By Rebecca Hall To Recap from last week: The start of a new year is a good time to write or re-visit our rules of life. What is a rule of life? Simply put, it is a framework for our lives that includes supporting practices and orientations. Read a short…
By Rebecca Hall The beginning of a new year brings inspiration to examine our lives and to set priorities for the months to come. Instead of making New Year’s resolutions, the Christian tradition encourages spiritual seekers to live by a rule of life – a set of guiding practices and…
By Santi Rodriguez The Examen of Consciousness is a meditative reflection on your day. It can also be used to reflect upon the year. The end of the year is the perfect time to reflect on 2020 takeaways, learnings, challenges and highlights, and where you want 2021 to take you. It is an opportunity to recognize…
The Nativity by Julius Garibaldi Melchers By Amy Moehnke It’s almost that time again, when we hear the ancient story told - you know the one: about a young, bewildered, travel weary Mary and Joseph who after being visited by angels make a 90-mile trek to a place that’s not…
By Roger Temme Yes, you heard me correctly. I know it’s November 29, 2020 not January 1, 2021. Many of you probably know what Sunday, November 29 is. It is the first Sunday of Advent and the first day of the new liturgical year. So I'll say it one more time. Happy…
By Lynda Young Kaffie As we enter into the season of Advent and draw closer to the Winter Solstice, the hours of darkness gradually exceed those of light. Often, for as many reasons as there are people in the world, we may associate a sense of apprehension with the coming…
Mindfulness is a journey, not a destination. Integrating mindfulness into our social media experience can help us to decrease anxiety and stress, eliminate negativity, and live a happier and more fulfilling life. These are some of our social media posts inviting us to be mindful, and to practice contemplation and meditation. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram (@WeAreTheAbbey), and Twitter (@WeAreTheAbbey)
The Abbey is collecting collect prayers for our Election Day Vigil, and we would love one from YOU! Never written a collect? It's not difficult! You follow a prescribed pattern or formula to "collect" many aspects of prayer into one, short, poetic, offering. 1. Address God 2. Name an attribute…
By Rebecca Hall The landscape of the spiritual life is a series of peaks, valleys, and plateaus (not to mention other things like desert, wilderness, water, and sometimes milk and honey…). With the exception of crucifixion moments, the most difficult time for most of us is when we have to…
By Joyce Palevitz OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA 2:30 am. Dark. Dry desert air. We walked towards the yard where the camels were. I had been told that a Bedouin would take hold of my arm and use its circumference to select a camel that would be the right size for me.…