Ways to enter into contemplative prayer: Part 1

How do you pray? Do you connect formally, guided by recited prayers? Or, is your conversation with God more like a stream of consciousness? Do you journal? Does nature become your cathedral? Is centering prayer or meditation a piece of your prayer life? Of the countless ways to pray, the method we choose often correlates with the place we find ourselves on our spiritual journey and can lead us into deeper forms of prayer if we allow it.

Contemplative prayer is a way of immersing oneself in a quiet place, a place of balance, and a place of spiritual imagination. Five “traditional” forms of Contemplative Christian prayer include: Ignatian, Benedictine, Augustinian, Thomistic, and Franciscan--all of which emerged from the mystical experiences of their namesakes. Each of these types of prayer will be published in this blog over the next few weeks. Enjoy and discover your favorite.

Ignatian Prayer: The Path of Asceticism

Ignation prayer uses the imagination. Through scripture the reader is placed in the midst of the event.

Method: In this prayer, we make use of guided imagery and active imagination within the framework of a gospel passage of Jesus’ life. Begin by selecting a short action passage from the gospel.

• Relax, focus on your breath as it moves in and out of your body. Allow yourself to let the events of your day, or worries to slip away. Relax. Become aware of God’s presence around you. Read the passage several times slowly. Now place the bible aside.


• Breathe and recall the story you just read. Allow it to come alive before you. Imagine the people, the place, the dust, the smell, the objects, the animals, the words spoken, etc. Just let yourself go. Enjoy the scene. Place yourself in it. You are more than a bystander or an onlooker. Be active in what is happening!


• Do not make judgements or analyze. Just be present to the scene.


• Do not try to reason out or learn. Be content just be there.


• End the prayer by talking to Jesus. Thank him for all that happened or did not happen during this time of prayer.


• Journal your experience, pay close attention to your feelings.


• If an insight emerges write it down.

For additional information and contemplations, please visit www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/Imagination.

And, for wonderful daily ignatian podcast prayer visit www.pray-as-you-go.org.

What is the difference?

"I've never attended a Mass that made me feel the way this one did." These are the words of my brother-in-law who, with my husband's sister, were in town to celebrate our eldest daughter's graduation. They are business owners and travel all over the country, and rarely if ever miss a mass. Being a member of the staff at St. Thomas, I was eager to hear more of what he meant.

So, he continued..."Are you guys a different sect of Catholicism?" I had to laugh because I know what he meant and I'm sure if you were not raised as a St. Thomas parishioner, and have endured dry, lifeless liturgies elsewhere, you get the joke too. So I said "Of course we are not a different sect of Catholicism, we are Roman Catholic and our liturgies follow the exact same order, and include all the prayers and rituals of Catholic masses said all around the world...but we are an oasis."

There IS a difference. And my brother-in-law agreed. I will summarize the points he made.

The music: Lively, great, different, and energized from the beginning to the end. Not only is everyone singing, they appear to WANT to sing. The worship aid is far better than a hymnal.
The pre-Mass greeting: So friendly! This is unusual. A real community feeling, a wonderful way to start. In fact, it was friendly on the way in and on the way out
The commentator: eloquent speaker, it is great to see all the ethnic diversity in the church
The lectors: Very well prepared, delivered the readings with meaning, kept the attention
The homily: Loved how Fr. Joel got personal, how he challenged the community with questions, how he probed and got answers to make sure we understood. This was not a dry homily, it was personal, terrific.
Fr. Joel: love this guy, and obviously you do too. The emotional connection between Fr. Joel and the people is apparent.
The Lord's Prayer: beautiful and moving, hand holding. Everyone singing!

Okay, I'll admit it, I really felt a surge of pride hearing my brother-in-law talk about St. Thomas this way. It was affirming to me that my experience is not biased, it is real. But it is essential that we go out and make good liturgy happen everywhere. St. Thomas is an Oasis, but surely good liturgy can be found in other churches.

So, here is my take: Liturgy literally means Work of the People. Without a doubt it is the liturgists, the musicians, the commentators, the greeters, the altar servers, and the presider who make the liturgy possible. And no doubt Christ is present among us. But it is the action of the People actively seeking out and recognizing the palpable experience of Christ through one another, through the prayers, the readings, the rituals, and of course through the Eucharist. On any given Sunday, Saturday, holiday, you can look around St. Thomas and see it happening. We Celebrate. This is the difference.

We make this difference a reality wherever we go. St. Thomas parishioners have first hand experience of good liturgy but it doesn't stop here. This summer, while attending Mass at other churches, bring some of that St. Thomas difference with you and celebrate your experience of the living Christ with another.

Palm Sunday

Mike Hayes is the author of "Googling God: The Religious Landscape of People in the 20s and 30s". He is also the managing editor of Bustedhalo.com, a Catholic spirituality site sponsored by the Paulists. Mike's take on how Catholics often think about and occasionally respond to "Creasters" is refreshing and frankly, spot on. This week, St. Thomas will welcome many people who for countless reasons have been away from the church and are taking that tentative first step back...will their experience bring them back a second time, a third?

Mike Hayes' blog for Palm Sunday:

I love Palm Sunday. We get to see more people on Palm Sunday and Ash Wednesday than we do most of the year. And while many people find it annoying that these folks only show up during these times (and maybe in addition Christmas and Easter) we have such an opportunity to feed them some good spirituality. I would also challenge those who don't like these people that they may be the reasons that they don't show up more often. Complaining about their lack of attendance might just be the nudge they needed to go right back out the door from whence they came--and most likely not to return again. Other traditions would fall over backwards welcoming these people with open arms each and every Sunday--and yet, we don't do that often enough--not even four times a year when we know they're going to make their way back to us. There's a lot of hatred out there--why not be a force for positive change? Pastors often are too busy with preparations as are the rest of the staff--what is it that we can do as laity to take on the task of welcoming people into our pews this Palm Sunday?

So today, ask yourself--not father, not deacon, not the choir director...How can you welcome someone in your parish that you might not see on a regular basis?

That's where we need to be this Holy Week...and I pray that we all find it in our hearts to do just that. Posted by god googler at 7:33 PM