Abyss calls to abyss! In this 4-day gathering, we will go deeper into the mystery of Christian prayer with St. Elisabeth of the Trinity guiding us by the hand. Is this gathering a conference or a retreat? Exactly! … It is both! It can be thought of as a prayerful conference or, better yet, a logos-filled retreat (a retreat with overflowing wisdom). In short, it is a Contemplative Symposium. Sym-posium literally means to “drink in together” and, in our case, we will take in together the profound loving wisdom of St. Elisabeth of the Trinity, together with her also in our midst.

To receive St. Elisabeth’s teaching aright, we need to receive it in a spirit of prayer. More importantly, to receive the mystery of Christian prayer into our souls aright we need to do so in a living way through prayer. Hence this symposium attempts to foster a contemplative atmosphere. Some elements of our schedule do not quite fit in with a normal conference model and some elements do not quite fit in with a normal retreat model precisely because we are blazing a new trail toward something different, a Contemplative Symposium.

We will not be rushing to talk after talk after talk. We will take time in silence to drink in and imbibe what we have received. Plenty of time will be given for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, for the sake of a contemplative repose. We will pray the Rosary and much of the Liturgy of the Hours together. There will be much time for Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and guided meditations on passages from St. Elisabeth to help us enter into silent adoration of our Beloved Three. Our specially selected key-note speakers bring a certain intellectual prowess with them but they are also anointed with the unction of the Holy Spirit in conveying the mysterious secret, hidden wisdom of God (cf. 1 Cor 2). Art, music, poetry, personal witness, and fellowship with one another will enrich our drinking in together of the life, light, and love of the Blessed Trinity.

The communio among the participants and—to use a favored term of Elisabeth—the “rendezvous” encounters with one another from the depths of our soul will make up an important dimension of our partaking of God together these days. So we are selling tickets only for the whole 4-day gathering at this point, and at a discounted rate. Our capacity is limited. In mid-July, if we have any seats left, we will open up the possibility of buying tickets for a single day.

We can do the best planning in the world to try to bring about all we are envisioning for this contemplative symposium but planning in itself is insufficient. We need the support of your prayers! The lasting fruitfulness of this 4-day encounter with one another and with God will especially be determined by the coming together of these souls yearning for more of the Lord and the prayers we pour out for ourselves and for the world. Abyss calls to abyss! I can assure you there will be souls of deep and rich (and blessedly poor!) prayer among the attendees of the symposium. This in itself is a significant draw to come along and be a part of this mix of humble souls seeking the face of God and seeking a “spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God, having the eyes of our hearts enlightened…” (Eph 1:17-18).

We entrust all this to the intercession of St. Elisabeth of the Trinity who, on her deathbed, foresaw that her mission in heaven would be to draw souls deeper into the mystery of contemplative prayer “by helping them to go out of themselves in order to cling to God by a wholly simple and loving movement, and to keep them in this great silence within, which will allow God to communicate Himself to them and to transform them into Himself” (L 335). Through the powerful intercession of St. Elisabeth of the Trinity, may this contemplative symposium further the accomplishment of this mission for our good and the good of the world!