and committed people who love what we do supporting this community. When I return home in May I have kept my schedule intentionally quieter to slowly navigate my way back into work depending on my recovery.

We will still have the daily and weekly newsletters for you. I will have Melinda post once I have had a successful surgery but I likely won’t be posting much myself during this time. It feels really vital to give myself the fullness of this space for optimal recovery.

I welcome your prayers during this time! I feel very surrounded by your love and the love of the angels, saints, and ancestors. 

With great and growing love,

Christine

Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE

Image © Christine Valters Paintner

The post Health Update ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess appeared first on Abbey of the Arts.

Monk in the World Guest Post: Kreg Yingst

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Our reflection this week comes from Kreg Yingst whose block prints of Mary are featured in Christine’s forthcoming book Birthing the Holy: Wisdom from Mary for Creativity and Renewal. Read on for Kreg’s reflection “The Creative Act as Spiritual Praxis*”

“Go, sit in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything.”

– Abba Moses

Some of the most magnificent works in art history have been the beautifully illuminated Psalters of the Middle Ages. These prayerbooks were for kings, queens, and only the very wealthy. When the printing press was invented in the fifteenth century, Bibles, religious books, and illustrations became affordable. Yet in all of my research I have yet to find one book of Psalms entirely illustrated with woodcuts. This surprises me somewhat since printmaking, especially in the fifteenth and sixteenth century, was often used for thematic cycles; most notably The Passion of Christ and The Dance of Death (Ars Moriendi; Art of Dying).

This void was the impetus for me illustrating the entire Psalter a number of years ago using relief prints. I had hoped to knock out the project in a relatively short amount of time, perhaps a year or so. These prayers, however, proved much more difficult than expected, predominantly because they weren’t narrative in nature which I was more accustomed to. What the Psalms did offer were poetic similes, metaphors and visual language that allowed me to transfer words into concrete images. Needless to say, the year came and went, then another, and then another. My discipline on the project waned, but not my desire.

For me, these scriptures, as difficult as they were to read and interpret became a devotional and my artwork became a prayer – or perhaps I should say the act of making art became prayer. The project took on a new dimension. There was a paradigm shift – one from rushing toward an end product to simply engaging with the Divine through the process. The journey became more important than the destination.

During the early Monastic movement, a time when few could read, monks would gather together around the abbot during the reading of the scriptures. There was an emphasis placed on memorization; not just engaging the word for knowledge, but for spiritual transformation as well. As a result, the monks would listen carefully and allow a passage of scripture to speak to them. St. Benedict incorporated this practice into his Rule for Monks, a prayer method which would come to be known as Lectio Divina or Divine Reading. The process required four stages: reading, meditating, praying and contemplating. My approach to the Psalms’ project would initially begin in this manner. 

The scale I was working on was quite small however, and as I began to illustrate the Psalm in its entirety it became just too problematic. So I took a smaller bite. This would sometimes be just a sentence or two to use as inspiration for an image. A spiritual sound bite, so to speak, also had a name and was used by Christians well before St. Benedict’s time. It was known as Meleté.

In his book, Desert Banquet, author David Keller writes: “[Meleté] is the practice of repeating a verse or short phrase throughout the day…done silently or aloud at different times, [it] can help us remain centered on God’s presence in the midst of distractions and responsibilities that consume our attention. The ‘formula’ reminds us to always seek God’s help and reminds us that we are never without God’s presence. This simple practice destroys the myth that there is not enough time in the day for meditation. It enables us to pause several times each day to become mindful of what is most fundamental in life.”

There, in the silence of my studio, I was able to engage with the Creator through the act of creativity. 

Perhaps the only thing during this project that had shifted for me from my usual practice of creating art was intentionality and awareness. The seventeenth century Carmelite monk Brother Lawrence speaks of a non-duality in the spiritual and practical life. “I rest with him,” he writes, “in the deep center of my soul…” There are spiritual practices we can come back to time and time again in living a holistic life, such as breath prayers, sacred reading, and fasting. These can be embedded into our daily activities in such a way as to create a continual awareness of God’s presence. Brother Lawrence affirms, “A little lifting up of the heart suffices. A little remembrance of God, one act of inward worship…”  In the quiet of our cell, communion, rest, and creativity forms a sanctuary of the heart. 

When I began work on the Marian series to illustrate Christine’s book, Birthing the Holy: Wisdom from Mary to Nurture Creativity and Renewal, my approach was very similar. I tried to use art-making once again as an act of contemplation. There was, however, one major difference from the previous project. Whereas the spiritual disciplines of Lectio Divina and Melete were initially used, both word based meditations, this time around Visio Divina and Art History would lay the foundation for centering. Rather than taking a word or phrase through the day, the meditational focal point became an icon or painting. The first step was to research the Marian title to be interpreted. And while reading was still essential in providing the needed information to proceed, emptying my mind during the actual art-making process became the gateway for images to emerge.

To create a conducive atmosphere in the studio, I rarely worked in silence. Too often during extended periods of quiet time my brain becomes filled with words, noise and distractions – what the Buddhists call “Monkey Mind.” This can, in fact, stifle the imagination. Abigail Fagan writes, “Even though the mind is a wonderful thing, it can sometimes get in the way of creativity, mainly because the voice in our head can get in the way of what our heart wants to say.” But if I’m able to fill that emptiness with the angelic harmonies of monastic chant, the pleasing melodies of Hildegard von Bingen, or the soothing instrumentals of the classical minimalists, these distractions float away into the ether.

As a novice in these ways of contemplation I’m determined to take the advice of Blaise Pascal that “in difficult times you should always carry something beautiful in your mind.” There’s a serenity in beholding through our inner vision the loving embrace of the Madonna and Child, and perhaps a unity with the world too when we view this love through the lens of different cultures. In a world of turbulence, distraction, and worry, of which we’re evermore experiencing these days, to be able to cultivate a mind of stillness and repose becomes an inner-source of healing. As the late author and poet John O’Donohue so eloquently put it, “The world cannot ruffle the dignity of a soul that dwells in its own tranquility.”

*Praxis, the Greek word for “action that is habitually repeated,” is labor and vigilance directed toward inner spiritual formation, leading to love of God and neighbor. [David G. R. Keller]

Kreg Yingst is a printmaker and painter living in Pensacola, Florida. His subject matter for the past twenty years has focused on people – Saints and sinners and everyone in between – while stories, poetry, lyrics and travel have always served as an unending source of inspiration. Yingst received his Bachelor’s Degree in studio art from Trinity University and a Master’s Degree in painting from Eastern Illinois University. His art can be found in private and public collections including Purdue University; The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston, South Carolina; Janus Corporation, Denver, CO; College of Lake County, Grayslake, IL; and Pensacola State College in Florida. .

The post Monk in the World Guest Post: Kreg Yingst appeared first on Abbey of the Arts.

Celebrate the Feast of St. Patrick with Us! ~ A Love Note From Your Online Abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims,

This Thursday is the Feast of St. Patrick. After two years without St. Patrick’s Day parades in Ireland, they are returning this year to great celebration. 

We are so delighted to be welcoming Irish poet and musician Mícheál ‘Moley’ Ó Súilleabháin who will be offering a free online event for our community to celebrate the Feast of St. Patrick through poetry, storytelling, and song. He is the author of Early Music.

This excerpt about St. Patrick is from my book The Soul’s Slow Ripening: 12 Celtic Practices for Seeking the Sacred. 

The Call of St. Patrick 

Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, and the most well-known of all the Irish saints. He was born in 390 near England’s west coast or in Wales. When he was young, about sixteen years old, he was captured by pirates and taken to Ireland where he lived as a slave for six years.  He endured many hardships including hunger, thirst, and cold under the rule of a cruel pagan king. 

It was during his enslavement, while spending long hours in solitude tending sheep, that he had a spiritual awakening. Through the prompting of dreams and other voices, Patrick was able to escape and return back home again. He set out for Gaul for many years to learn theology and prepare himself for his future ministry. After many years passed, he had another dream where he heard the Irish people calling out to him to return to the land of his enslavement. 

Patrick’s name actually means “one who frees hostages,” and when he returns he is very vocal in his opposition to slavery, including women. 

He returned to Ireland in 432 and spent the rest of his life preaching the message of Christianity and helping to establish the Christian church in Ireland. There is a great deal of evidence that Patrick was not the one to bring Christianity to Ireland, that it had already begun to flower, certainly he was instrumental in this role.

He traveled first to Tara, the home of the Irish kings. He prepared for the celebration of Easter and kindled the fire and blessed it on the Hill of Slane, which could be seen from Tara. It was an act of defiance, and angered the king greatly. The legends say there were some great battles where Patrick prevailed. 

I find his story intriguing. Here was a man enslaved, who escaped by divine intervention, and then hears the call to return to the land of his slavery and he goes willingly. He must have experienced more than his share of discomfort and strangeness at the thought. 

Seeking out this “strangeness” and “exile” was at the heart of the monastic call. In going to the places which make us feel uncomfortable and staying with our experience, rather than running away, they cracked themselves open to receive the Spirit in new ways. 

But in this seeking out of strangeness and risk, one does long for a sense of protection or safety within the arms of the divine. . . . St. Patrick’s lorica prayer was one type of prayer to invoke this protection and a reminder of the sacred presence always with us already. 

Join us on Thursday! Please consider supporting Mícheál by purchasing a copy of his book Early Music in advance, either directly from him or through your local or online bookseller. It promises to be a really rich time of creative celebration together. 

With great and growing love,

Christine

Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE

PS My most recent book Breath Prayer: An Ancient Practice for the Everyday Sacred was named one the best spiritual books of 2021 by Spirituality & Practice!

Image credit © 

The post Celebrate the Feast of St. Patrick with Us! ~ A Love Note From Your Online Abbess appeared first on Abbey of the Arts.

“Breath Prayer” Honored by Spirituality & Practice

Christine’s most recent book, Breath Prayer: An Ancient Practice for the Everyday Sacred was named one of the best spiritual books of 2021 by Spirituality & Practice! Christine joins an impressive list of contemplative writers including Carl McColman, Cynthia Bourgeault, John Philip Newel, and poet Amanda Gorman.

Click here to see the full list and read the review.

The post “Breath Prayer” Honored by Spirituality & Practice appeared first on Abbey of the Arts.

Monk in the World Guest Post: Marianne Patrevito

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Marianne Patrevito’s reflection “Being Present to the Process.”

 In the first light of an early spring morning, I stood looking out of my kitchen window.  Resting my eyes on the creek bordering our yard, I see glimpses of geese floating in the still, cold water. Inhaling the quiet peaceful time of a few mindful moments, I pause. Reflecting, I am infused with the grace of dawn breaking as I listen for the sounds and sights coming to life in this new day. It was a moment of presence. A moment to savor. 

Each new day allows us to begin again. Each new day continues with the process of life, and we are invited into the unknowing, the letting go, and allowing the flow of process. Process releases the “need to know,” and being present to process is a practice.

So often, I want to know, to be certain, to have the answer. I so desire to analyze and reach the end result. I find I am more patient with others, than with myself when it comes to understanding why, getting a test result or trying to untangle my thoughts. Those are not times of presence for me.

Years back, when I entered into the family of Monks in the World, I so wanted to jump right in and be all that I needed to be in belonging to this online monastery. That was over ten years back, and I continue to be engulfed in cultivating presence as I walk this path step by step. One avenue is through journaling.

When I wake in the morning, I open my journal, and the words, thoughts and feelings that have inhabited the tissues of my being, come spilling out onto the page. Maybe the events of the previous day, perhaps a dream, or future plans. Writing allows my thoughts that have been hiding backstage to lift the curtain of my mind and move forward and release. Emotions are welcome here, too, exposing unhealed wounds that have traveled with me from the past or fresh feelings that have stormed my heart. This is the place where I am challenged with the difficult questions of life and of myself. It is where my raw truth of who I am, comes forth. My journal is my sacred space, a place that is both sanctuary and confessional. A place where I am able to be present to the process.

Visual creative art forms are yet another place where I am called to remember the importance of process. It is here that I need to refresh my mind to presence. I so often get entangled in seeing the end product. It is here where I am tempted to compare my work, my finished product, and myself to others, enlarging the pit of blame and shame. However, when I let go and turn toward process, I become lost in a world of flow and growth. I become one with my materials and together we enter the dance of creation. I move into the art form, allowing my body, mind and spirit to unwind, as I twirl in the midst of paper, ink and paint. The process is what makes my heart sing.

So many times, however, I am influenced by all that greets me in nature.

Often I walk in the woods and as I take in my surroundings my eyes may fall on the details of the forest bed. Perhaps a nurse log covered in lush green moss, or fungi draw me in to capture its essence with my camera. Noticing the process of life so evident in this cathedral of the earth, as tall trees hover over deciduous logs that rest upon the ground. While young saplings break through the earth all around, providing yet another process of hope. The full circle of life, one cycle nourishing another. 

Birds returning to nests, small creatures scampering and the flow of the creek, all entering and lingering in the process of their lives. All being present to what lies before them.

Whether it be an art form or life itself, being present and leaning into the process, not product, is a different way of living. For me, it has been a more authentic path, allowing the truth of who I am to emerge. Staying present is both calming and nourishing to my body, mind and spirit. When I am in that space, I am fully engaged in all of life. By being present and entering the process of life, I am able to inhale fully. It is here, where I am reminded so often that I will never be finished. I am called into this practice as I am called into all of my other practices each day, practicing the presence of process. Practicing life.

Marianne Patrevito  is a wife and mother of five adult children and two grandchildren, who resides in Hinsdale, Illinois. She is a Spiritual Director. Her meditative and healing practices include visual art, writing, walking, and yoga.  She can be reached through her email, marpatrevito@gmail.com.

The post Monk in the World Guest Post: Marianne Patrevito appeared first on Abbey of the Arts.

Update About In-Person Programs ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dearest monks and pilgrims,

Now that the pandemic seems to be (at least temporarily) subsiding many of you are looking for meaningful travel opportunities.

We decided early on in 2022 to cancel all of the in-person programs we had scheduled. There were several reasons for this — it takes an enormous amount of work to plan for these pilgrimages and to keep having them delayed the last couple of years hasn’t been sustainable for us so we have chosen to focus our energy in other directions for the time being. The pandemic is still ongoing and new variants can emerge at any time. We consider your well-being a sacred responsibility and are not yet prepared to navigate what it means to gather people traveling internationally together in ways that feel truly safe. I myself am immune compromised so am proceeding very cautiously.

During our Jubilee Year (2019-2020) we were discerning at the time whether we could cut back on our in-person programs. We love leading them, but the energy demands was getting to be more than my body, with an autoimmune illness and fatigue I need to honor, was able to manage. We weren’t sure we could make things work financially with only online programs and then of course the pandemic hit. Everything went online and we discovered not only were we fine because of our amazing community who continued to show up for one another, but the rhythms of teaching from home in small chunks of energy output suited my body’s needs much better.

We are listening a lot these days. We experimented with so many different programs and possibilities these last couple of years. Novenas, mini-retreats, virtual pilgrimages, guest teachers, contemplative prayer services, yoga classes, poetry readings, and more. We continue to discern what is sustainable for us given both my body’s needs and my heart’s desire for long open spaces to pray and write. I know my greatest teaching is the one I live out through my own practices and choices.

So for the time being – at least through 2022 and likely beyond – we will not be gathering pilgrims together in person. It will be a while before we figure out what would work best for us. Perhaps it is leading a single day of reflection in Galway and pilgrims gather and build their own trips around that. The financial risk has been too great for the longer programs. It is not only having to cancel five programs in one season because of the onset of the pandemic, but all the costs that go into planning, preparing, and communicating and then having to change everything.

I have been invited by other institutions to lead some upcoming programs. At the moment I am tentatively returning to Chartres, France with Veriditas to lead a retreat on Mary at the end of September 2023 pandemic and health-allowing.

We are unable to help you plan your own trips to Ireland. As summer approaches we get dozens of these requests and it is not feasible for us to reply to them all. What we will offer is a list of Ireland travel suggestions we sent out to our pilgrims. There are some wonderful guides you can hire to help you with your journey too.

While I’d love to meet every single dancing monk who passes through Galway on holiday or pilgrimage for tea and a hug, that also is not feasible given the number of requests and my own needs for large amounts of quiet for rest, prayer, and writing.

We ask you to understand these demands on our time means we have to set a firm boundary. Any requests for travel advice or getting together will receive a link to the details shared above.

With a deep bow of gratitude for each of you, truly I give thanks every day for this community of such beautiful seeking souls.

Sending you the warmest blessings from Ireland,

Christine

Christine Valters Paintner, PhD

The post Update About In-Person Programs ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess appeared first on Abbey of the Arts.

The Many Faces of Mary ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims,

Next Saturday I am leading a retreat on three of Mary’s names or titles: Untier of Knots, Our Lady of Silence, and Madonna Protectress. When we explore the many ways Mary has been experienced, we open ourselves to those gifts within ourselves as well. Mary calls us to find the place within where we can loosen our constrictions, the sanctuary of the heart where we can rest in deep silence, and the courage to create strong boundaries and utter the sacred no to all that depletes us and takes out energy away from our sacred yes. 

This is a brief excerpt from my forthcoming book Birthing the Holy: Wisdom from Mary to Nurture Creativity and Renewal. 

Untier of Knots: She Who Loosens Constriction

This particular title of Mary derives from an artwork painted around the year 1700 in Bavaria by Johann Georg Melchior Schmidtner. In the painting she stands on a crescent moon surrounded by angels, suspended between heaven and earth. The Holy Spirit is represented by a dove above her head, and a circle of twelve stars signifies her status as Queen. She is dressed in a crimson and blue cloak and holds in her hand a long white ribbon with a series of knots that she is patiently untying while also standing on a snake that is knotted. Two angels assist her in her task. One presents the knots of our lives to Mary, and the other presents us with the untied ribbon. 

The concept of Mary untying knots is initially derived from a work by St. Irenaeus of Lyons, where he presents a parallel between Eve and Mary, describing how “the knot of Eve’s disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. For what the virgin Eve had bound fast through unbelief, this did the virgin Mary set free through faith.”

Meg Saligman became familiar with Mary, Untier of Knots when she was urged to create an artwork to honor this face of Mary, loved especially by Pope Francis. She created a large grotto on the grounds of the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia, PA. Its woven wooden slats create the walls from which hang white ribbons. Visitors can tie a ribbon to the grotto structure with the name of the knot needing to be untied written on it. Knots are also submitted online and volunteers write the knots on each ribbon to hang. Pilgrims are encouraged to read the prayer on another knot and make a commitment to pray for that intention when they leave. 

It is said that Mary unties the knot of sin. We tend to resist the language of sin in modern culture. Perhaps we might think of it as the places which bind us to unhealthy patterns, habits, and ways of being. These are some ways it can illuminate how we participate in its power. 

The knots which Mary can untie include any struggles or challenges in our lives for which we are at an impasse and have no solution. You know the frustration when you try to unknot a thread or a cord of some kind, and you only make it worse and tighten it. These might be relationship or work challenges, addiction issues, mental health challenges, anxiety over life and the state of the world, knots in our communication with loved ones, addiction, illness, fear over loss of security, and more. Anything which constricts us and our capacity for joyfulness. These might also be the places in our lives where we know we need to make a hard decision because we are deeply unhappy, but we can’t see the way out. 

The more we knot things, the harder they become to undo them. It is like when we tell a lie to cover something up, and then have to tell a whole series of lies to sustain the original one, it becomes harder and harder to return to the truth. We can ask for Mary’s support in undoing whatever issue in our lives has become intractable. Rather than tugging again and again at the knot of our lives, we are invited to soften our grip, to surrender our desires to overcome our tender places. 

This aspect of Mary reveals her as a healer who helps us to overcome inner divisions of body, mind, soul, heart, and spirit. Healing does not necessarily mean curing. We might have an illness which does not get better, but through our process of healing, we discover some wisdom and grace in the experience which allows us to have some peace and ease in the midst of unknowing and pain. Often it is through a mature acceptance of our wounds that we become healers of others ourselves. 

Mary as healer of these patterns which vex us does not invite “doing” on our part, so much as a commitment to a new way of “being.” We can release our effort at saving ourselves and yield to the sacred support offered to us. We do not have to perform to receive the grace of healing in our lives. We do have to surrender our concerns and open ourselves to all the places within us where we have created false divisions within us. Healing inspires a deeper alignment with our True Self and nature. 

The heart of healing work is transformation – transforming pain, wounds, self-imposed limitations, grief and loss, and discovering within them a gift or grace. The process of healing takes time, really a lifetime. Many of our “issues” will revisit us again and again. 

Consider joining me on Saturday to dive into Mary’s wisdom for us.

With great and growing love,

Christine

Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE

Image © Kreg Yingst

The post The Many Faces of Mary ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess appeared first on Abbey of the Arts.

Monk in the World Guest Post: Christina Campbell

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Christina Campbell’s reflection “Finding a Place of Belonging.”

As a self-proclaimed “mountain gal,” moving to Iowa 12 years ago was more than a career move but rather one to preserve our family unit. We moved to the prairie from the mountains of Montana to focus on family as we’d been rushing here and there with two full-time, intense careers and 3 young children spending more time with other families or daycare than they did at home. My husband and I looked at each other in exhaustion one evening and one of us said “this is not what we signed up for… this is not the family life we dreamed of.” 

To say that the transition to living in Iowa was an easy one would be utter denial yet we made it work… with more running around. Back to the West every summer to be where “we belonged.” One foot in, the other foot out; each day I dreamed of moving home to the mountains. 

Ironically, in 2016, on a pilgrimage of sorts, I spent 10 days in Shetland, Scotland exploring the isle, culture, history, knitting and so much more. They say that once you visit you leave a bit of your heart in Shetland. Here I was, a place with no mountains and very few trees yet I felt that presence of “home.” An energy from the Earth, sea, and sky that moved my soul… a connection that to this day has left me in awe of this marvelous rock in the North Sea. 

My Shetland experience taught me that I could feel a sense of belonging in a place other than the mountains.  Each time I’ve returned (2017, 2019), I’ve fallen deeper in love with the isles. So much so that in 2020, I was to travel to Shetland three times for work and leisure. Yet, nothing about 2020 was to go as planned and in March 2020, I found myself suddenly confined to the prairie of Iowa… a place I did not want to be. 

I found myself making daily excursions to the local woods, a place of shelter. The giant oaks still bare and exposed as winter lingered with branches reaching up and out as if searching for something. And there I was, in the midst of the trees, feeling lost, scared, and anxious…

And so it was, that I would walk through the oak savannah on the Iowa prairie almost daily for a year. Searching for a connection to this place. 

*

Oh Scholastica, Dorothy, Theresa… show me the way to belonging.

Oh Brighid, Freya, Eirene… light the way to peace.

Oh snow, rain, and sun… nourish me on this journey.

Oh oak, sycamore, maple… protect and shelter me.

Oh bald eagle, racoon, mink… guide me in the air, land, and water.

Oh bluebells, coneflower, goldenrod… connect me to this place.

*

In early February, I entered the woods on a daily walk and my entire being felt at ease. As Padraig O’Tuama would say “hello to here.” 

Hello woods and river and prairie. 

Hello to being here and not anywhere else. 

*

A year into the pandemic, I returned to my yoga practice. Although I’d been walking, I’d also been sitting a lot while working from home. Let’s just say that returning to yoga was extra hard. During a hot, sweaty, challenging class, I paused. 

I kneeled on my mat.

Grabbed my iced herb tea,

wrapped my hands around the old jelly jar that was now my cup,

brought the glass to my lips.

The tea made from plants foraged by a woman who lives at the

edge of the North Sea in Shetland.

And as the prairie water infused with the plants grown in the soil of Shetland

Entered my physical being,

An awareness moved through me;

I was at this moment

connected to both the prairie and Shetland.

*

Oh Scholastica, Dororthy, Theresa… I belong here

Oh Brighid, Freya, Eirene… peace is here, in this place

Oh snow, rain, sun… your nourishment sustains me

Oh oak, sycamore, maple… we protect one another

Oh bald eagle, raccoon, mink… you have guided me 

Bluebells, coneflower, goldenrod… we are all connected.

*

And so it was, through this year of many lessons, that one self-proclaimed “mountain gal” was guided by saints, goddesses, elements, trees, animals, and flora…

to find a place of belonging on the prairie. 

Reference: Padraig O’ Tuama. In the Shelter. Finding a home in the world. 2015. Hodder & Stoughton Ltd: London.

Christina Campbell lives in Ames, IA. Lover of nature, solitude, and wild spaces. Mother, wife, daughter, professor, knitter, writer. Striving to create a peaceful world through creative works and affordable access to healthy food for all. Christina writes about knitting, walking and peace on her blog The Healthy Knitter.

The post Monk in the World Guest Post: Christina Campbell appeared first on Abbey of the Arts.

Lift Every Voice: Contemplative Writers of Color – March Video Discussion and Book Group Materials Now Available

Join Abbey of the Arts for a monthly conversation on how increasing our diversity of perspectives on contemplative practice can enrich our understanding and experience of the Christian mystical tradition. 

Christine Valters Paintner is joined by author Claudia Love Mair for a series of video conversations. Each month they take up a new book by or about a voice of color. The community is invited to purchase and read the books in advance and participate actively in this journey of deepening, discovery, and transformation. 

Click here to view this month’s video discussion along with questions for reflection. 

Womanist Midrash: A Reintroduction to the Women of the Torah and the Throne by Wilda Gafney is an in-depth and creative exploration of the well-and lesser-known women of the Hebrew Scriptures. Using her own translations, Gafney offers a midrashic interpretation of the biblical text that is rooted in the African American preaching tradition to tell the stories of a variety of female characters, many of whom are often overlooked and nameless. Gafney employs a solid understanding of womanist and feminist approaches to biblical interpretation and the sociohistorical culture of the ancient Near East. This unique and imaginative work is grounded in serious scholarship and will expand conversations about feminist and womanist biblical interpretation

Join our Lift Every Voice Facebook Group for more engagement and discussion.

The post Lift Every Voice: Contemplative Writers of Color – March Video Discussion and Book Group Materials Now Available appeared first on Abbey of the Arts.

The Saints in Walgreens ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims,

Ash Wednesday is this week and we will embark on our Lenten journey The Love of Thousands: Honoring Angels, Saints, and Ancestors. 

Many of you feel a deep kinship with Abbey of the Arts because of our love of mystics and the saints and the ways we cultivate connections to those wise guides beyond the veil. This happens in many ways including pilgrimage, presence, and . . . relics. Relics may seem just like that – relics of another era, but these bits of clothing, hair, nails, and bones of the saint that have been revered across time speak deeply to an incarnational faith where the body has sacred presence. 

Here is a brief excerpt from our retreat content: 

Several years ago when I lived in Seattle I worked for the Ignatian Spirituality Center. One of my responsibilities was coordinating the annual Lenten Novena of Grace, a nine-day preached retreat. To be honest when I started the position, the idea of a Novena felt quite foreign to me, perhaps a bit old-fashioned. But this is where I fell in love with the experience of a Novena in community. Nine days of intentional prayer together. I saw how it could transform people and me. 

There were two services daily – midday and evening – so people could choose which fit best into their daily rhythm of life. As a part of the service we offered prayers at the end with relics, which are tiny fragments of the remains of Saints, in this case Ignatian ones such as St. Francis Xavier and St. Ignatius of Loyola.  The Catholic tradition is nothing, if not incarnational, in touch with the embodiment of human life.  I find something so beautiful about this honoring of the physical, tangible connection to the Communion of Saints.

It was my responsibility to walk over to Seattle University where the relics were kept to pick them up.  They are housed in small glass and metal cases with the name of the Saint and the relic itself contained within, no larger than the head of a pin. I was responsible each year for those nine days for what are irreplaceable objects.  I remember my first year going to get them, I was handed a small box which held them snugly inside and I placed it gently into my backpack and headed to work.  As I walked I was aware of the unusual circumstances of my situation, wandering the streets of Seattle with the remains of the Saints jostling in my backpack.

Along the way I stopped at Walgreens to pick up some Excedrin for a headache that had been building all morning.  I walked through the aisles among mascara and foundation, toothpaste and deodorant with the relics at my side.  I headed to the pain relief section and stood there in front of the massive array of choices to soothe the aches of human living. I wanted to make my selection quickly, so as to get the relics to their destination.  Then I realized in a moment of grace and clarity, what better place for the Saints to be than there in Walgreens?  These holy persons who walked the earth and had their own transformations.  Ignatius of Loyola who knew intimately the profound physical pain of injury and also the doorway it can sometimes offer into something deeper. 

Suddenly they were standing there with me, Francis and Ignatius.  They were blessing me with my headache and backpack holding my cell phone, wallet, keys, and sacred bone fragments.  They were blessing each bottle of pills, praying that those who purchased them would find relief in both body and spirit. They were blessing the other people who gathered for a brief few moments in that space with me — the elderly man shuffling along slowly looking for a card to express some heartfelt wish to a loved one, the very young girl who was skipping through the aisles asking her tired mother for candy, the tired mother who was just laid off from her part-time work that was keeping ends together and now looking at lipstick colors to grasp at some sense of her own beauty for a moment.  I joined them in their blessings, singing them in my heart, showering them on everyone I saw.

I brought my bottle up to the counter. The woman checking out my purchase was cheerful, asking if I had seen their special on eye cream.  I wanted to ask her if she had seen the Saints walking through Walgreens that day.  I wanted to ask if she knew that this place was holy ground.

Please join us for a very special Lenten journey where we stand at the portal between worlds and cultivate our connection to the holy ones who bless and support us. 

With great and growing love,

Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE

Christine

Image credit © Canva Licensing

The post The Saints in Walgreens ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess appeared first on Abbey of the Arts.