This week I facilitated my second Zoom retreat hosted by the monks of Holy Cross Monastery. Our theme was “Praying with the Spanish Mystics” — this was a follow up to a retreat earlier this year called “Praying with the English Mystics” (click here for that retreat).
This retreat consisted of three conferences, each one exploring the prayer teachings of one of the great mystics of Spain. On the first day, we focused on imaginative prayer and the daily examen as commended by St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits. Then we explored the interior castle of St. Teresa of Ávila with special attention paid to the prayer of recollection. Finally, we plumbed the depths of the dark night of the soul and the prayer of radical silence as celebrated in the poetry and prose of St. John of the Cross.
The presentation portion of each of these retreat conferences was recorded and is now available on Youtube — here they are for you to watch. I hope these conferences can be a blessing for your prayer life.
Day One: St. Ignatius of Loyola
Day Two: St. Teresa of Ávila
Day Three: St. John of the Cross
