The Contemplative Society

In this season of Ramadan and Lent, a mystical reflexion:   “...And ever is Allah, over all things, an Observer.” - The Qur'an: Surah Al-Ahzab (33:52) In This Month's Issue... Reflect with Paula Pryce on Pip, lost and found: The reconciling force of an adventuring cat (a mostly true story). Become Stillness in Motion, through a 1-day, in-person, contemplative and energy-healing practices retreat with Kimiko Karpoff and Leslie Sandra Black, to be held on April 18, 2026 in Victoria, B.C.,...

" Communauté des Frères de Taizé", Emmanuel Cattier, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons For decades, the small village of Taizé in Burgundy, France, has been a pilgrimage site for those seeking the "springs of faith." What began as a refuge during wartime has blossomed into a global movement of reconciliation and peace. The Taizé style of worship is defined by its contemplative rhythm. It invites participants to enter a "common prayer" that requires no hymnal or sermon to understand, only a...

Archives des jésuites de France, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons What happens when you want to offer Mass but have no bread, no wine, and no altar? This was the reality for Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955), the Jesuit priest and paleontologist, during a scientific expedition in the Gobi Desert. Lacking the elements for the Eucharist, he realized that the world itself (its work, its suffering, its evolution), could be his offering. He composed The Mass on the World , a profound...