Speakers included Laurence Freeman, Balfour Mount, Sarah Bachelard, Peter Ng and Yvon Théroux. They led a wide-ranging and in-depth exploration of the expansion of John Main’s gift to the world over the past 25 years. The responses to the talks and workshops will lead to new ways of seeing the spiritual and social challenges of our time. To visit the special John Main Seminar 2007 Web site, click on the link above.

Seminar Report by Paul Harris:

25th Anniversary of Benedictine John Main’s Life
Celebrated In Canada, October 18-21, 2007

The 25th anniversary of the life and death of Benedictine monk, John Main, (1926-1982) was celebrated at the John Main Seminar in. Orford, Quebec, October, 18-21. It brought together over 200 speakers, teachers of spirituality, meditators and the general public, from around the world to join in a three day colloquium on the influence of this extraordinary spiritual teacher and prophet.

A number of speakers addressed a wide range of topics related to John Main’s teaching, including: Sara Bachelard, Anglican priest, holder of a doctorate in moral theology, and lecturer in theology at St. Marks National Theological College, Australia; Laurence Freeman, Spiritual guide and Director of the World Community for Christian Meditation, and a Benedictine monk of the Olivetan Congregation; Balfour Mount, Founding Director of the Royal Victoria Hospital Palliative Care Service in Montreal; Peter Ng, Chief executive of the Singapore Investment Corporation; and Yvon Theroux, Professor of Religion and former Chair of Meditation Chretienne, Quebec.

Today the seeds planted in Montreal, where he founded a Benedictine monastery, have grown to embrace meditators in over 100 countries, with 2000 Christian Meditation groups meeting on a weekly basis. In addition a flood of books on his life and teaching have been published this year including works by John Main. These books are: Word into silence; A manual for Christian Meditation; Monastery without walls: The spiritual letters of John Main; Door to Silence: An anthology for Christian Meditation by John Main, and a book with memories and tributes from meditators and friends around the world entitled: John Main by those who knew him. In addition, a new book was launched at the October John Main seminar entitled: Coming Home: Teaching Christian Meditation to Children.

Many tributes over the years affirm John Main’s contribution to contemporary spirituality. Before his death, the famous author of The Golden String, Benedictine, Bede Griffiths, wrote from India: “In my experience John Main is the most important spiritual guide in the Church today. Fr. John has opened the way to the direct experience of God, of truth, of reality, from within the Christian tradition. He was a man of great wisdom, and above all of great love. I do not know of any other method of meditation leading to the experience of the love of God in Christ than that of John Main”.

Rowan Williams, the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, has stated: “John Main effectively put the desert tradition of prayer to work in our day. The roots of his distinctive spirituality lie deep in the fourth and fifth centuries, especially in the works of that great expositor of the desert world, John Cassian. The World Community for Christian Meditation, which continues his mission is, for me, as for many throughout the world, a taste of what a committed contemplative Church might look and feel like”.

Franciscan Richard Rohr OFM, an American spiritual teacher and author, recently said: "John Main, by going to the roots of spirituality, laid a solid and radical foundation for social critique and social involvement. John Main teaches us to move beyond all images for the sake of powerlessness. I have personally been gifted by the wisdom of this man".

Laurence Freeman has succinctly summed up John Mains spiritual role in these words: “John Mains message was the gift of meditation and the need for contemporary Christianity to recover its contemplative depth. Like St Francis being called to “rebuild my church”, John Main is one of those exceptional figures in history who heard his unique call and was obedient even until death”.

. John Main's teaching on prayer today is being handed down primarily in small groups of meditators meeting on a weekly basis in homes, churches, schools hospitals, work places and a variety of other locations. In the weekly meetings "newcomers" can learn how to meditate, and on-going meditators receive the support and encouragement to continue the daily practice of meditation in their own lives each morning and evening. Christian Meditation is not just a middle class or first world interest. In many countries such as Brazil, Indonesia and India, meditation bridges the gap between rich and poor. There are also groups meeting in maximum-security prisons in many countries.

Since his death on December 30, 1982, John Main's influence has coincided with a remarkable world wide renewal and return to the practice of contemplative prayer. John Main tells us that to be with God does not require words, thoughts or images, but the silent consciousness of a Presence. He reminds us that the spiritual pilgrimage invites us to have the courage to become more and more silent. The journey starts, says John Main, when we accept the daily discipline of silence, stillness and simplicity.

Paul Harris
Ottawa

Note: The World Community For Christian Meditation sponsors an international website www.wccm.org and has recently started a new website for young spiritual seekers www.the spiritualsolution.com

A complete list of Seminar presenters here.