Emmaus Blog

Tuesday, April 28, 2026: More gifts from Saturday's Retreat; Dream Work and RAIN   Jeremy Taylor’s  Basic Dream Work  Tool Kit  • All dreams speak a universal language and come in the service of health and wholeness.  There is no such thing as a “bad dream”- only dreams that sometimes take a dramatically negative form in order to grab our attention.  • Only the dreamer can say with any certainty what meaning his or her dream may have.    This certainty usually comes in the form of a wordless “aha!” of recognition. This “aha” is a function of memory, and is the only reliable touchstone of dream work.  • There is no such thing as a dream with only one meaning.  All dreams and dream images are “over-determined” and have multiple meanings and layers of significance.  • No dreams come just to tell you what you consciously already know.  All dreams break new ground and invite you to new understandings and insights.   • Wh...

 Monday, April 27, 2026: Quotes from the Emmaus Retreat:  All day I think about it, then at night I say it. Where did I come from, and what am I supposed to be doing? I have no idea. My soul is from elsewhere, I’m sure of that, and I intend to end up there. (Rumi) Home is the place we all must find, child! It’s not just a place where you eat or sleep. Home is knowing. Home is knowing your mind, knowing your heart, knowing your courage. If we know ourselves, we’re always home, anywhere. (Glinda, the Good Witch, The Wizard of Oz)  In a dark time, the eye begins to see. (Theodore Roethke) We are what Christ is. (John Phillip Newell) Let go…or be dragged. (Old Zen saying) Many of us know the feeling of having abandoned some part of ourselves as we’ve journeyed through life. (Jane Pretat) You want to cry aloud for your mistakes. But to tell you the truth, the world doesn’t need an y more of that sound. (Mary Oliver) In our souls, as on the sea, storms subside gradually . ...

Sunday, April 26, 2026: Announcement: Please note there is no liturgy today - either in person or on Zoom. Reflection from yesterday's Retreat Instructions before visiting Earth A poem for the soul's journey by James McCrae, written Dec 26, 2025 Note from the author:   I’ve been writing a lot of poetry lately. This is one that I recently shared on Instagram which went surprisingly viral, being read, watched and shared by tens of millions of people in a matter of months. It has been translated (by fans) into many languages, turned into a song, and even performed at churches and funerals. The piece was inspired by the thought of a soul being given instructions before being born (incarnating) on Earth – a reminder of our higher purpose in this crazy world. Instructions before visiting Earth In the event that you wake up and find your soul separated from source and manifest into material form, don’t panic. Your condition is only temporary. You have been selected for the opportunity...

Thursday, April 23, 2026: Retreat Announcement for this Saturday from Victoria and an Earth Day Reflection: For Love of the Earth:  Beauty, Memory, and Grief Retreat announcement in text format. Please note the Zoom link in blue " It's Nearly Evening…  Stay With Us.”  Emmaus Faith Community  Retreat Day of Reflection  April 25, 2026 from 9:30- 4:00  2 33 Twin Pillar Way Santa Rosa, CA 95404  To attend by ZOOM, just click link below: (no password needed) https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86104757626     Earth Day Reflection: For Love of the Earth:  Beauty, Memory, and Grief The earth was entrusted to us in order that it be mother for us, capable of giving to each one what is necessary to live.… The earth is generous and holds nothing back from those who safeguard it. The earth, which is mother of all, asks for respect, not violence. —Pope Francis, Our Mother Earth We can learn to drop down into the sweet current of deep grief that...

Earth Day 2026: Wednesday, April 22, 2026: Pope Francis on Caring for Our Common Home; "Nothing in this world is indifferent to us." Dear Sisters and Brothers of Emmaus: Today is Earth Day! We celebrate the awe of our planet, its skies, its oceans, forests and all living beings.  Pope Francis wrote a letter to us encouraging us to protect our planet, its people and all living things. He called the encyclical  “Laudato Si, mi’ Signore” – “Praise be to you, my Lord”.  In the words of this beautiful canticle, Saint Francis of Assisi reminds us that our common home is like a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us. “Praise be to you, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, and who produces various fruit with coloured flowers and herbs”.[1] This sister now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her. ...

Monday, April 20, 2026:  No child should live under these conditions of violence. The recent anniversary of the adoption of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child (November 20, 2025) begs the question: How can the church faithfully live out the calls of World Children’s Day while the war in Gaza has left thousands of children without their homes, their families and their lives? Inspired in part by her Christian faith, the children’s influencer Rachel Anne Accurso, better known as Ms. Rachel, offers a prophetic example of how we might stand in solidarity with children facing unimaginable violence in Gaza and across the occupied Palestinian territories. Ms. Rachel’s courage and moral clarity set an example for Christians everywhere. Her refusal to turn away from the horrors of Israel’s military campaign across occupied Palestine and its disproportionate impact on children should prompt the church to do the same. Since the onset of the war in 2023, at least 20,000 children hav...