December 2025 Newsletter
- The Contemplative Society
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
"The reason why so few contemplative persons are found, is that so few know how to separate themselves entirely from what is transitory and created.”
- Thomas à Kempis: "The Imitation of Christ." Book Three, The Thirty-First Chapter.
In This Month's Issue...
Reflect with Paula Pryce on The You-ness of Me.
Listen for God's promptings through Here I Am, an Advent 2025 online retreat with Therese DesCamp, Lorie Martin and Milla McLachlan, to be held on December 11, 2025.
Await the launch of TCS's refreshed website.
Participate in-person at an Advent Silent Mini Retreat in Victoria, Canada.
Learn of A look at Thomas Keating and Full Contemplative Engagement, an online retreat with Cynthia Bourgeault, to be held on February 28, 2026.
Anticipate TCS's Annual Advent Appeal.
The You-ness of Me: Objectless Devotion of Mother and Child.
By Paula Price
I fished out that old medallion, the one I used to wear when I was twelve or thirteen. A golden icon of Mary that I thought I’d long since outgrown. I wasn’t even sure I’d kept it all these years. For some reason, I’ve been longing to have that tiny image of the Divine feminine near again.
A need to offer devotion has been bubbling up. For decades now, my practice has been to meld with an amorphous God, the one I could trust not to be contorted by cultural and political desire. I have tried my best to sit in attention and open to the unknown God rather than to a God of doctrine and wishful thinking.
And yet for some time now, the Divine has been seeking my hand. I can sense her corporeal warmth, as though the Queen of Heaven is opening her arms to me in invitation...
The Contemplative Society Presents...
Advent 2025 Online Retreat | Here I Am.
With Therese DesCamp, Lorie Martin and Milla McLachlan.
Date: Thursday, December 11, 2025
Time: 6:30 to 8:30pm Pacific Time
Announcing a Refreshed Website for The Contemplative Society
The Contemplative Society (TCS) is pleased to share that a refreshed version of our website will be launched on December 10th, 2025. For nearly a quarter century, ever since our first site went live in 2001, our digital home has helped us stay connected across distance, share teachings, and support one another in contemplative practice.
Over time, however, the behind‑the‑scenes structure of our previous site became increasingly complex. Years of updates and layered code created technical challenges that required significant time and resources to maintain. After careful discernment, your Board chose to move to a more user‑friendly and cost‑effective hosting platform. This change will allow us to simplify our technology so that more of our energy can return to what matters most: serving TCS members and nurturing the contemplative life.
While the spirit and mission of TCS remain the same, the new website offers a clearer, cleaner experience. Our hope is that it will be easier to navigate, gentler on the eyes, and more accessible on a range of devices—whether you are reading a reflection at home on your computer or listening to a teaching on your phone while on retreat.
From the beginning, TCS has held a deep respect for tradition while also looking toward the future. The new site is intended to serve our long‑standing members, who have faithfully sustained this work over many years, and to extend a warm welcome to those who are just discovering contemplative wisdom, including younger seekers. Our hope is that this refreshed online home reflects an intergenerational community of practice, where people of all ages can encounter the same depth of teaching and hospitality.
The new site will go live on December 10th, 2025 and you will be able to visit us, as always, at the same URL as we have maintained 25 years: www.contemplative.org.
As with any transition, there may be a few small glitches as we settle into our new home. If you notice anything that does not seem to be working properly (such as a broken link, missing resource, or page that does not display correctly) please feel free to contact Nicholas, TCS's Communications Co-ordinator, at: nicholas@contemplative.org. Your feedback and patience are greatly appreciated as we fine‑tune the site in the weeks ahead.
With gratitude for your ongoing support and companionship on the contemplative path,
Your TCS family.
Saturday Morning, December 6, 2025
9:30am – 1:30pm (Pacific Time)
In-person at the UVic Multifaith Centre,
Victoria, B.C., Canada.
Coming Soon: A Look at Thomas Keating and Full Contemplative Engagement
Registration opens January 2026.
Please anticipate the Annual Advent Appeal of The Contemplative Society, which will be shared with you later this December 2025. TCS invites you to pre-discern your heart's promptings on offering financial support of any manner to our contemplative community and its public offerings.
TCS is a non-profit society and registered charitable organization in Canada run by a volunteer board and a dedicated circle of contemplatives. It was formed in Victoria, BC, Canada in 1997 to serve an emerging contemplative renewal, and to support and spread the teachings of Cynthia Bourgeault and other distinguished Wisdom teachers. We lovingly carry forward this work, adapting to the changing needs of the present and future, while anchoring ourselves in the ancient Wisdom tradition.
We would love for you to join us as a member and to help sustain and build our offerings with a donation of any amount.
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