Minnesota Contemplative Outreach
  • Home
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • Spring 2025 Silent Retreat
  • Groups
  • Introductory Workshops
  • Blog
  • Resources
    • Spiritual Directors
  • Donate
  • Centering Prayer
  • National
  • Contact
    • Privacy Policy

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.

Comments are closed.

    Presence & Action Blog

    MN Contemplative Outreach publishes articles written by, and for, practitioners.  They are designed to deepen understanding of the Centering Prayer Practice and its power to change lives.

    To have an article considered for publication, click here.

    Categories

    All
    AA
    Annual Conference
    Art
    Basics
    Being Present
    Book Review
    Carl Arico
    Consent
    CP Group
    Cynthia Bourgeault
    Daily Practice
    David Frenette
    Divine Indwelling
    False Self
    Gratitude
    Guidelines
    Heartfulness DVD
    History
    Intensive Retreat
    Lectio Divina
    Listening
    Mindfulness
    Online Course
    Personal Testimonial
    Pilgrimage
    Poetry
    Prayer
    Retreat
    Richard Rohr
    Sacred Word
    Scripture
    Step 11
    St Olaf
    Susan Komis
    Thomas Keating
    Travel
    Welcoming Prayer
    Wisdom Practice

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    April 2025
    February 2025
    October 2024
    August 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    September 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    November 2022
    March 2022
    November 2021
    September 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    September 2019
    October 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    November 2012
    October 2012
    August 2012
    June 2012
    March 2012
    January 2012
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    August 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    October 2009
    September 2009
    July 2009
    June 2009
    March 2009
    July 2008
    September 2007

Copyright © 2024 Minnesota Contemplative Outreach.
Contact   Groups   Events   Resources   Donate