Offered by Martin Laird, O.S.A.
In Person
Offered on two weekends:
Thursday, May 20th — Monday, May 24th
Thursday, May 27th — Monday, May 31st
In order to make room for everyone, please only sign up for one of the two weekends offered.
Suggested donation: $625
Silence itself has no opposite. For the silent mind, sound is as silent as no sound. For the decluttered mind, despair and delight manifest the very same silence we incessantly bodyforth by the simple fact that we are. But for the cluttered mind, such things seem to be at odds. To explore this, among other things, Fr. Martin will consider such challenges as: the inner noise generated when we try to use contemplative practice to acquire something we think we lack; or get rid of something we would rather not have in our lives; or how the practice of “mindfulness” risks leaving us fixated on ourselves as our own contemplative projects; as well as other special challenges for the maturing contemplative.
Fr. Martin Laird is no stranger to the Episcopal House of Prayer where he has led several retreats over the years. He has lectured and led retreats throughout the US, UK, and Republic of Ireland. He is Professor of Early Christian Studies at Villanova University nearPhiladelphia and the author of Into the Silent Land; A Sunlit Absence; and An Ocean of Light from Oxford University Press.