Thoughts on Contemplative Prayer

Many spiritual writings extol the benefits of contemplative prayer, a form of meditation.

To meditate is to exercise the mind in serious reflection. Contemplative prayer does not refer to a purely intellectual exercise, and still less does it refer to mere reasoning. It involves not only the mind, but also the heart and indeed our whole being. Our intention is to improve conscious contact with God!

Thomas Keating, who is credited as the founder of Contemplative Prayer, refers to our “Divine Indwelling,” the full impact of which we attempt to access in twenty or so minutes of silent sitting.

We at St. John’s are blessed with the opportunity to gather for contemplative prayer every Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. All are invited, whether or not you belong to our congregation.

We arrive in silence and sit in a circle around a single candle while the facilitator invites us into the quiet, either through music or a sung chant. The twenty minutes of silence can be uncomfortable for some people. I have learned that patience always pays.

We usually hear a gong at the end of the 20 minutes and close with a prayer. Leaving in silence, we then take our own time to reflect on the experience.

Please consider joining us any Tuesday evening at 5:30 p.m.