In silence I block out the world so I can know God. In silence I feel my soul so I can know God. In silence I remember the stories of my faith so I can know God. In Silence I know God. —Mary (Zoubek) Mell, written while on a Silent Directed Retreat at Prairiewoods …
by Erin Lothes, PhD, as originally published in New Theology Review 26:2, March 2014 Every year, the Venetian doge sails out into the lagoon from San Marco Square to throw a jeweled ring into the waters, ceremonially sealing the marriage of Venice with the sea. For centuries Venice’s fortunes rose and fell with the maritime…
“The call rings forth: imagine a new future in collaboration with Earth’s wisdom, reweave communion with kith and kin, return to the universal tree of life and liveliness.” —Leah Rampy, PhD, Earth and Soul, p. 145 Throughout her book, Leah Rampy tells us to take time to be connected or reconnected to the kith and…
The Prairiewoods courtyard is a spiritual intersection red stream flash Left to right Observed if not absorbed yellow stream flash Right to left Do my eyes deceive? Should green be near? Perhaps Earth to sky? This traffic light of mini super beings are simply song birds of the spiritual courtyard enjoying life shared and together.…
The Breath is my shepherd in deepest ravines highest mountains. Secured. Assured. Absolute. Divinity of all Creation. Even though organs fail flesh rots kin feed bones whiten scatter. My shepherd The Breath remains. Divine, Secure, Assured, Absolute, for Eternity. —Keith Knapp, written during a Silent Directed Retreat at Prairiewoods, June 2024 image of a…
The “New Universe Story” by Thomas Berry transforms and redefines our understanding of the 14-billion-year-old evolving universe and our place within it! It takes us from the formation of the galaxies and the origin of Earth and life to the development of self-reflective consciousness. Berry bridges scientific understanding and spiritual consciousness. Rooted in his awareness…
As Prairiewoods enters its twenty-eighth spring and summer, we are conscious of three horizons present simultaneously. The first horizon is our past—the very ground of our being. The second horizon is our present—a time of great awakening and preparing for the next evolution. And the third horizon is our becoming—the future to which Prairiewoods is…
A month or so again, we were having our weekly staff meeting at Iowa Interfaith Power & Light (Iowa IPL) where we were starting to dream about how we could build hope for what the future could be. Our mission is to empower Iowans of faith and conscience to take bold and just action on…
In “Don’t Forget the Spiritual Side of Earth Day,” Fr. Daniel Horan reminds us that Earth Day is not only about recycling or changing practices; rather, it is a reminder of our interconnection with Earth and an opportunity to reflect on how we find God in the world. It is a reminder to continue to…
My personal experience, and I know I’m not alone, is that it takes considerable courage to look the climate crisis in the eye. People dislike the climate crisis, to put it mildly, and people are afraid. I am afraid. People who lived through the Cold War are once again living with a kind of existential…