Christine Paintner
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Dreaming Of Stones
$18.00Add to cartThe poems in Dreaming of Stones are about what endures: hope and desire, changing seasons, wild places, love, and the wisdom of mystics. Inspired by the poet’s time living in Ireland these readings invite you into deeper ways of seeing the world. They have an incantational quality. Drawing on her commitment as a Benedictine oblate, the poems arise out of a practice of sitting in silence and lectio divina, in which life becomes the holy text.
No stranger to poetry, Paintner’s bestselling spirituality titles have often included poems. In this first exclusively poetic collection, she writes with a contemplative heart about kinship with nature, ancestral connections, intimacy, the landscape, the unfolding nature of time, and Christian mystics. It can be read for reflection to spark the heart and to offer solace and inspiration in difficult times. Breath
This
breathing
in is a miracle,
this breathing out, release,
this breathing in a welcome to
the unseen gifts which sustain me each
moment, this breathing out a sweet sigh,
a bow to my mortality, this breathing in
a holy yes to life, this breathing out
a sacred no to all that causes
me to clench and grasp,
this breathing in is a
revelation, this
breathing out,
freedom. -
Desert Fathers And Mothers
$21.99Add to cartWisdom from the very beginnings of
Christian monasticism can become a companion on your own spiritual journey.The desert fathers and mothers were ordinary Christians living in solitude in the deserts of Egypt, Palestine and Syria who chose to renounce the world in order to deliberately and individually follow God s call. They embraced lives of celibacy, labor, fasting, prayer, and poverty, believing that denouncing material goods and practicing stoic self-discipline would lead to unity with the Divine. Their spiritual practice formed the basis of Western monasticism and greatly influenced both Western and Eastern Christianity.
Their writings, first recorded in the fourth century, consist of spiritual advice, parables and anecdotes emphasizing the primacy of love and the purity of heart as essential to spiritual life and authentic communion with God. Focusing on key themes of charity, fortitude, lust, patience, prayer, self-control and visions, the Sayings influenced the rule of St. Benedict and have inspired centuries of opera, poetry and art.
Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, opens up wisdom of the desert fathers and mothers for readers with no previous knowledge of Western monasticism and early Christianity. She provides insightful yet unobtrusive commentary that describes historical background, explains the practice of asceticism and clarifies the ancient desert wisdom that will speak to your life today and energize your spiritual quest.
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Awakening The Creative Spirit
$27.95Add to cartThe new resource is designed to help spiritual directors and others use expressive arts in the context of spiritual direction. It is the latest book in the unique SDI series, designed for professional spiritual directors, but also useful for clergy, therapists, and Christian formation specialists.