Journeying with the Christ Who Comes

Meditations on the Seven O Antiphons 2025 – A Seven-Week Online Contemplative Retreat

Enter Advent differently this year. Move beyond to-do lists and seasonal noise into an ancient, living way of waiting — a patient, prayerful journey toward the Christ who comes. Each week we rest in one of the seven O Antiphons: short, jewel-like titles of the Savior that have shaped Christian prayer for a thousand years. Through Scripture, the Fathers and Mothers of the Church, Carmelite wisdom, and guided contemplative practice, you will be invited to discover how Christ’s coming touches the deepest places of your life.

This retreat will be led by a team of Carmelite friars and associates steeped in the contemplative tradition, who will weave patristic insight, Carmelite wisdom, and practical guidance into each session — so theology becomes a lived path of prayer.

Why join this retreat?

This is not a lecture series. It’s a guided invitation into presence. Over seven evenings (60 minutes each) you will:

  • Encounter Christ by name — each Antiphon names an aspect of who God is for us (Wisdom, Adonai, Root of Jesse, Key of David, Dayspring, King of the Nations, Emmanuel). These names become doorways into prayer.
  • Pray more deeply — each session includes a short teaching, a word-for-word guided contemplative prayer, extended silence, and small-group sharing rooted in listening.
  • Recover inner order and freedom — learn how ancient titles of Christ free us from patterns of fear, busyness, and fragmentation by inviting us into a pragmatic and gentle interior transformation.
  • Root theology in experience — patristic insight and Carmelite contemplative practice meet lived spirituality so theology becomes prayer and prayer becomes life.
  • Become a bearer of light — as you are formed in waiting, you learn practical ways to bring Christ’s presence to your family, workplace, and parish.

What participants on previous retreats say …

  • “I learned to listen differently — not to problems, but to the One who transforms them.”
  • “The guided meditations re-ordered my busiest week and opened a gentle space for God.”
  • “Advent became a real interior journey, not just a calendar.”

Gems you’ll discover …

  • Wisdom that orders life (O Sapientia): practical contemplative practices that help you make day-to-day decisions from a place of prayer, not pressure.
  • Freedom in the fire (O Adonai): how God’s law becomes a liberating love that melts fear and restores dignity.
  • Hope from what seems barren (O Radix Jesse): an invitation to see new shoots of grace in the places you feel cut down.
  • Keys to inner prisons (O Clavis David): a contemplative method for identifying locked parts of the heart and opening them with Christ.
  • Dawn in the darkness (O Oriens): practices to let Christ’s light transfigure anxiety and grief into healing.
  • Unity from the cornerstone (O Rex Gentium): concrete ways your reconciled heart can become a place of peace for others.
  • God with us (O Emmanuel): a renewal of the sense of God’s abiding presence — practical, intimate, life-changing.

Who this retreat is for?

  • Anyone longing for a deeper Advent — whether you’re new to contemplative prayer or experienced in the life of silence.
  • Those who want Scripture and Tradition to shape daily spirituality.
  • People who want practical, gentle tools for bringing prayer into family, work, and community life.

Format & commitment

  • Seven weekly online gatherings (60 minutes each) — one Antiphon per week.
  • Each session includes: short teaching (20 min), guided prayer & silence (15min), breakout sharing (20 min), plenary & blessing (5 min).
  • Simple practices and short reflections to use during the week.
  • Space for quiet listening — no pressure to speak in breakout groups.
  • Accessible — no special resources needed (just a Bible, a notebook, and a quiet comer).

Practical details

  • Online (Zoom). A secure link and preparation packet will be sent after registration.
  • Limited places to preserve a contemplative atmosphere and small group sharing.

Suggested donation: £76.99 for all seven sessions

If you wish to contribute a little bit more so that others might benefit, this would be greatly appreciated.

Frequently asked …

  • Do I need experience in contemplative prayer? No. The retreat is shaped for beginners and seasoned contemplatives alike.
  • What if I miss a week? Recordings of the teaching and prayer will be available; breakout sharing is best experienced live.
  • How should I prepare? Come with an open heart, a Bible, and a journal.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Ready to begin the journey?

Transform your Advent into a season of interior arrival. Allow the Church’s ancient — and the Christ whose names we proclaim — to form you from within.

Places are limited.

(Questions? Reply to this message or email admin@carmelite.org.uk)

Journeying with the Christ who comes is not only preparation for a single feast; it is an invitation to a renewed habit of heart — a slow pilgrimage from noise to waiting, from anxious doing to loving presence. Come and be formed by the names of the One who comes to dwell in you.