A beautiful reminder, dear Sister ❤️❤️
Her faint footsteps
can be heard
walking toward May;
the path strewn
with light and roses;
sweet air, fragrant
with Hope’s renewal.
With each spring breeze,
Her mantle of Compassion
and Healing opens
in warmest invitation
to all in need of refuge,
and the Seraphic Serenity
found in the folds of Her Grace.
Our Blessed Lady arrives quietly,
for She seeks Her place of honor,
not high on a pedestal,
but deep in our hearts;
indeed as Queen of the Coming May,
and all the more as
Mother of the Everyday.
Also reminds me of my Brother Jeff Blake who is on his final journey… thanks, Jake!
If you really want to know how to live, spend time with someone who is dying well. They are dying well because they have learned to live well.
Two of my friends died this month. One younger than me. One older. Each had endured a lengthy illness. Cancer eventually claimed the one. Long-term pulmonary disease the other.
Both lived, really lived, in the face of their mortality. With courage and remarkably good cheer my younger friend underwent a series of nausea-inducing, energy-draining treatments to send the cancer into remission.
Facing an intractable, progressive condition, my older friend continued writing and editing and friend-making with all of her available, gradually diminishing strength. Her health and mobility slowly declined, but her wit and insightfulness and compassion—what you might call her spirit—never dimmed.
Within about a week of each other, both my friends entered hospice care. I will not quote them here…
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“Hildegard saw the whole world as wedded to divine Wisdom and this marriage symbolizes the mutual encounter of God and human together, working in harmony to bring about beauty in the world.”
— Christine Valters Paintner, PhD Creative Flourishing in the Heart of the Desert: A Self-Study Online Retreat with Hildegard of Bingen
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
A day of fellowship
A time of refreshment
Time in the midst of your creation, Lord
In the midst of it all, we also pray
For dear ones walking through the Valley of the Shadows
For dear ones who minister in dangerous places
For dear ones who are serving in harm’s way
For a world fractured by hatred and fear
For us and for your creation we pray
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
Sometimes you need to get away
Rest, Reflection, Sabbath for the Soul
Sabbath is a gift
Sabbath is a requirement
How often do we take such time
In today’s 24/7 world, not often enough
Help us Lord to be more intentional
To take time and simply be still
To tune out distractions
To simply be and to breathe
To simply be
To simply…
In all of this, hear my heartfelt prayer
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
“If the leaves are a scripture text and creation a visible revelation of the divine presence in our midst, then we might consider these worthy of prayer and contemplation. . . . This invitation to understand prayer is deeply incarnational and rich, discovering the presence of the holy woven through every element, so that we no longer address our prayers to some transcendent being, but right in conversation with the shimmering presence of the divine through every leaf, acorn, gust of wind, and mossy stone.”
— Christine Valters Paintner, PhD Earth as the Original Monastery ~ A Self-Study Online Retreat
A beautiful reminder, Joy ❤️❤️
We’re having a mini heatwave in the UK. A skin-drenching scorcher few of us feel ready for. Because we’ve barely got over having layers of snow and a cool blue feeling in our souls.
We often choose colours that represent certain things to us. Blue is usually considered to be the colour of slowing down, a precursor to experiencing calm, harmony and rest. It’s also associated with stability and depth, piety and sincerity. It’s indicative of loyalty, trust, wisdom, intelligence, faith, and all things sky and heaven related.
On a hot day our skin can protest at sun’s fiery rays, emotions can rise and the change can feel destabilising and unsettling until we get used to it or have been eagerly anticipating its arrival for months.
So I thought I would keep things light today and share a trio of haiku with you to maintain the cool, calm and collected…
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