Deep Silent Retreat with Liz Watson
Deep Silent Retreat – Lessons from Jonah, the whale, and others
Leader: Liz Watson
Date: 17 – 25 Jan, 2026
Location: Bonnevaux Retreat Centre, Bonnevaux, France
Some Biblical stories, such as the story of Jonah and the whale, have found a firm place in popular imagination from childhood onwards. But what sort of wisdom do they hold out to us as we seek a deeper understanding for our lives?
For those who are already practicing meditation this retreat offers a unique opportunity to join with other practitioners and go to a deeper and simpler place – together in solitude into the ‘great silence’.
There are seven daily periods of meditation, times of contemplative walking and a 15-minute personal session with one of the leaders of the retreat. Apart from a short morning teaching by the retreat leader and the contemplative Eucharist in the evening there are no spoken prayers or readings. It is a full silence and a loving and friendly experience of what the silence reveals to us – something that is easier, more natural than you might have thought. Many who have done it – once or annually – say it has re-simplified them and reminded them that they had not lost their innate capacity for inner peace and clarity.
Liz Watson
Liz Watson is a member of The World Community for Christian Meditation and lives by the sea in Cornwall,UK. She has served the meditation community in various capacities over the past 28 years, including a term as UK National Coordinator. She now focuses on teaching meditation in a wide range of settings – speaking and writing – leading retreats and offering spiritual direction. For WCCM she has recorded the CD ‘Images of Meditation’ with its accompanying booklet, contributed chapters to the book ‘Journey to the Heart’ and to the website ‘Contemplative Path through the Crisis’.
Read more about Liz Watson