“The goal of the Christian Life is the acquisition of the Holy Spirit” St Seraphim of Sarov
St Seraphim, a monk, is Russia’s most beloved, joyful saint; Dostoyevsky one of its greatest, if troubled, novelists; and, Mother Maria, a social activist (and nun), who died in Ravensbruck concentration camp, having helped people fleeing persecution in Paris, and an exemplary witness to what unites all three; namely, a searching exploration to live out the second commandment, “to love one’s neighbor as oneself”, truly living in the Spirit that makes us one.
They are three lives rooted in faith, nourished by meditation, enriched in a living community of prayer, liturgy, and study. None of their lives were easy, all three endured much, as they sought to fully embrace what it might mean to be a human person living in community, at one. The weekend will explore these lives and how we might learn from, and be inspired by them, in our own journeys in linking meditation to other resources of faith and expressing them in communion with one another.
All our events taking place at Bonnevaux offer an opportunity to discover the rich cultural and historical French and European heritage of the 12th-century Abbaye de Bonnevaux, as well as to explore the varied and natural beauty of the land which we cultivate as a model of ecological responsibility.
Contribution for the Retreat - £135
Schedule:
Thursday 17, Friday 18 and Saturday 19 February 2022 – (times listed below are local French time)
- 10:00 – 10:50 talk with Nicholas Colloff
- break
- 11:00 – 11:30 Q&A
- break
- 12:15 meditation led by Nicholas Colloff
- break
- 15:00 – 15:50 talk by Nicholas Colloff
- break
- 16:20 – 17:00 small groups (40 minutes)
- 17:00 – 17:30 Q&A with Nicholas Colloff
- break
- 18:00 meditation led by Nicholas Colloff
Interviewing Nicholas Colloff on this retreat
Registration opens soon
MEMBERSHIP FEE ** – 10€
Membership fee is paid once per year, valid strictly from Jan – Dec.
** by French law you must be a ‘member‘ of the charity (association ABP) Abbaye de Bonnevaux – Centre Pour la Paix in order to participate at an on-the-ground event at Bonnevaux – 86370 Marçay, France.
Membership is non-binding. It simply means that you are invited to attend the annual general meeting if you wish and that you may receive information about our events during the year.
The Abbey of Bonnevaux is the spiritual home of the World Community for Christian Meditation (WCCM) which includes a Conference and Retreat Centre dedicated to peace. The on-the-ground activities of the Abbey are organized under the responsibility of l’Association Abbaye de Bonnevaux – Centre pour le Paix (ABP). The Association, which is governed by the French law of 1st July 1901, is registered in Poitiers under the reference RNA: W863007299.
Address : Bonnevaux, 86370 Marçay, France.
Phone number : 06 33 43 71 71 / 06 61 96 57 74.
José Pype (President of the Association); Giovanni Felicioni (Associate Director and Programme Manager)
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