Six-Day Centering Prayer Retreat: Intensive & Post-Intensive

The Program

This retreat is designed to provide an opportunity for those who have an established practice of Centering Prayer to deepen their practice in an atmosphere of profound silence and community support. All participants observe silence from the opening to the closing of the retreat and share a schedule of several hours of group Centering Prayer daily.

Retreatants on the Intensive Track receive the added support of daily videos, with discussion, of Thomas Keating’s teachings on the Spiritual Journey. Those on the Post-Intensive Track follow their own discipline of spiritual practice, study, and prayer. If you are relatively new to Centering Prayer or to a Centering Prayer retreat, or if you would like a refresher of some of the teachings, choose the Intensive Track.

The Setting

The retreat will be held at the Claggett Retreat Center in Adamston, MD. The center is nestled in the rolling hills of Frederick County on 268 wooded acres with a working farm and fantastic views, yet it is only an hour’s drive from three international airports. All participants will lodge in the Christiane Inn; a range of dietary needs can be accommodated. For details and directions, visit the Claggett Retreat Center website.

The Retreat Leaders

L.J. Milone, a Catholic lay minister, has practiced Centering Prayer since 2000 and is a commissioned presenter of the practice. He has served Contemplative Outreach (CO) as a chapter coordinator, retreat leader, and commissioned presenter formator. He works at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C., where he teaches Christian mysticism and oversees the parish’s faith formation. He has four children in whom he delights greatly.

Mary Jane Yates is an experienced practitioner and commissioned presenter of Centering Prayer. She has been a part of Contemplative Outreach for almost 20 years, serving the organization most recently as administrator and coordinator of international efforts to share Centering Prayer and related practices. In 2019, she also completed her training as a guide with the Association for Nature and Forest Therapy. She sees this work as a natural extension of her passions for both health promotion and contemplative practice.

Schedule and Cost

The retreat begins with dinner on Sunday, October 26, and closes after lunch on Friday, October 31. The fee includes the retreat, 5 nights of accommodations in a single or double room with full bath, and 15 meals.

Single Room: $960
Double Room: $825

A $200.00 deposit is required with registration, which is non-refundable unless the slot can be filled by another participant. Full payment is due by September 26. A limited number of partial scholarships are available.

Please see the link below to register.