Three-Day Centering Prayer Retreat: T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets & the Contemplative Journey - Program

T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets and the Contemplative Journey

T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets is a profound meditation on time and eternity, loss and renewal, longing and surrender, and the possibility of encountering the eternal within the ordinary moments of our lives.

This contemplative weekend, led by the Reverend Tom Ward, invites participants to experience Eliot’s poetry not primarily as literature to be analyzed, but as words to be received slowly and prayerfully. Using the ancient practice of Lectio Divina—sacred, attentive reading—we will listen deeply to selected passages from Four Quartets and allow them to open pathways into silence, reflection, and prayer.

The rhythm of the weekend will include Lectio Divina, Centering Prayer, periods of silence, and opportunities for conversation and shared reflection. The Holy Eucharist will be celebrated on Saturday and Sunday.

No previous experience with Lectio Divina or Centering Prayer is necessary, and no knowledge of T.S. Eliot or his poetry is expected. Whether you have loved Four Quartets for years or have never read a line of Eliot, you are warmly invited to come, slow down, listen deeply, and discover what these remarkable poems might have to say to your own contemplative journey.

Check in begins at 3pm on Friday with a reception and gathering at 4:30pm. The program will conclude after lunch on Sunday.