Contemplative Outreach News
Volume 20 , Number 1 · Spring/Summer
2005
The Wedding Feast
at Cana ||
From the President
|| Contemplative Life Program
20th Anniversary Fundraising Tour || Reader's Reflections
|| In The News
The Spanish Corner || Chapter Updates
|| Contemplative Outreach News Home
Practice, Practice, Practice Practice is what we do …
God does the ‘rest’
Our ‘year of practice’ is underway. As we
celebrate our 20th anniversary we are exploring ways to carry the peace granted
to us by a regular practice of Centering Prayer out of our prayer room and into
the ‘market place’ of everyday life. Centering Prayer is complemented by
other contemplative practices: the welcoming prayer, lectio divina, intention
and attention, contemplative service, spirituality of money, and the active
prayer practice are some of them. The foundation of everything, however, is our
personal commitment to practice, and this commitment can transform the heart of
the world.
The new Contemplative Life Program (CLP) is a means of
connecting our global community through practice. Now more than a thousand
members of our spiritual family, from Antarctica to Ohio, South Dakota to South
Africa are subscribers to it. Since we began on Ash Wednesday we’ve
re-dedicated ourselves to Centering Prayer, the first of nine 40 day modules.
And together, through this practice we are building up the body of Christ.
I would like to share with you the impact the Contemplative
Life Program has had on my personal commitment to practice. I have realized that
‘prayer without ceasing’ is my contemplative practice and that all of the
other practices mentioned above help me to keep that focus each day. Attention,
intention, and consent to practice are the heart of transformation and
cooperation with the Spirit of God. Over time my daily routine of prayer has
changed. I’ve increased the time spent in Centering Prayer gradually to one
and a half to two hours each day. I’ve taken to heart what St. John of the
Cross says: “If you don’t have time for prayer then increase it”. I’ve
realized that the busier I am, the more time I need in prayer to remain balanced
and to keep my heart open.
How do I find the time each day? I get up a bit earlier and
spend one hour in Centering Prayer — then move into spiritual reading (lectio
divina) for about 10 minutes. I find this is a wonderful way to ease into my
hectic day. In our office, most days we take a Centering Prayer break of 20-25
minutes. Most recently I’ve added a third period of Centering Prayer before
dinner. Each time I sit during the day, I read the same page of The Daily
Reader for Contemplative Living. Listening to the same reading three times
in one day weaves the word of God throughout my day and helps me to hear more
deeply the message hidden between the lines. It’s my opportunity to listen
again to what God is revealing and teaching me about our relationship.
The Contemplative Life Program booklet is my prayer companion
and provides me with simple readings and beautiful images to ponder and carry
with me into the day as my active prayer. My CLP bookmark and practice card are
on my desk as a constant reminder that I am united with our global contemplative
community.
Sometimes, I awaken spontaneously around 3:30 AM. Rather than
fret about losing sleep and tossing and turning, I take this opportunity for 30
to 45 minutes in Centering Prayer and then return to sleep. This time when the
world is asleep around me is a precious time for prayer. It reminds me of times
when my children were infants; getting up to feed them in the quiet of the night
was a sweet time to be alone with them.
How do I remember God in the midst of daily activity when
emotions get triggered? The day to day busyness,—airport madness, deadlines,
email, fax, telephone—all demanding immediate attention—are all grist for
the mill of transformation.
While traveling during the last several months, I’ve
had the good fortune of discussing ‘the year of practice’ with many people
around the world during chapter visits, workshops, retreats, training programs
and on the 20th anniversary tour (see page 7). When I’ve asked, “What does
your commitment to ‘practice’ mean to you?” I’ve heard many stories of
transformation. Centering Prayer has affected the quality of lives, marriages,
relationships with children, elderly parents and illness. Centering Prayer, the
prayer of consent, offers a peaceful place to return to each day, to drop below
the speed of the whirl-wind world and sink into a place of rest; it provides a
deep sense of being ‘home’. This time apart helps to remember that God is,
in fact, the source of life.
The welcoming prayer provides that seven-second pause, to
focus and sink into the experience, welcome the Spirit and let go and let grace
flow into the event, the situation—I am able to return to my interior
disposition, as the Spirit is always present within. This simple practice helps
me to get out of the way, to surrender to the Spirit in the present moment right
then and there, even on the phone or in the airport! It isn’t easy to make a
deeper commitment to contemplative practices. Life has a way of pulling us away
from ‘practice’. Sometimes we forget about them. Sometimes we believe
we are practicing because we are reading or talking or thinking about practice,
contemplative life, the mystics, or the spiritual journey. And as good as these
activities may be, they aren’t the same as ‘practice’.
Some long time practitioners tell me that their commitment to
Centering Prayer is 20 minutes a day. And they often take the weekends off and
then find they have a difficult time getting back to their ‘practice’.
Others say they are faithful practitioners, but then admit they often have
trouble really getting to that second sit each day. Many are grateful for their
Centering Prayer group, which provides gentle accountability and support for
them each week.
So, what is an established practice of Centering
Prayer anyway? Well, Fr. Thomas tells us it is at least two 20-minute periods of
Centering Prayer each day: “one for maintenance and the other for growth in
the transformation process.” He adds that an intensive retreat, at least once
a year, is recommended to support our on-going transformation.
Contemplative Outreach exists to help support us in our
commitment to practice. We provide the tools needed to help us make more room
for our relationship with God. The Contemplative Life Program, (details on page
4) is one of those tools. You can still join the program and journey with us
throughout 2005. We do the ‘practice’ and God does the ‘rest’. We enter
into the silence, we unite with God, and God does the work of the dismantling
process in us. The Spirit moves into the world as the transmission of Divine
love, in us, through and between us. All we have to do is stop, take ourselves
to our prayer chair or cushion and wait upon God.
Our Annual Conference/Retreat this year will focus on the ‘The
Year of Practice’. It will be held at The Crossings, a retreat and wellness
center in the Texas Hill Country. Together we will share our experiences,
challenges and ways to deepen our commitment to contemplative practices. We
invite you to participate—September 28 to October 2. See page 10 for details
on the Annual Conference/ Retreat. Reserve your place early, as space is
limited.
As
I have shared some of my life of practice with you, I invite you to share your
experience of practice with me. I would love to hear from you. How is the year
of practice making a difference in your commitment to Centering Prayer and/or
the other contemplative practices?
Send your comments to office@coutreach.org
The Wedding Feast
at Cana ||
From the President
|| Contemplative Life Program
20th Anniversary Fundraising Tour || Reader's Reflections
|| In The News
The Spanish Corner || Chapter Updates
|| Contemplative Outreach News Home
