Contemplate This! Interview with Rev. Matthew Wright

The Rev. Matthew Wright is an Episcopal priest, writer, and retreat leader working to renew the Christian Wisdom tradition. He serves as priest-in-charge at St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church in Woodstock, NY and is a teacher for Northeast Wisdom and The Contemplative Society, non-profits rooted in the teaching lineage of Cynthia Bourgeault. Matthew lives with his wife, Yanick, alongside the brothers of Holy Cross Monastery in West Park, NY.

Matthew Wright is emerging as one of the most dynamic young leaders in the world of Christian contemplative practice. I've had the honor of becoming friends with Matthew after I first met him several years ago when he was giving a retreat at the Episcopal House of Prayer, which is located in the beautiful North woods on the grounds of my alma mater of St. John's University in Collegeville, MN. We were also both present for the New Contemplative Exchange that gathered in August 2017 at St. Benedict's Monastery in Snowmass, CO. Matthew has a genuine warmth, depth, and enthusiasm that witnesses to the kind of peace that one only encounters in those who have humbly cultivated a quiet faith and trust in God. Two of the things that Matthew highlights particularly well in this interview is the focus on dwelling in the heart - a notion he picks up from his teacher, Cynthia Bourgeault - and his appreciation for being a disciple of Christ while cultivating an interspiritual connection with the contemplative dimension of Islam, which he engages in through Sufi practices. His teachings, which he shares primarily on retreats, has a way of touching people at a very deep level, and I hope you enjoy the peace and warmth of his gentle witness in this interview.

To learn more about Matthew and his work, please visit any of the following resources:

Matthew's blog: [http://awakingheart.com/](http://awakingheart.com/)

Northeast Wisdom: [http://northeastwisdom.org/](http://northeastwisdom.org/)

The Threshold Society: [http://sufism.org/](http://sufism.org/)

The Contemplative Society: [http://contemplative.org/](http://contemplative.org/)