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"I have come so you may have life more abundantly ..."
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Preached Retreats THE CELEBRATION OF EUCHARIST AS A MODEL OF SPIRITUALITY "As we act, so we become." The Celebration of Eucharist, ”the summit and source of the whole Christian life," is the principal ritual of our Roman Catholic Church. The actions and words of our Mass enact and describe a Christian spirituality. The meaning of eucharistic celebration is expressed in the actions of the ritual as well as the ritual words. This retreat explores the spiritual formation which can take place through the enactment of the various parts of the celebration. The "verbs"of the rite enable us to become what the actions imply. For example: Introductory Rites: hospitality, reverence Liturgy of the Word: listen and respond Liturgy of the Eucharist: take, bless, bread, share Dismissal Rite: go -- act THE SPIRITUALITY OF THOMAS MERTON Four themes from the writings and life of this great spiritual master are presented: The Journey from the false to the True Self Contemplation Prayer Desert: Solitude and Silence Discussions and experiences of contemplative prayer are included. CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER WITH THE PSALMS The Psalms are The Great Prayer of Christ and the Church. They are about the spiritual experience and growth of believers today. Praying the psalms "from within" can be a very deepening and enriching experience. They are not words about someone else, somewhere else and at some other time. They are our prayer today. THOMAS MERTON UNCENSORED Thomas Merton wrote some of his most profound
and provocative thoughts in the voluminous letters. There,
without censorship, he could say what he was really thinking as
his life and that of his correspondents unfolded. This is a study retreat based upon Thomas Merton’s " The Inner Experience." This was published in 2003 by Harper SanFrancisco and is edited by William Shannon. The book is to be read by the participants in advance of the retreat and will be used as the basis for the conferences and discussions. WISDOM: AN OFTEN NEGLECTED PART OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC TRADITION The theme Sophia/Wisdom leads us in this retreat.
Beginning with the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Scriptures,
we explore the writings of our early and contemporary Church to
understand the Wisdom that is beyond all understanding. At
the heart of this retreat is the work of Elizabeth Johnson and her
book "She Who Is," We spend so much of our time waiting for
something else, someone else, somewhere else. What we
are waiting for is HERE ALREADY - for those with eyes
to see and ears to hear. A poem by David Whyte
suggests the mood of this Advent retreat: "Go to the
place where everything waits and there, when you
finally rest, even one word will do.." So, as the
psalmist says: "Wait for the Lord to lead and follow
in the way." And we ask: "Just what are we waiting LEAVENING THE DOUGH: THOMAS MERTON REFLECTS ON OUR WORLD During the 1960's, Thomas Merton wrote
extensively criticisms of society and politics based FEE: MY FEE IS $350 PER DAY PLUS ROOM, BOARD AND TRANSPORTATION © 2005-2007 Ingrid H. Shafer |