Advent reminds us of the radical paradoxes of the Christian story that confront – and often offend – our rational minds. The perfect union of God and Human that reveals the whole meaning for Creation. The unimaginable self-emptying of God that gave birth to the Child of Bethlehem and the unique person of Jesus of Nazareth. What Jesus names as the first beatitude – poverty of spirit – is the key into this new order of reality. In our Advent retreat we will be considering these paradoxes as insights which are part of our experience rather than just high-octane ideas. Poverty of spirit is where ‘concrete existence meets infinite mystery’ (Johannes Metz). Our practice of meditation immerses us in this cosmic paradox each day of our lives.
Recordings of each session will be available a few hours after the session ends.
There will also be opportunities for one-to-one meetings with Fr Laurence Freeman and Fr Peter Murphy.
How to Create Your Own Retreat
This online retreat is designed to be flexible around your daily life and time zone. Please visit here where we provide support on creating a rhythm and structure to your retreat: how much silence you would like, meditation times, reading of sacred texts, practicing yoga and more, plus other suggestions to help you embody the retreat and stay off-line as much as possible.
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Schedule
French time
Wednesday 3 December
10.45 – 12.00 Session led by Fr Laurence Freeman
12.15 – 13.00 Midday prayer and meditation
Suggested reading:
The Rule of Benedict: Reading Chapter 72. The Good Zeal That Monks Must Have
Thursday 4 December
10.45 – 12.00 Session led by Fr Laurence Freeman
12.15 – 13.00 Midday prayer and meditation
Suggested reading:
The Rule of Benedict: Chapter 6. Quiet
Friday 5 December
10.45 – 12.00 Session led by Fr Laurence Freeman
12.15 – 13.00 Midday prayer and meditation
Suggested reading:
The Rule of Benedict: Chapter 4. The Tools of Good Works vv. 1 – 41
Saturday 6 December
10.45 – 12.00 Session led by Fr Laurence Freeman
12.15 – 13.00 Midday prayer and meditation
Suggested reading:
The Rule of Benedict: Chapter 4. The Tools of Good Works vv. 42 – 78
Sunday 7 December
12:00 Contemplative Eucharist
Leader
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Laurence Freeman
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Director of WCCM. Benedictine Monk. Author of a number of books on Christian Meditation.Oxford University. Laurence Freeman OSB is an English Benedictine monk and Catholic priest. He is the director of the World Community for Christian Meditation (WCCM), prior of its Benedictine Oblate community and director of Bonnevaux, the international centre of the WCCM in France. Freeman’s work also involves encouraging the teaching of meditation to children and university students. In 2005 he founded the John Main Centre for Meditation and Inter-Religious Dialogue at Georgetown University
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Contribution
This event is held online. Registrations give 1 year access to recordings.
Contribution is £60 (concession price £45).
The prices reflect the need to achieve self sufficiency.
Therefore if you’re able to give a little more we would be very grateful.
Please, click here to donate.
We do not turn anybody away for lack of resource.
Please, click the email address <support@wccm.org> to contact us if you need further financial assistance to join this event.
This event is held online. Registrations give 1 year access to recordings.
Contribution is £25 (concession price £20).
The prices reflect the need to achieve self sufficiency.
Therefore if you’re able to give a little more we would be very grateful.
Please, click here to donate.
We do not turn anybody away for lack of resource.
Please, click the email address <support@wccm.org> to contact us if you need further financial assistance to join this event.