ANNOUNCEMENTS

On Dec. 3, 2011, COP held its Christmas Party at Roozen Hall, St. John Bosco Parish. The very successful event started with a Contemplative Mass at 9 AM celebrated by our very own “Monsi” Oracion. After the Eucharistic celebration, the group of 120 COP men and women proceeded to Roozen Hall for a few hours of fellowship (i.e., games, musical program and lunch.) Meny de la Rosa, head of Socials in the Circle of Service was in charge of the whole event. Emcees were Miren Sun and Carmel Dael while Rita Go was in charge of Games. The happy event ended at 2:00 PM with the whole community forming a circle, linking hands, led by Malou Alzate, and singing together a most apropos song, “Sing a Song” and before that, “Healing our World”.

For this year's Contemplative Outreach (CO) Annual Conference, 3 COP members – Grace Padilla, Billie Trinidad and Tess Colayco, went to San Francisco in the U.S. to attend the Enrichment Day on Oct. 1, 2011. The 3-day Conference was held at the Marriott Waterfront Hotel in Burlingame, CA, with the theme: “ReAwakening to the Contemplative Dimension of Life.” It was a most enriching and heartwarming experience listening to the magnificent talks/presentations by the Conference speakers, and bonding with fellow centering pray-ers and spiritual companions. (Please refer to accompanying article. Click here.)

On Oct. 15, 2011, the Circle of Service (COS) of Contemplative Outreach Phil. (COP) held its Annual Planning Meeting at the home of Anna Marie Llanos in Alabang. The whole day activity started at 9:30 AM with centering prayer after which Terly Chikiamco, COS Convenor facilitated the discussion re plans for the coming year (i.e., workshops/retreats, formation classes, fellowship activities, etc.) An evaluation of the previous year's programs and activities as well as recommendations for the future were also taken up with each committee head giving her input. (Please refer to Events page for 2012 Schedule of COP activities).

To celebrate her birthday in Oct., Anna Marie served a sumptuous lunch and merienda, motivating the 10 member COS to do their brainstorming with even more enthusiasm and energy. It was also on this occasion that the new COP Adviser, Grace Padilla, formally expressed her acceptance of her new role in the community. (Please refer to accompanying article. Click here.)

For our monthly Formation Class, Dr. Carmen (Pinky) Valdes gave a presentation/ workshop on the Enneagram on Oct. 24, 2011 at Santuario de San Antonio. The 45 participants were all interested to know more about their personality type (i.e., strengths/weaknesses, natural inclination/aversions, similarities/differences with other personality types, etc.) There was a lively Q& A during the 5 hour presentation on the Enneagram. A workbook was also given to each of the participants which further explained this ancient and Sufi-based personality theory. During the working lunch, we gave written answers to the questions in the workbook referring to our individual personality type. The workshop was helpful in our journey towards self-awareness and more loving interpersonal relationships.

On Nov. 3-4, 2011, Tess Colayco and some members of CO, Singapore got together to renew friendships and share news/information re their centering prayer groups. Michael and Agnes Lim happily recalled their CP retreat in the past with Fr. Martin O'Loghlen who used to go to Singapore/Malaysia during the time that he was based here in Manila. In Indonesia, a CP group is slowly growing, per Michael. Suzan Ling, now volunteer Counsellor, (her outreach), in a parish in Singapore asked about the possibility of ordering books by Fr. Keating from the COP Secretariat. We also met with Madeline Soo, once a Servant Leader in CO, Ltd., and our Formator in 2004 during the Asia-Australia Contemplative Outreach Meeting at Lake Island, Binangonan. While in Singapore, we informed our CP friends in the Garden City about a plan of COP to organize an Intensive Retreat to be held at St. Benedict's Monastery in Snowmass, CO, in Sept. 2012. (Billie Trinidad is coordinating the event.)

The last CPG (Centering Prayer Group) Heads Quarterly Meeting was held last Nov. 19 at the Secretariat. Most of the 18 CPG Heads were present for the afternoon meeting which was meant to be an updating on COP activities, as well as a sharing of the current status of the different CPG's. At the same time it was an opportunity for the CPG Heads to meet the new COP Adviser, Grace Padilla. Facilitating the meeting was Dedette Gamboa, Head of the CPG Circle of Service. (Please see accompanying article. Click here.)

COP was requested by Sr. Loi Nemis of the Sister Handmaids of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul to give an Introduction to Centering Prayer Retreat for their congregation in Tagaytay City on Dec. 29-30, 2011. This is an offshoot of an inter-congregational Intro CP Retreat that their novices had attended previously which was given by Pixie Cuisia. For the Dec. retreat, Charit Montalban will be the presenter. Thirty participants are expected to attend the retreat.

Two new CPG’s (Centering Prayer Groups) have been added to our list. Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! The new CPG’s and their contact info are the ff:

CO ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2011

by Tess Colayco

“Re-Awakening to the Contemplative Dimension of Life”... This was the theme of this year’s CO Annual Conference which was held at the Marriott Waterfront Hotel in San Francisco, U.S.A. from Sept. 29 - Oct. 1, 2011. Three members of COP, namely, Grace Padilla, Billie Trinidad and the author attended the Day of Enrichment on Dec. 1, 2011.

As in all CO Annual Conferences, it was an experience of “Formation” and “Information”, allowing for activities that were spiritually nourishing (i.e., periods of centering prayer and reflection, celebration of the Eucharist, soulfriending, etc.) as well as having workshops, talks by highly qualified presenters, and offering books, tapes and videos on the spiritual journey.

Although Fr. Thomas Keating was unable to attend the Conference, he was still very much present, welcoming the participants and giving the Closing Message as well, via video from St. Benedict’s Monastery where he resides. His words were inspiring and challenging, exhorting the members of CO (Contemplative Outreach), both present and everywhere else in the world, to live life from a contemplative view. Basically it means seeing the world with “new eyes”, seeing God in all and all in God. Talking of evolution, Fr. Keating said “the new emphasis of evolution is spiritual”. As for the relationship between nature and grace (no contradiction there), “grace and nature build together”. In fact, “nature can be a door into the knowledge of God.”

It was heartening to see Fr. Thomas looking hale and hearty despite his advanced age.

The highly respected speakers from Academe and the Sciences were also very effective in delivering their scholarly and well-researched presentations. The topics were: “Neuroscientific Approaches to Centering Prayer: What can the brain teach us about this practice?”, “Centering Prayer: A Healing Response to Everyday Stress”, Educating Minds and Hearts: Contemplation and the Next Generation”, and “The Contemplative Dimension of Centering Prayer: Transforming Obstacles into Aides for Spiritual Growth”.

In between the presentations and workshops, Conference participants had many opportunities to browse and purchase books, videos and other informational materials, some of which were given away for free. Much time was also spent mingling with other CO members/guests, renewing friendships, networking and soulfriending. It was heartening to be in the midst of kindred souls, bonding and feeling the Oneness that is the Divine amongst us, in us.

Kudos to CO Ltd., especially to the Officers headed by Gail Fitzpatrick-Hopler, and the Organizing Committee headed by Marie Howard, on yet another very successful Annual Conference!

“Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God.” (Teilhard de Chardin). That sentiment shared by all of us who were at San Francisco in Sept/Oct. 2011 truly characterized the Annual Conference. Deo gratias!

"Here Come the Lonely Ones" - Contemplative Song

Science, Evolution and Divine Union (Video)

LECTIO DIVINA WORKSHOP

by Rachelle Rule

On Octobeber 8, 2011, Contemplative Outreach Philippines held a workshop on Lectio Divina for the general public. This activity took place at Roozen Hall of St. John Bosco Parish, Makati, from 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM. Attended by 30 participants, Charit Montalban facilitated the event.

Lectio Divina is Latin for "divine reading". It is a traditional spiritual practice dating back to the Desert Fathers/Mothers of the early Church. It is a way of praying with Scripture that calls one to listen, reflect, and, finally respond to God's Word, all in the context of one's ordinary daily life.

After a Lectio Divina workshop, participants often say that the experience leaves them with a refreshed spirit and an increased eagerness to experience God in Sacred Scripture. Both monastics and lay people find the prayer a beautiful way to deepen one's relationship with God thru Scripture, hearing and interiorizing it at ever deepening levels.

To inquire about future workshops on Lectio Divina, please call the COP Secretariat at tel. no. 501-5231 (Tuesday to Saturday) or visit the website of Contemplative Outreach Philippines at www.cophil.org

A BLESSING OF GRACE

by Terly Chikiamco

In 2008, when Lita Salinas announced her stepping down as Contemplative Outreach Phils. (COP) Director after 20 years of dedicated service, it wasn’t a complete good-bye, as Lita continued on to serve as Adviser in the new structure patterned after that of Contemplative Outreach Ltd. in the USA and its chapters around the world, called Circle of Service or COS.

As Adviser, Lita clearly informed the COS that she was only going to stay on for at most two (2) years and that she would definitely retire at the end of such period. But even before that period came, God apparently had other plans for Lita. By the last quarter of 2010, Lita’s husband, Carlos, was appointed to the post of Phil. Ambassador to Spain which meant that they had to leave the Philippines by early January 2011. God made sure there would be no negotiating for the COS to ask Lita to stay on with COP. Hence, the COS suddenly found itself without an Adviser at the start of 2011.

By July this year, the COS felt the vacuum of not having any Adviser. Affirming this was Fr. Keating who specifically mentioned to Billie Trinidad, in one of their conversations, that it was crucial for the COS to have an Adviser to complete the Circle. Thus, after extensive discussions, prayers and consultations, the COS reached a consensus to ask Grace Padilla to be the new COS adviser.

Grace introduced and brought Centering Prayer here in the Philippines in the early 80’s after having attended an Introduction to Centering Prayer Retreat in Snowmass, Colorado. Like Lita Salinas, Grace was part of the Faculty of Contemplative Outreach Ltd. She lives and breathes Centering Prayer.

Grace is also in a leadership position with the Catholic Women’s League, national office and continues to be one of their key formators. She also belongs to the secular Franciscan Order and was just recently invited to sit as a member of the Parish Council of Santuario de San Antonio, Forbes Park, Makati City. She leads its current program of propagating among the parishioners contemplative prayer. Just recently, Grace attended the Annual Conference of Contemplative Outreach Ltd. in San Francisco, California.

Having graciously accepted the invitation as Adviser, Grace has already sprung into action, sharing with the COS her desire to focus on deepening the general membership’s understanding of Fr. Keating’s teachings through regular formation, using the SJ tapes. With such dedication and passion, Grace, the new COP Adviser, brings to us her committed and inspiring example of living the contemplative spirituality in our daily lives.

Indeed, we are truly blessed to have Grace.

ADVENT: WATCHING AND WAITING

by Rachelle Rule

“Life has become exceedingly hectic...“ So begins a video of CO Ltd., “Reaching Out to the World”. We are surrounded by hectic. We hurry to work, crowd into buses, jeepneys, tricyles; we sit impatiently in traffic jams, our foot hovers halfway between jumpstart and idling as we wait out the red light at the intersection. And as the video also states: "As I continue in that sort-of frenetic pace, I find that I forget about God". Why? Because hurrying almost always generates a noise, a distraction from other things. Hurry takes away silence from us, leaving us harassed, impatient, stressed out. And when one is impatient and stressed out, indeed it is easy to forget about God.

Advent is upon us. We probably know the textbook definition of Advent (from the Latin word “adventus” meaning "coming"). It is a season observed in many Western Christian churches, a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. It is the beginning of the Western liturgical year and commences on Advent Sunday, called Levavi. (Catholic online: http://www.catholic.org). Four Sundays of preparation. Of watching. Of waiting. And not just ordinary waiting. This is the time of silence. This is the time when waiting and silence are not separate but one. This is the time when we are called to slow down to quiet watchfulness, and prepare for the arrival of Someone greater than one’s self.

Advent is not the time when we prepare for Christmas but the time in which we are being prepared for Christmas. Advent is a time when we are asked to be quiet and still in the middle of all the partying, cooking, shopping, Christmas tree decorating, etc. We are asked to slow down, to be awake, watching and waiting in silence for the God who is coming.

Waiting in silence, giving up more and more of a space inside us so God can be more and more within us, is something that all practitioners of centering prayer know. Advent is that time of the Christian liturgical year when we practice the waiting for something and hoping and trusting in that which is to come. And once that "something" does come, we allow ourselves to be caught up in it and to be changed by it into its own form and image (fruits and gifts of the Spirit!). For if after Advent, nothing happens out of the watching and waiting and we just return to our “normal” lives, then we really never changed, it is not a true Advent, it is not a true preparation for Christmas and not a true preparation for the arrival of the Christ into our lives.

I remember reading about an observation by Thomas Merton wherein he said that life is a perpetual Advent. I agree with him. After nearly four years of being with COP, learning and practicing centering prayer, it has been four years of learning to watch and wait and be silent. And just like Christmas that follows Advent, it has also been four years of welcoming God deep within me, four years of consenting to be changed by Him, four years of my own Fiat.

Four years of letting God be God in my life. Everything is grace. And I am grateful.

Father God, continue to foster in me Your spirit of watchfulness and patient waiting in silence, so that when Your Son comes, I may truly welcome Him and know what it is to be dwelt in by Him. Amen.

MY HEART THIS ADVENT

by Fr. Ting Miciano

As we enter the last month of the year 2011, our minds, perhaps by conditioning or by sheer media influence, think of Christmas and New Year! Along with these events come the most pleasant experiences, the best times, our highest wishes and most heartfelt desires. Yes, Christmas and the New Year bring out in us the best in ourselves. And why not? The human person is destined for great things. Ironically, it is this desire for great things which Christmas provokes in us that can give meaning to this period before Christmas.

Yes, my dear friends, Christmas might be so near, but it’s not yet. In the Liturgical Year (the schedule or calendar which the Church follows throughout the year), we are still in the period called Advent, which means “coming”. The 4 weeks before Christmas are meant to prepare us to celebrate and embrace that most glorious day of Christ's birth most worthily. The Church prepares us by its liturgy (celebrations in the Church, particularly the Holy Eucharist), prayers and practices. But there is one crucial element of the Advent season that we must not forget, and it deals with our desires and wishes.

In one of the many sermons of St. Augustine, I read this interesting line on prayer, “Why He should ask us to pray, when He knows what we need before we ask Him, may perplex us if we do not realize that our Lord and God does not want to know what we want (for He cannot fail to know it) but wants us rather to exercise our desire through our prayers, so that we may be able to receive what He is preparing to give us. His gift is very great indeed, but our capacity is too small and limited to receive it. That is why we are told: Enlarge your desires.” St. Augustine wants to emphasize those elements which motivate our prayers: our desires, our hopes, our wishes and dreams. What do we want? What do we crave for, really deep in our hearts? Yes, our saint wants us to move from the mere mention of objects to focusing on motives, and big motives at that. Now, once we know exactly what we want, he tells us “to enlarge your desires”. Wish for the greater things, hope for the impossible and desire more. By this, he means not quantity but quality, not temporal gifts but for dreams and wishes that really matter, especially in terms of our salvation. Instead of just asking only for Christmas gifts, why not ask also to grow in Christian virtue? Instead of merely asking for peace in your family, why not ask also for peace for the whole world? Instead of simply praying for protection from sickness or accidents, why not also pray for the eradication of world poverty and hunger? Instead of praying only for the love of your life, why not also pray for the increase of charity and forgiveness all around? In our desires and wishes, let us not be limited by our ignorance or the misconception that “it’s too much for God to grant”. God is too good not to give us the best and the most. With St. Augustine, let us enlarge our capacity to receive by enlarging our desires and dreams when we pray.

‒ Reprinted from the December 2011 Issue of Simbahay

The Official Newsletter of St. John Bosco Parish, Makati

CPG HEADS QUARTERLY MEETING

by Dedette Gamboa

Each quarter, Centering Prayer Group (CPG) Heads meet together to give an update on the status of their respective groups, to bring up any issues that their group members may have, and to be informed of forthcoming COP activities.

The last CPG Heads meeting for 2011 was held on Nov.18 at the COP office in St. John Bosco Parish, Makati. It was a well attended meeting during which we introduced to the group the new COP adviser, Grace Padilla.

The meeting started promptly at 1:30 PM with an opening prayer, followed by a brief introduction of Grace to the members. The group was then apprised of the forthcoming activities of COP for the rest of 2011 (i.e, Formation Class on Nov. 28 and the COP Christmas Party on December 3) and the planned activities for 2012.

With business matters taken care of, each CPG head was then asked to give our Adviser a short briefing on the status of their respective CPG's including any issues that they may have at present. A key concern/issue that resurfaced was the inability of members to attend the monthly formation classes which are held in Makati mostly due to the problem of distance. To address this issue, mobile formation classes will be revived with Charit Montalban making herself available for this. Grace Padilla has also volunteered to visit and give formation talks to requesting groups.

To jumpstart 2012, a Day of Renewal for CPG heads and their alternates is scheduled for Jan. 21, 2012 at Santuario de San Antonio from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Also, as part of the formation of the group, Module 3 and Module 4 of the Spiritual Journey tapes of Father Keating will be taken up facilitated by Billie Trinidad and Grace Padilla.

In the future, each Quarterly Meeting of CPG Heads will include faith sharing by CPG heads who may volunteer to talk on the fruits of CP in their lives, and Contemplative Service. This will serve as an inspiration for the members to persevere in their prayer and in their ministry as CPG Heads.

The meeting ended with Grace giving some of her thoughts and ideas on how to deepen the spirituality of COP members for next year.

CP INTRODUCTORY WORKSHOP AT ST. JOHN BOSCO PARISH STA. ROSA LAGUNA

A CP Introductory Workshop was held at St. John Bosco Parish Sta. Rosa, Laguna last Nov. 26 – Nov. 27, 2011. With the active support of Parish Priest, Fr. Rolo Alcasid, SDB, the workshop was organized by Susan Rivera.

Pixie Cuisia facilitated the 2-day workshop which was attended by 50 participants. Anna Marie Llanos, head of Retreats and Workshops, and her St. Jerome CPG helped staff the workshop.

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