About

Mary Earle is an Episcopal Priest, Author, Poet, Retreat Leader and Spiritual Director.

Until her retirement, she taught classes in spirituality for the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas. Mary has authored ten books; the subjects include the spirituality of living with illness, rule of life, Celtic Christian spirituality, the Desert Mothers, and Julian of Norwich. Her latest is a book of her poetry. She also has contributed a chapter to the forthcoming Wisdom of Our Elders (Wipf and Stock, 2024).

Mary has offered presentations and retreats in a variety of ecumenical settings, including conferences of the Academy for Spiritual Formation, Spiritual Directors International, the International Thomas Merton Society, Oblate School of Theology and hospice organizations. She has written articles for a variety of journals.  She was included in the Living Spiritual Teachers project of Spirituality and Practice.  

Currently she is serving as a core faculty member for the Forest Dwelling program offered through Oblate School of Theology. A two year formation process exploring the spirituality of aging, more information can be found here: https://ost.edu/certificate-programs/forestdwelling/

During the pandemic, Mary offered a variety of presentations through Zoom, including short retreats, classes and meditations. She has recently adapted to hybrid offerings and continues to use Zoom.

 Mary and her husband Doug live in San Antonio, Texas with their border collie, Fiona, a cat named Xóchi, and lots of garden flora and fauna.  Mary is also a knitter and weaver, so her office is full of skeins and balls of yarn. Their son Jason is a professor of French at Sarah Lawrence College in New York.

Mary and Doug were numbered among the 2018 recipients of the Humanitarian Award from United Communities of San Antonio for their contributions to eliminating racism, prejudice and bullying and for their work to promote inclusiveness and diversity in the community.