As we travel life’s path on our individual spiritual journeys, we become aware of the need for support along the way.
Centering Prayer groups are one support on the journey, an important one. But we are also upheld by spiritual practices and disciplines as well as by our spiritual reading. The links below are but a brief introduction to resources especially suited to Contemplative life and prayer.
Spiritual Practices
Lectio Divina
Lectio divina is a monastic method of reading Scripture to find in it the meaning God has for us in our particular lives, in our familiar, everyday situations. The Latin means divine reading or holy reading. It is sometimes called prayerful reading, especially when it is the Bible being read. It is not Bible Study, but Bible immersion–mulling over a particular word, phrase or passage that seems to have special meaning for us.
- “Lectio Divina in a nutshell”
- Article: “The Classical Monastic Practice of Lectio Divina”, by Fr. Thomas Keating
Practice in Lectio Divina, a six-session course
- Introduction
- Session 1
- Session 2
- Session 3
- Session 4
- Session 5
- Session 6 (plus selected Bibliography)
Spiritual Reading
Books can be great companions on the journey, renewing and refreshing us with scripture, prayer, inspiration, and theology. We offer an annotated bibliography that we hope will grow with offerings from more members of the network. As a beginning, we concentrate on the reading that forms our basic understanding of Centering Prayer.
Labyrinth
Labyrinth is a meditative sacred walk through a path of concentric circles. It is not a maze or puzzle, but a path to a center, with one way in and one way out. It encourages mindfulness and focus while walking.