Friends, I hope you’ll join me on August 4 and 5 for an online contemplative retreat focussing on one of my favorite topics: Joy!
Co-sponsored by Contemplative Outreach of New Orleans and the School for Contemplative Living, this retreat will weave together Centering Prayer with spirited exploration of how the heart contains all the wisdom, blessings and gifts we need to embrace a life of deep and lasting joy. The retreat is based on my book Eternal Heart, but you do not need to read the book in order to attend the retreat.
The program will run from Friday, August 4 (7:00-8:30 PM Central Time) to Saturday, August 5 (9:00 AM-3:00 PM Central Time). The cost is only $49 and partial scholarships are available. Recordings of my talks will be made available to everyone who registers, so be sure to sign up even if you can’t be there during the live event.
Here’s a treat, friends. My wonderful associates Keith and Jana of Closer Than Breath have put together a free, week-long online Christian Mysticism Summit that will run the week of June 18-22, 2023! Click here to register for this free online event.
They have a wonderful roster of speakers lined up, including Valerie Brown, Lerita Coleman Brown, Justin Coutts, Carmen Acevedo Butcher, David Cassian Cole, Michael Gungor, and more!
This is a free event, and they are not going to try to sell you an expensive webinar at the end of it! Closer Than Breath sees this as a community-building event; obviously they (we) hope you will enjoy it so much that you’ll join their email list and perhaps take advantage of future offerings or join their membership program. But all that is totally up to you: the Christian Mysticism Summit is available to you and all your friends at no charge.
To sweeten the deal even further: since several of the featured speakers are authors with Broadleaf Books, the publisher has donated a number of books to give away to summit participants — including 5 copies of my forthcoming book, The New Big Book of Christian Mysticism! So if you’d like a chance at getting my latest book for free, here’s a great opportunity for you. Click here to register for this free online event.
To learn more about the summit and to register, click here: www.christianmysticsummit.com — I hope to see you there!
On June 16, 2022 my friend and colleague Carmen Acevedo Butcher PhD is offering a free online program to explore the wisdom of Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, author of The Practice of the Presence of God. Click here to register for this free event.
You probably know Carmen Butcher from her luminous translation of The Cloud of Unknowing. Later this year she is releasing her latest book, in which she is bringing her wisdom and translation skills to Brother Lawrence, in a vital and fresh new translation of his book called Practice of the Presence: A Revolutionary Translation. Here’s an opportunity to dive into Brother Lawrence’s mystical spirituality with Carmen Acevedo Butcher as your guide!
The webinar will take place on Thursday, June 16 at 8:30 PM Eastern Time. It will be recorded, so register even if you cannot attend on the 16th. Click here to register for this free event.
More information about this event
Each day, we’re bombarded with stressful news and other distractions — on our televisions and phones, in the conversations around us, and within our own quiet moments of reflection.
The wisdom our world needs right now, affirms Carmen Acevedo Butcher, PhD, an award-winning translator of spiritual texts, can be found in the teachings of Brother Lawrence, the Friar d’Amour.
Brother Lawrence was a down-to-earth mystic, monastery cook, sandal repairer, and disabled veteran who limped painfully all his adult life.
He lived through a time that was strikingly similar to our own — marked by authoritarianism, political division, social and economic disparities, climate crises, hunger, plague, global death, and war.
As a result, his writings, found after his death in 1691, are filled with profound yet practical tools and wisdom that apply to our moment in history — equipping us to live more calmly and deeply as we connect with ourselves, others, and God.
On Thursday, June 16, join us for a powerful event with Carmen to discover more about Brother Lawrence’s gentle, simple practices for returning to love — and feeling more grounded in the midst of life’s biggest distractions and greatest challenges.
Register for Practicing Unshakable Joy With Brother Lawrence, the Friar d’Amourby clicking here.
Carmen Acevedo Butcher, PhD
In this free online event, you’ll discover:
A guided imagery exercise to befriend your feelings and welcome them into your life — so you can experience healing, let go of any desire for power and control, and create a space for what Brother Lawrence called “unspeakable joy”
How the teachings of 17th-century friar Brother Lawrence — including the practice of the presence of God — are a beacon of hope that can help you navigate today’s challenges and crises
How to uncover the often repressed and overlooked feminine energy in Brother Lawrence’s teachings that can help you embody greater “mother compassion” — accepting the holy in yourself while listening to the holy in others
Brother Lawrence’s gentle, simple practices for returning to love and our inherent groundedness in the midst of everyday distractions and life’s greatest challenges
The newest translations of Brother Lawrence’s teachings that unveil his path to self-compassion – and the importance of cultivating this quality to bring loving kindness into every encounter
As you’ll discover, Brother Lawrence’s wisdom and practices can bring you home again — into yourself and back to love — as you cultivate an inner sense of calm and the ability to act lovingly.
Note: I don’t often promote events like this and it’s my policy to do so only when I am convinced the event will be a true blessing and good value to those who participate. With that in mind, I am happy to endorse this event with Carmen Butcher. In fact, I’ve signed up for it! So I hope you will too.
Four times a year I offer an online Quiet Day/Day of Reflection for the generous patrons who support the Anamchara website/blog/knowledge base through Patreon. The next such quiet day will take place on Saturday, August 7, 2021. The theme for this Quiet Day will be the Feast of the Transfiguration, and will include a Zoom session with time for silent prayer, lectio divina, time for shared reflection on the spiritual meaning of the Transfiguration, and time for conversation. If you are not currently a patron, please consider making a pledge and joining the circle of supporters. In addition to the Quiet Days, you’ll receive a monthly newsletter and regular opportunities to read some of my work-in-progress. For more information about Patreon and to make your pledge, visit www.patreon.com/carlmccolman. Thank you!
In these extraordinary times that we find ourselves in, I have been profoundly moved at how meaningful online retreats and courses have become for so many. Everyone knows that Zoom is no substitute for a week at a monastery — but it’s much better than nothing!
Here are some online events that will be happening over the next few months. Although they are sponsored by monasteries and retreat houses located in New York, South Carolina, Georgia, California, and other locations, because they are all online they are available for everyone — and at a very reasonable cost. I hope one or more of these events will fit in with your schedule — it would be good to stay connected!
July 21-23: Praying with the Spanish Mystics (Online Retreat) — sponsored by Holy Cross Monastery in West Park, NY. This retreat explores the spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Teresa of Ávila, and St. John of the Cross. Offered on a donation basis, with the suggested amount being $45 or $15 per session if you can’t attend all three. For more information and registration information, click here.
August 10-13: Wisdom of the Desert Mothers and Fathers (Online Retreat) — sponsored by Mepkin Abbey in SC. Let’s enter the “desert” of this extraordinary time of pandemic and social isolation together, turning to our desert elders for inspiration and spiritual guidance. The four-day retreat costs $60. For more information and to register, click here.
September 12-13: Tolkien, Lewis and MacDonald: Spirituality of the Christian Imagination (Online Retreat)— sponsored by the Monastery of the Holy Spirit, Conyers, GA. We will reflect together on how the imaginative writing of JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, and George MacDonald is filled with spiritual guidance. Suggested donation for this retreat is $45. To register, please call the Monastery Guest House at 1-770-760-0959.
September 28-November 9: Wisdom of the World’s Mystical Traditions (Seven Week Online Course) — sponsored by the Zeitgeist Center, Atlanta. In this seven week program, we will explore the great mystical/contemplative traditions of the world, and engage in a meaningful spiritual exercise designed to explore the contemplative practice of that particular lineage. To learn more about this program and to register, click here: www.zgatl.org/carl-mccolman-mysticism.html
November 2-27: Wisdom of the Christian Mystics e-Course, co-facilitated with Tessa Bielecki — sponsored by Spirituality & Practice. We will explore the wisdom and insight of a dozen major Christian mystics, looking at how they invite us deeper in our own spiritual practice. Cost is $59.95. To learn more and to register, click here: www.SpiritualityandPractice.com/WisdomoftheChristianMysticsE-Course
To learn more about these and other online events, please visit my “Events” page on my website, by clicking here: www.carlmccolman.com/events/
