Category: St Olaf

Bridging from Centering Prayer into Life

8/1/2013

By members of St. Olaf Catholic Church Centering Prayer Group

One Saturday the centering prayer group that meets at St. Olaf Catholic Church discussed a short section from The Path of Centering Prayer by David Frenette. The section we discussed is entitled "Grounding Centering Prayer Practice by Letting Intention and Consent Flow into Your Life," pages 17-22.

This section discusses Centering Prayer's Fourth Guideline: At the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of minutes. Frenette explains that pausing at the end of centering prayer helps us connect our centering prayer practice to the rest of our life. He offers five suggestions for how to practice the fourth guideline, advising the practitioner to choose one to use at the end of a prayer period. Pausing in this way creates a bridge over which we carry the benefits of deep silence into the whole of life.

We discussed Frenette's five suggestions giving examples from our own practice. Here are some of the comments people offered.

The first suggestion is "spend a few moments just resting in God." One person commented that this time was a very sweet way to end centering prayer, relaxing, letting go of intention and simply resting in God's love -- something like floating in a calm lake on a summer day.

Frenette's second suggestion is to pause after a twenty minute practice for two minutes and simply observe or touch your head, hand, arm or leg. Someone connected this suggestion to wisdom from his grandmother. He said, "Years ago my grandma used to say, 'You are whole, you are missing nothing, you have hands, a head, and legs.' Her intention was to remind me to be grateful and optimistic. Her idea seems similar to what David Frenette suggests in his second bridge. We can connect with our bodies and be grateful for what God has given us."

Several people commented on the third suggestion to "offer your completed centering prayer period for someone in need." One person pointed out that this is a way of expressing our solidarity and sympathy with others. He went on to explain that this prayer can also be for a person we do not like. While we may have difficulty interacting with this person in normal circumstances, following centering prayer we can pause to look at this person with different light.

Another person agreed that the end of centering prayer is a good opportunity to hold the needs of friends and relatives who are in her heart. She commented that doing this seems to carry her into a few deep moments with the Compassionate Christ and strengthens her trust in his healing power.

Frenette's fourth suggestion is "after letting go of your sacred word, visualize a scene from your coming day. Use your sacred word to bless the day." One person commented that she likes to bridge into the coming day by seeing in her inner mind's eye some of the people and circumstances of the day and asking for the blessing of awareness of God's presence in the experience. She added that she is also aware of the Buddhist practice of touching her third eye while asking for her thoughts to be loving, and then placing her hands in front of her mouth, asking that her words be kind, and finally, holding her hands in front of her heart, asking that her intentions be peaceful. Another person shared that he asks to be aware of the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and finds that doing so has changed his whole life.

The final suggestion is "say or listen to the Lord's prayer to integrate silence and words." Many people commented on this suggestion, sharing the way they end centering prayer by praying with words. One person shared that after Centering Prayer, she often says the prayer of St. Francis: Lord, Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace. This prayer puts her back into the world and renews her desire to follow Jesus' teachings. It helps her keep on going with her commitments to reach out to others -- especially the needy -- and to use her civic voice to work for justice.

The week following this discussion, people shared how helpful it had been. One person thanked the group for all the insights that were shared. During the week she had begun to incorporate different suggestions and commented that she had found it deeply meaningful to sit after Centering -- knowing she was deeply loved by God, connecting to people in her life, and ending with the Serenity Prayer. She said that during last week's discussion "the Trinitarian living flame described by St. John of the Cross burst into the midst of our group."

The St. Olaf Catholic Church Centering Prayer Group meets in Minneapolis every Saturday from 9 to 11 a.m.

The Gift of Communal Centering Prayer

11/1/2012

By Carol Quest

In my life, centering prayer is a gift that is supported and strengthened by practicing centering prayer in a group. For the past 20 years I have participated in the St. Olaf Saturday morning centering prayer group. This October, I have been blessed by centering at the Minnesota Contemplative Outreach Heartfulness Retreat and at the Contemplative Outreach Annual Conference in Snowmass, Colorado. As I look back on both the Heartfulness retreat and the conference, I savor experience of communal centering prayer.

The weekend of October 7 to 9, 40 people gathered at Dunrovin Retreat Center for a “silent” retreat which included six sessions of centering prayer. For each session, we gathered in a circle in a room with a beautiful view of the St. Croix and settled into 30 minutes of silence, then a meditative walk, then another 30 minutes of silence. I am always grateful for Father Keating’s advice not to judge the success of a session of prayer. If I were to judge, I could find plenty to worry about. Instead, as I look back on that early October weekend, I have the sense of deep relaxation, peace and contentment.

Retreats end and life returns to normal which means practicing centering prayer on my own twice a day. This personal practice, however, is supported by attending centering prayer on Saturday mornings at St. Olaf Catholic Church in downtown Minneapolis. Even after 20 years it surprises me that I don’t have to make myself get up on Saturdays and drive to centering prayer. I simply want to be there. Gathering for centering prayer on Saturday morning seems as natural and important as breathing.

At the end of October, I flew to Colorado to attend the Contemplative Outreach Annual Conference. The prayer room at the conference looked out onto snow-covered mountains. We were asked to keep the prayer room sacred by not talking as we came in or went out. Thus, 150 of us would gather silently to pray. Many people would pause as they entered to bow gently to the center of the circle, adding to the sense of sacredness. The bell would ring three times and we would sit in silence for thirty minutes. Then the bell would ring again. I am not saying that centering prayer is ever easy or that I hardly had to use my sacred word. What I did experience was the palpable, supporting presence of others silently giving themselves to the prayer. When I think back on the experience, I remember it as being embraced by the silence of everyone present; as if our circle was being wrapped in a heart-warming mystery.

Now I am home again and my practice is continually strengthened by the memory of the group experience and by the commitment to prayer of all the members of Contemplative Outreach--at St. Olaf, at Dunrovin, and at Snowmass.

Carol Quest is a Minnesota Contemplative Outreach Chapter Coordinator and a Centering Prayer Presenter.

Developing a Relationship with God through Centering Prayer and Forgiveness

11/7/2011

On November 5, Father Carl Arico conducted a day-long workshop at St. Olaf Catholic Church in downtown Minneapolis. More than 100 people came to hear him talk about "Centering Prayer and Forgiveness," and to reconnect with other practitioners from around the state who comprise the Centering Prayer community.

One of these participants was Michelle Bohlen, who has practiced Centering Prayer for almost two years and attends a group at Colonial Church of Edina. Fortunately, she took notes and captured some of the wisdom Fr. Carl shared during the day, specifically those words that touched her most deeply. She summed up her Saturday experience this way: "It was a very good day."

Thanks to members of Minnesota Contemplative Outreach and to the St. Olaf Centering Prayer Group for making this "very good day" possible—and to Michelle for sharing the notes that follow:

Fr. Arico compared Centering Prayer to building a relationship, like exchanging marriage vows and taking time to get to know our partner. It has the characteristics of a permanent commitment no matter what the circumstances—for better or worse, in sickness and health, 'til death do us part. But even death will not separate us.

A study showed that people doing Centering Prayer have more activity in the 'relational' part of the brain. They have a sense of well being, a sense of closeness to God and more acceptance of their inadequacies. It’s the hand of God working in our lives. Resting in that place helps us realize there is no such thing as 'others.' God is everything. Everything in that place is God.

Put on the mind of Christ. Our mind is our worst enemy. Let go of thoughts. Centering Prayer is the time for God to read our hearts nd for us to shut out all other concerns. Be open to resting and let yourself be taken care of. "Lord, I do consent. I’m open to have you remove my excess baggage. I need your help to do it."

We are always loved by God and don’t have to earn it. God embraces us with two arms—one saying 'good job' and the other saying 'let go of the baggage.' Hanging out with our loved one gives us a special energy. But fidelity is important when you choose to hang out with your honey.

We don’t always know how to forgive. Sometimes we don’t want to. But today’s enemies could be tomorrow’s friends. Learn to release anger, disappointments, hidden resentments. Spontaneous forgiveness doesn’t require thought or judgment—just do it.

Let peace be a harbor for us. It is a very restful activity. Its opposite is to be judgmental, which is hard work. To forgive is to have a soft heart—one made of flesh. It will remove our heart of stone. Forgive our hidden past. Embrace the hurt. Have compassion for yourself and others.

Present our whole being to God. Give God permission to stick his/her nose into places we don’t want him/her to. Celebrate our basic goodness. Forgive the ‘them’ in us. It’s the one we build our stories around; the one we create in our own minds. Our stories are created around our baggage. Sometimes the feeling of being wronged is no longer about the present reality. Release it with love.

Back to the Basics

9/15/2011

by Sister Joan Tuberty

I think it is T.S. Eliot that has said something like this: After a long journey we return to the place where we started and know it for the first time. Sometimes when I read small portions from, The Cloud of Unknowing, I feel that way. The St. Olaf Centering Prayer Group has been meeting every Saturday morning for two hours for 18 years. One hour is our practice of centering prayer and the other hour is devoted to some teaching related to centering prayer or something that supports it or spiritual growth. In the beginning we watched Fr. Thomas Keating's 24 Videos aimed at giving both the practice and the background for centering prayer. We watched them over and over in those early years. Then other sources nourished us in our practice and as a group we read and watched and listened to what others said about centering prayer/meditation as well as others who could enrich our contemplative practice and deepen our understanding of the contemplative dimension of the Gospels. As a group we also delved into The Cloud of Unknowing, the 14th Century spiritual classic upon which the practice of centering prayer is based. I think it is fair to say that we did not find it an easy book to read. However, twelve years ago, while I was visiting the Shrine of Julian in Norwich, England, I came upon a gem of a little book, Daily Readings from the Cloud of Unknowing, edited by Robert Llewelyn of the Julian Shrine, and published in the U.S. by Templegate Publishers in 1986. Llewelyn has "carefully chosen and arranged excerpts so as to give the essential message of this spiritual masterpiece." Here is one such excerpt which brings me back home, knowing again for the first time, the essence of the practice of centering prayer:

A Short Word to Keep Intact

If it suits you, you can have this naked intent wrapped up and enfolded in one word. In that case, in order that you may have a better grasp on it, take a short word of one syllable. One syllable is better than two, and the shorter the word the more suited it is to accomplish the work of the spirit.

Such a word is the word 'God' or the word 'Love.' Choose whichever you wish, or another if you prefer, but let it be of one syllable.

Fasten this word to your heart so that it never leaves you, come what may. This word is to be your shield and your spear, whether in peace or in war.

With this word you are to beat upon the cloud and the darkness above you. With it you are to smite down every manner of thought, under the cloud of forgetting. So much so that if any thought should press upon you to ask you what you would have, answer it with no other words but this one word.

And if you should be tempted to analyse this word, answer that you will have it whole and undeveloped. If you will but hold fast, be sure that the temptation will not last long.

Sister Joan Tuberty is on the staff at St. Olaf Catholic Church in Minneapolis and has been leading the Centering Prayer group there for the past 18 years.

An Inner Authority

12/15/2010

By Bill Bailey

Most of us when we began our practice of Centering Prayer were introduced to Open Mind, Open Heart by Thomas Keating. In that volume, Father Thomas presents a chapter (Chapter 3) in which he speaks of the history of contemplative prayer in the Christian tradition. Most of his writing, at least in that chapter, explained how contemplative prayer gradually disappeared from Western Christianity from about 1200 until the beginning of its revival in the last century. So for this newsletter, I planned to write a short history emphasizing several earlier individuals from the time of the Desert Fathers to 1300 -- individuals who influenced a classic in Christian mysticism named The Cloud of Unknowing (circa late 14th century). Alas, that writing task is yet to be completed.

As I tried to begin the essay, I asked myself why this historical background was of such interest to me. When I began centering in 1994, I believed I needed assurance that this method was legitimate. Not too surprising to me, I believed that my early interest in the historical aspects of this new method showed my concern to look to "authority". I wanted to confirm in the literature that those Desert Fathers had, in fact, practiced contemplation and planted the seeds which flowered into Centering Prayer as a gateway to contemplation. Then I worked to connect the dots between the Desert Fathers and Keating. This was strictly my head stuff!

I suppose I was not unlike many of us. We move through life; and when we encounter some new issue or activity, we look to authority for answers and approval. Is this for me? Is this acceptable? What does the Bible say? What does the Church say? What does the priest say? We choose the answer that best "fits" -- the answer that gives us security within our lifestyle and within the limits of how much intellectual effort we choose to expend. We are uncomfortable unless everything fits and is logical. Our desire is to resolve the issue NOW and "inside the box." These are answers with no growth. If no compelling argument resolves the issue to our satisfaction, we chose to avoid the subject that poses the problem. Out of sight, out of mind. This approach generally allows us to shirk some very important work -- inner work.

I have been blessed with having a community for sixteen years that has been the focal point of my Centering Prayer practice. We have referred to ourselves as the St. Olaf Centering Prayer Community. Those of us who attend our gatherings each Saturday morning from 9 to 11 have had this Community and Sr. Joan Tuberty as our support as we do our inner work. Our regular meetings begin with an hour of centering – actually, two twenty minute sits separated by a slow meditative walk around our circle of chairs. There, in the darkness of Crowley Hall in the basement of St. Olaf Catholic Church, vigil lights flicker and illuminate the icons which surround us. There in that hour we individually breathe in silence and attempt to affirm with our every breath that God lives deep within our being. As a community, we unite in our silence as if we each are a stream of silence flowing into a deep and sacred well.

With hearts opened by our silent prayer, the second hour is a time of sharing. It exemplifies our need to live in the world as God works in each of us. Whereas the centering allows us to demonstrate our intention to be open to God’s presence within, this second hour has provided opportunities to listen and see the image of the God within us mirrored back from the members of the Community. The listening may occur as we:

do lectio divina together,
view a video of Father Keating, Luke Timothy Johnson, or Bede Griffith,
listen to each other or an audio CD discussing a spiritual topic,
"listen with our eyes" to the message of an icon appropriate to a feast day of the Church,
in addition, read together articles or sections of books concerning our mystical journey.

It is in the discussions that follow the centering, that we hear messages that ring in our hearts as truth.

As to my quest for answers, I remember the time, while listening to a member of our group that I learned my faith did not make me responsible for finding answers to a set of theological questions. My faith is a gift wherein I am to be patient with mystery. Summing up what I believe is our shared point of view; I paraphrase the words of Father Richard Rohr from his book Things Hidden: "Faith is patience with Mystery. Love is the goal, but Faith is the process of getting there and Hope is the willingness to live without resolution."

Even though I provide this one example, do not think that we are expecting to receive a flood of miraculous inspirations from our practice and sharing. We merely become open to God’s work and accepting of God’s pace, wisdom, and loving guidance. We are being shaped as on a slow moving potter’s wheel - no shocks, no surprises.

Ultimately, over the years of this inner work, the most important task is to learn to be present. Present to our practice and to each other. We find through our practice and living with our community that within us has grown an inner authority, which we are able to trust. It is not a database of knowledge that has accumulated with age. Our inner authority is not a resource to draw upon to construct the "right" answer to a particular issue. It is not knowledge of the head, but knowledge of the heart. My inner authority tells me that determining the support within Christian history for the practice of Centering/Contemplation is not important. Part of my inner work is to move me from that head stuff into my heart. I know in my own heart that I have experienced the blessings of this practice. That is what I can profess as valuable and true.

I close with a paradox. Blessed with some level of an inner transformation, we are never able to separate ourselves from others around us whom we too often discount and generously describe as "misguided." It is not a matter that we are right and they are wrong. Having inner authority – being in touch with it – is available to everyone. Part of the paradox, part of the mystery, is the fact that God uses each and every one of us. We each hold a piece of the Mystery. We are not to move to action and conclusions without prayer, contemplation and inclusiveness. We are all instruments in the hands of a loving God. So we strive to live prayerfully and with openness – firmly in flux.

Bill Bailey has been a practitioner of Centering Prayer and a member of St. Olaf Centering Prayer group since 1994.

Bridging from Centering Prayer into Life

The Gift of Communal Centering Prayer

Developing a Relationship with God through Centering Prayer and Forgiveness

Back to the Basics

An Inner Authority

Presence & Action Blog

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