During Advent Fr. is leading an online "retreat" focusing on the anonymous 14th century spiritual classic, The Cloud of Unknowing. Originally written in Middle English, it "expresses a message that has inspired such great religious thinkers as St. John of the Cross and Teilhard de Chardin, as well as countless others in search of God. Offering a practical guide to the life of contemplation, the author explains that ordinary thoughts and earthly concepts must be buried beneath a 'cloud of forgetting,' while our love must rise towards a God hidden 'in the cloud of unknowing'" It touches on themes of humility, prayer, and above all, love.
Various editions of The Cloud of Unknowing exist, but for facility of conversation we will be using this edition (click here). It is a new and very readable translation which "brings the Middle English classic into a striking modern idiom that conveys the intimacy and immediacy of the author's voice as the original readers might have experienced it."
We will meet via Zoom on four consecutive Tuesdays at 6.30pm, and our first meeting will be December 1. Each evening there will be an address, but also opportunity for reflection and to consider questions the book' might raise. We will round off our time with Compline. (A digital order of service can be accessed here.)
Reading Schedule
First Session (December 1) Chapters 1-15
Second Session (December 8) Chapters 16-34
Third Session (December 15) Chapters 35-59
Fourth Session (December 22) Chapters 60-75
You can access the Zoom meetings using this link. If you have any questions, you can reach Fr. Luis via email.
