MN Contemplative Outreach 2024 Fall Silent Retreat
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Gifts of the Heart:
Invitation to a Contemplative Life In Our Time Guest Presenter: Carl McColman Christ the King Retreat Center Buffalo, MN (map) Friday October 18th at 5:00 p.m. (CT) to Sunday October 20th at 1:00 p.m. (CT) Registration Fee for In-Person Attendees: $250 Online Registration Fee: $75 In-Person Registration is full. Typically some rooms become available -- join our wait list and you'll be contacted in the order you sign up. Online participants will be able to take part in Carl's talks, small-group breakout discussions, the Saturday evening activity, and all Centering Prayer sessions. MNCO has invested in new equipment to improve the audio and video quality for online participants.
Gifts of the Heart:
Invitation to a Contemplative Life In Our Time Ever since Thomas Keating’s classic book Open Mind, Open Heart was published in 1986, Centering Prayer has been understood as a heart-centered spiritual practice: indeed, Orthodox Christians have always described contemplative prayer as "the prayer of the heart." As contemplatives, we are invited to appreciate the many gifts that the Spirit has placed in our hearts — and how those gifts can guide us to a richer and deeper spiritual life. Drawing on wisdom from the Bible, the writings of the mystics, and inspiration from spiritual traditions the world over, we can see that the heart is more than just a symbol for emotion or a metaphor for love: it is the seat of our embodied intuition that truly puts the "center" in "centering prayer." The New Testament promises us that the love of God is poured into our hearts through the Spirit (Romans 5:5); it is that love that meets us in the luminous silence that we discover between our thoughts and distractions. And yet, that is just one of the gifts that makes every heart the place where human and divine truly meet. Contemplative author Carl McColman combines the insights of heart-centered wisdom with his own longstanding Centering Prayer practice to offer a joyful and light-hearted (pardon the pun) guide to the gifts of the heart. Talks:
Saturday evening activity:
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 Carl, our Fall Retreat will include time for personal reflection, group Centering Prayer, and small group sharing. Silence will be observed from Friday evening after dinner 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. |
 Carl McColman
Carl McColman is an author, blogger, spiritual director, retreat leader, and speaker and teacher on mystical spirituality and contemplative living. His books include The New Big Book of Christian Mysticism, Eternal Heart, Invitation to Celtic Wisdom, and Unteachable Lessons. Coming in 2025 is Read the Bible Like a Mystic: Contemplative Wisdom and the Word.
Carl is a Lay Cistercian (a lay associate of the Trappists), a commissioned presenter of Centering Prayer Introductory Workshops, and a co-host of the "Encountering Silence" podcast. Carl’s approach to contemplation and mysticism is inclusive and expansive; he is dedicated to exploring the common ground between faith traditions, with a particular interest in the connecting points between Christian, Buddhist and Nature-based wisdom. Carl lives with his wife, artist Fran McColman, in Georgia. 
"Silence—the stillness and the rest in our hearts—matters because it functions as the threshold to the wisdom deep in our hearts that cannot be put into words—wisdom that comes from and leads to God. Such silent wisdom opens us up to the imaginal world, that place within us filled with infinite possibility, a mystical place available to all of us in our hearts."
— Eternal Heart, page 41 "Mystical spirituality opens you up to the love of God, yet insists you give up all your limited ideas and concepts about God, discarding them all as mere mental idols. The deeper you go, the more elusive God becomes. Yet the deeper you go, the more you realize you are a living embodiment of divine love"” — The New Big Book of Christian Mysticism, page 5 Retreat Schedule
*Activities highlighted in blue will be led by Carl McColman
Friday October 18 5:00 Opening session and welcome. Suggestions for maintaining the spirit of silence while on retreat. 5:20 Brief Welcome 5:30 Centering Prayer (one 25-minute sit) 6:00 Dinner 7:00 Your Heart is a Silent Path to God 8:30 Close Saturday October 19 7:00 Centering Prayer (and optional Lectio Divina, led by MNCO) 8:00 Breakfast 8:30 Open/Reflective Time 9:30 The Mind of God and the Gift of (New) Life 11:00 Centering Prayer (two 25 min sits, with walk) 12:00 Lunch 1:00 Open/Reflective Time 2:00 The Dance of Wisdom and Love 3:30 Centering Prayer (one 25-minute sit) 4:00 Open/Reflective Time 6:00 Dinner Break 7:00 Imaginative Prayer: Your Heart is Your Guide Sunday October 20 7:00 Centering Prayer (and Lectio Divina, led by MNCO) 8:00 Breakfast 8:30 Open/Reflective Time 9:30 Eternal Heart, Divine Heart, Heart of Joy 11:00 Closing Session 11:30 Centering Prayer (one 25-minute sit) 12:00 Lunch 1:00 Community time; Walk the grounds; Time to reflect and explore; Return home |