An Advent Quiet Day: Waiting in the Dark, Watching for the Light
About this event
Saturday 5 December 2026, 9:30am to 4:00pm
Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Simon Stock, 41 Kensington Church Street, London W8 4BB
Advent is a season of the night. The Church waits in darkness for a light it has been promised. St John of the Cross, whose feast falls inside Advent, spent his life describing that same terrain: the soul in the dark, learning that the night is not God’s absence but His nearest approach. This quiet day takes the season’s movement, from longing through the night and the watch to the dawn, and walks you through it.
The day has two talks, each followed by long silence.
Morning: Into the Night (talk at 9:45am)
Longing and darkness. Following St John of the Cross’s poem The Dark Night from desire into the night, where God comes closer than the senses can bear.
Afternoon: Towards the Dawn (talk at 1:30pm)
Watching and promise. Keeping the lamp lit with Elijah, John the Baptist and Mary, for the light the darkness did not overcome.
Schedule
9:30 Arrival and coffee
9:45 Talk I: Into the Night
10:30 Silent adoration, reflection and confession
12:00 Midday prayer and benediction
12:30 Lunch
1:30 Talk II: Towards the Dawn
2:15 Silent reflection
2:30 Group conversations
3:00 Mass
4:00 Social