Packed Schedule for Visiting Benedictine Meditation Priest

On his visit to South Africa from September 5-16, Fr Laurence Freeman will present ten seminars and other events in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.

The director and spiritual leader of the World Community for Christian Meditation will share his understanding and experience of the benefits of meditation in an age of over-busyness and constant distraction.

At business breakfasts in Cape Town (September 6) and Durban (September 10), the Benedictine priest will engage participants on work and leadership, applying the wisdom of the 6th-century Rule of St Benedict to modern challenges.

At seminars designed specifically for teachers and catechists, Fr Freeman “will show how natural and welcome meditation is to the young”, said Paul Faller of the Catholic Institute of Education, who is co-coordinating his visit.

“The question, Fr Freeman says, is not ‘Why should we teach meditation in schools?’ but ‘Why on earth don’t we?’”

The general public will also have opportunities to interact with the visiting Benedictine. At seminars in all three centres, he will remind participants that Christians have a unique tradition of meditation, part of the universal wisdom of humanity.

“In an age of stress, multiple crises and of change that runs ahead of our ability to control, this tradition is a major gift for the world today,” Mr Faller noted.

Those who would like to experience a more contemplative time with Fr Freeman can attend a day retreat at the Origins Retreat Centre in the Cradle of Humankind in Gauteng.

Approaching the theme ‘‘Where the spirit is, there is liberty”, he will invite retreatants to reflect on what spirituality can possibly mean in a post-truth world and era of artificial intelligence, and what, in a “post-Christendom” Church and secular society, the contribution of the disciples of Jesus to the healing renewal of humanity is.

The round of events will culminate on September 14 at Mosaiek Church in Fairland, Johannesburg, where Fr Freeman will be guest speaker at a day event titled “Conversations”.

He will speak of the contemplative revolution needed in the Christian tradition and society as a whole.

“The programme is suitable for those new to meditation in the Christian tradition wanting to learn more, as well as for those practising who wish to deepen their journey,” Mr Faller said.

Fr Freeman will be in Cape Town from September 6-7, in Durban from September 9-10, and Johannesburg from September 11-14.

In all centres he will present a seminar for teachers called “A Gift for Life: Introducing Christian Meditation to the Young” (Cape Town on September 6, Durban on September 10, Johannesburg on September 12).

Public seminars titled “Contemplative Prayer for Today” will be held in Cape Town on September 6, Durban on September 9, and Johannesburg on September 11.

In Johannesburg, Fr Freeman will also present a public seminar titled “Word into Silence” at the Jesuit Institute on September 13.

For further details contact Paul Faller at or on 083 326-4568.