This is my little friend Natalie. Natalie is 3 and enjoyed bringing her puppy to the Blessing of the Animals in September. Her mom, Stephanie, also enjoys coming to Prairiewoods to rest and explore the grounds with her daughter. As I reflected on this photo, Natalie reminded me of the young spirit inside of me. Prairiewoods is a place where…
“The people who walk in darkness have seen a great light, and on those living in a land of deep darkness, a light has dawned.” —Isaiah 9:2 At Prairiewoods, our other-than-human kin often stop us in our tracks. The leafless trees are moaning all around us, and the dried prairie grasses are whispering their ancient secrets.…
“As Christians, we believe that we bear the image and likeness of God inside of us and that this is our deepest reality … God is fire—wild, infinite, ineffable, non-containable. If that same fire is inside us, and it is, then there are divine appetites inside of us too, appetites that are not ever satiable…
Come to Prairiewoods this weekend to hear the voice of the land! The fourth annual Sweetgrass Flute & Nature Festival is coming to Prairiewoods this Friday–Sunday, Sept. 28–30. This free, family-friendly festival includes live performances by internationally renowned musicians specializing in the music of Native American–style flutes and other world and indigenous instruments. Unlike any…
Lilies Rising The Milky Way is overflowing With mother’s milk that keeps pouring Down, upon the earth. Droplets rooting as lilies. I woke up the day A lily brushed my cheek. Strong stalk and fleshy petals Trumpeted out a mother’s fierce cry- Love the earth and all who dwell upon it! Oh, drink freely from…
This was written as my reflection following the lecture by Wendy M. Wright and her reading of Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem God’s Grandeur. As I pondered these things, the Canticle of the Sun came to mind, as did the book my Companion group People of the Earth is reading, Ilia Delio’s Care for Creation: a…
I am not comfortable with the phrase “beggars can’t be choosers.” Why can’t they be choosers? Someone who has to ask for help is no longer entitled to preferences? A few months ago, I saw a woman standing on the side of the road, asking those who passed by in a little Prius or a…
A song is a gardener It picks up a shovel and starts to dig. Tenderly tips the blade into the burnt and brazed, Crusted, cranky, depleted, impenetrable soil at the surface of the heart Tosses and turns over and around all the scraps, remnants, remains, All the crap, cruelty, and craziness Amending, softening, sifting Activating,…
A star in flight— The woods brighter. Flashes with the stardust people. Come out and be with us, the woods say. You too are stardust. Come enter our family. All there Is, is here. All creation. Here—with stars glancing in between shadows on the snow saying come. The woods saying— It is time for stories…
I’m Otis, Prairiewoods’ favorite squirrel, and I’ve taken over this blog for 2016 in honor of Prairiewoods’ 20th anniversary. You’ll hear from me or one of my friends each Friday. Prairiewoods was founded in 1996 by six Franciscan Sisters on principles of ecology and spirituality. Here are some thoughts from one of those foundresses, Betty…