Read. Pray. Write.

Christine Valters Paintner reads from her most recent book, Birthing the Holy: Wisdom from Mary to Nurture Creativity and Renewal. She says that the Holy Mother not only unties knots in our lives, she asks us to see those tender, hurting places as portals for divine grace.

IndieBound Affiliate Link

About the Guest & Text

Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE is the online Abbess for Abbey of the Arts, a virtual monastery and global community integrating contemplative practice and creative expression. numerous books on spirituality and creativity, including Birthing the Holy: Wisdom from Mary to Nurture Creativity and Renewal. Her programs draw on the wisdom of the desert, Celtic, and Benedictine spiritual traditions as well as the joy of the expressive arts, embodied practice, and Earth-cherishing wisdom. Her book can be ordered here . She also offers a 7-day series of morning and evening prayers to connected to the new title. 

Write: A response to this meditation where holy vulnerability replaces pain.  

Author & blogger Mary Pezzulo shares an excerpt from her most recent book, Stumbling into Grace: How We Meet God in Tiny Works of Mercy. She recounts what she and her young daughter learned about the works of mercy during walks through a cemetery.  

About the Guest & Text

Mary Pezzulo received her BA in English from Otterbein University. She blogs about art, religion, politics and her life in Northern Appalachia at the Steel Magnificat blog on the Patheos Catholic channel. She is the author of The Sorrows and Joys of Mary and Meditations on The Way of the Cross from Apocryphile Press.

Related Resources

Write: Extend this meditation by writing a prayer in your spiritual journal.

minimeditationWe can find "thorny grace" in day-to-day difficulties

Listen again to a contemporary essay prayed using with the traditional monastic approach to lectio divina. Read how this author, and the podcast host, were inspired to find God’s grace in the great puzzle of life.

About the Text

Brian Doyle (1956-2017) described himself as “a story catcher” who wrote about spirituality, family, nature, and the human heart with a distinctive joyful style. He wrote over two dozen books, including novels and essay collections. Doyle was also the longtime editor of Portland, the University of Portland’s alumni magazine.

Related Resources

Write: See a prompt for your writing from this episode.

Read: How pilgrimage can be a journey of discovery toward joy and renewal.

minimeditationEven the exiled have a home

Psalm 84 is the first of several psalms that attempt to help the exilic Israelite community find hope in their traditions. But the psalmist recognizes that those alone are not adequate: the only source of true hope–and home–is the Lord.

Related Resources

Write: See a prompt for your writing from this episode.

minimeditationWe are all prodigals

“A seemingly insignificant encounter with a poster presenting a detail of Rembrandt’s The Return of the Prodigal Son set in motion a long spiritual adventure that brought me to a new understanding of my vocation and offered me the strength to live it,” wrote Dutch Catholic priest, Henri J.M. Nouwen at the start of his now classic interpretation of the powerful Gospel story about forgiveness and homecoming.This reading reminds not just fathers and sons, but also mothers, daughters and all those who parent or are parented that God the Father awaits our return from loneliness, anger, jealousy and desolation with His ever-ready blessing.

Related Resources

Write: Asking for forgiveness is often much harder than forgiving.

minimeditationOur sweet, kind, ever-loving Mother, Jesus

In the month we honor mothers, mystic Julian of Norwich reminds us that motherly compassion, empathy, and care know no gender. God and Jesus are both father and mother.

Related Resources

Write: See a prompt for your writing from this episode.

Read: This account of Julian’s visions, with a foreword by past guest, Kaya Oakes.

minimeditationQueen Esther's Plea

The Book of Esther tells a story of the deliverance of the Jewish people from an enemy by Esther and Mordecai, commemorated by the Jewish festival of Purim. In her desperate plea, Queen Esther recognizes that only the Lord can help relieve our deepest pain.

Related Resources

Write: See a prompt for your writing from this episode.

Read: An essay based on this prompt.

Everyone must find his/her/their own path.

By Jean P. Kelly

WRITING PROMPT: “Write your own prayer about a particular contradiction, concern, or confusing aspect in your life’s direction. Spill out any and all of the details, but end with your own surrender to God’s will and your statement of trust that the Creator will never abandon you.”

ESSAY  By Jean P. Kelly“My Lord God.  I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me.”I prayed this frank and honest and plea to God almost every day for three years as I clawed my way out of a too-long relationship with an abusive alcoholic and left a toxic home. I escaped, but was still lost, wandering aimlessly in a desert of confusion, self-blame and desperation. Until, that is, I discovered that even the revered philosopher and monk, Thomas Merton, had trouble reading God’s roadmap for his life.During a stay at the Abbey of Gethsemani where Merton lived in Trappist, Kentucky, I discovered his In Thoughts on Solitude, one of 70 titles he wrote in his lifetime. In it he wrote “If we follow Christ we have to risk everything in order to gain everything. We have to gamble on the invisible…because there is nothing more insecure than the transient world.”In the gift shop, I found a bookmark with his now-famous prayer, that concludes with “I trust you always, though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.” I knew I was still lost, but I wanted so much to trust again.  That lead me to the advice of another philosopher who wrote about life’s path. “Though your destination is not yet clear, You can trust the promise of this opening,” John O’Donohue wrote in his poem, For a New Beginning. “Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning, That is at one with your life’s desire.”“I was lost again, unsure how to help three loved ones who couldn’t–or wouldn’t–turn away from the twisted life paths caused by addiction and those addicted.”Eventually, the fog of co-dependency lifted ever-so-slowly, revealing a narrow dirt path, then gravel, then sleek pavement extending endlessly toward the horizon. Eventually I ran, like the time I ran down the centerline of a highway in Monument Valley, Utah, where an epic scene in Forrest Gump was filmed. I dodged traffic just like I metaphorically dodged so many pitfalls in a miserable home for too long.I rushed blissfully toward a sure destination: an authentic marriage, an anxiety-free daily existence and a joyous new life. I became confident enough to no longer need the Merton prayer. Until, that is, I encountered not one but several forks in the road, all within a matter of months. I was lost again, unsure how to help three loved ones who couldn’t–or wouldn’t–turn away from the twisted life paths caused by addiction and those addicted.I read again the O’Donohue poem and understood a different stanza anew. I “stepped onto new ground…eyes young again with energy and dream.” With renewed vision I understood: God’s roadmap for me had at least temporarily diverged from the paths of those I loved. The best I could offer them was prayer. So I wrote this prayer of acceptance and detachment:Prayer for the LostMy Lord God.

Previous

Next

IN THIS EPISODE The Face of Jesus in the Poor

Painter Joe Anastasi, a retired advertising executive, reads Richard Rohr on prayer. Anastasi prays over and paints formal portraits of the homeless he meets in his volunteer work because he wants others to respect their stories.  

WRITING PROMPT    Iconographer Fr. William Hart McNichols once wrote “We are formed by what we gaze at.” These days we gaze at screens, of smartphones and televisions, which form us into consumers. But when we gaze at an icon and are formed by it, we can become a radiant presence of divine energy, a holy light in a darkened world. Open yourself to the humanity of Joe Anastasi’s portraits displayed above. Write about what qualities you see in them that reflect the face of God. Courage? Humility? Compassion? Then contemplate how what you see will change you in your daily activities today. How have you been formed so you can become a conduit of the God of Life? 

Joe Anastasi works with the homeless through the St. Vincent de Paul Society in Columbus, Ohio. He is a retired advertising executive who felt called to capture the hope and dignity of the people he serves at local shelters by painting their portraits and sharing their stories. He often lectures at local parishes and raises thousands of dollars for agencies that support the poor. His story and more of his artwork is featured in the June 2019 issue of U.S. Catholic magazine.

Previous

Next

minimeditationIt is easy to learn lectio 

With a text about learning to detach, host Jean Kelly introduces her approach to lectio divina, a 4-step process of reading as a form of prayer. 

About the Author

Jean Kelly believes in the power of stories, both hers and others, to give hope, build faith, and improve communities. She teaches writing at a university in central Ohio. The ancient practice of lectio divina has saved her from several destructive and co-dependent relationships by offering easy access to peace of mind.

Related Resources

Write: Find a writing prompt for the “contemplation” step of lectio, inspired by texts in this episode.

Read: An essay about the gifts of lectio divina.