Contemplative
Outreach
News
Volume 9, Number 1 Summer - 1995
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Opening Night Welcome ~|~ What
is Safe? ~|~ Chrysalis
House's First Decade
Updates ~|~ Study
Program ~|~ Call for Archive
Materials
In Memory of Lucia Citta ~|~ In
Memoriam
Opening Night Welcome
Thomas Keating, O.C.S.O.
Apophatic Institue Sponsored by Contemplative
Outreach, Ltd.
Epiphany 1994, Benedictine Center, Beach Grove, Indiana
This week we will be hearing about what the most acute
question on earth is: What is happiness and how do we find it?
If we do Centering Prayer two hours each day as scheduled
during the retreat, the Holy Spirit will tell us not so much what to say, but
what to do. The most significant part of this event is to listen to the valued
information of the presenters from our own center, from the place of enlightened
knowledge which is no knowledge. The Spirit is the only one who can translate
information into experience. Let us make good use of the opportunity to pray
together and renew our faith in the experience of prayer together. We can
sometimes do something with the help of others that me cannot do alone. Let us
also remember that the glorified Christ is the center of the prayer circle. He
is the true meaning of the Christian apophatic tradition. Through it He is
introducing us into the Paschal Mystery!, the grace inspired and empowered
movement toward the true self and divine union. The experiential part of this
event to my mind is the most important. It is experience of Christ in prayer and
the community that enables us to assimilate the teaching that reinforces our
practices.
Centering Prayer is not so much a method or discipline as a
relationship with God, more specifically a relationship with the Trinity that we
all received in baptism and reinforced with our determination to seek God. The
Trinitarian life is going on within us in such a way that it can be appropriated
by allowing ourselves to be drawn into the stream of infinite charity that flows
between the persons of the Trinity and flows into us through Christ, the Word
made flesh. We share in his passion and death by the unloading of the
unconscious and interior purification; and we share in his resurrection when we
enjoy the contemplative gifts of wisdom and understanding.
Finally, Centering Prayer is bonding in its
effects, or more exactly, it is ecclesial in its effects because when the
Trinitarian life is accessed, it inspires the need for a community--a way of
expressing it, sharing it, supporting it, and communicating it. In our Centering
Prayer groups, the relationship with each other that takes place in silence is
more wonderful than the relationship that comes through conversation, although
such exchanges are a necessary completion of the awakening to our oneness in
Christ.
And so, as we "hear" about the
apophatic tradition, I hope that we can all be enriched by each other and deepen
the bond that has already grown into a true family in the Holy Spirit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Opening Night Welcome ~|~ What
is Safe? ~|~ Chrysalis
House's First Decade
Updates ~|~ Study
Program ~|~ Call for Archive
Materials
In Memory of Lucia Citta ~|~ In
Memoriam
Centering
In our darkest day and lonely nights
It's there we find the greatest light,
In our passion our souls cry out to thee
To make some sense of our weary needs,
We search with all the light we can spare
In hope to find our Savior there,
And then we see and then we don't
But yet we're closer to our hope,
Oh Lord! Oh Lord!
How in love we are with thee,
We sit in Faith on eagles' wings
For you, Oh Lord, are everything!
Tom Sehude
Chicago, IL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Opening Night Welcome ~|~ What
is Safe? ~|~ Chrysalis
House's First Decade
Updates ~|~ Study
Program ~|~ Call for Archive
Materials
In Memory of Lucia Citta ~|~ In
Memoriam
What is Safe?
"A safe and sacred place" - that's how the priest
described the retreat house. In 3 days, I'd already come to discover its
sacredness, but I wasn't yet sure of the "safe" feature. I don't trust
easily and, despite years of secular and spiritual help, safe is still an
infrequently used adjective in my vocabulary.
Then they appeared. It was early twilight, sun gone but plenty
of light yet. Four deer stood at the edge of the front lawn. We were at Mass in
the prayer room facing that lawn, window open, listening to the homily. The
priest stopped talking and watched with us. One young buck scampered without
hesitation about two thirds of the way across in front of us, then turned as if
to say to the others, "Watcha waitin' for? It's safe, I told you." A
second smaller deer--a young doe, perhaps--was already directly in front of the
windows. Indecisively, she turned her head slowly from the brash young buck back
to the two still in the shadows. Those two must have wielded some power for,
without a sound, the two out in the open slowly wandered back. Then all four
disappeared from sight as if on cue.
The priest resumed his talk and we resumed our listening. As
he talked about the unexpected challenges that Jesus offers us on our journey
with Him, I thought about the deer who felt safe and the ones who hadn't.
I wondered how many times in my life I had allowed others to
dissuade me from my sense of safety. Perhaps they were older, creating the
illusion that they were wiser. Probably they were more fearful and maybe they
didn't know that we can create our own safety, our own trust.
Unlike those deer who plodded back into darkness, I'm grateful
to be learning that my trust in God's direction is not ill-founded. The
sacredness of those lovely spotted creatures with their flickering white tails
was obvious and it made me rejoice to be in this sacred place. What they may
never know, and what I'm finding out, is that it truly is a safe place, too.
Jacquie Brinkman,
Florida
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Opening Night Welcome ~|~ What
is Safe? ~|~ Chrysalis
House's First Decade
Updates ~|~ Study
Program ~|~ Call for Archive
Materials
In Memory of Lucia Citta ~|~ In
Memoriam
Chrysalis House's First Decade
At the end of this summer Chrysalis House will complete its
first decade. It was on September 1, 1985 that its first three residents--Mary
Mrozowski, Bob Bartel and David Frenette--gathered with Father Thomas Keating at
the original farmhouse in West Cornwall, Connecticut to begin an experiment in
contemplative live-in community.
Fr. Thomas suggested that the best way to cooperate with the
Holy Spirit's action in the beginning of a community was to discern some
necessary fundamentals of the lifestyle, and then be open to God's action in the
lived experience of the group for the lifestyle's organic evolution. We agreed
that Centering Prayer would be the foundation of our Christian spiritual
practice, and that we would follow a daily schedule that integrated this with
work, community and solitude. Drawing upon experience with community the
previous year in Snowmass, Colorado, we agreed on a way to make decisions and to
explore living according to a form of the evangelical counsels: simplicity,
chastity, and obedience/consensus. And we opened the house for others to join us
in our spiritual practice on contemplative retreats and workshops, as a way to
both nourish the growing network of people in Contemplative Outreach and to
support ourselves in a simple life.
That initial year, and the years since, have seen a growth in
the spirituality, lifestyle and work of Chrysalis House according to Fr. Thomas'
wisdom on how to cooperate with the action of the Spirit. For example, in the
beginning we offered either an Introductory Centering Prayer Workshop or a
weekend retreat for people experienced with the method. However, as new
dimensions of the spiritual life of the community were inspired, purified and
developed, these have been expressed in a natural way as part of the retreat
program (some of which are listed with some national Contemplative Outreach
offerings) to interested others who were themselves growing on their own
contemplative journeys. This has included more in-depth formation processes both
for people who can come to live-in at Chrysalis House, and for people from the
area who participate in the Course for Contemplative Living.
In 1987 after moving to Warwick, New York, the community chose
the name "Chrysalis House" for itself. "Chrysalis" is the
pupa-stage of a butterfly, enclosed in a supportive, protective case: an
appropriate symbol that evokes associations of formation, rest, and
transformation. Fr. Thomas articulated in 1987 that "Chrysalis House is
designed to be a place of purification and transformation where the skin of the
false self is gradually shed and the new person in Christ is formed." This
is the process of our own individual journeys and also the process of a
community's journey. The years have seen many purifications challenges and
transitions, including moving three times to new facilities. One singular
challenge came with Mary's unexpected death in 1993. As we grieved, we realized
that it was only because God was so much the source of her unique charism and
gifts that the loss of her physical presence to us could be enveloped and
transcended by what she had given to the community in the foundation of its
spirituality and lifestyle.
The gift Mary made of herself in a daily life of prayer and
service to God is a manifest expression of what many others have felt drawn to.
Twelve people have lived at Chrysalis House for 6 months or more, hundreds have
become part of its extended family of regular retreatants, and thousands of
others have participated in its spirituality. This dynamic fits well with what
Fr. Thomas sees as meeting the needs of our time in his vision of Chrysalis
House: a place for lay people to come to deepen their Centering Prayer practice
for a period of time and then return to their active lives. The resident life,
too, is designed as temporary--a training for active life and ministry.
These 10 years have included many instances of joy, pain,
challenge and renewal. Such is the content of the human experience of community
that God works with-whether that be the temporary community formed on a weekend
retreat that allows the practice of prayer to occur, or the community of the
core group of residents that allows the retreat work to occur.
The current residents, Cathy McCarthy, Elise Kandel and
myself, offer thanks to God and all the people who have participated in the
evolving vision and life of Chrysalis House in its first decade, particularly to
Father Thomas for his wisdom and presence to us as our spiritual father. Our
prayer is to remain open and faithful to the action of the Holy Spirit--wherever
it leads--as Chrysalis House enters the second decade of its life; our
invitation is for you to join with us in prayer and the contemplative journey.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Opening Night Welcome ~|~ What
is Safe? ~|~ Chrysalis
House's First Decade
Updates ~|~ Study
Program ~|~ Call for Archive
Materials
In Memory of Lucia Citta ~|~ In
Memoriam
Florida
Monica Freeman
Members of Contemplative Outreach in Florida have completed
the second year of the seven month Living Flame Course in the Orlando area and
on the West Coast of Florida. Father Thomas joined us for this happy occasion
and stayed for a few days of silence and solitude at the Welcoming Silence
Hermitage in the Tampa Bay area. With Fr. Thomas' blessing, this hermitage is
now available to our Contemplative Outreach family for a desert experience or
private retreat. Welcoming Silence Hermitage is located one block from the
beautiful beach of the Gulf of Mexico. It is a 2 bedroom home, with a prayer
room, and grocery store within walking distance. It is an ideal place for a
three to ten day private prayer time in Silence, Solitude, and Simplicity.
Hawaii
Sr. Katherine Theiler
Since Fr. Thomas Keating's Introductory Centering Prayer
Workshop to almost two hundred persons in Honolulu in 1989 Contemplative
Outreach has become a part of the lives of many people in Hawaii. At the present
time there are twelve prayer groups on the Island of Oahu and two in the Kona
area on the Big Island of Hawaii. Contemplative Outreach in Hawaii is sponsored
by the Spiritual Life Center retreat house. This year they moved from Honolulu
to St. Stephen Diocesan Center in the mountains, overlooking the sea. They are
blessed with the beauty of God's creation all around them.
Mississippi
Sr. Therese Jacobs
In the fall of 1994 an Introductory Workshop on Centering
Prayer was given, with many of the participants returning for the March
Teleconference prayer day. The Commission on Women for the diocese invited Sr.
Therese to do a brief overview of Centering Prayer as part of their workshop
offerings in January. After the presentation was given, Sr. Therese received an
invitation from a group of sisters in Delta to give an Introductory Workshop.
There was a weekend Centering Prayer Retreat at The Dwelling Place Retreat House
in November 1994; there will be a similar retreat in the fall of 1995. On the
weekend of July 7-9, 1995, Sr. Therese Jacobs and Fr. Richard Smith will be
facilitating a Centering Prayer retreat at St. Mary of the Pines Retreat House
in Chatawa, MS. Centering Prayer will be introduced to the inmates of Parchment
State Prison in late August.
New Jersey
Therese Saulnier
The first Intensive Day of Prayer was held in November 1994
with Fr. Carl Arico. In February, 1995, a Centering Prayer Workshop took place
in Plainsboro. During Lent a nightly four week Centering Prayer Workshop was
conducted at Trinity Ministries Center in Stirling. During Lent, Therese
Saulnier spoke about Centering Prayer at all the Sunday Masses at Holy Trinity
Church in Hackensack. Joanne O'Neill and Therese Saulnier gave a three-day
workshop in prayer (topics included: Obstacles in Prayer, Prayer as Relationship
and Quiet Prayer) at Holy Rosary Church in Edgewater in May On December 16,
1995, Fr. Carl Arico will join in another Intensive Day of Prayer.
Buffalo, New York
Br. John Crocker
A core group has formed for the Buffalo area. Its first
project is to call all the existing groups together on the second Saturday of
each month. Br. John Crocker has started a Centering Prayer group at Christ the
King Seminary. This group meets on Thursday evenings in the East Aurora
seminary.
North Carolina
Flo Hartye
After several introductory workshops a weekly support group
was formed. Their Thursday evening meetings begin with 25 minutes of Centering
Prayer and then continue with a study of a particular text on contemplation. A
larger group meets on the fourth Saturday of the month beginning at 8:30 A.M.
for three sessions of Centering Prayer followed by Lectio Divina and fellowship.
Introductory sessions will continue to be available to any group expressing an
interest in Centering Prayer.
South Africa
Winnie Young
In the three main centers--Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town
we have a very enthusiastic and diligent committee working to further the
interests of Centering Prayer. Several days have been organized during the past
few weeks, with a closed weekend retreat in February of this year for the
experienced, and an introductory workshop for beginners. There are more calls
from different religious groups to explain centering prayer and to lead them
through a prayer session. Four newsletters were mailed last year. They were
enthusiastically received and provided the necessary link among our scattered
centering prayer friends.
A Glimpse of Reality from the Philippines
"Again the kingdom of Heaven is like a trader who is
looking for fine pearls. Once he has found a pearl of exceptional quality, he
goes away, sells everything he has and buys it."
(Mt 13:46)
In my past life I considered myself as a pious person and
quite concerned with my prayer life. But, as I grew older, I realized that
something was missing. Then I found the "pearl of great price" after
which I abandoned most of my pre-conceived ideas of God and how to relate to
him. I discovered the beauty of being a contemplative. That prayer is a
relationship with the Lord in which there is no need for words in order to
sustain it. It is just being aware of His Divine Presence within me at every
moment of the day.
Thank you, Lord, for letting me discover this "pearl of
exceptional quality"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Opening Night Welcome ~|~ What
is Safe? ~|~ Chrysalis
House's First Decade
Updates ~|~ Study
Program ~|~ Call for Archive
Materials
In Memory of Lucia Citta ~|~ In
Memoriam
Contemplative Outreach, Ltd. Study Program
"I am convinced that Centering Prayer is a fairly good
representation of the apophatic tradition of Christian spirituaiity and that it
has an extensive conceptual background. If one is going to do it, one needs to
find out what that conceptual background is and to continually nourish this from
the classics of Christian spirituality."
This quote from Fr. Thomas Keating expresses one of the goals
of the at-home study program which experimentally began two years ago. The
twelve week course is divided into two parts and covers contemporary expressions
of the Christian contemplative tradition and then reaches back, during the last
six weeks, to the beginnings of the systematic practice of contemplative prayer
among the desert fathers and mothers of Syria, Egypt, and Palestine.
Objectives of the course include facilitating a deeper
understanding of the depth and richness of the Christian contemplative tradition
and the chance to engage the study material beyond the intellectual level in
order to find the living tradition as we personally interact with it in our
everyday lives.
In line with these goals, a mentor who has taken the course is
assigned to each student to assist in the learning process. Contact is
maintained by phone and letter. Over 80 people are now taking the course or have
completed it and have found it an enriching experience. The course is currently
being offered twice a year in March and again in September. The requirement for
taking the course is a regular practice of Centering Prayer. It is particularly
recommended for facilitators and coordinators.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Opening Night Welcome ~|~ What
is Safe? ~|~ Chrysalis
House's First Decade
Updates ~|~ Study
Program ~|~ Call for Archive
Materials
In Memory of Lucia Citta ~|~ In
Memoriam
Call For Archive Materials
Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana has agreed to
archive the materials of Contemplative Outreach Ltd. which document the first
ten years of our existence. Notre Dame has an interest in the history of the
American Church, with a particular interest in lay movements. Early in May 500
pounds of documents were packaged in the National Office and sent to Notre Dame.
These materials will be stored in a limited access, climate
controlled area. Pertinent documents for inclusion in the archives are being
sought. Such documents can include letters and notes from Fr. Thomas Keating and
others involved in the start of Contemplative Outreach.
If you have any information or documents which should be
included in the archives, please contact the National Office.
In Memory of Luica Citta
The following is re-printed in memory of Lucia Citta, an
active, vibrant participant in the founding of Contemplative Outreach activities
in Florida. Lucia died on March 13, 1995.
I was walking the beach one moonlit night in awe of our Lord's
magnificence. The moon was full and reflecting on our peaceful ocean. I was
breathless and also thankful for holding fast to this moment.
As I walked alone, my thoughts wandered to my very small, but
devoted centering prayer group, when suddenly I felt as though Jesus beckoned
me. "Why don't you share this experience with your friends?" What a
wonderful idea! On the next full moon I invited them to join me. They were ever
so grateful to spend time with God in all His glory, silently in his presence.
(Lucia continued to invite more and more people.)
There is no discussion afterward--only silent gazing at our
Lord's beautiful moon. Some walk the beach, some just sit and are filled with
joy, love and peace.
When they leave one by one or two by two, deep in their own
thoughts, I thank God not only for the moonlight, but for his very real presence
in our midst.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Opening Night Welcome ~|~ What
is Safe? ~|~ Chrysalis
House's First Decade
Updates ~|~ Study
Program ~|~ Call for Archive
Materials
In Memory of Lucia Citta ~|~ In
Memoriam
Sr. Claire Gregg, S.U.S.C.
Sr. Claire Gregg, coordinator of Contemplative Outreach,
Central Florida, from 1987 until 1993, died on December 26, 1994 at Sacred Heart
Convent in Fall River, Massachusetts after a long illness. She was instrumental
in spreading Centering Prayer in East Central Florida. Using Outreach Center as
a home base, Sr. Claire began the formation of facilitators to assist her with
establishing contemplative prayer communities throughout the region. As a result
of her service to Contemplative Outreach, Centering Prayer programs and
retreats, including ten-day intensives and post-intensives, were initiated in
Florida. On-going formation for the spiritual journey continues because of her
dedication to this ministry.
After professing her vows as Holy Union Sister Margaret
Edmund, the firsts names of her parents, Sr. Claire taught in parochial schools
in New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island for 22 years. She did social work in
New York and conducted adult spiritual programs in Rhode Island before moving to
Central Florida in 1983.
There Sr. Claire was Pastoral Assistant at St. James Cathedral
until 1986 when she returned to an educational ministry to children. She was
involved in alternative education, GED preparation, and taught children with
AIDS in their home and in the hospital. She was a member of the Association of
Christian Therapists.
Sr. Claire's love for children and nature found its expression
in trips to the ocean whenever possible, usually accompanied by one of several
young friends. The gifts she shared and the healing she sought to bring about in
the Body of Christ continue to bear fruit in the people whose lives she touched.
Her courage, patient endurance and faithfulness in prayer taught them the need
for fidelity to the unique call of God in each of their lives.
"Be in faith and love for God," Sr. Claire said
often, in referring to Centering Prayer and to life. She left that legacy as
gift when she accepted to "be" for all eternity in faith and love with
God.
In addition to her religious community, Sr. Claire is survived
by a sister, two brothers and several nieces and nephews.
~~~~~~~~~~
Sr. Joanne Marie Mascha, O.S.U.
Contemplative Outreach of Ohio mourns the sudden death of Sr.
Joanne Marie Mascha, the regional coordinator. Sr. Joanne had a special fondness
for birds. She dutifully kept their feeders filled throughout the winter months.
As the various birds added their songs of welcome to springtime, Joanne would
respond to their whistles and sing back to them, conversing with nature. God
also spoke to Joanne through her enjoyment of the litde and simple wonders of
nature. Sr. Joanne went for a walk in the woods on March 27, 1995. She was most
likely feeling some spring fever calling her to admire the freshly budding trees
and early spring flowers.
The following day Sr. Joanne failed to report to her
assignment as receptionist for the Motherhouse and the Sisters began to inquire
if Joanne spoke to anyone of her plans or where she might possibly be. One of
the Sisters recalled last seeing Joanne on the previous day going for a walk in
the woods. That was the last anyone saw her. In the wooded area had waited a man
who broke the tranquility of Joanne's communion with nature. Her walk ended when
she was attacked and strangled and left lying in the underbrush.
Such a gentle soul and peaceful heart, Joanne was without
guile or suspicion. Her last thought would be that someone would violate her and
rob her of the life in which she so delighted. Her 'daily contemplative practice
helped her to live with an open mind and heart, with a warm friendliness that
was welcoming.
Fr. Ball Ficket
... and the desire for
God is the preparation
for union with Him
St. John of the Cross, The Living Flame of Love
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Opening Night Welcome ~|~ What
is Safe? ~|~ Chrysalis
House's First Decade
Updates ~|~ Study
Program ~|~ Call for Archive
Materials
In Memory of Lucia Citta ~|~ In
Memoriam
