Learn more
Watch this video introduction to Living Flame from Contemplative Outreach. Link to Program Descriptions and Presenter Bios (opens in new page), a message from Father Matt, founder of Living Flame, and the event flyer to share with friends and family.
| Session Dates | Program | Presenters |
| October 21, 2023 | Deepening Our Centering Prayer Practice | Fionnuala Quinn |
| November 18, 2023 | Lectio Divina | Nancy Stimac & Curt Paddock |
| January 24, 2024 | Soul Friending | Cherry Haisten |
| February 17, 2024 | The Human Condition | Richard Bonacci |
| March 16, 2024 | Divine Therapy | Jenny Adamson |
| April 20, 2024 | Dark Night of the Soul: Night of Sense | Denis Gleeson |
| May 18, 2024 | The Welcoming Prayer | Mary Dwyer |
Program Descriptions
Deepening Our Centering Prayer Practice:
Sacred symbols (word, breath, glance)
Entering and leaving CP period
Active prayer sentence
Lectio Divina:
The monastic way of praying Lectio Divina
The four senses of Scripture through which a biblical text speaks to us
How awareness of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit’s gifts increases our receptivity to divine inspirations and transformation
Soul Friending:
Soul Friending/Spiritual Direction
History and theology of Soul Friending
Soul Friending & Centering Prayer groups
The Human Condition:
Explores characteristics of the human condition
Examples of false felf vs. true self
Dismantling of emotional programs for happiness
Divine Therapy:
Understanding the spiral staircase
The healing process initiated by Centering Prayer
Dark Night of the Soul: Night of Sense
Biblical desert experience
Transition stage of contemplative spiritual journey and deepening relationship with God
Classical signs & trials of the Night of Sense
The Welcoming Prayer Practice:
Consent on the go
Method “to let go and let God” in everyday life
Listening to the wisdom of the body
Embracing all experience as opening to the Divine Indwelling
Message from Father Matt, founder of Living Flame
This hybrid approach to the Living Flame program makes it possible for the contemplative community around the state of Missouri to participate and bond in Spirit, while the presenter and program are being zoomed into in person meetings … all of which now makes this program very practical and affordable.
In my opinion, Father Thomas Keating’s Spiritual Journey Video Series is his masterpiece, but the Living Flame Program is a significant curriculum to help us understand the breadth and width of those videos. This information is the foundation on which the video series were built. The LF Program draws on all of the knowledge and disciplines that informed Father Thomas’ presentation.
I think the Living Flame Program is a masterful offering for those who are seriously drawn to a life of contemplation … that, and the daily practice of CP.