MN Contemplative Outreach 2021 Fall Retreat

Cracking the Geode:
Scripture in the Hands of a Contemplative

Online Guest Presenter:
Father Vincent Pizzuto, Ph.D.

Christ the King Retreat Center
Buffalo, MN (map)

Friday October 15th at 5:00 p.m. (CT)
to Sunday October 17th at 1:00 p.m. (CT)

Online fee: $50

Online participants will be able to take part in Vincent's talks, the small-group breakout discussions, and all Centering Prayer sessions.

Online registration is closed. If you would still like to participate by Zoom, please send an email to Adam at
mncontemplativeoutreach (at) gmail (dot) com.
If you have any questions, please email Adam:
[email protected],
or call 612-719-2636.
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Cracking the Geode:
Scripture in the Hands of a Contemplative

Because the Bible is distanced from us historically, culturally, and linguistically it can often seem foreign and inaccessible. How, then, might the modern contemplative begin to crack open the Scriptures in order to peer deep into the transformative beauty contained within? In other words, how might we approach the gospels in a way that grounds the life and practice of contemplative Christians today?

In this retreat, Fr. Vincent Pizzuto, PhD will offer a three-fold approach to this question:
  • First, he will guide us in a brief exploration of the historical context and literary genre of the gospels themselves which is central to knowing how to interpret them.
  • Second, he will review  the "two senses" of scripture: the Literal (i.e., the original intention of the author) and the Spiritual (i.e., the deeper allegorical meaning).
  • Third, Vincent will engage us in contemplative rumination on particular scriptural passages, paying special attention to "an embodied" reading of the text which emphasizes 'inspiration' not merely with what is written on the sacred page, but in what the text reveals in us bodily.

Talks:
  1. Portraits of Christ: The Gospels as Literature
  2. Literary Brush Strokes: One Gospel, Four Versions
  3. Peering Through a Slatted Fence: The Gospels as Pointers to the Indwelling Christ
  4. Embodied Readings: The Gospels Made Flesh in Us

Through conferences, group activities, and personal Lectio Divina, this retreat will address both mind and heart, intellect and spirit.

In addition to live online sessions led by Fr. Vincent, our Fall Retreat will include time for personal reflection, group Centering Prayer, and small group sharing. Silence will be observed from Friday evening at 8:00 p.m. until Sunday lunch. We will be upheld in our journey by the restful quiet and beauty of Christ the King Retreat Center in Buffalo, MN.
PictureFr. Vincent Pizzuto
Father Vincent Pizzuto, Ph.D. is Professor of New Testament Studies and Christian Mysticism in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the (Jesuit) University of San Francisco. He serves as Vicar of St. Columba’s Episcopal Church and Retreat House in Inverness, California, working for the advancement of contemplative Christianity through the introduction of contemplative eucharistic liturgies, public lectures, online courses, directed retreats, thought provoking sermons, and an online blog.
 
Through the Peace Chapel, Vincent leads a weekly online study of his book, Contemplating Christ: The Gospels and the Interior Life. In it, Vincent seeks to bring his readers into a lived realization of the Christian doctrine of deification – that is, the affirmation that through the Incarnation, we have all been made partakers of the Divine Nature.
"For contemplatives in particular, the Bible may seem less of a spiritual oasis and more like a literary wilderness with little to offer the interior life of prayer. Yet within its pages God draws near to us, even as we find ourselves ever more distant from the ancient world in which its words were penned.

Perhaps the Bible is less like a precious gem whose natural luster lures us in and more like a geode—those rather unappealing if not unsightly rocks that must be cracked open in just the right manner to reveal an unexpected display of color and crystalline beauty. "

~Father Vincent Pizzuto
Contemplating Christ: The Gospels and the Interior Life
Retreat Schedule (click here for pdf)
*Activities highlighted in blue will be led by Fr. Vincent Pizzuto

Friday October 15
5:00 Opening session and welcome.
Suggestions for maintaining the spirit of retreat while at home.
5:20 Brief Welcome
5:30 Centering Prayer (one 25-minute sit)
6:00 Dinner
7:00 Portraits of Christ: The Gospels as Literature
8:30 Close

Saturday October 16
7:00 Centering Prayer (and optional Lectio Divina, led by MNCO)
8:00 Breakfast
8:30 Open/Reflective Time
9:30 Literary Brushstrokes: One Gospel, Four Versions
11:00 Centering Prayer (two 25 min sits, with walk)
12:00 Lunch
1:00 Open/Reflective Time
2:00 Peering Through the Slatted Fence: Gospels as Pointers to the Indwelling Christ
3:30 Centering Prayer (one 25-minute sit)
4:00 Open/Reflective Time
6:00 Dinner Break
7:00 Activity (online and in-person): "Emmaus Walk"

Sunday October 17
7:00 Centering Prayer (and optional Lectio Divina, led by MNCO)
8:00 Breakfast
8:30 Open/Reflective Time
9:00 Embodied Readings: The Gospels Made Flesh in Us & Closing Activity/Reflections
11:30 Centering Prayer (one 25-minute sit)
12:00 Lunch
1:00 Community time; Walk the grounds; Continued time to reflect and explore; Return home