Online Retreat: Praying with the English Mystics

One of my favorite monasteries is Holy Cross Monastery in the Hudson River Valley of New York. I’ve led a number of retreats there over the years, and so I’m very pleased to offer this retreat — via Zoom — the next best thing to being there!

Over three days (May 12, 13, and 14, 2020) we’ll have a Zoom session each day to reflect together on the wisdom of one of the great English mystics. We’ll explore the spiritual guidance from Julian of Norwich, Evelyn Underhill, and the anonymous author of The Cloud of Unknowing. Each session will include an introduction to the mystic we are exploring, highlights from their teachings, and practical insights how we can incorporate their contemplative into our daily prayer lives, here in the 21st century.

We suggest a donation of $15 per session ($45 for the entire retreat) which will support the ministry of the Holy Cross monks (and my ministry as well). To make your donation, click on the link below; please put “English mystics retreat” in the memo line of your donation. No one will be required to donate in order to join the sessions.

Make your donation at www.holycrossmonastery.com/donate (remember to put “English Mystics Retreat” in the memo line).

PRAYING WITH THE ENGLISH MYSTICS: Contemplative Wisdom for Challenging Times

From the visionary optimism of Julian of Norwich, to the contemplative guidance of The Cloud of Unknowing and the encouraging words of Evelyn Underhill, England has been home to a rich lineage of spiritual teachers. These great mystics have shared their timeless wisdom through a treasury of poetic and inspirational writings that continue to point us to a joyful and prayerful spiritual life.

Our time together will include three conferences where we will explore the life and teachings of the English mystics, with an eye to applying their wisdom to our daily life. We’ll explore their practical instruction for meditation, and contemplation, and reflect together on how their down-to-earth methods of prayer can transform our spiritual practice today.

Please join us on Zoom for any or all of these three sessions, offered at 2pm Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, May 12-14. Each session will last about one hour. We’ll post the link at the Holy Cross website on the week of the retreat.

No preregistration is required for this retreat.

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Retreat leader Carl McColman is the author of several books, including Befriending Silence, Answering the Contemplative Call, and The Big Book of Christian Mysticism. He blogs on Christian spirituality and contemplative living at www.carlmccolman.com. McColman is a life-professed Lay Cistercian (a layperson under formal spiritual guidance of Cistercian monks) affiliated with the Trappist Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, Georgia. He has been a practitioner of Christian contemplative prayer and meditation for over 30 years.

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