"One mightier than I is coming..."
We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.
Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.
Monday, November 30, 2020
Sunday, November 15, 2020
Lectio Divina Template 33
"I was hungry, and you gave me food..."
We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.
Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.
Monday, November 9, 2020
Readings and Reflection Questions from "Surrender Into Love" Retreat
* * * * * * *
Some thoughts from Tilden Edwards:
“We
will be shown whatever we need to know at a given time (if anything), while
grace (love) will work steadily below the surface of our consciousness where it
does most of its healing, awakening, loving work. Our receptivity trusts and
welcomes that hidden work. God creates in us a new heart that ‘knows’ Love at
the heart of reality. …we don’t need to
understand what’s going on in order for God’s grace (love) to be effective in
us.” Embracing the Call to Spiritual Depth by Tilden Edwards.
“Living from a New Heart that realizes LOVE at the Heart of
Reality”
“For Divine Grace Writes on the tables of the Heart”
“Standing before God moment by moment with the Mind in the
Heart”
“We can open ourselves to this way of being present with the
help of a variety of practices; however, the fullness of such awareness has
always been seen as a divine gift, not as something that we can achieve on our
own. Our vulnerable openness between and
behind our thoughts can show our willingness for such inspired communion.”
* * * * * * *
Questions we can
ponder:
Do I wish to
surrender into Divine Love?
Am I willing to
surrender into Divine Love?
How do I perceive
Divine Love?
How does Divine Love differ
from Human Love in my experience?
Is there
anything/one/self we find unlovable?
Explore
Am I afraid? Exactly what scares me about Divine
Love?
Can I be patient
and allow God to do the work in me in His time?
Is trust growing
in me as I continue to practice Centering Prayer?
Breathe, breathe,
breathe …. In love, out love, in love, out love
“All shall be well
And
All shall be well
And all manner of things shall be well.”
~Julian of Norwich
* * * * * * *
Video: "Thomas Keating on Contemplative Life and Relationship with God" -- (click link or see below).
Sunday, November 8, 2020
Lectio Divina Template 32
"To everyone who has, more will be given."
We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.
Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.
Sunday, November 1, 2020
Fall 2020 Facilitator Bulletin: Seasonal Resources
Dear CONSD Facilitators,
Although it is the middle of October, I thought I would send out the Facilitator Bulletin now to give you some resources that may be helpful for you and your group to get through the coming season.
I’ll begin by sharing my story of
an experience I had a few days ago: a response of mine during this time of the
pandemic.
I was driving to CVS, and the
panorama of what I was seeing opened up to a 180-degree angle and I became an
detached observer. For a short time, I experienced the trees, sky, ground,
homes, people walking, and cars around me, with a sense of well being – there
was less me! I wasn’t thinking of anything else – not the future or the
past, or of any of my attachments, especially of my attachment to family (love
and worry). I thought: This is the gift that my practice of Centering Prayer
gives to me – rarely that is for sure - but given. I think that the reading
that we have been doing in my Centering Prayer group led me to label my
experience as peace.
In our Centering prayer group at
St. Peter’s, we have been reading Father Keating’s Daily Word for July
which is taken from his book Fruits and Gifts of the Spirit. We
facilitators (Nichola and myself) chose this because we thought that it would
be a good idea to focus on the positive changes that can occur within us
through the practice of the prayer, especially at this time. We approached the
readings as a “Thoughtful Reading” and the responses in Lectio Style. Each week
our format was to take three days and read each day twice, in a slow manner. We
then offered a few questions to bring awareness/attention to the readings; then
people could respond or not. When we finished the readings and the responses to
the individual days, we opened up the discussion. Over time as the group became
more comfortable with this style of reading and response, the sharing became more
personal and the discussion indeed more “fruitful”.
Here a reading from the July 8th
entry of Father Keating’s Daily Reader for Contemplative Living:
“My
peace I give you.” --John 14:27 NIV
The third Fruit of
the Spirit is peace. Peace is the pervasive sense of contentment that comes
from being rooted in God while being fully aware of one’s own nothing-ness. It
is a state that endures beyond the ups and downs of life, beyond the emotions
of joy and sorrow. At the deepest level one knows that all is well, that
everything is just right despite all appearances to the contrary. At all times
one can pray with Jesus, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit”. (Luke
23:46) (Fruits and Gifts of the Spirit, pg. 19)
“And
the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts
and your minds in Christ Jesus.” --Philippians 4:7,
NIV.
* *
* * *
The format of this Bulletin is
different from most of the ones I’ve sent out. I know we are supposed to let go
of our attachments, but this email has a number of them!
The topics of each are:
1 - Responses from CONSD members to
Centering Prayer, the pandemic, and zoom meetings. These responses are in the
form of stories, poems, photographs, and testimonials. Reading through what
members sent in, I found expressions of faith conveyed through the heart. They
are “From the Heart”.
2 - An essay for Advent written by
Father Keating in 1988 titled “The End of Our Worlds”.
3 - Formation ideas from facilitators to use for Advent material. Mary Williams added a wonderful
assortment of ideas. The others included are from 2019.
Please Note: We will have a
facilitator meeting sometime in the beginning months of 2021. I would ask that
if you have any topics that you would like covered, please let Mary Williams and
me know what they are. This will help us a lot in designing the program for the
day.
I wish you a peaceful time these next few months--times full of grace and love and a sense of connection.
In gratitude,
Kathy
Agnew
Facilitators' Advent Resources
|
Here are some Advent materials gathered from YouTube: A couple of Taize chants with Advent themes, a chant with a bell choir, a beautiful instrumental version of “O Come Emmanuel”, a 23-minute video with a mix of songs, stories, and poems, a video with James Finley, and a video with Ilia Delio. Through screen sharing, these are easy to incorporate in a Zoom prayer group (at least on my laptop, it is).
“Within Our Darkest Night (Taize)” --
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqQsZK57OX8
“Wait for the Lord (Taize)” --
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7GexIvX8HU&list=LL&index=14
“On Jordan’s Bank (chant and bell choir)” --
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1d9wrI8IY0Q
“O Come O Come Emmanuel (instrumental)” --
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO7ySn-Swwc
“Contemplative Evening Prayer for Advent” (23 min) --
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJCMVOBi8X0
“An Advent Meditation with James Finley” --
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POAu-09Hg2o&list=LL&index=2
“An Advent Message from Ilia Delio” --
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLo80ycQhgE&list=LL&index=1
Father Thomas Keating (2019)
The Mystery of Christ: The Liturgy as Spiritual Experience, a book by Father Thomas Keating. Includes a chapter on Advent.
Awakenings
by Father Keating. A book of commentaries on Gospel texts by
Father Keating in the spirit of Lectio Divina.
The first short chapter is about Advent.
The Daily Reader for Contemplative Living: Excerpts from the Works of Father Thomas Keating has scriptures for Advent.
Richard Rohr:
Preparing for Christmas, by Fr. Richard Rohr.
Every year during the Christmas season, Fr. Rohr includes messages about the incarnation in his online daily meditations. These can be read and discussed in the group. The archives of Fr. Rohr's daily meditations can be accessed at: https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/.
Besides discussing a Richard Rohr Advent daily meditation, one facilitator added a poem by St. John of the Cross, a Lectio, and a Magnificat. The St. John of the Cross poem is found in Daniel Ladinsky's Love Poems from God.
|
One facilitator: “always gives members copies of the Magnificat Advent reader, and we pray Vespers in addition to centering on the week with the O Antiphons [for Vespers]”.
"The O Antiphons are titles for Jesus and also found in the hymn 'O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.' The O Antiphons are part of vespers [evensong] the week before Christmas and can either be sung or read depending on the capacities of the pray-ers."
Another group:
One year I bought the DVD: "A Thrill of Hope: The Christmas Story in Word and Art" from Emory University, the Candler School of Theology, also available through Barnes and Noble (about $12). It is 50 minutes total and presents the Christmas story as told in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew. Each passage of scripture is illustrated by the artwork of John August Swanson. I used about 10 minutes each time, and we had lectio with the scripture presented. I also made color copies of the paintings to share with the group.
During the year we close each meeting with a prayer we read from a card, but at Advent, I print this prayer by Henri Nouwen on cards and then give them the card to keep at the last meeting:
Advent Prayer
Lord Jesus, Master of both the light and the darkness
Send your Holy Spirit upon our preparation for Christmas.
We who have so
much to do seek quiet spaces
to hear your voice each day.
We who are
anxious over many things
look forward to your coming among us.
We who are
blessed in so many ways
long for the complete joy of your Kingdom.
We whose hearts
are heavy
seek the joy of your presence.
We are your
people, walking in darkness
yet seeking the light.
To You we say,
“Come, Lord Jesus.”
Amen
A book by Nouwen: Advent and Christmas Wisdom: Daily
Scriptures and Prayers
The End of Our Worlds
Advent is the liturgical season that celebrates the theme of divine light. This great light, incarnated in Jesus, confronts any kind of darkness, illusion, ignorance. If you reflect for a moment on the natural cycles of life, our world is always coming to an end. The world of the womb comes to an end at birth; the world of infants comes to an end at about three; childhood comes to an end at adolescence; adolescence at young adulthood; young adulthood at the mid-age crisis; then comes old age, senility and death. Life is a process. The experience of growing up and the decline of physical energy forces us to let go of each period of life as we pass through it. Thus, physical life is always giving way to further development. It should be no surprise therefore that Jesus invites us to let the privatized worlds of our emotional attachments, preconceived ideas and pre-packaged values come to an end.
And so the second part of Jesus’
message is very important. If you repent
and are willing to change, or willing to let God change you, the kingdom of God
is close; in fact, you have it; it is within you and you can begin to enjoy
it. The kingdom of God belongs to those
who are poor in spirit, who have let go of their possessive attitude toward
everything, including God.
~Fr. Thomas Keating, 1988
Responses From the Heart
Anonymous:
“I can’t imagine getting through the Covid pandemic without the practice of Centering Prayer and the opportunities to come together with others engaging in contemplative practices. While I treasure being able to gather on Zoom with my weekly group, I found gathering with any CP group an experience of being in the Body of Christ, being among others regularly opening their hearts and minds to what the Holy Spirit had to impart. No matter what circumstances any of us were experiencing in our daily lives,we were together for the hour or so to recount what God was doing in our lives--the ways we were being lifted up, strengthened, exhorted, guided, and lovingly held. We were reminded that we have a spiritual as well as physical nature and it is in that spiritual consciousness that we are filled with the love, grace, mercy, compassion, and hope of the Holy and the Divine. Through our sharing in the power of the prayer we were experiencing the Presence of Christ and all that that signifies. We were being filled, both in the practice and in the coming together, with the assurance of God’s love and generosity toward us.
I have to be reminded, each and every day, of the power and goodness awaiting me in the Oneness with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit and the Oneness with all creation. I have to be reminded, in Him, and through Him, to be a source of life and light in times of threat, whether it be a pandemic or a time of political unrest. I am being equipped to be an advocate of forgiveness and reconciliation because I am assured that He dwells within each of us. He is at work in the world and in every other human with whom I share this life. I have to be reminded moment by moment.
Our country is crying out for Spiritual healing.”
* * * * *
Mary Williams: Some thoughts on the
Zoom experience (St Thomas More prayer group):
“It
felt awkward initially – that sense of everyone staring at you on the screen --
and it was a learning curve for everyone, navigating the technology. We are
still learning. A couple of people have opted to wait until we can meet in
person again because they do not like Zoomed gatherings, but we are in touch
through email. One older woman who cannot hear well wishes she could join us,
but her iPad is on the blink. The other five people in the group are grateful
to be able to meet through Zoom. It has actually made it easier for one woman
who would otherwise have to drive a long distance.
The group does miss meeting in person, though, and we look forward to the day when that can happen again.”
* * * * * *
John Wavrik (St. Peter’s Prayer Group):
“Something that has become clear is that Zoom is
well suited for meeting of a Centering.Prayer group. The Zoom setting is more intimate
than face-to-face meeting. You can see people more clearly when they are close
up (as in Zoom) than when they are seated across a room from you. You don’t
have to travel to get to a meeting.
Formation activities
benefit from ‘screen sharing’. You can watch videos which fill up the computer
monitor in front of you – rather than looking at a small TV on the other side
of a room.
Participants
can share readings that all can see and follow. In a small enough group one can
discuss just as effectively as when meeting together in the same room. In fact,
one does feel that everyone is in the same room – your own living room! Centering
Prayer is an individual discipline. Group meetings serve to support the
members’ practice – they are not a substitute for it. It is helpful to
periodically get together with others practicing the prayer – but it serves
primarily as a support and social supplement to a regular private practice. In
formation, particularly book study, a group provides incentive for reading.
Reading on your own and then sharing your reactions is a very helpful
supplement to private reading. It allows you to benefit from the reaction of
others to the things you are reading. Again, a joint book study is a supplement
to reading a book on your own, not a substitute.
* * * * * *
Diane Langworthy and members of the Centering Prayer group at her church:
“Members of the Mary Magdalene Apostle Catholic Community Centering Prayer Group have undoubtedly experienced that the Spirit flows in and among us, though now, also by Zoom! Since the shelter in place order, our group has gained an additional four members, some of whom are new to the prayer, and others who have returned to us, as physical limitations had made getting to the group out of their reach. How we look forward to sharing the silence together (through zoom) and companioning each other. I have noted that we have a deeper “tenderness” for each person, as the experience of the pandemic has taught us to treasure the presence of each other. Through our zoom gatherings , we raise each other up, out of isolation, and into the gift of life in this present moment. Several group members frequently share their poetry , art, and reflections among us. With gratitude and awe, What follows are some of the contemplative ponderings of our group:”
* * *
~With a Thankful
Heart,
Linda Hill-Phoenix
* * *
I
continued to listen while I watched the snake, and when my turn to read came
around, I passed and explained why. (It created a little bit of a disruption… )
After a stare-down of what seemed like an hour but must have been just a few
minutes, the snake started to flick its tongue. It was trying to figure out
what to make of me! Eventually, the snake decided taking a different path would
be the best course of action and it made its way into a bush on the far side of
my yard. Ahhh, no rattles. Thank goodness!
I was just glad I had rotated my chair, otherwise it would have been behind me and I would have totally missed it! It is just a reminder wild things are never far away, even though we don’t see them very often.”
Poems that were inspired within the
context of recent CP’s…… by Paul Russo
Mirror Reflection
Learning to be an observer
No judgement or analysis
Seeing Love in the Other
And knowing love within
Eternal vibrations
Resonate between
Creator and created
Everything belongs
Reality unfolds
In the mutual
Gaze.
* * *
Gratitude In Transit
I am impelled
To give thanks
for the energies
Of life,
That I so nonchalantly
Give voice to—
Graces
That seem to reverberate
Through every cell
Of this body.
Vibrations
oscillating
In rhythmic fashion,
At times,
Like dancing butterflies
Pirouetting above
A carpet of flowers.
Energies of love,
That I sense,
Flow
Throughout an ever
Expanding universe,
To create,
Invigorate
And
Transform.
Bouquets—
Centerpieces
At tables of
Gathering friendships.
________________________________________________________________________________
“God is alive!!!
I watch him in zoom in my daily share. More and more I grow in confidence with intimacy that we could create a United Church that glorifies His presence among us.
I discovered God's
words, images, poems, songs, art beauty via website.
A variety of daily
prayer, multicultural masses, adorations, conferences, retreats, all kind of
expressions , People with faces full of joys, conversion, communions, United
Communities supports, friends, growth daily to extend love, help, company using
technology to minimize the effect of unexpected COVID 19's quarantine.
Centering prayer has
become the center of my life, a clear way to become UNO with God including all
of with the same Faith. As Richard Rohr teaches: Christ is more than a
religion. Christ is Universal and present in all of Human life.
From the silence and the stillness, we connect with the Universal Heart that awakens the ego and human conscience to recreate the Life beyond the Earth.... Amen.”
~Maria Lanz (English is a second
language for her)
* * *
"AUGUST 2020"
each dawn I am remolded,
similar yet different,
as if I were the sky.
--Poem and photo by Carl Emerich
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