Open your heart to the silence and wonder of Advent and Christmas. Join us for Silent Saturday with a change for the season.
“Come rest awhile with the Lord.” Advent is a treasured graced-filled time of the year and an opportunity to light our awareness to the expectant hope of this season. Contemplative Outreach St. Louis invites you to a morning of prayer including Lectio Divina, and two Centering Prayer sessions, as we prepare for Advent’s invitation.
This Silent Saturday we gather at 8:30 am. Between 9:00 – 11:00 am – We will have a Centering Prayer period and a Lectio Divina session and sharing, followed by a break and a second Centering Prayer period.
We meet at Grace Episcopal Church in Kirkwood in the Thompson Room. Enter through the lower-level door south of the playground.
Please register in the spirit of Advent so we can prepare for you. Though there is no charge for this event, a free-will donation is always appreciated. You may give via PayPal or credit card by using the Donate button at right or by check or cash at the event.
Save the dates: Silent Saturdays are held on the second Saturdays of even-numbered months!
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
“O Gracious Creator of the seasons, how quickly have we come to the end of the first week of Advent. Precious and graced are these days of road-work by which we make our lives into pathways for the Prince of Peace. Hollow out our hearts-empty them of desires for more material gifts-to make room for the real gifts of Christmas. Grant us a true hunger for a love which is patient, never rude or prone to anger and never broods over injuries. As we prepare to illuminate another week of Advent, may we realize that love’s forbearance is limitless in its trust and hope.”
“O come, O come, Emmanuel, come forth like the dawn from within us. Then our lives, like Advent candle flames, will blaze out into the world with love-filled deeds and hope-filled desire.”
—by Edward Hayes
We are blessed to have videos on Lectio Divina presented by Father Thomas Keating calling us to a deeper relationship with God. Lectio Divina draws from scriptural and/or other sacred reading, meditation, and prayer to promote communion with God and increase the knowledge of God’s Word.
Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina with Thomas Keating, Part 1: In this talk, Fr. Thomas explains that Lectio Divina is meant to be an experience of scripture in which one listens for God rather than reads for content. The words penetrate one in a dynamic process under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, gradually moving one into deeper union with God. Fr. Thomas describes the traditional four ‘moments’ of Lectio Divina in a circular format; the experience is not linear as all the ‘moments’ are interrelated. This conference was given at the Lectio Divina Institute held on January 17-21, 1997 at the Benedictine Center in Beech Grove, Indiana.
Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina with Thomas Keating, Part 2: In this talk entitled “Principles for the Practice of Lectio,” Fr. Thomas explains that Lectio is the process of assimilating the Gospel and also being assimilated by it. He describes five moments in this process: 1) Beginning prayer to the Holy Spirit as your Guide, 2) Noticing how scripture is mirroring your life, 3) Experiencing the Word of God as directed to different levels of consciousness, 4) Reading your experience of grace into the scriptures, and 5) becoming the Word of God in a particular human situation. This conference was given at the Lectio Divina Institute held on January 17-21, 1997 at the Benedictine Center in Beech Grove, Indiana.
Four Steps of Lectio Divina
There is no standard way of doing lectio divina, but the following method has proven helpful to beginners.
- Read (Lectio): Read a passage from Scripture. “Listen” to God’s word. Gather the facts. Does a particular word or phrase speak to you?
- Reflect (Meditatio): Read the passage again. Reflect on the passage as a whole or on a particular phrase. What is God saying to you?
- Respond (Oratio): Read the Scripture once again. Respond to God with your heart. What do you want to say to God?
- Rest (Contemplatio*): Read the selection a final time. Rest in God’s presence for a few minutes.
* Strictly speaking, contemplation is a gift of grace that depends on the movement of the Holy Spirit. It is a real awareness of God, desiring and loving Him, beyond concepts, feelings and particular acts.
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