Evening of Contemplative Fellowship: Details + Resources

Community rooted in our shared intention to deepen our contemplative practices

Evening of Contemplative Fellowship_Picture by Ruiqi Kong_unsplash

WHEN:  Recurring on the 2nd Wed of each month
TIME:  4:00pm – 7:00pm CT; you do not need to be there right at 4pm, come as your schedule allows
LOCATION:  St. Paul’s Monastery (St. Paul, Minnesota)
SUGGESTED PRICE:  $15/month (however, you name the price most comfortable for you)
RSVP is REQUIRED:  reminders will be sent each month for pay-as-you-attend; there is also an auto-renew RSVP option for convenience

Mark Your Calendars!

Upcoming dates…

  • Wed, Feb 12
  • Wed, March 12
  • Wed, April 9

You're invited to join us!

ECF is open to all participants of Benedictine CARE, our 8am CT Sat Centering Prayer Group, and the Sisters of St. Paul’s Monastery. We do encourage new participants at all times! If you have interest in the in-person event, please contact Teri Rose, OblSB.

In-person Centering Prayer, shared meal, and conversation

This ongoing offering has been created to give those with the shared intention to practice Centering Prayer and the Benedictine Tradition a place to deepen and support our practice together.

RSVP is required

RSVP is required for this event. The suggested price is $15, however, we don’t ever want cost to inhibit your attendance. You are encouraged to indicate an amount during checkout that is most comfortable for you.

"We may rarely think of the air we breathe, yet it is in us and around us all the time. In similar fashion, the presence of God penetrates us, is all around us, is always embracing us." Father Thomas Keating, Open Mind, Open Heart

(Left to right) Tania (founding member of ECF), Kami (Benedictine CARE and ECF Facilitator), Sr. Karen and Sr. Paula (OSB, St. Paul's Monastery), and Colleen (founding member of ECF) at the Monastery's 2024 Summer Cookout in July
(Left to right) Tania (founding member of ECF), Kami (Benedictine CARE and ECF Facilitator), Sr. Karen and Sr. Paula (OSB, St. Paul's Monastery), and Colleen (founding member of ECF) at the Monastery's 2024 Summer Cookout in July

Resources shared by members

oleg-guijinsky-wkU2vEIpukA-unsplash

RECOMENDED BOOKS:

  • Etty Hillesum “An Interrupted Life” | Quote: “I am with the hungry, with the ill­ treated and the dying, every day, but I am also with the jasmine and with that piece of sky beyond my window; there is room for everything in a single life. For belief in God and for a miserable end.”
  • Prayer- Oxygen for the Soul under Jacques Philippe
  • The Drama of the Gifted Child- The Search for the True Self by Alice Miller
  • Reaching Out- The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life by Henri Nouwen
  • Strength to Love by Martin Luther King, Jr
  • What Makes You Come Alive by Lerita Coleman Brown
  • Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman  

List of suggested books while discerning what to read after Invitation to Love:

  • The Cloud of Unknowing – author: unknown; suggested interpreter/editor William Johnston
  • The Dark Night of the Soul: A Psychiatrist Explores the Connection Between Darkness and Spiritual Growth – Gerald May
  • Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer – Richard Rohr
  • Heart of the World: An Introduction to Contemplative Christianity – Fr. Thomas Keating
  • Merton’s Place to No Where – James Finley
  • Christian Meditation: Experiencing the Presence of God – James Finley
  • Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening- Cynthia Bourgeault

Article: David Brook’s – Editorial in NYT with his journey with, away from and back again with religion

Article: “The Priest Who Helps Women in the Mob Escape”  (shared by Kathleen during our Saturday Centering Prayer Group): https://www.newyorker.com/newsletter/the-daily/d-t-max-on-an-underground-rescue-network-for-mafia-wives

The Hound of Heaven Poem (shared by Kathleen during our Saturday Centering Prayer Group): http://www.houndofheaven.com/poem

Christ the King Priory and St. Benedict’s Retreat Center

https://christthekingpriory.com/retreats-schedule

Benedictine Monastery in Schuyler, Nebraska

  •  BioSpirituality Intro Workshops and other Zoom spiritual formation offerings

Center for Action and Contemplation

Shared by Colleen in response to Ann’s request for CAC online course information

Pentecost Richard Rohr Daily Meditation shared by Colleen

A note from Colleen:  It is the essence of Rohr’s message which is always a bit of a challenge to the “ritualistic, and rules based “pray, pay and obey” Catholicism that was the foundation (or so I thought) about my faith tradition and our Pentecost conversation.

Read here: https://email.cac.org/t/d-e-etylrjl-dyldidijdl-w/

Resources from St. Paul's Monastery

St Pauls Monastery_winter

“Empty Yourself Completely: A Spirituality of Kenosis": by Father Cyprian Consiglio, OSB Cam

Share a Resource!

ECF members, just click submit to email Teri the resource(s) to post.