day 23: for gratitude

If you find yourself half nakedand barefoot in the frosty grass, hearing,again, the earth’s great, sonorous moan that saysyou are the air of the now and gone, that saysall you love will turn to dust,and will meet you there, do notraise your fist. Do not raiseyour small voice against it. And do nottake cover. Instead,Continue reading “day 23: for gratitude”

day 20: for nourishment

In winter, we are prone to regard our trees as cold, bare, and dreary; and we bid them wait until they are again clothed in verdure before we may accord to them comradeship. However, it is during this winter resting time that the tree stands revealed to the uttermost, ready to give its most intimateContinue reading “day 20: for nourishment”

heart of stone

Once again it is my honour to contribute a reflection to the ‘monk in the world’ blog of the Abbey of the Arts. This piece was first published on May 15, 2024 (although it was written in May 2023). all words and images by Kate Kennington Steer  I arrived at February 2023 in a post-viralContinue reading “heart of stone”

whole: day 20

Then is it true that you also need us?… … Look: I am  giving it to you, this fragment; but how, In your completeness, could you need it? from ‘then is it true’, Helen Tookey Spirit may not always bring my seeingdarkly into the light; sometimes Spirit encourages me to see even more darkly intoContinue reading “whole: day 20”

whole: day 17

God loves flesh and blood, no matter what kind of shape it is in.  Whether you are sick or well, lovely or irregular, there comes a time when it is vitally important to drop your clothes, look in the mirror, and say, “Here I am.  This is the body-like-no-other that my life has shaped.  IContinue reading “whole: day 17”

whole: day 3

Genuine wholeness in the spiritual life … requires unflinchingly facing one’s hollowness.  The harshness of the desert exacts a stripping away of every chimera and self-delusion for the sake of what is real.  “Delight in the truth,” exhorts Donald Nicholl. “Truth tastes better with each illusion that evaporates.” The Solace of Fierce Landscapes, Belden C.Continue reading “whole: day 3”

k’s big birthday gratitude project 2

Some of you will have already come across a version of this post or an extract of its content … but there are at least two immediate reasons to repeat myself! The first reason for being especially grateful is that the Godspace blog has been central to my growing confidence as a writer and thusContinue reading “k’s big birthday gratitude project 2”

gospel 6: Be on the watch for Me.

Aware of who I AM?  Awake to where I AM? Look.  I AM the ColourSwirler.  I AM the LightBearer.  I AM the StarGuider.  I AM the PrayerReceiver.  I AM the ViewFinder.  I AM the HealthBringer.  I AM the WisdomKeeper. Look. I AM in the eyes of the poor.   Look. I AM reflected in theContinue reading “gospel 6: Be on the watch for Me.”

gospel 5. be. here. listen.

I AM the leap. I AM the ice cold air you gasp in on take-off.  I AM the muscles which lift you, the limbs which bend, flex and fly free.  I AM the gravity which holds you safe and brings you back down to earth.  I AM the same whether this leap springs from yourContinue reading “gospel 5. be. here. listen.”

gospel 4: overcome with amazement

I AM with you, remember?  So let go: be overcome by all I AM.  Cease your weeping, I AM Healing.  Cease your commotion, I AM Healing.  Cease your attachment to hopelessness, I AM Healing.  How else will you hear who I AM?  How else will you see who I AM? How else will you recogniseContinue reading “gospel 4: overcome with amazement”