8th Graders Walk the Wisdom House Labyrinth

These are a few photos of some of the 25 8th Graders from St. Mary Magdalen School in Oakville who came to Wisdom House on May 28 for a program about the labyrinth.

The students are given an introduction to the labyrinth, invited to walk it, and then encouraged to reflect on their experience. St. Mary Magdalen School has brought their 8th Graders to Wisdom House for this program for the past five years.

Below are some of their comments about what they experienced : “As I walked the labyrinth....”

1) ...I felt peaceful and happy and wondered what I could do be a better person. The calm surroundings helped me get in touch with God.
2) ...I felt all my worries lift off my shoulders and I could breathe freely.
3) ... I forgot about all the things that hold me back from living my life.
4) ...I felt serene. My mind and soul were at peace, everything felt amazing and life got less complicated.
5) ... I felt more in tune with nature and any feelings of anger I held previously, just vanished.
6) ...I felt very quiet, relaxed, closer to life, and was able to think straight.
7) ... I felt like my prayer intention was slowly being accomplished.
8) ...I became happier and happier as I got closer to the center of the labyrinth.
9) ...I thought about my journey through all my school years and how God was by my side all the way.
10) ... I felt relief like everything was taken care of.

Photos and text by Jo-Ann Iannotti, OP
Click here to find out about family labyrinth walks at Wisdom House on June 8.
Click here for other posts about the Wisdom House labyrinth.

Wisdom House Accepts Donations to Catholic Relief Services to Assist with Efforts in China and Myanmar

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 29, 2008

Contact:
Sister Rosemarie Greco, DW
Wisdom House Administrator
860.567.3163 (x104)

Wisdom House Accepts Donations
to Catholic Relief Services to Assist with Efforts in China and Myanmar

(LITCHFIELD, CONN. - May 29, 2008) - Wisdom House will be sending a donation to Catholic Relief Services to assist with the relief efforts in China and Myanmar. We have already received some donations from a limited email that was sent last week but we see that others would like to make a contribution to assist the suffering people of China and Myanmar.

Wisdom House will add its donations to those of the Daughters of Wisdom who have designated funds for this cause. The contributions will be mailed on June 5.

If you would like to add your donation, please send a check made to Wisdom House-Relief, 229 East Litchfield Road, Litchfield, CT 06759.

Thank you for your care, concern and gifts to help those experiencing such disasters.

New Pages at Wisdom's Table

We have added Social Concerns at Wisdom's Table and Wisdom House Press Releases to this blog. Social Concerns presents articles of interest from other organizations that share our concerns and provides links for more information about these topics. Press Releases include all of Wisdom House's press releases from May 7 on.

We have also added Feedburner subscription boxes to these blogs so that you can subscribe to them separately. After you enter your email address in the subscription box, you will receive a confirmation email message. After you click on the link in that email, you will receive an email message whenever the blog is updated. The message will contain a link to the new blog post.

Your email address will not be used for any purpose other than to notify you of blog updates.

Francine Prose: A Literary Event for Readers and Writers

Author Francine Prose led a workshop for readers and writers last weekend that focused on her most recent non-fiction book, Reading Like a Writer. Starting from the premise that quality reading informs great writing, she guided 30 participants in a close reading of John Cheever's short story "Goodbye, My Brother," and Denis Johnson's "Emergency." Participants learned to read slowly and to savor every word of a work of literature, the better to appreciate great writers' techniques and the beauty of words themselves.

Here is a video of poet Davyne Verstandig's interview with Francine and of Francine's reading from her new book. Here is an excerpt of her conversation with the group.

Photos by Sister Jo-Ann Iannotti, OP
and Sandy Carlson

Spring Flowers Around Wisdom House

Photos by Sister Jo-Ann Iannotti, OP