Contemplative Outreach Newsletter
Volume 17, No. 2, Fall 2003/Winter 2004

The Spanish Corner

by Ilse Reissner

Fruits: The Holy Spirit has surely gifted us with the best of the best! Our Coordinators in Mexico, Central America, and Puerto Rico, as well as our contact persons in several locations within the U.S., continue doing a marvelous job bringing Centering Prayer to their local Spanish-speaking communities. We’ve had Introductory Workshops in El Salvador; Mexico; Nicaragua; Puerto Rico; Austin, TX; San Diego, CA; Miami, FL; San Francisco, CA. In April, a delegation of five priests, one lay person and Coordinator Judith Bernal, with her husband, Julio, met at the monastery in Spencer, MA. Isabel, from Santo Domingo, and I formed the Team. Presentations were given by Fr. Thomas Keating, Gail Fitzpatrick-Hopler, and Fr. Francisco, a Spanish monk who coordinated the event with Judith.

This September, in Nicaragua, Carmen Sanchez and  I offered a Formation for Service in Spanish, this time in Nicaragua. Nicaragua was chosen as the site to save the expensive airfare to the U.S. Participants were also from Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Orlando. 

Great News: Dr. Hugo Mejia from Miami and Tim Koock from San Antonio have used my translations and Enid’s transcripts of Fr. Keating’s six Introductory Follow-up Sessions to “dub” the tapes using Hugo’s voice. 

Another of Hugo’s great accomplishments to be thankful for is our website, www.oracioncentrante.com. He also linked it with the Contemplative Outreach website.

Plans: Many of you have heard Maru sing. The Holy Spirit has inspired her to come together with a group of professional technicians and produce a CD of her favorite tunes. Would you like to order one? Visit our website! Also visit our website to order books from Contemplative Outreach that have been translated in Spanish.

“The Great Churches and Shrines of France” is our 2004 Pilgrimage, April 23 - May 8 ($3,099 per person), with an optional 3-Day Paris extension, May 6 - 8 ($654 per person). Our Spiritual Director will be Fr. Bill Fickel. Call me at 407-767-7567 or visit our website to order a brochure. 

Just to sum up: Please take a look at our website, www.oracioncentrante.com for our Spanish newsletter, the names and numbers of our Contact Persons, the books and materials available in Spanish and their prices, and the pilgrimage information.

Peacemaking // The President's Letter // Invitation to Generosity
The Board of Trustees // Sought Through Prayer & Meditation
The Spanish Corner // International Outreach // Updates