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Welcome to the second on-line newsletter from Contemplative Outreach of Central Pennsylvania! We are a chapter of Contemplative Outreach. Many thanks to all those who contributed their personal stories for this issue. The purpose of this newsletter is to provide support and encouragement to anyone interested in Centering Prayer. What better way to do that than to share personal stories? Please consider sending in a few words for the next issue. We'd love to hear from you, whether it's for the first time or you've contributed in the past. Please note that at the bottom of this newsletter is a Forward email link you can click to forward this newsletter to a friend. If you have suggestions or comments on the newsletter, please send them! Gwen Stimely and Jet Schneider, Newsletter Co-Editors |
Food for Thought
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 From The Human Condition, Thomas Keating, Paulist Press, 1999.
...happiness is intimacy with God, the experience of God's loving presence. Without that experience, nothing else quite works; with it, almost anything works. (p. 9) What matters most is fidelity to the daily practice of a contemplative form of prayer such as Centering Prayer. This gradually exposes us to the unconscious at a rate that we can handle and places us under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Divine love then prepares us to receive the maximum that God can possibly communicate of his inner light. Besides the dark side of the unconsious, there are all kinds of other awesome energies -- for example, natural talents, the fruits of the Spirit, the seven gifts of the Spirit, and the divine indwelling itself -- that we haven't experienced yet and that are waiting to be discovered. (p. 20) Back to Top |
 Please Share!
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 Why go to a retreat?Please write a few words (or lots of words!) and send them to us. Submissions received by August 1st will appear in the August newsletter. Please include your town and note how you would like your name to appear - Anonymous, Initials, or Full Name. Suggestions?If you have suggestions for the newsletter, suggestions for "Please Share" questions for future issues, or comments of any sort, please send them to us. Back to Top |
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What first attracted me to Centering Prayer?
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From C.S.B., Morrisdale
I spent about nine years desperately searching for God. I was involved in many
church activities including a spiritual support group. Reading the Bible and
books on spirituality were my passion. I read "Open Mind, Open Heart" by Father
Thomas Keating which was my introduction to the method of Centering Prayer.
However, I became more acquainted with the method during a weekend retreat a
year later. Centering Prayer released me from that spiritual marathon. The
process of letting go and letting God has been my prayer experience this past
nine years. Consenting to God's presence and action within me has been like "showing up at Jesus' repair shop" as my friend put it. The spiritual
transformation and contentment which occur are a result of the "growth of faith,
hope and divine love," Keating says. I still attend church, read spiritual books
and the Bible, but one of the fruits of Centering Prayer is that now I know that
with every heartbeat God is present.
From Claire
Caputo, Grimesville
Centering
prayer has been the culmination of my long time search for a deeper relationship
with God. Over the years I have tried many other avenues, but I never felt quite
like I was "at home".
I moved back to
Williamsport in Dec. 2004. In '05 the church bulletin carried an announcement
that a centering prayer workshop would be held locally. The Holy Spirit was at
work in me again. I just knew I had to be there. It was a powerful day and I
knew I was at last "home".
From Jeanne Snella, Williamsport
I believe that the Holy Spirit led me to centering prayer. After a bible
study class, I asked M.K., who I didn't know very well, if she knew of a
prayer group. She told me a little about Fr. Thomas Keating and gave me some
literature. So, here I am, entering into my inner room. From Phyllis Zarzyczny, WilliamsportIn the seventies I had been away from the church for several years. Due to
my personal life, I was hospitalized with what they called a nervous breakdown.
Once I came home I knew I could not live or raise my children without God in my
life.
I remembered a prayer card I had received as a teenager with the message,
"God is Love". I began my quest to find out about this Love and about the
Truth.
I found a book on meditation, mostly on breathing, but one book led to
another until I found "Daily We Touch Him" by Basil Pennington. I believe I was
doing Centering Prayer without realizing it.
In the late eighties, our parish priest, Fr. John, had a booklet on Centering Prayer that I read. I wanted to go to a priest and talk about it, but
I was afraid I might be told it was only for monasteries and convents. I had
also read that the Holy Spirit leads you, so I continued with my praying and
reading. I read every book I could on centering, contemplation and meditation.
In the middle of the nineties I asked Fr. if I could read "Mysticism; Cloud
of the Unknown". We both read it, but before we could meet and discuss it, he
was transferred.
To my wonder, Sister Therese, from Bethany, had a workshop 4 years ago. I
was so thankful to be able to attend. My Centering Prayer has taught me the
deep love of God for us and to trust Christ and God always. The prayer has kept
me focused and centered. I could not live without it and it has given me hope
through most of my life.
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| Deer Wisdom
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Many thanks to Jet Schneider for providing the photos for this newsletter. They were taken at a retreat organized by a team from the Gratefulness website. The website includes a beautiful poem, called Deer Wisdom. (It's a little hard to see, but there are deer tracks in the photo to the right.) Back to Top |
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