Tag Archives: prayer

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Triduum: Jesus Models Essence and Service

Through the Triduum and Easter, Jesus provides a roadmap for the spiritual path of transformation. His actions model how we might live more deeply from our souls in ways that lead to service. He shows us a path from living out of the karmic self of the ego into the Kriya action of Essence.

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Reflection for the Feast of St. Joseph

Reflection for the Feast of St. Joseph This reflection was prepared by S. Paula Hagen OSB for the prayer of the Monastic Community. I feel very blessed to be asked to reflect on the liturgy for this feast day. I grew up with the Sisters of St. Joseph, so we celebrated this feast day with…
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Making Friends with My Body

Making Friends with My Body When I was first diagnosed with Fibromyalgia in my late 40’s, I had been having back pain, overall soreness and sometimes just feeling exhausted for several years.  I had been to various doctors, orthopedic surgeons, chiropractors, physical therapists and athletic trainers and no one could do anything for me.  I…
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Quiet Nativity

I wondered how to do it differently this year,  How could I move through the holidays with gratitude rather than resentment, with a sense of peace even in the midst of activity?  After all, Jesus was born into the very messiness of human life, not into a place where all was neatly prepared and ready.  I longed to carry the Christ child in my heart this Advent season, but there was simply no room in the Inn. And so, that first evening, as we all sat in prayer, I asked God for the gift of peace.  I prayed that, in the space between gently released thoughts, the veil might be lifted from my eyes and Christ enter in. . . .

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The School of Lectio Divina: An Invitation to Abundance

By the mid-point of the School of Lectio I wrote this in my journal, “I have fallen in love with Scripture as prayer!”  It was as if God and I were rekindling an old friendship on a long weekend retreat together.  I was learning anew what it might look like to trust God enough to live a life completely surrendered to God.

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Praying with Pictures: One Person’s Experience with SoulCollage®

Praying with Pictures One Person's Experience with SoulCollage® From time to time the Benedictine Center invites program participants to share the spiritual reflections that emerged from their experience at St. Paul’s Monastery. This reflection is by Rachel Gableman about her time with Barbara Sutton’s Monthly SoulCollage® Circle. Where I Begin Stubbornness is a steady companion…
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Lectio Divina: A Word for Me

Lectio Divina: A Word for Me Once upon a time there were two sisters, Mary and Martha, who had Jesus as a dinner guest. Martha, a first century ancestor of Martha Stewart, created an impeccable meal. Mary created—well, Mary was a first century ancestor of couch potatoes and just sat at Jesus’ feet. Isn’t that how the story…
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Lectio of Surprises

Lectio of Surprises I’ve been practicing sustained lectio divina for a long time. Over the course of praying with many texts, I’m continually surprised by God. Last spring, I finished a long lectio with the Gospel of Luke that took me two-and-half years. It worked out that I read chapter 22 and 23 during Lent…
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Darkness as Essential to Transformation

Darkness as Essential to Transformation I have often described myself as a transformation junky.  The resurrection narrative has always been my deep draw to the Christian faith.  I believe in Martin Luther King’s view, that “the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice,” and I have worked for that justice…
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Time to Pause, Move Toward the Center

Time to Pause We have a labyrinth in our backyard which, weather permitting, is where I do my walking prayer every day.  One day, while I was preparing for a group to come and join us for a walk, my husband caught this photo of our dog, Bella, sitting in one of her contemplative postures…
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