Writers Fellowship Program

Riding the Ox, A Spiritual Journey #4

Sculpture and poems by Linda Shinji Hoffman
On exhibit in the Marie Louise Trichet Gallery through August 25, 2012.

Struggling with this life force

               My heart is determined

                           To catch this creature.

Continuously struggling, you are face to face with your own stubborn will.

(For complete poem, visit www.lindahoffman.com , click "new works")

Awakening to Wisdom

When you know Wisdom as all things, nothing is too small to awaken you to Her;

The bee, the ant, an ear of corn, a flower and a worm are each seen as wrapped in ecstasy.

Excerpt # 34, The Love of Eternal Wisdom: A Revisioning of Saint Louis deMontfort's Contemplation on Divine Wisdom by Rabbi Rami Shapiro.  Book available for $5 through info@wisdomhouse.org.

Riding the Ox, A Spiritual Journey #3

Sculpture and poems by Linda Shinji Hoffman
On exhibit in the Marie Louise Trichet Gallery through August 25, 2012.

             

The great ox seen quickly

                   Disappears down the ravine

                                      Toward freedom

You glimpse the ox, your True Self, for the first time.

(For complete poem, visit www.lindahoffman.com , click "new works")

Hildegard of Bingen - New Saint and Doctor of the Catholic Church

In December, 2012, Benedictine abbess, mystical theologian, naturalist, and musician Hildegard of Bingen (1098 - 1179) will be proclaimed a saint and Doctor of the Roman Catholic Church by Pope Benedict XVI.

The following is an excerpt about Hildegard taken from the book, Journey to the Heart: Christian Contemplation through the Centuries, by Kim Nataraja, Editor, Orbis Press, NY 2011, p.163:

Hildegard's monastery was in need of more space and farmland.  The Abbot, with whom they shared monastic space, would not yield any of the men's space.

"Can you imagine the endless meetings, the pleadings, the arguments, the counter-arguments and the endless frustrations of not being heard?

Eventually we just packed our things and left, taking our dowries with us, without waiting for the men's permission."

At present, the other woman proclaimed Doctor of the Church are Teresa of Avila, Catherine of Siena, and Therese of Lisieux.

Riding the Ox, A Spiritual Journey #2

   Sculpture and poems by Linda Shinji Hoffman
On exhibit in the Marie Louise Trichet Gallery through August 25.

Traces of the ox

                Deep in the forest

                                Oh, where does she hide?

Finding the traces, you know you are truly on your path.

(For complete poem visit www.lindahoffman.com and click "new works".)

June 8, Feast of Our Lady of Wisdom

               Mary is the Tree of life and Jesus Her fruit.

                If it is the fruit you desire,

                 It is the Tree you must cultivate.

                  Whoever desires to have Jesus must first have Mary.

(Excerpt # 204 from The Love of Eternal Wisdom: A Revisioning of Saint Louis deMontfort's Contemplation on Divine Wisdom)

Come to a retreat day on The Love of Eternal Wisdom on Saturday, June 9.  Guided by Sister Evelyn Eckhardt, DW, explore the dynamic of desire in your relationship with Holy Wisdom.  Information on www.wisdomhouse.org, info@wisdomhouse.org, or call 860-567-3163.