The Blog – Page 3 – Julie Henkener – Integrating Toward a Wholly Life

"The Virgin with Child," attributed to Gerard David, circa 1520, Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain.

18 Oct

Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary

Art, Book Reviews, History, Madonna, Prayer, Spirituality 2 Comments

Many religious traditions include beads as a part of their prayers and rituals because they help keep track, in an automatic way, of how many repetitions of prayers have been said. Islamic prayer beads, called misbaha, tasbih, or sibha, usually have 99 beads, corresponding to the number of Names of God in Arabic with 2 smaller beads in between each set of 33. The prayers recited include the Subhan Allah (Glory be to God,) the Al-hamdu lilah (Praise be to God) and the Allahu Akbar (God is the greatest.) Members of the Sikh faith use 108 mala beads when reciting […]

Acrylic monoprint, copyright © Julie Henkener, made to go with blog post on quote by Therese of Lisieux.

30 Sep

Thérèse of Lisieux

Abstract Art, Acrylic Monoprints, Art, Quotes, Saints, Spirituality, Women 1 Comment

Happy October 1 – Feast Day of Thérèse of Lisieux! Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897) was a French Discalced Carmelite nun, who is sometimes referred to as “the little flower.” She entered the Carmelite monastery in Lisieux at the age of 15 and cultivated a spirituality of littleness. This humility can be seen in her prayers, poems and spiritual writings that together comprise a spiritual approach often called “the little way.” She was beatified in 1923, canonized in 1925 and proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope John Paul II in 1997. Thérèse of Lisieux was born Marie Francoise-Thérèse Martin […]

21 Sep

Mary of Egypt

Art, Saints, Spirituality, Women 2 Comments

As I mentioned in my July 22, 2018 blog post on Mary Magdalene’s feast day this year, I have been collecting pins of MM art images on my Pinterest account. It all began many years ago around 2003, when I started looking on the internet for a few images of Mary Magdalene to use in her feast day celebrations. Now of course, there has been an explosion in the availability of art images online, and my board of MM images has already grown to over 500 pins. In any case, in this collection process, I started finding unusual images of […]

"Mary of Madgala," painting by Jusepe de Ribera, 1641, Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain.

22 Jul

Mary Magdalene Feast Day 2018

Art, Book Reviews, History, Mary Magdalene, Saints, Spirituality, Travel, Women 1 Comment

Last updated: August 5, 2024 Happy July 22 – Feast Day of Mary Magdalene! Unfortunately, the timing was bad this year for hosting the MM feast day ritual at my house. I am heading off to Santa Fe soon for a long weekend with my family to celebrate my sister Lori’s fiftieth birthday. So this feast day I just thought I would offer a few comments regarding some resources related to MM that you may be interested in. Andy and I recently returned from a trip to Spain, and the last place we visited before coming home was the Prado […]

29 Jun

Julian of Norwich – All Shall Be Well

Abstract Art, Acrylic Monoprints, Quotes, Spirituality, Women No Comments

Julian of Norwich (circa 1342-1416) was an English anchoress, a mystic and theologian. She authored the first book written in English by a woman, based on visions she had received when she was very ill and near death. She lived in a two-room anchorite cell, attached to the Church of St. Julian in Norwich, the second largest city in England at the time. She had a window overlooking the church altar so that she could participate in Mass and receive communion. In addition, she counseled visitors who came to visit her, including Margery Kempe, a contemporary pilgrim laywoman who wrote […]

Village Vanguard - photo by Carl Mikoy, CC BY 2.0 flickr.com April 23, 2010

06 May

New York Jazz Clubs

Music, New York, Travel No Comments

:: Guest blog post by Andy Hong :: If you don’t know Andy’s favorite thing to do in NYC, you really don’t know Andy. Everybody wants to come to New York, head up to Broadway, and go see some “based on the animated movie” musical. We do love seeing Broadway shows and getting discount tickets at South Street. Still, you can spend $300 per person to see “The Lion King” in its fifteenth casting….or…..you can spend $100 per person to see the greatest musical talent on the planet with inspired performances from performers that are close enough that you can […]

Acrylic monoprint, copyright © Julie Henkener, made to go with Earth Day 2018 blog post with quote by Susan Griffin.

22 Apr

Earth Day – 22 April 2018

Abstract Art, Acrylic Monoprints, Climate Change, Current Events, History, Quotes, Spirituality, Women 1 Comment

Earth Day was established in 1970 by Gaylord Nelson, US Senator from Wisconsin, who conceived the idea to hold a nationwide teach-in, in order to call attention to the need for environmental protection. This was partly in response to the massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California that occurred in January 1969. Also in 1969, the Cuyahoga River in north-eastern Ohio that feeds into Lake Erie became famous for being so grossly contaminated that it “caught fire.” At that time in history, cars used leaded gasoline, industrial air pollution regulations had not yet been legislated, and the ocean shorelines, lakes, […]

14 Apr

Anne Bradstreet

Abstract Art, Acrylic Monoprints, Art, History, Quotes, Spirituality, Women 1 Comment

Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672,) born in Northampton, England to Thomas Dudley and Dorothy Yorka, was arguably the first writer in colonial America to be published. Anne wrote from the perspective of a Puritan woman who was both educated and devoted to seeking meaning within her religious heritage. In addition to her many household responsibilities, she wrote poetry, much of it focused on the details of a seventeenth century American woman’s life, her struggles in the new land, and her Puritan faith. As a child in England, Anne was very well educated. She received tutoring in history, natural science, literature, and several […]

25 Feb

World Day of Prayer 2018

Climate Change, History, Prayer, Spirituality, Women No Comments

The celebration of the World Day of Prayer (WDP) originated in the 19th century, as women from the US and Canada began developing various means to support the participation of women in missionary activities, both at home and worldwide. As early as 1861, women began founding women’s boards to encourage the engagement of women in prayer and leadership within their mission organizations. Presbyterian women in the US, led by Mary Ellen Fairchild James in Brooklyn, called for a day of prayer in 1887, and a Baptist day of prayer for foreign missions was initiated in 1891. A committee of delegates […]

16 Jan

New Beginnings

Spirituality 3 Comments

I usually love writing the Christmas letter I send out with the holiday cards every year. It gives me a chance to look back on where I moved or didn’t move in the last year and it also affords me the opportunity to look forward to beginning again. Honestly, this past year has been difficult, tumultuous and full of challenges on many levels. Sadly, Andy’s dad passed away, as well as our beautiful dog Sarah. And Andy dislocated his shoulder while we were white water rafting during our trip to Costa Rica, which eventually led to his neck surgery (which […]

04 Jan

Houston Quilt Festival 2014

Art, NASA, Spirituality, Women 5 Comments

The fortieth anniversary of the Houston Quilt Festival was held in November 2014 and I made a point to go – in fact it felt more like a pilgrimage than anything else. I signed up to volunteer at the NASA booth, which was expected to be busy, because astronaut Karen Nyberg was going to be speaking at the show that afternoon. I asked my friend and mentor Gail to go with me; she immediately agreed and even reserved a government vehicle for us, which I really appreciated. In this way, I had someone to keep me company in the car […]

04 Nov

Soul Cakes

Food, History, Holidays, Music No Comments

I’m a few days late, but I wanted to share with you a piece of what I have learned this year about the origin of Halloween and the tradition of something called soul cakes. Soul cakes, sometimes referred to as souls, are the precursor to Halloween trick or treating that dates to medieval England and Ireland. On All Hallows Eve , All Saint’s Day or All Soul’s Day, soul cakes were set out with glasses of wine as an offering for the dead. Then children and the poor, would go “souling” door-to-door, singing and asking for soul cakes in return […]

Acrylic monoprint, copyright © Julie Henkener, made to go with quote by Catherine of Siena.

28 Oct

Catherine of Siena – On Perseverance

Abstract Art, Acrylic Monoprints, Art, Quotes, Saints, Spirituality, Women No Comments

Last updated: April 29, 2024 Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) was born Caterina di Giacomo di Benincasa to a family of dye merchants in Siena, Italy. She began having mystical experiences in her childhood and decided at age 7 to dedicate her life to God. She did not go to school as a child, but she listened carefully at Mass and she learned about the lives of saints from her orphaned cousin Tommaso della Fonte, who was living with her family while he was studying to be a priest. Encouraged by Tommaso, as an adolescent, she defied her parents by cutting […]

15 Oct

Amma Theodora

Abstract Art, Acrylic Monoprints, Art, Quotes, Spirituality, Women No Comments

Last updated: December 8, 2023 The Desert Mothers were women, known as ammas or “spiritual mothers,” who lived in the desert as Christian ascetics in the fourth and fifth centuries CE. Ammas were women who had achieved a spiritual maturity and wisdom that they developed during their withdrawal from mainstream society. These women gathered together in monastic communities, but there were also some who lived as hermits. For these early Christian women, one appeal of living in the desert was the freedom they could experience there that was not available to them in the usual female domains of the culture. […]

09 Oct

A Woman in Exodus

Abstract Art, Acrylic Monoprints, Art, Old Testament, Spirituality, Travel, Women No Comments

In January 2006, I was fortunate enough to be able to travel to Egypt on vacation. As part of the trip, our transportation included a bus trip across the desert and – in case you are wondering what the desert of the Exodus looks like – well this is it. It is austere, but still exhibits its own kind of desert beauty. We also visited St. Catherine’s Monastery, which is considered the historic site of the burning bush at the foot of Mt. Sinai. In addition to a photo of St. Catherine’s, here is a closeup of a bush that […]

Pennsylvania governor William Sproul signs 19th amendment that gave US women the right to vote

27 Aug

Women’s Equality Day 2017

History, Women No Comments

In 1971, Congress designated August 26 as Women’s Equality Day to commemorate the anniversary of the signature of the 19th amendment to the constitution in 1920. This is a photo of Pennsylvania Governor William Sproul ratifying the constitutional amendment to guarantee suffrage for all women who are citizens of the United States. The Women’s Suffrage Movement stretched from the first Women’s Convention that was held at Seneca Falls NY in 1848 to the final ratification of the amendment in 1920. This effort took a whole 72 years of protests and marches and letter writing and picketing and cajoling and rallies […]

Acrylic monoprint, copyright © Julie Henkener, made to go with quote by Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz (1648-1695)

22 Jul

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

Abstract Art, Acrylic Monoprints, Art, History, Quotes, Women 2 Comments

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1648-1695) is regarded as one of the most prominent authors of Spanish literature and the foremost Baroque poet in seventeenth-century colonial Mexico (New Spain.) She was born in San Miguel Nepantla, the illegitimate daughter of Spanish Captain Pedro Manuel de Asbaje and a criolla (mixed race) woman, Isabel Ramírez. She learned to read at a young age, devouring her maternal grandfather’s books and showing signs of being an exceptionally intelligent child. At the age of 12, Sor Juana was sent to Mexico City, where she became a lady-in-waiting at the court of the Viceroy […]

25 Jun

Prayer of Seeking and Weaving

Prayer, Spirituality No Comments

To the God who searches, sweeping Her entire household looking for the lost coin, who celebrates when She finds us, we give You thanks and praise. As we join together our voices, we thank You for the gift of each other — for family and dear friends, for all who have stood by us in our searching times, in our lost times and our found times. God of All Seekers, who dwells within our hearts, hold us close and nurture us in Your hidden depths. Open to us the purse of Your being that is large enough to hold the […]

25 Jun

Harriet Powers – A Sermon in Patchwork

Art, History, Women No Comments

Harriet Powers (1837-1911) was a creative African-American quilting genius! She used her quilts to re-tell familiar Bible stories in a unique and fascinating way. At least two of these story quilts have survived and are on display in American museums. Harriet Powers was born into slavery in rural Clarke County, Georgia, where she lived on a plantation owned by John and Nancy Lester. Details regarding her childhood and life as a young adult are lacking. However, we know that in 1855, she married Armstead Powers, who described himself as a “farmhand” in the census of 1870 and that she raised at […]

18 Jun

The New York Subway

New York, Travel No Comments

:: Guest blog post by Andy Hong :: The subway is an excellent way to get around New York. Because of it, you are unlikely to need to have a car or take a taxi. It’s a little grimy and ratty, but beautifully so. Sure, it’s not as shiny and slick as Paris, Tokyo, London, or even Moscow, but keep in mind that this is the oldest subway system in the world, and it operates 24 hours a day, which is something that none of the others do. Make sure that you have a subway map to reference. The days […]

Acrylic monoprint, copyright © Julie Henkener, made to go with blog post called a Midwives of Hope - Easter 2018.

15 Apr

Midwives of Hope – Easter 2017

Abstract Art, Acrylic Monoprints, Art, Spirituality, Women No Comments

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 […]

International Women's Day poster 8 March 1914

05 Mar

International Women’s Day – March 8th

History, Women 4 Comments

The first National Women’s Day observance was organized by the Socialist Party of America, and was held on February 28, 1909 in New York. The original purpose was to serve as a remembrance of the strike of the International Ladies Garment Worker’s Union that occurred in 1908. As assemblies of women worldwide picked up on the idea, the earliest gatherings on International Women’s Day were mostly organized and supported by the socialist and communist movements. In August 1910, an International Women’s Conference was established as an event that preceded the general meeting of the Second Socialist International Conference in Copenhagen, […]

26 Feb

Half the Sky

Book Reviews, Current Events, feminism, Women No Comments

Last updated: August 10, 2023 I look on this blog post as perhaps a little bit of vintage 1970s consciousness-raising, using twenty-first century tools. I have just re-read the book “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide,” written by the Pulitzer Prize winning husband and wife team Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. Published in 2009, the statistics are surely not up to date, but it gives a thorough accounting of the many ways women (in developing and/or war-torn countries especially) are cruelly mistreated, and the risks that are associated with just being born female. Kristof and WuDunn […]

Kaleidoscope - Surprising Illuminated Image by Julie Henkener

28 Jan

A Surprising Illuminated Image

Art, Spirituality No Comments

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 […]

13 Jan

Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

New York, Travel No Comments

:: Guest blog post by Andy Hong :: It’s pretty obvious that going to see the Statue of Liberty is a leading tourist destination, so what more needs to be said? The thing that I would point out primarily about the Statue of Liberty is that security is tight ….. as in tighter than airport security. Keep this in mind in regards to the timeslot that you have scheduled on your ticket. It will take awhile to get through security to access the pedestal at the Statue. A regular ticket will get you access to the observation platform at the […]

27 Dec

Seven Sacred Pauses

Book Reviews, Spirituality 1 Comment

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. […]

Walking the Manhattan Bridge - Andy Hong

04 Dec

Walking the Bridges

New York, Travel 4 Comments

:: Guest blog post by Andy Hong :: It is certainly no longer a secret and in fact, walking the Brooklyn Bridge has become a massive tourist attraction. Walking the bridge is very much worth the time invested, as you won’t find a stone bridge on this scale anywhere. It’s probably not as long as you think – the walking distance is less than a mile. Conditions can be rough if it is windy (that is cold). The views are fantastic down to the New York Harbor, the downtown and mid-town skylines, and upriver to the Manhattan Bridge and Brooklyn. […]

Black Lines by Vasily Kandinsky Guggenheim Museum

04 Dec

Art Museums in New York Part 2

Art, New York, Travel No Comments

Andy and I usually make our annual pilgrimage to New York in November which always includes great jazz and great art. This year we went to The Met and the Guggenheim and here are a few strategies and recommendations for these two incredible museums. The Met – The Metropolitan Museum of Art, located on museum mile at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street, can be completely overwhelming. There are usually a number of different exhibits going on at any given time, so it can be hard to choose what to see. It is the largest art museum in […]

29 Oct

Art Museums in New York Part 1

Art, New York, Travel No Comments

I believe it is probably no surprise, but I’ve never found a city other than New York that has so many great art museums, and I have visited very many art museums around the world over the years. The nice thing about art museums is that they always have exhibits scheduled well in advance, so you can check online to see if they have anything that is interesting to you before your trip to NY. Of course the permanent collections for many of these museums are amazing also. In my experience, the trick to having a good time at a […]

Sojourner Truth acrylic monoprint copyright © Julie Henkener

06 May

Sojourner Truth – Ain’t I a Woman?

Abstract Art, Acrylic Monoprints, Art, Quotes, Women 1 Comment

Last updated: January 15, 2024 Sojourner Truth (circa 1797-1883) was born into slavery in rural, Ulster County New York and named Isabella Baumfree, speaking only Dutch for her first 9 years. She was beaten and abused by her owners and was sold to John Dumont in 1810 for about $175. She married an older slave named Thomas around 1815 and bore five children. According to New York law, all slaves were to be emancipated in 1827, but Dumont had promised to free her a year earlier than that. When he reneged, Isabella finished what she regarded as her seasonal duties […]