Thomas Merton
|
Awakening from the Dream of SeparatenessAn Annual Day of Christian Contemplative Reflection
with Jonathan Montaldo |
Jonathan Montaldo
|
Saturday, June 11, 2016
from 8:45 a.m. - 4:15 p.m.
Holy Family Passionist Retreat Center, 303 Tunxis Road, West Hartford CT
from 8:45 a.m. - 4:15 p.m.
Holy Family Passionist Retreat Center, 303 Tunxis Road, West Hartford CT
LATEST NEWS - 6/14/2016
We had a wonderful turnout for this year's Day of Reflection! A total of 65 folks were able to be present for all of part of this day with Jonathan Montaldo Our feedback was exceptionally positive on all aspects of the day! The gathered Contemplative Community was enriched by what and how Jonathan shared about Thomas Merton as well as his own reflections on Merton's Spirituality and Jonathan was equally inspired by the contributions of the Community. The Vigil Mass con-celebrated by both Fr. Sam Fuller and Fr. George Busto was a deeply moving and intimate experience.
We look forward to another enriching Day of Reflection in June 2017!
We look forward to another enriching Day of Reflection in June 2017!
|
We will be meeting in the Public Chapel which is shown on the map here:
The closest parking lot to the Public Chapel is Lot C. Direct entry to the Public Chapel is through Entrance #7. Handicapped entry is available through Entrance # 5. |
|
About the Day
Join us for a day of Retreat, Prayer, Learning and Community to go deeper into Union with God and All Our Relations!
In a moment of light and contemplative union with God and all his neighbors, Thomas Merton's 4th and Walnut experience has become central to understanding the expansiveness of his teaching on contemplative prayer. His written reflections on the depths of this experience, both in his private journals and in his revision (re-reflecting upon its wider implications) of this experience in Conjectures of A Guilty Bystander, will guide our prayer and dialogue during this one-day contemplative experience.
Jonathan Montaldo will present 3 teaching conferences during the course of this day which will be interspersed with Prayer, Silence and Community sharing.
The revised (6/6/2016) outline of the day is as follows::
In a moment of light and contemplative union with God and all his neighbors, Thomas Merton's 4th and Walnut experience has become central to understanding the expansiveness of his teaching on contemplative prayer. His written reflections on the depths of this experience, both in his private journals and in his revision (re-reflecting upon its wider implications) of this experience in Conjectures of A Guilty Bystander, will guide our prayer and dialogue during this one-day contemplative experience.
Jonathan Montaldo will present 3 teaching conferences during the course of this day which will be interspersed with Prayer, Silence and Community sharing.
- Conference 1. “The Gate to Paradise is Everywhere” and “There are no strangers”: We are already One and the Body of Christ: Inspirations for our contemplative prayer from Thomas Merton's “epiphany” on 4th and Walnut in Louisville.
- Conference 2. Our humanity being transformed by and in divinity: Always stretching forward toward Christ in Thomas Merton's spirituality informed by Saint Paul's.
- Conference 3. The figure of Sophia in Thomas Merton's experience of praying contemplatively.
The revised (6/6/2016) outline of the day is as follows::
|
8:15 - Doors open, check-in begins
8:45 - Check-in continues, Breakfast snacks available (45 mins) 9:15 - Brandon Nappi discussed Holy Family initiative to embrace the Christian Contemplative Experience. 9:30 - Introduction to the Day (10 mins) 9:40 – Conference 1 and Prayer Period (1 hr, 20 mins) 11:00 - Silent Break (15 mins) 11:15 – Conference 2 and Prayer Period (1 hr, 20 mins) 12:35 - Full Lunch and free time (with or without conversation) (1 hr, 25 mins) 2:00 - Conference 3 (1 hr) 3:00 - Break (15 mins) 3:15 – Small Group Dialogue or Contemplative Prayer / Walk (45 min) 4:00 – End of Day Reflection and Closing Prayer (15 mins) |
Fr. Sam Fuller, OFM Cap.
|
Sunday Vigil Mass will be celebrated by Fr. Sam Fuller OFM Cap.at 4:30 p.m. in the Public Chapel.
Fr Sam is grateful for having discovered Centering Prayer in the early 1990’s which led to his reclaiming his Catholic faith and becoming a parishioner of a parish in mid-Coast Maine and eventual joining the Capuchins in 2000. |
About Jonathan Montaldo:
Jonathan is an inspiring International Retreat Leader, is the former director of the Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University and a past-president of the International Thomas Merton Society. He has edited numerous volumes of Thomas Merton's writing, including The Intimate Merton, Dialogues with Silence and Choosing to Love the World. He created the ten-booklet series for small group dialogue, Bridges to Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton. He has produced five audio books of Merton classics for Franciscan Communications. He is the co-General Editor of the Fons Vitae Thomas Merton “and series,” that thus far includes Merton & Sufism, & Hesychasm, & Buddhism, & Judaisim, & Taoism. “Merton & Indigenous World Wisdom” is forth-coming. He is the former director of the Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University and a past-president of the International Thomas Merton Society. He has most recently edited We Are Already One: Thomas Merton's Message of Hope: Reflections to Honor His Centenary (2015)
You can learn more about Jonathan Montaldo at: http://monksworks.com/
Johnathan recommends the following Merton writings to prepare for this Day of Reflection:
- Contemplative Prayer
- The Inner Experience
- Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander
- The Intimate Merton: His Life in His Journals
- Choosing to Love the World
- At Play in Creation: Merton's Awakening to the Feminine Divine by Christopher Pramuk (Liturgical Press, 2015)
For those who would like a place to stay you may want to consider these hotels available close by..
REGISTRATION
|
Requested Donation: $45 -- more if you can, less if you can’t.
Breakfast Snacks and Lunch Included. Please register at the Holy Family website: https://www.holyfamilyretreat.org/contemplative (advanced registration is kindly requested!) |
Below is a copy of the Brochure, a copy you can download and print is available by clicking here.