Welcome
Whether you feel called to learn about Centering Prayer or you already have an established Centering Prayer practice, we hope you find this website a source of encouragement and enlightenment in your contemplative journey.
Contemplative Outreach is a spiritual network of individuals and small faith communities with representation in many countries, including Canada. We are committed to supporting people who wish to live the contemplative dimension of the Gospel in everyday life through the practice of Centering Prayer. The contemplative dimension of the Gospel in everyday life manifests itself in an ever-deepening union with the living Christ and the practical caring for others that flows from that relationship. Our purpose is to share the method of Centering Prayer and its immediate conceptual background. We also encourage the practice of Lectio Divina, particularly its movement into Contemplative Prayer, which a regular and established practice of Centering Prayer facilitates.
We identify with the Christian Contemplative heritage. While formed by our respective denominations, we are united in our common search for God and the experience of the living Christ through Centering Prayer. We affirm our solidarity with the contemplative dimension of other religions and sacred traditions, with the needs and rights of the whole human family, and with all creation.
Thomas Keating (Open Mind Open Heart) writes:
´Contemplative prayer is a way of tuning in to a fuller level of reality that is always present and in which we are invited to participate.´
The heart of the Contemplative Outreach Canada website is to echo this invitation toward an intimate relationship with God through faith in the Indwelling of Christ, and consent to the healing action of the Spirit through the practice of Centering Prayer. Contemplative Outreach Canada was formed with a purpose of furthering the vision of a Canadian Centering Prayer network. There are many regions across Canada where Centering Prayer is offered and supported by local groups. To find a Centering a Prayer group in your area, please click on "Contacts & Links" which appears on the Navigation Bar at the top of the page. We invite you to explore all of the website while you are here, and if you have any questions or comments, please contact us. Enjoy your visit. May the Peace of Christ be with you."
"Be still and know that I am God" - Psalm 46, 10
"Silence is God´s first language." - Thomas Keating
