Contemplative Outreach News
Volume 6, Number 1 - March, 1992
The Transfiguration
| A Homecoming | Questions for
Fr. Thomas
The Parish Mission | A Space for Grace
| Updates
Contemplation and Daily Life
_____________________________________________________
Jesus took Peter, James and John off by themselves with
him and led them up a high mountain. He was transfigured before their eyes and
his clothes became dazzling white. Whiter, in fact, than the work of any
bleacher could make them. Elijah appeared to them along with Moses. The two
were in conversation with Jesus. Then Peter spoke to Jesus. 'Rabbi, how good
it is for us to be here. Let us erect three tents on this site, one for you,
one for Moses and one for Elijah.' He hardly knew what to say for they were
all overcome with awe. A cloud came overshadowing them and out of the cloud, a
voice. 'This is my Son, my beloved, listen to him.' Suddenly, looking around
they no longer saw anyone with them, only Jesus.
(Mark 9: 2-8)
In the context of Lent this gospel text follows the temptation of Jesus in
the wilderness, indicating that all ascetical practice, desert experiences, and
penances are a preparation for transfiguration. The experience of God (the
transmission of divine consciousness) is given in the degree that we are
prepared to receive it. The period of Jesus in the wilderness followed his
baptism in the Jordan, where he seems to have been anointed by the Holy Spirit
with the full consciousness of his divine personhood, as well as of his mission.
We are told that the Spirit led him into the wilderness; he, in turn, led the
disciples "up a high mountain."
In the Jordan, the voice from the cloud said, "This is my beloved Son on
whom my favor rests." The Spirit descended in the form of a dove and rested
upon him. Rest is the sign of divine transmission. It is the interior milieu in
which we move toward complete openness to God's presence and action within us.
It means that we too are participating in the Spirit's descent upon Jesus. The
transmission of his consciousness of the Ultimate Reality as Abba, the God of
infinite compassion, is given to us.
The holy mountain is in the context of the divine transmission. It is in the
context of Christ's anointing and his extension of that anointing by the Spirit
to each of us. Our practice is to reduce the obstacles to it and to open
ourselves increasingly to this gentle but firm invasion of truth, light, and
love.
The experience of the disciples is a paradigm of the awakening of spiritual
attentiveness. The first sign of this transmission is what the Fathers of the
Church were pleased to call, "the divine perfume." Perfume is an
analogy of the sweetness of the divine presence. The divine presence, like
pleasurable objects to the external senses, is attractive. The attraction of the
external senses obviously is different from that of the interior experience of
grace which draws us to our center. There is no reflection, no effort, no
activity on our part. The attraction rises up because it is there. As soon as
the obstacles that keep it hidden in ordinary life have been sufficiently
relaxed, the divine perfume slips through the cracks of our defensive mechanisms
and a whiff of the sweetness of God's presence is experienced. it is experienced
interiorly, but distinct from ourselves; it is an attraction to something within
us that we had not known before, at least not in this degree. It is as if God
lifted a corner of the veil and the aroma of the divine sweetness escaped. Like
the perfume in the house of Simon which filled the whole house, the divine
presence fills our entire being with its attractive force. The awakening to this
presence is signified in this instance by Jesus leading the apostles up the high
mountain. The attraction for prayer perseveres even when our actual time of
prayer is a mess, unbearable, boring, going nowhere. Still this mysterious
anointing will not let us go. On some level we still feel the attraction for
silence, solitude, and to be faithful to the practice of prayer.
This is the invitation of Christ: "Come to me all you who labor and are
burdened and I will give you rest." "Rest" refers to interior
quiet, tranquility, the peace of the abyss, the sense of rootedness in being one
with the divine presence.
"Rest" implies that we are beginning to experience the
consciousness of Christ, his awareness of the Godhead as infinite mercy, concern
for everything that is, and servant of creation. This rest is our reassurance at
the deepest level that everything is O.K. The ultimate freedom is to rest in God
in suffering as well as in joy. God was just as present to Jesus in his
abandonment on the cross as on the mount of Transfiguration.
The sense of spiritual touch is a more intimate experience of the awakening
of spiritual attentiveness. We observe the use of touch of Jesus in his
miracles. He touched little children and put his arms around them. This hugging
of children symbolizes the experience of the embrace of God in which we are not
just attracted to the divine presence, but are in immediate proximity to it.
Jesus touched the hands of Peter's mother-in-law and the daughter of Jairus, and
they stood up. The touch of Jesus is the beginning of inner resurrection. It
imparts health at every level of our being.
Jesus offers his most sublime teaching at the Last Supper through the symbol
of taste. The Eucharist effects a union with God that transcends the senses; it
is the interpenetration of spirits. It is the consciousness that can say,
"the Father and I are one." This oneness is symbolized by transforming
the bread and wine into our own flesh and bones. It is the pledge that God wills
to enter into every aspect of our life, even our cellular structure, and by
becoming one with us, to take us totally into himself.
The Transfiguration
| A Homecoming | Questions for
Fr. Thomas
The Parish Mission | A Space for Grace
| Updates
Contemplation and Daily Life
As a teenager, I was drawn to Zen, TM and Herman Hesse. Seamed
strange and out of context in my small Wyoming town--not too many would have
understood. The spiritual quest wouldn't leave me alone. For many years it was a
quiet revolution, gently stretching and shaping my youthful understanding. In
those days, the quest had no name.
In college I made physical journeys that seemed somehow in my
consciousness, to turn into living spiritual quests. Bus trips around America,
hitchhiking though Europe and a footstep into Asia-reinforcing for me a growing
tendency to see the life as a series of powerful lessons. I called it the
"traveling state of mind." And I longed for it to be with me always.
Its true name was still unknown.
I am now married with two children. My need for spiritual
nurturing is as strong as ever. Centering Prayer is satisfying that need like
nothing else has ever done. The search at last has a name. I am in search of
union with God and my true self. What joy! What deliverance! I no longer have to
seek out exotic and foreign spiritual practices. I don't have to go half way
around the world to find a style of prayer that fills my insides up. I now see
in this beautiful context of Christianity, and ordinary life, full of children
and work and groceries (and 40 minutes time out), as the journey. It feels like
coming home.
Barb Luther
The Transfiguration
| A Homecoming | Questions for
Fr. Thomas
The Parish Mission | A Space for Grace
| Updates
Contemplation and Daily Life
Q. You have taught that a crucial part of the spiritual
journey is the dismantling of the false-self that developed when we were
children and deprived of essential needs. How do we break that cycle? It seems
that we now know the need to raise children lovingly and yet children are more
neglected than ever. How do we work with that?
A. The family is the greatest missionary territory
there is. Children depend for their emotional development on the dedication of
parents who see them as their chief responsibility. The greatest gift parents
can make to God is to bring to those children the kind of enlightened affection,
support, firmness and love that would forestall the development of the
false-self system. It might be useful to teach children as soon as possible
about the emotional programs for happiness and how they work. If young people
could understand that teaching, it would save them an immense amount of trouble.
At 16 or 17, the intuitive faculties are ready to go. There is a natural
disposition to ask the basic questions of life: Where did I come from? Where am
I going? What is the meaning of life? But if they are already programmed by
heavy security, power and pleasure drives, the intuitive side of their human
potential will be pushed to the back burner and its energy co-opted for bigger
and better happiness projects that can't possibly work.
Q. I find myself using the sacred word less than I have
in the past. Is that okay?
A. Its use will normally vary from one period of prayer
to the next. The principle is always, use it to go towards greater peace,
silence, and beyond. Pick it up or lay it down according to its usefulness. It
is not a vehicle to go from the surface of your faculties to the depths. Rather,
it helps to establish a condition that enables one to go there. Suppose I have a
ball in my hand and stretch out my arm. If I open my hand, the ball will fall.
Opening my hand is not the means by which the ball falls to the floor. It is
rather the condition of the ball falling to the floor. The sacred word affirms
one's basic intention to consent to God's presence and action within. The
attraction of grace takes over after that.
The Transfiguration
| A Homecoming | Questions for
Fr. Thomas
The Parish Mission | A Space for Grace
| Updates
Contemplation and Daily Life
The Parish Mission
Blending the Old and the New
The Pastor told me that he has a yearly mission for his
parish. (A mission is a traditional way to set time aside, usually 3 or 4 days,
for prayer and reflection for the whole parish). He wanted to introduce the
people to the spiritual journey beyond 'good moral' living. What could we do for
the parish? The response was a blending of the traditional format of the parish
mission with the content of the 6 hour introductory workshop.
It was entitled a 'Taste of Silence'. This is the format.
During the weekend masses, the theme of the homily is that prayer is a
relationship with a brief introduction to the Lectio Divina tradition. The
people are invited to attend the mission.
The actual mission begins on Sunday evening and ends on
Tuesday evening. The three evening sessions are 2 hours each. The first two
evenings end with benediction and the last evening with the celebration of
Eucharist. The topics for the first evening are the Spiritual Journey, Prayer as
Relationship, Lectio Divina with an experience of Lectio. On the second evening
there is a review of the first evening, comments on contemplation, a
presentation and experience of Centering Prayer, sharing with comments on
thoughts. The last evening is a review of the first two sessions and a
presentation on thoughts and unloading, a practice of centering prayer and
within the closing liturgy the homily is on the effects and extending the
practice.
On Monday and Tuesday there are morning sessions lasting 2 1/2
hours covering the same materials as in the evening. This is to accomodate
senior citizens, mothers with young children and any others unable to come in
the evening. The sacrament of reconciliation is celebrated after each session
and the afternoons are available for individual conferences.
Throughout the mission people are invited to participate in
the 6 week follow-up which is conducted by local people and consists of the
first 5 tapes of the Spiritual Journey and a prayer session.
This is an adult education and enrichment program for a parish
on three levels. At the week-end Masses the parishioners become acquainted with
prayer as relationship and Leccto Divina. They realize that prayer is more than
'just getting one's prayers in'. Those who attend the mission receive a deeper
understanding and have the opportunity to experience the prayer. Those who
attend the Follow-up not only experience the prayer together but have an
opportunity to understand more fully the conceptual background.
Parish missions have been conducted in six different states
(Colorado, Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, and Oregon). If you are
interested in more information, please contact the National Office.
Fr. Carl Arico
The Transfiguration
| A Homecoming | Questions for
Fr. Thomas
The Parish Mission | A Space for Grace
| Updates
Contemplation and Daily Life
A Space For Grace
"Why are you so faithful to Centering Prayer?," my
husband Ferdy asked me recently. " What effect would you say is occurring
in your daily life because of it?" For a few moments I thought and mulled
and all of a sudden the words flashed in my mind. Centering prayer takes me
totally inside myself and completely outside. I was never really able to get to
either extreme before, and now find myself comfortably in both places.
Going inside will speak to most of you who are practicing
centering prayer, the silence, the solitude, the stillness. The feeling of being
centered with God--it creates the space for grace. After centering my mind,
heart, and soul, I feel particularly open to God's word for me, His direction
for me. Going completely outside is the more difficult area. I could have
happily stayed inside, alone, and unchallenged.
Years ago when I first heard Fr. Thomas speak about the
dismantling of the false self and the freedom that comes with it, I realized how
much I needed that in order to share the ministry of Food for the Poor with my
husband. The loss of privacy and the public image Food for the Poor demands was
difficult for me. I feel the fruits of the prayer so deeply that now after six
years, I do everything from a centered place. Writing, speaking publicly,
traveling, and entertaining guests and missionaries flows easily with much less
fatigue and more serenity. The space was created, and true to His word, God came
and filled it abundantly.
I'm so grateful to the folks who brought this into my life,
Wayne Teasdale, Fr. Basil Pennington, and Fr. Thomas Keating. Gail Fiztpatrick-Hopler
and Mary Mrozowski gave me the female perspective. And mostly for the gift of
partnership with my husband Ferdy.
The gift of grace that the practice of prayer has brought to
our family and ministry has been a tremendous blessing.
Patti Mahfood
Anyone interested in learning more about Food For The Poor may
write to :
Food For The Poor
550 SW l2th Avenue - Dept 9662
Deerfield Beach, FL 33442
1 (800) 427-9104
The Transfiguration
| A Homecoming | Questions for
Fr. Thomas
The Parish Mission | A Space for Grace
| Updates
Contemplation and Daily Life
Chrysalis House
February, 1992 marked the first anniversary of our move to our spacious new
home. We continue to offer personal days of prayer, structured weekend retreats,
ten day retreats, extended stays and formational programs.
Colorado Springs
A Contemplative Outreach of Colorado Springs has been formed with the
endorsement of the national office. It is based on the principles of
Contemplative Outreach to provide support and networking for those interested in
growing in the spirituality fostered by the Centering Prayer method. At present,
there is no central office space or budget for operating the programs. However,
what is important is that the programs that were mostly going on independently
before, are now interfacing and presenting a much more cooperative profile. They
are now offering a day of Intensive Centering Prayer every month, along with
regular Introductory programs.
Houston
Contemplative Outreach Houston is continuing efforts to bring Centering Prayer
to the Hispanic community in Houston. An Introductory workshop in Spanish was
presented on December l4th by Patricia Roberts. Fr. Carl Arico will be
facilitating a mini-retreat January 17/18 at the Christian Renewal Center just
outside Houston. The CRC will now be promoting workshops on Centering Prayer in
cooperation with existing Contemplative Outreach activities in the Greater
Houston area.
A mini-retreat based on St. Theresa of Avila's Interior
Castle was well received by 80 attendees. The program was presented by poet-
contemplative Barbara Benjamin who stressed the importance of the practice of
Centering Prayer Our local "interested" mailing list is nearing
700.
Fred Eckart
Erie, PA
Sr. Rita panciera (Erie, PA) and Therese Dush (Clearfield, PA) are offering
a nine month (one weekend per month) program, Contemplation for Daily Living.
The program is sponsored by the Mercy Institute for Religious Edcation and Lay
Ministry. The nine weekend program seeks to enable participants to integrate
contemplative prayer into daily life. Centering Prayer, Fr. Thomas's Spiritual
Journey tapes, silence, solitude, community sharing and private conference time
are all a part of the dynamic process. Eleven people are participating with Sr.
Rita in Erie, and eighteen are with Therese in Clearfield.
Wyoming
Greetings from Wyoming! As of December 1991, we have two Centering Prayer groups
in our small city of Cheyenne. Each group numbers approximately 8-15 people.
Several members of one of our groups drove from Laramie, a city 50 miles to the
west, for the introductory video sessions. They are now organizing an ongoing
support group of their own in Laramie. Fourteen of us drove to Denver on October
24, 1991 to attend a Colorado Contemplative Outreach mini-retreat with Fr.
Keating. It was a marvelous experience to center with a group of 200 and a great
pleasure to meet Fr. Keating! Sr. Therese Steiner of Cheyenne will be conducting
introductory centering workshops in Casper, Riverton and Cheyenne this winter.
We are especially thrilled to tell you that Fr. Arico will be visiting Cheyenne
in October of 1992 and that Fr. Keating will be making his first trip to Wyoming
in March of 1993!
New York City
The Holy Spirit has been active recently in the New York City area. After a
three-year hiatus, introductory workshops in centering prayer are again being
offered, bi-annually, at the St. Francis Church Center, 139 West 31 st Street.
The initial response to the reinstatement of this course was so enthusiastic
that it only
continues to prove how much the people in the New York metropolitan area are
thirsting for a deeper prayer life. With one in ten Americans living within a
fifty-mile radius of New York City, Contemplative Outreach has its work cut out
for it to try to reach as many people as we can.
New Yorkers are sometimes pictured as cold, sophisticates, who
have such a plethora of cultural, intellectual and spiritual activities from
which to choose that they hardly ever stay long enough at one thing to become
totally committed to it. It was with that backdrop that the members of the New
York Contemplative Outreach staff--all commissioned by the presenters training
course--approached the Fall 1991 course at St. Francis. What a surprise we had!
We found the 21 participants enthusiastic, responsive, and totally committed to
getting as much out of the course as they could. In fact, by the fifth week, so
much bonding had taken place that it had turned into a loving and sympathetic
community, and almost everyone signed up for the follow-up course--with a couple
of people planning to start their own prayer groups.
Surely, the Holy Spirit is alive and well and living in New
York City, and we are looking forward to many more opportunities to show this to
New Yorkers.
Sanctuary House
Sanctuary House, overlooking 40 miles of Rocky Mountains in the Snowmass
Valley of Colorado, hopefully has added to the beauty and sanctity of our valley
by the completing of its meditation prayer hall, which connects our retreat
house to the main house. Thus a mysterious year-and-a-half process of bringing
this dream to fulfillment has given birth to a space that exceeded all our
hopes. The result is a room that speaks silence, that by its very design and
rendering invites participation in the Sacred.
The dedication in mid-August, preceded by 30 people sitting in Centering Prayer
prior to an intimate inaugural mass said by Fr. Thomas Keating, was a stirring
delight. Conducted by Fr. Theophone of St. Benedict's Monastery, the dedication
ritual officially offered the entirety of Sanctuary House to the service of God.
Then came the
celebratory shared-dinner, a feast attended by 90 well wishers, which also
honored Barbara's 50th birthday. It was a day unlike any of the participants had
witnessed, for the uniqueness of God's will in motion seems always to be
excessively refreshing.
Sanctuary House now offers daily Centering Prayer sits, as
well as monthly day-long sits (we've just completed our third), and we also plan
to have quarterly weekend retreats.
The Transfiguration
| A Homecoming | Questions for
Fr. Thomas
The Parish Mission | A Space for Grace
| Updates
Contemplation and Daily Life
A friend of mine once asked me how I could possibly find the
time to pray having four children and a full time job. My reply was in the words
of Evelyn Newman who said, " I am too busy not to pray." My life is so
hectic and frantic that if I didn't take time to be with God at the center of
myself I would be swallowed up in confusion and chaos.
You might say that I slipped into Centering Prayer
accidentally. Once, as a young girl, when I had to make a very difficult
decision I found myself inspired to let the answer well up from the center of
myself. For nine days whenever anxieties would assail me regarding the decision
I would repeat inside myself, "Come. Holy Spirit." Then, during times
of prayer, I would just present myself to God as I was without trying to say any
particular prayers or think pious thoughts. At the end of those nine days I
experienced a peace that I had never known before and an appropriate decision
did surface effortlessly.
Later on in my life, after having three children in three and
a half years, I was completely overwhelmed with duties and responsibilities. At
first, I considered going away on vacation to regain my strength, but realized
that at the end of that period I would still have to face the same situations.
Instead , I took the money that I would have used for the trip and got a baby
sitter for two hours each day. During that time I went to our local church and
just sat in God's presence. Again, I didn't try to think profound thoughts or
say particular prayers. I just let whatever thoughts or feelings that would well
up within me come, all in God's presence.
When it was the time to be myself before God, amazing things
happened. Not only did I discover a new peace but I became aware that prayer was
becoming simpler and deeper. My feelings were becoming much more integrated and
I was able to see my life in greater perspective.
One of the things I discovered; there are innumerable
opportunities to pray even in the busy life of the mother of a large family,
once one gets one's priorities straight. I realized that although there are two
great commandments, "You shall love the Lord your God with your whole
heart, your whole strength and your whole soul,' and "You shall love your
neighbor as yourself," I could not really practice that second commandment
unless God is the center of my life. From experience, I knew that my human love
was too limited and could too easily degenerate into selfishness and
manipulation.
So, it is not a question of searching for God or straining our
minds to think of Him or to pray to Him: God is the very air that we breathe,
the atmosphere that we live in. Our quest is not to look up to find God; rather
to look with- in, to look at our world and the people who live in it. As
Theihard de Chardin so beautifully expressed it, we are already living in the
Divine Milieu. Prayer is merely the means for opening our awareness to a reality
which already exists! Carol M. Powell
The Transfiguration
| A Homecoming | Questions for
Fr. Thomas
The Parish Mission | A Space for Grace
| Updates
Contemplation and Daily Life
