A Continuous Burning (Forever in my Heart)
First, I want to say, “Thank you!” I am grateful for my faith, my love, and the
unending burning I’ve had since a child.
So much of my life has been trying to remember those truths and
searching for the questions and answers I had misplaced.
I’ve told the story before of my quest accepting outwardly
the principles of others, yet in my heart, the pain from the pushing away of my
beliefs left me a shell.
I found my home, I have embraced the flame within and I am
filled with my truths of my heart. I
have welcomed that part of me who was lost.
I am very blessed to be part of a new group at our church, a
Women’s Gathering, “May I Have This Dance”, our book we are following is written by Joyce Rupp, OSM, a
member of the Servite Community. I love
her writing style, she includes her own poems within the lesson. Our August lesson was aptly named “Hearts on Fire”
As Joyce Rupp says, “Throughout the scriptures, fire is used to describe divine
presence.” No two people are on fire in
the same way with God”. We have all experienced the dying embers
and have wondered if they would ever re-ignite.
We are afraid, and our faith stumbles a little, but with the breath of
love, a small flame will spring forth.
As St. Benedict said, “We begin again.”
I was also introduced to Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, Abbes of the Abby of the Arts, located in Galway, Ireland. She is a prolific writer and has wonderful on-line instruction. I am doing an 8-week course, "Monk in the World".
Week two is about the second Monk Manifesto, "I commit to radical acts of hospitality by welcoming the stranger without and within". Also, the "Rule of St Benedict" says, "All guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ, for himself will say, "I was a stranger and you welcomed me". Rule of St. Benedict, 53:1
Week two is about the second Monk Manifesto, "I commit to radical acts of hospitality by welcoming the stranger without and within". Also, the "Rule of St Benedict" says, "All guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ, for himself will say, "I was a stranger and you welcomed me". Rule of St. Benedict, 53:1
I love this part and I must include it, “Monastic
spirituality calls us to see everything and everyone—including ourselves—as
holy. The tools of the kitchen are to be regarded as sacred vessels. The places in our heart where we wrestle, are
to be embraced with kindness. The person
who irritates us or makes us feel fearful is a window into how God is at work
in our lives. Being a Monk in the world means that there is no more division
between sacred and secular,” Christine Valters Paintner, PhD.
So, the embers have been re-ignited, the flame grows
stronger and I am inviting in the light and the shadows with love and
hospitality. Thank you, God.
Kristin Noelle, Artist
Re-Ignited
My tears sparked the cold and untended embers.
I could no longer hide from the truth in my heart,
I knew as a child,
I longed for as an adult.
Spirit guided me daily,
Pushing and revealing.
With the breath of my newness,
The flame ignited.
A full, flowing awakening,
Of the Christ within.
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