Before setting out for morning services, John and I stood outside of our hermitage, which overlooked the valley and the monastery below, and gazed into the pre-dawn sky; the same […]
The Silent Call
Step inside and bolt the door.The inner room is now secure.Distractions quelled from busy mind,The Lord of Hosts is here to dine. This daily banquet with our LordIs fullness of […]
Praying the Rosary and Centering Prayer
Q: Is there a way to pray the rosary simultaneously with Centering Prayer? A: I am not aware of how you would pray the rosary simultaneously with centering prayer. However […]
Centering Prayer and Young Children
Q: I am based in the U.K. and about to launch Centering Prayer into the local junior school (children aged 4-11). The school head and deputy head are very keen […]
A Quiet Communion
All things must have a start, even times of quiet contemplation. After several days of hard cold rain on the Northern California coast ones thinking can become gray as the […]
Set Free from the Pit, by Centering Prayer and the Truth
I was overwhelmed by constant, intense, thoughts and feelings of fear. At the time, I believed that if I was just ‚Äòright with God‚Äô, or, became a ‚Äòbetter Christian‚Äô, these […]
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One Step
We gather at the noon hourMorning choices made, now past;Silence at table, sit wonderingIf the insights will last. I’ve been here many times beforeWell, in this kind of holy place;Impatient […]
On Use of the Sacred Word
Q: I have found that saying my sacred word continuously throughout Centering Prayer works better for me than only when thoughts come in. Is this all right also, or what […]
Given to Me
In May of 2008, I attended a Centering Prayer Presenter-Formation Retreat at St. Mary‚Äôs Retreat Center, Sewanee, Tennessee. On the night of May 18, we all participated in group lectio […]
Crises and the Prayer of Jabez
Q: My question is regarding grief. Actually I suppose it is regarding prayer in any form of strain or fear, but grief especially. If God is, as we believe, a […]
Centering Prayer and Biofeedback
Q: What do you think about doing Centering Prayer while wearing a biofeedback device such as an emWave? I have been doing this for about 2 years now and it […]
But
What would you doIf you were givenBut just one more day to live? “I’d spend it with a loved one”“I’d conquer every fear”“I’d grab life by the horns,And do all […]
The Sacred Word
Q: I know my sacred word is not a mantra. It is for me to use to express my intention of attending during my prayer time and I am to […]
The Jesus Prayer and Centering Prayer
Q: Can you tell me similarities or differences between what happens in ‘The Jesus Prayer’ where the mind moves into the heart leading to the Hesychast experience, and Centering Prayer? […]
Stillness and Centering Prayer
1. The Rock ‚Äì a living relationship with Christ Jesus urges his followers to build on rock and not on sand (Mt. 7.24 ‚Äì 27). In South Africa we have […]
Lessons
The Real only comes to some-to those listening. To those whocan endure the fathomless silence,starting first in your core, then spreadingthroughout the room,through shut windows. It takes time to hear, sometimes […]
Intention, Mindfulness, and Centering Prayer
Q: Our Centering Prayer group got into a discussion about ‘mindfulness,’ which I understand to have to do with attentive presence, awareness, being in the present, etc. The question arose, […]
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Centering Prayer and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Q: I have been doing active mediation for some years. I have found great satisfaction in applying Centering Prayer in my daily prayer practice. However: I have been suffering from […]
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A Shift in Centering Prayer
Q: I have been doing Centering Prayer for many years. Have found it useful at 3:00AM when St. Teresa of Avila says Imagination is the fool of the House. This […]
The Difference Between Centering Prayer, Contemplative Prayer, and Meditation
Q: Please advise on the different between Centering Prayer, contemplative prayer and meditation. A: There are many levels of relation with God that can be manifested by the way we […]
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It is the Wailing and the Weeping
It is the wailing and the weepingThat wakes the will to repentInfinite happiness is the soul‚Äôs birthrightAnd all unhappiness comesFrom selling it for a pot of porridgeWhich leaves the soul […]
I Slid Off … and Found God
The slippery slope of questioning the fundamentals of belief …. I slid off AND.. found GOD; GOD bigger than our beliefs, than our understanding, than our constructs to understand God. […]
Contrition
Q: On a recent Contemplative Outreach silent retreat I had my first encounter with the theme of contrition. I felt a little tickled because I knew that I was being […]
Contemplative Outreach South Africa: On Our Regional Retreat and the Passing of Nelson Mandela
On the 5th December 2013, seven of us met at Sediba mountain centre for our annual three-day retreat. Sediba (the source) is set in the Magaliesberg Mountains, overlooking Hartebeespoort dam. […]
Advent Reflection
Soon I’ll retire for the day and receive the gift of sleep. I’m writing from the Katoski room at the Shalom Retreat Center in Dubuque, Iowa where I’m leading a […]
