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Prayer Retreat Day Saturday, November 17 by Gretchen Haight "Catching the Fire: Prayer in Our Contemporary Times" is the title Sister Catherine Marie Bazar, O.P., has given this day she will spend with us, leading us in various forms of prayer and helping us to pray more easily. Sister Catherine refers to kataphatic prayer, which she defines as praying from "the outside in," and apophatic prayer, from "the inside out." She says that some personalities are more comfortable with kataphatic, others with apophatic, but she also believes that both are important to the spirit in order to become whole and complete individuals. Sr. Catherine, a Dominican sister of Mission San Jose, CA, is a former high school teacher, focusing on inner city high-risk kids. Her current work is in prison ministry; she is Chaplain at the Regional County Jail for Women in Lynwood. Sr. Catherine has a degree in spiritual theology, is a Spiritual Director, and has for many years been conducting retreat days and workshops in Centering Prayer. She is a member of Contemplative Outreach, founded by Thomas Keating, and a practitioner of its method of Centering Prayer. She will take us through this practice, step by step. The day - 9:00AM to 2:00PM - will be structured as follows: After a brief introduction, Sr. Catherine will talk about the convergence of science and spirituality in our contemporary world and its breakthrough into prayer. This will be followed by our own experience of outer breakthrough, as she calls it. She will also give us an introduction to Contemplative Outreach and the Centering Prayer movement, and will discuss the inner journey of relationship with God, after which we will have an experience of this inner breakthrough. There will be short breaks along the way, with snacks available, and a break for lunch; we plan to finish by 2:00, to allow you the rest of the afternoon for usual Saturday responsibilities/activities. In an article titled "Centered in Jail," in the most recent issue of Contemplative Outreach News, Sr. Catherine wrote about Centering Prayer and meditation: "These sessions are so popular that over 2000 women freely attend or return weekly over a period of one month. Deputies are astounded that 80 to 100 women whose nerves cause them to yell, fight, and cry so much during the day can sit for 20 minutes in absolute uninterrupted silence and emerge in such peace. Some deputies have even joined in to learn the secret. "The peace that arises from inner stillness through silent prayer is absolutely essential in this kind of environment. . . . Teaching them how to go deeper beyond the exteriors of their confinement and find a safe place within their 'secret chamber' where they meet their God, their Healer, their Support, and then to leave them there, unleashes a huge pool of grace from which they can draw strength to face their challenges, deal with their issues, and experience Pure Love without cost." We're not in jail, but we each suffer from our own forms of bondage and yearn for that "secret chamber" where we might meet our God, our Healer, our Support. So come join the Healing Prayer Group who is sponsoring this short day of retreat. The cost will be $25 which includes snacks and lunch provided by the church. There will be a sign-up sheet on the patio on Sunday mornings. Scholarships are always available, so please ask the Rev. Laura Queen if you would like to have one. Copyright © 2007 St. Augustine by-the-Sea
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