December 0,
Monasticism Today New Perspectives—Retreat
Fr. Simon McGurk, Prior of St. Anselm’s Abbey in Washington, DC, and Esther de Waal open a discussion drawing on their experiences of lay monasticism, the role of lectio divina, new monasteries in Peru and South Africa, and raising the question: what lies ahead? In this late winter retreat step inside the cloistered walls of the College and join these two contemplative scholars and practitioners.
Rev. Dom Simon McGurk, OSB began a four-year term as Prior of St. Anselm’s Abbey in June 2006. He is from Belmont Abbey in Hereford, England where he was formerly Headmaster of the school and later Guest and Retreat Master. Prior to coming to St. Anselm’s he was Superior of the Benedictine monastery in Tambogrande, Peru.
Esther de Waal is a well-known Anglican scholar of the Cistercian, Benedictine, and Celtic traditions of Christian spirituality. Her first book, Seeking God: The Way of St. Benedict, continues to be a bestseller and has been translated worldwide. It was followed by Living with Contradiction: Further Reflections on the Rule, A World Made Whole: Rediscovering the Celtic Tradition, A Seven Day Journey with Thomas Merton and, most recently Lost in Wonder: The Spiritual Art of Attentiveness. She lives in the Welsh Borders.