Contemplative Outreach News
Volume 4, Number 2 - September, 1991

The Transfiguration | Centering Prayer Captures the Philippines
In the Tradition of St. Benedict | Reflections
Our Need of Community | Reports
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The Transfiguration, Part II
by Father Thomas Keating

About eight days after he said this, he took Peter, John, and James and went up the mountain to pray. While he was praying his faced changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem. Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." But he did not know what he was saying. While he was still speaking a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my chosen Son: listen to him." After the Voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They fell silent and did not at that time tell anyone what they had seen.
(Luke 9:28-36)

Let us consider the context of this glorification of Jesus' body. It seems that an inner light that was normally hidden emerged and grew so bright that it saturated his clothes and produced an extraordinary radiance. The divine person of the Word is the source of this light. Jesus miraculously hid this light during his lifetime. We must see the transfiguration as Jesus' normal state of being since there was nothing inherent in his humanity to limit his glory. This was the moment when Jesus was able to be himself. Like Moses who had to veil his face after he came down from the Mount of Sinai because his face had become so radiant that none of the Israelites dared to look at him, Jesus had to veil the present of the divine Person within his humanity. Faith penetrates this veil and touches the Eternal Word. Mary of Bethany listening to his word was penetrating the details of his humanity and Opening to the divine Person who possessed it.

This is precisely what we do in contemplative prayer. We let go of the contents of our rational faculties and the limitations of their ways of knowing. Our awareness slips between the cracks of thinking, feeling and perceiving and fastens on the person of Christ Jesus' words to the Samaritan woman, "I who speak to you am he," invite us to see Christ in every person and indeed in every event. The cosmos is the body of Christ in varied forms of expression. As faith grows, the disguises of God fall away and we perceive the divine presence and its activity within and around us all the time.

Thus this incident is an instruction in contemplative prayer and its fruits in daily life. Having enjoyed this awakening of faith, the apostles returned to the plain, "seeing Jesus only," words that refer to the perception of the divine presence everywhere.

For the three apostles the Transfiguration was just one experience. Its special grace did not establish them in an abiding state of God-consciousness. But it was clearly a decisive event in their lives. Once we realize that this text is a mirror reflecting what is taking place in us through contemplative prayer, it also becomes a decisive event in our lives.

"Jesus took Peter, James and John and led them up a mountain to pray." They did not take themselves. In contemplative prayer we may have the sense of being carried or led by the hand, or even of being thrust into this experience.

The mountain represents a place apart, freedom from the cares and preoccupations of the plain which represents everyday life. In coming into a retreat atmosphere, we too are in a place part. It may be that God has waited a long time to get us into this particular location, time and company. We might have received the same grace in other situations. But God often chooses circumstances that are just right to impress upon us a special grace.

"Peter and those with him had fallen in to a deep sleep." This sleep refers not to somnolence but to the rest of contemplation, the rest that is the result of letting go of our ordinary stream of consciousness with its particular contents. We move beyond thoughts, feelings and perceptions and are led by the Spirit into the solitude of our inmost being.

Notice that the apostles fell into a deep sleep. It was the rest that comes from profound absorption and self forgetfulness, signs that one is withdrawn from the external senses and even, temporarily at least, from the false self. In this rest, everything is quiet, we become non-reflective, and our awareness rests in the divine presence. This presence is undifferentiated, without particularities; it is simply present. The deep rest associated with it bonds us with God and prepares us for God's transforming communications. It also leads to the unloading of the unconscious.

The unconscious can unload in two ways. One is the unloading of the repressed emotional material of our personal history. This is the world of the dark nights which bring the false self to an end. One is led to the truth about oneself to the recognition of the dark side of one's personality, one's mixed motivation and the emotional damage of a lifetime. The unloading of the unconscious also refers to the divine energy that dwells within us but has been addressed in the course of the development of the false self.

Having enjoyed the deep sleep of contemplation, the apostles woke up. Awakening is a key word in the contemplative understanding of the gospel. One of the fruits of awakening is a heightened spiritual perception. Hence, "they saw his glory and the two men who were standing with him." The delight in seeing Jesus' glory bathed the apostles inwardly as well as outwardly and left them with the eager desire to prolong their enjoyment. Peter expressed his desire in the words, "Lord, it is good to be here!" Who would not want to stay on the mount of Transfiguration? It is easy to say, "be detached from divine consolation," but the more intense the enjoyment, the harder it is to return to the ordinary course of life.

Peter "didn't really know what he was saying." He was just expressing his exuberance. While he was still speaking, "a cloud came and overshadowed them." This indicated the deeper communication that was now possible because of the bonding with God that took place in the deep sleep of contemplation. Overshadowing is a key word in scripture for the most profound experiences. Solomon and the entire congregation were overshadowed by the cloud that filled the Temple on the occasion of its dedication. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit at the annunciation.

From the cloud came a voice which said, This is my chosen one. Listen to him." Here there is a divine encounter similar to Jesus' words to the Samaritan woman. In her case, the intensity of the experience was veiled by Jesus' humanity. Here there is the immediate perception of the divine presence reducing the false self to silence.

As the apostles lay on the ground, Jesus approached and touched them, banishing their fears: It is characteristic of divine communications to create a certain awe in the beginning, but they quickly become reassuring and consoling. The unexpectedness and profundity of such an encounter catches one's security system unawares and it registers flight. But then the divine touch places a great big kiss, so to speak, in the middle of one's spirit and an immense sweetness flows through all the senses and faculties, establishing them in profound peace.

Having been reassured by Jesus, they descended the mountain and returned to everyday life, bringing with them this contemplative perspective. Thus, once the divine presence is established as part of ordinary reality, they perceive the divine person in Jesus and find God in everything.

In similar fashion, contemplative prayer awakens us to the consciousness of Christ within us and to his personal experience of Ultimate Reality as Abba, the God of infinite compassion, concern, and caring for every living thing.

The Transfiguration | Centering Prayer Captures the Philippines
In the Tradition of St. Benedict | Reflections
Our Need of Community | Reports

Centering Prayer Captures the Philippines
by Lita Salinas

In November of 1988 Manila had its first taste of Centering Prayer. A two day introductory workshop was given to a group of lay and religious at the Parish Center of the Santuario de San Antonio Parish in Makati. Fr. Basil Pennington slowly guided the crowd of 600 people to their first taste of this coming to the presence of God in silence.

Fr. Basil also introduced Centering Prayer to a group of Diocesan priests at a one day workshop held at Villa San Miguel, the official residence of Jaime Cardinal Sin, Archbishop of Manila.

The interest in the contemplative dimension of the gospel did not wane as time went on. In fact it accelerated. In July of 1989 Fr. Thomas Keating was invited. to come to Manila to give more intensive seminars and workshops.

The first weekend of Fr. Keating's arrival was met with such enthusiasm that 600 people attended the seminar in the Parish Center of San Antonio. This was followed by a 3 day retreat for about 60 diocesan and religious priests from the Manila area. Next was a 3 day retreat for all the military chaplains from the entire Armed Forces of the Philippines; then another two day workshop for a group of 1,600 people, both lay and religious, held at the largest theatre of the Philippine International Convention Center in Manila. Fr. Thomas has an unusual reservoir of energy! He did not allow himself the luxury of jet lag, change of climate and food, but proceeded resolutely with a hectic non-stop schedule. He shuttled back and forth from Manila to the different retreat houses outside the city.

In July, 1990, Fr. Thomas came back to Manila in response to a request from Cardinal Sin to be the retreat master for the annual retreat of the Catholic Bishop's Conference of the Philippines. Over 100 bishops and two cardinals were present for the five day retreat. A tremendous openness was evidenced at the Bishop's retreat, and is currently being reflected in the number of requests that the same retreat be given in various dioceses.

After this retreat Fr. Thomas was asked to be one of the main speakers at a two day National Prayer Congress attended by nearly 4,000 people from different prayer groups all over the country. It was held at the Plenary Hall of the Philippine International. Convention Center in Manila. How Fr. Thomas could lead this number of people to silently follow him into complete silence is truly inspiring. When he began to pray the Our Father, bringing the Centering period to a close, the entire audience applauded spontaneously!

This was followed by another week spent in Naga, an hour's plane ride north of Manila. Here Fr. Thomas gave a five day retreat for priests from the various dioceses in the province. He also spent a day with about 400 lay people, and a second day with the Carmelites and the Redemptoristine nuns.

Flying back to Manila gave Fr. Thomas just a short breather before starting a workshop to an audience of 500 lay and religious at the PCI Bank Towers in Makati.

The following day at a retreat for 160 persons Fr. Thomas experienced his first earthquake. As he was explaining what the contemplative walk was all about, the whole place began to shake. Fr. Thomas probably suspected that with his very hectic pace he was just feeling a little out of balance...until someone had to mention that this was an earthquake. Despite the disaster and the concern it created among the participants, no one left the retreat.

The work has borne so much fruit! The response to Fr. Thomas' visit was tremendous--numerous requests continue to be received for additional workshops. Our small contemplative ministry in the Parish of San Antonio is bombarded with requests both from the lay and the religious. We try to give as much as our time, energy and space can accommodate. Centering Prayer has already made a difference in our country. Our heartfelt thanks and gratitude to both Fr. Thomas and Fr. Basil!

The Transfiguration | Centering Prayer Captures the Philippines
In the Tradition of St. Benedict | Reflections
Our Need of Community | Reports

In The Tradition of St. Benedict....

The Order of Christ Centered Ministries (OCCM) is an Episcopal order located in Denver, Colorado. It is especially dedicated to calling people to a more contemplative life with a regular discipline of prayer. The Order was founded by The Rev. David F. Morgan, a canon at St. John's Cathedral in Denver. On March 29, 1991 Fr. Morgan was notified that OCCM, where he serves as Prior and rector, has been officially recognized as a religious order by the Bishop's Standing Committee of the national Episcopal Church.

The Order of Christ Centered Ministries is a community of Christians who take vows of prayer and service. They work under the guidance and encouragement of St. Benedict's Trappist Monastery and Fr. Thomas Keating. OCCM was founded in 1973 by a core group of seven members who are still with the community of ten. The order has developed an international reputation as a model organization for promoting contemplation.

One of the ministries of OCCM is Contemplative Outreach Fellowship, which is also co-sponsored by St. John's Cathedral. Through this program there are weekly support groups for Centering Prayer, as well as retreats, workshops and lectures on Centering Prayer. In this particular ministry the Order works closely with Contemplative Outreach, Ltd. Like monastic orders throughout the ages, Christ Center Ministries seeks through community and personal prayer to discover the Christ within and to share with others the Christian message of unity, outreach, consolation and joy.

The Transfiguration | Centering Prayer Captures the Philippines
In the Tradition of St. Benedict | Reflections
Our Need of Community | Reports

Reflections on Formation for Presenter's Training . . .

Since August of 1989 there have been 6 "Formation for Presenter Training" workshops scattered throughout the country. Below is a reflection by Paul Fiorini, Coordinator of Contemplative Outreach Northwest, on his experience as a participant in one of those trainings.

A few reflections on my eight days in Amarillo (Texas).

I went to be trained in how to present a six-hour introductory Centering Prayer Workshop. It was held at a Redemptionist retreat house in l00 degree weather. We were serenaded by a symphony of locusts, and I enjoyed the night sky that revealed a panorama of a thousand winking eyes.

The days were full: prayer, Eucharist, breakfast, a presentation of material by a faculty member, questions and answers, small group discussion, lunch, time to relax and prepare your presentation, prayer, dinner, small group presentations of the morning's material and feedback, and the night was closed with Q & A and prayer.

Out of this experience I have taken three hopes and I wish to share them with you.

First, I was personally affirmed in my group of the material and in my abilities to present it to an audience. I hope an opportunity will arise for me to present an introductory workshop in Centering Prayer within the year. I was particularly complimented for my juggling during a presentation.

Second, we had a tremendous sense of community during a short eight-day workshop. The prayer, liturgies, modeling by faculty, and the small and large group process helped facilitate this rich sense of community. Also, we were a diverse collection of people from most Christian denominations and a few people who defy categorization. My hope is that we can grow in this deeper sense of community within an ecumenical framework limited only by the God who desires our transformation and the world's.

Finally, Fr. Thomas was marvelous in his talks and delightfully silly. However, even more importantly was the form of Church he modeled and his living witness to the transformation God has wrought in him. On the last day we all came together to discuss how we might improve this six-hour introductory workshop. For the next two hours the material and method that Fr. Thomas and others have developed over the years was relentlessly challenged and critiqued. Thomas was a living icon of "letting go," as again and again he said, "You're right," or "I never thought of that." It was an empowering of a group of people by a very wise teacher. It was truly exhilarating.

The Transfiguration | Centering Prayer Captures the Philippines
In the Tradition of St. Benedict | Reflections
Our Need of Community | Reports

Our Need of Community
by David Frenette, Chrysalis House

I gave some workshops on Centering Prayer and also assisted him on his retreats, one of which was a five-day Centering Retreat for all 110 Catholic Bishops of the Philippines. It was a rich, interesting and very busy time for me, when I learned first hand about another country and the way faith is expressed in another culture. The Filipinos I met in those few weeks seemed to have a simpler kind of faith than Americans--simpler perhaps because their country is almost all Catholic and not exposed to the plurality of religions and values we in this country are--simpler perhaps because theirs is a developing country and not as technological and complex as ours--simpler perhaps because they did not seem to analyze or intellectualize about prayer and faith as much as we do. They were very interested in Centering Prayer. Fr. Thomas addressed a capacity audience in the largest auditorium in the country and had almost 4,000 people Centering one morning.

One important insight occurred during a visit to a prayer group of about 8 people at a parish in Manila. For two years this group of women had been meeting each Monday morning for prayer together. One woman later shared with me that it was this prayer group that gave her support and strength to meet the challenges and problems of her daily life--providing for her family, coping with political and social instability, relating to her husband, dealing with all the events of life, from power 'brown-outs' to the heat--from a heart more centered in Christ. Without the prayer and the prayer group she didn't know how she could manage any more. And indeed, I could see from the depth of the silence during Centering, the quality of their personal sharing during lectio divina, and their warm welcome of me, that Christ was present creating a real Christian community among them. Here were people committing themselves to God and the contemplative journey in the same ways and with the same need as people I knew half way around the world. I could have forgotten where I was and thought I was visiting a prayer group in the United States, had it not been for the fact that when Centering ended they all picked up their fans to fan themselves, and that during their sharing they sometimes spoke in Tagalog (their native dialect) and sometimes in English.

The people from Centering Prayer groups I have grown to know in the recent years are a continual witness to me of the transforming effects of community. Often a whole prayer group from Long Island or another local area will come for a weekend Centering Prayer retreat to experience the power of community sharing deep prayer in the established silence and support of Chrysalis House. I see how God has called them into community and how they grow in community over time. They support one another's prayer practice year after year and serve as examples to one another of Christ's transforming love, of human vulnerability, and of compassion to one another, sometimes shown in the simple act of listening to one another's lectio divina experience without judging the other person.

For it is God's presence in community that calls us into ourselves as human beings and--at times--beyond ourselves, to just be for others. As someone who lives 'full time' in a contemplative community, I experience this dynamis often. I am called more and more to reveal my humanity to my community and to myself my joys, my dreams, my failures, my weaknesses, and my dark side. Because God is present in some mysterious way, I am affirmed and come into my own being. Likewise, I am also called to let go of my attachments, my emotional program, my self--in very deep ways at times--to allow Christ's compassionate love to act in me for another. It is from this space that even deeper acts of forgiveness can come.

I think this is why we need community so much and why prayer groups, facilitator groups and places for retreat and formation like Chrysalis House are so important in our contemplative journeys. We have to meet, be supported and challenged by this hidden invisible God in other people, both in our prayer communities and periodically on retreat. This is a universal human experience. An important insight for me was to experience this in the Philippines. Those woman from that prayer group and others were experiencing God's presence in their community and being transformed by it in the same way as were my friends from prayer groups in the states. Climates, languages, and the way faith is expressed may be different in some countries, but God, people and the human need for community are the same.

Wherever we find it, I think community is a true gift and something we must continually work at and give ourselves to. It is important not to take it for granted. This one simple yet profound insight was the gift of my trip to the Philippines. And it seems that, in keeping with God's humor, I had to go around the world to recognize and affirm in a new way what was always present to me.

The Transfiguration | Centering Prayer Captures the Philippines
In the Tradition of St. Benedict | Reflections
Our Need of Community | Reports

Reports from the Regions

Beginning with this newsletter, each subsequent edition will contain several reports from various areas or regions of Contemplation Outreach around the country, and in this case, the world. We hope (eventually) to be able to publish contributions from all our areas.

Contemplative Outreach United Kingdom - Elizabeth Smith, Coordinator:
We're perhaps a little quieter here in England. The attitude is 'let's wait and see how it goes.' For those who found it fits what they're looking for, there is a great deal of enthusiasm, but on the whole it has been treated with caution. We have a wonderful spiritual advisor to our group, Fr. Ignatius de Pont, who also does retreat work with Contemplative Orders. Through him we have been able to work with the Carmelites and the Poor Clares.

The group began in December of 1989, and has become a strong organization with three advisors who are priests and a group of committed and interested people who came together to act as advisors and helpers. Six prayer workshops are given in parishes and school halls, with a follow-up day, a day of information, including Lectio Divina and Centering Prayer. People began to ask for more, so we began Introductory weekends and Follow-up weekends. We have only just begun to introduce Intensive weekends--they went very well. We have 12 groups from the South of Scotland to the Southern coast of England. People are now asking for training, so we will have a facilitators course in September.

Central Florida - Sr. Claire Gregg, Coordinator:
We are growing slowly, quietly in our practice of Centering Prayer and, hopefully, in our relationship with the Lord. Through Fr. Thomas' teaching we are becoming informed and are being formed by the Holy Spirit herself. At this point in our fourth year, we have a sense of unity among our 18 prayer groups. Our physical focal point is San Pedro Spiritual Life Center near Orlando. In December, seven of our people took the presenter's training. Hopefully these new presenters will soon begin offering the Introductory workshops in areas distant from San Pedro. David Frenette from Chrysalis House rounded out our year by offering several Open Mind, Open Heart workshops in June.

Contemplative Outreach Houston - Fred Eckart, Coordanator:
Fred Eckart has been presenting Introductory Workshops the 1st and 2nd Thursday of each month. All-day workshops have been presented Saturdays at Episcopal chuches in Houston, Sequin, and College Station as well as St. Mary's Hospital in Port Arthur--all within 150 miles of Houston. Additional workshops have been presented at Covenant House for the staff. We outreached to the Diocese of Shreveport, LA and to St. Therese Church in Jackson, Mississippi with Fr. Thomas' videos. In addition, Glen Lipskey presented a workshop in Spanish for the Houston Hispanic Community. Ninety attended that workshop.

Contemplative Outreach Cleveland - Sr. Joanne Marie Mascha, Coordinator:
At the 'Heart of it all' in Ohio we experienced a year of growth, both in membership and in depth of prayer. During the earlier part of 1990, from January to June the Spiritual Journey Course #1 was offered at St. Paul Shrine in the heart of Cleveland, while the more advanced segments of the series were offered at St. Paschal Baylon Church. In June, 1990 we began to meet at St. Paul Shrine every Saturday for Mornings of Prayer, viewing the Spiritual Journey tapes, enjoying a featured speaker, and on October 20, 1990 to celebrate our third anniversary as Contemplative Outreach of Ohio! Besides these gatherings, our local support groups in six different parish settings have been meeting regularly.

Contemplative Outreach in Michigan - Msgr. Olin Murdick , Coordinator:
Contemplative Outreach is reaching out in Michigan. In January I talked with Bishop Donovan of Kalamazoo in whose diocese Fran Plude and I conducted two Centering Prayer workshops in September of 1990. He reported that he continues to hear enthusiastic comments from persons who have experienced the benefits of Centering Prayer. I conducted a Centering Prayer Workshop for the Diocese of Lansing in June. The Diocesan Ministries Institute (Saginaw) has asked me to conduct Centering Prayer workshops in connection with their summer school program.

The Transfiguration | Centering Prayer Captures the Philippines
In the Tradition of St. Benedict | Reflections
Our Need of Community | Reports