Finding Faith in Print

Thanks to Retreat House for featuring my work.

I am honored and humbled to be included in a second volume of Retreat House’s series on spiritual expression. You’ll find several of my poems and an essay in the most recent compilation called House of Faith.

A couple of years ago, I was invited to contribute to House of Comfort, and I so appreciated my involvement with this nurturing community of writers. Retreat House’s mission is “to hold space for deep spiritual work and play, listening for the slow unfolding work of God in deep, interior spaces,” and that resonates on many levels.

Think of these books as your analog nav for all the unexpected twists and turns on your spiritual path. In the words of French philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”

And sometimes, we need a little insight from our fellow travelers along the way.

Though writing can be both an astringent and a salve for my shattered soul, I find that sharing my deepest vulnerabilities related to grief helps me serve as a witness to others who are carrying the similar weight of loss and anguish. In every sigh, every smile and every sob, there is grace — and somehow, we feel less alone . . . if only for an instant.

Find the full series here.

And as we prepare for another new year of finding ways to live in the messy bittersweetness of loss, I want to thank you for your interest in and gracious support of my work. You are my meaning and my purpose.

Here’s to noticing the everyday mysteries in 2024 — the joy, the gratitude and the beauty.

Love and peace,

Elaine