Monastic Experience in Advent

In the last week of Advent the community welcomed seven young men for a monastic experience weekend, which, if the feedback is anything to go by, turned out to be particularly formative for many of them.

The weekend allowed for time to reconnect with God in both silent prayer and in the prayer of the Church. Our retreatants spent time exploring what Christ’s loving invitation to ‘follow me’ means when lived-out. They also discovered ways of listening to the Spirit through the prayerful reading of God’s word in the story of how he redeems humanity from self-destruction: the Bible.

Our monastic experience retreats are designed for young men interested in experiencing the monastic life at Downside ‘from the inside’. Though they may not be consciously discerning a religious vocation, the young men we welcome find the prayerful silence at Downside helpful. Please contact Father David, our Novice Master at domdavid@downside.co.uk for more information about the retreats.