Coming Home to Unconditional Love: Meditation and the Parable of the Prodigal Son

“God never changes his mind about you. He is simply in love with you. What he does again and again is change your mind about him. God is just infinite, unconditional, unalterable, eternal love...” Herbert McCabe OP

Join us for this special online retreat to explore the journey of meditation (silent prayer) through the lens of the parable of the prodigal son.

With help from a remarkable essay on the parable by the Dominican friar Herbert McCabe, as well as insights from Julian of Norwich, Meister Eckhart, Henri Nouwen and other teachers across the centuries, we’ll reflect on:

• how the parable describes our journey home to the God of unconditional love revealed in the life of Christ
• how it overturns the idea of a judgemental punitive god often found in contemporary models of salvation and atonement
• how the ancient Christian practice of meditation provides a path to help us rest in the unfailing love of God and discover that this love is the deepest truth of who we are.

For the early Christians, salvation was entirely a story of healing and rescue; of God coming to us in the depths of our estrangement to free us from illusion, gather his children, and restore all creation within his infinite love. The great paradox of the Christian life,” says Nouwen, “is that we are most ourselves when we are most in touch with God, the ground of our being.”

The story of the prodigal son, says Herbert McCabe, “is not about the father forgiving his son, it is about the father celebrating, welcoming his son with joy and feasting. This is all the real God ever does, because God, the real God, is just helplessly and hopelessly in love with us. He is unconditionally in love with us. His love for us doesn’t depend on what we do or what we are like. It makes no difference to him. He is just waiting to welcome us with joy and love”.

Everyone attending the retreat will receive a selection of key passage from McCabe’s essay a week before the event to help prepare for this journey of reflection and shared silence.

A series of short talks will be interspersed with periods of conversation. However, the central focus of this experiential retreat will be silent meditation practice, offering a space to deeply explore the transformative messages of this parable. 

Who is this retreat for?

The retreat has been carefully crafted to be inclusive and accessible, welcoming anyone seeking truth, peace, and spiritual renewal, regardless of their faith, beliefs or previous experience of meditation.

Price and Pricing policy

Tickets cost £30. There is an option to purchase a ticket with a donation to help us maintain our core offering, including the twice weekly online meditation sessions, which are free of charge.

All our paid-for events are priced to simply cover costs (rather than make a profit) so they are as accessible as possible. However, we realise that even the most reasonably priced ticket can be difficult sometimes. If this is the case, we invite you to email us so we can help.

Retreat leader

Chris Whittington is the Founder of The School of Contemplative Life. The charity’s vision is to help people establish peace in themselves and become places of peace in the world. Chris was introduced to contemplative practice during several years of formation when he lived at the Benedictine monastery of Prinknash Abbey. His’ monastic teachers, including Sylvester Houedard OSB, taught meditation as a universal wisdom found within all the great spiritual traditions, a pathway to peace and solidarity with people of all faiths and none. Following an introduction by the Abbot of the Prinknash community, Chris subsequently studied at the Dalai Lama’s monastery in Dharamsala, India. Chris regularly delivers talks, workshops and retreats and has introduced meditation from the Christian wisdom tradition to thousands of people in the UK and abroad.

Words from Martin Laird OSA, Author of Into the Silent Land

”The School of Contemplative Life will surely rate among the most significant responses to the spiritual longings of the people of this nation and abroad. Through it’s debut book, ‘The Missing Peace’, it’s growing online practice community and thoughtfully designed programme of retreats, The School will directly nourish and cultivate the depth-dimension of life, offering Christians – and seekers from all traditions – an accessible pathway to the wellspring of silence, compassion and peace flowing within. Simply put, there is no other organisation in this country quite like this, dedicated to helping people discover their groundless Ground, the eternal Mystery ever hidden with Christ in God.”

Words from Rev’d Dr. Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury

“I am delighted that there is a concrete opportunity for developing this new initiative in seeking to open doors into Christian wisdom for those who may have little previous awareness of its resources. This will be a chance for Christians of all traditions to discover new openings for growth in contemplative maturity.”

Terms and conditions

Please refer to our website for the terms and conditions associated with this event. If you need to cancel for whatever reason after booking, please get in touch with us as soon as possible and we will try to find a solution. In the event that we cannot fill your place, the cost of your ticket may not be refundable.

For information about the School of Contemplative Life, please visit our website: www.schoolofcontemplativelife.com