Abbey of the Arts

Daily Nourishment from Abbey of the Arts | June 15, 2026 - https://mailchi.mp/abbeyofthearts/daily-nourishment-from-abbey-of-the-arts-june15-2026

“We do not have to retreat to the desert or join a monastery to find this path of deepened intimacy with God. We each can choose this inner work of discerning what we hold onto and what we release at every season of our lives. We each have the choice to make.”

—Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, "A Different Kind of Fast: Feeding Our True Hungers in Lent"

What choices can you make to begin a path of deepened intimacy with God?

{Abbey of the Arts} : Monk in the World Guest Posts + Summer Sale! - https://mailchi.mp/abbeyofthearts/monk-in-the-world-guest-posts-plus-summer-sale-june14-2026

Each week we are delighted to feature a reflection from our community in the Monk in the World guest post series. There are so many talented writers & artists at the Abbey & we love giving our dancing monks a chance to share their work. Submissions are open through June 25th. https://tinyurl.com/ym9xncy4

Every year we offer a summer self-study sale. Code SUMMER20 for 20% off! https://tinyurl.com/2k9jkbd3

Read a reflection from Christine on Breath Prayer on our Substack: https://abbeyofthearts.substack.com/p/monk-in-the-world-guest-posts-summer

Daily Nourishment from Abbey of the Arts | June 13, 2026 - https://mailchi.mp/abbeyofthearts/daily-nourishment-from-abbey-of-the-arts-june13-2026

“There’s this beautiful connection between our own, creative fire and the fire of the Divine that burns within each one of us — that fire of compassion, the fire of kindness and love that we bring to the world.”

—Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, Sacred Rhythms of Sky, Sun, Sea & Stone: A Creative, Online, Self-Study Retreat with the Elements

How does the fire of the Divine burn within you? How does it intersect with your creative fire?

Daily Nourishment from Abbey of the Arts | June 12, 2026 - https://mailchi.mp/abbeyofthearts/daily-nourishment-from-abbey-of-the-arts-june12-2026

To Follow Mary as God-Bearer (excerpt)
Be with us as we too
are called to be God-bearers.

—Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, "A Book of Everyday Blessings: 100 Prayers for Dancing Monks, Artists, and Pilgrims"

Do you welcome or resist that you also are called to bear God into the world?

Daily Nourishment from Abbey of the Arts | June 11, 2026 - https://mailchi.mp/abbeyofthearts/daily-nourishment-from-abbey-of-the-arts-june11-2026

“We might say that viriditas is God’s love, energizing the world, making it living and fruitful. Nothing exists without viriditas because nothing exists without God loving it and wanting it to exist.”

—Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, "Birthing the Holy: Wisdom from Mary to Nurture Creativity and Renewal"

How does it feel to read that you exist through God’s loving and through God’s wanting you to exist?

Daily Nourishment from Abbey of the Arts | June 10, 2026 - https://mailchi.mp/abbeyofthearts/daily-nourishment-from-abbey-of-the-arts-june10-2026

“Treasure hunting—finding joy and delight in simple but meaningful occurrences—can also leave us with sparks of hope that begin to light our way out of the darkness of the gloom.”

—Lisa Colón DeLay, "The Way of the Desert Elders: How the Wisdom of Ancient Christians Sustains Us Today" our Lift Every Voice: Contemplative Writers of Color Book Club selection for May and June

What might a practice of “treasure hunting” look like for you?

Daily Nourishment from Abbey of the Arts | June 9, 2026 - https://mailchi.mp/abbeyofthearts/daily-nourishment-from-abbey-of-the-arts-june9-2026

Celebrating St. Columcille's Feast Day:
"[Columcille] traveled with twelve other monks to cross the sea in a coracle and landed on a small island off the coast of Scotland, now known as Iona. It was here that he began his new work, and Iona became a center of pilgrimage for Celtic Christianity."

—Abbey of the Arts, "Dancing Monk Feast Days: Reflections, Creative Invitations, and Prayers"

What spiritual foundations are you called to lay down?

Daily Nourishment from Abbey of the Arts | June 8, 2026 - https://mailchi.mp/abbeyofthearts/daily-nourishment-from-abbey-of-the-arts-june8-2026

Take Cover (excerpt)
In a world filled with contortions,
find your truth in poems.

—Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, "What Enters Through the Open Heart: Poems"

What contortions are longing to be loosened by truth?

{Abbey of the Arts} : From Intention to Attention - https://mailchi.mp/abbeyofthearts/from-intention-to-attention-june7-2026

This Friday, June 12, welcome Brother Richard Hendrick, OFM Cap. for a retreat on moving From Intention to Attention: Becoming Really Present in Prayer. We will encounter this flow through the lens of the Christian contemplative tradition, looking at the Desert Fathers and Mothers, the Franciscan masters, the teachers of the practice of the presence of God, and the sacrament of the present moment. https://tinyurl.com/wvd9y68n

Read Brother Richard's full poem on our Substack: https://abbeyofthearts.substack.com/p/from-intention-to-attention

Daily Nourishment from Abbey of the Arts | June 6, 2026 - https://mailchi.mp/abbeyofthearts/daily-nourishment-from-abbey-of-the-arts-june6-2026

“The Sovereign [archetype] helps us to claim the call that is our birthright and step into life with confidence. That gift is then offered with joy as a blessing to the world. It’s this idea of loving service.”

—Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, Orphan, Fool, Sovereign, Prophet: Creating New Beginnings in Times of Unraveling—A Self-Study, Online Retreat

What is your gift, your blessing to offer others?