This year I have tried to enter into the rhythm of Palm Sunday through Holy Week through Easter mindfully. As part of being mindful, I spent some time on Good Friday reflecting on the mysteries of death and resurrection – of the seasons of life. As always, I am impressed with the faith and commitment of the courageous women, who must have beaten down an incredible amount of anxiety and sorrow, as they gathered at the foot of the cross. And as always, I am moved by the mixture of grief and love that sent the women to the tomb...
More and more I have come to love the feeling of being creative – working with images and creating visual art. However, I did not really begin the journey to learn about art and how to integrate artwork of my own and those of others with my spiritual life until just over 10 years ago. So I thought it might be nice to go back in time and share with you a description of my very first art in spirituality workshop back in 2006. That year, a group called Illuminations, led by my friend Stephanie Visokay, began meeting periodically at...
The liturgy of the hours is a traditional monastic practice of pausing for prayer at given intervals during the day. However, this practice can also be adapted for non-monastics as a way of entering more mindfully into the rhythm of each day. In Seven Sacred Pauses: Living Mindfully Through the Hours of the Day, Macrina Wiederkehr gives us a very beautiful and practical guide for incorporating gentle reminders of God’s graces into our everyday lives. For each of the seven pauses, she draws upon a lifetime of Benedictine spirituality to describe the themes and images that are associated with the hour....
It seems like it is common for one to begin a blog with a “Hello World!” posting. Instead, as I begin this new venture, I say “Welcome World!” Welcome of course is directly linked to the concept of hospitality, which seems to me is so intrinsic to developing and maintaining right relationships. I have been blessed to experience and share times of hospitality both in my travels worldwide and in parties and other celebrations I have hosted over the years. My mother taught me the importance of being a good and attentive host and for including everyone – I just...
