| Vision Statement
Contemplative Outreach is a spiritual network of individuals and small faith communities committed to living the contemplative dimension of the Gospel in everyday life through the practice of Centering Prayer. The contemplative dimension of the Gospel manifests itself in an ever-deepening union with the living Christ and the practical caring for others that flows from that relationship. Our purpose is to share the method of Centering Prayer and its immediate conceptual background. We also encourage the practice of Lectio Divina, particularly its movement into Contemplative Prayer, which a regular and established practice of Centering Prayer facilitates. We identify with the Christian Contemplative Heritage. While we are formed by our respective denominations, we are united in our common search for God and the experience of the living Christ through Centering Prayer. We affirm our solidarity with the contemplative dimension of other religions and sacred traditions, with the needs and rights of the whole human family, and with all creation. |
| Theological Principles
1. Contemplative Outreach is a spiritual network of individuals and small faith communities committed to living the contemplative dimension of the Gospel in every-day life through the practice of Centering Prayer. 2. The contemplative dimension of the Gospel manifests itself in an ever-deepening union with the living Christ and the practical caring for others that flows from that relationship. 3. Centering Prayer consists of responding to the call of the Holy Spirit to consent to God’s presence and action within. It furthers the development of Contemplative Prayer by preparing our faculties to cooperate with this gift. 4. The source of Centering Prayer, as in all methods leading to Christian Contemplative Prayer, is the indwelling Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Its focus is the deepening of our relationship with the living Christ. Its fruits are ecclesial: it builds communities of faith and bonds the members together in charity. 5. A commitment to the regular practice of centering prayer is the primary expression of belonging to the spiritual network. 6. We encourage the practice of Lectio Divina, particularly its movement into Contemplative Prayer which a regular and established practice of Centering Prayer facilitates. 7. We recognize as mature fruits of Centering Prayer a deepening commitment to the needs and rights of each member of the human family and an ever-increasing respect for the integrity and interdependence of all creation. 8. We identify with the Christian Contemplative Heritage in which Centering Prayer is rooted and we recognize the lived experience of that heritage as a common ground for Christian unity. 9. While we are formed by our respective denominations, we are united in our common search for God and the experience of the living Christ through Centering Prayer. 10. We affirm our solidarity with the contemplative dimension of other religious and sacred traditions. 11. Following the teachings of Jesus, we exercise leadership as service, especially by being alert and responsive to the growth and needs of the spiritual network of Contemplative Outreach. 12. We cultivate and foster a spirit of unity and the utmost charity throughout the spiritual network. 13. We acknowledge that any good accomplished by Contemplative Outreach is the work of the Holy Spirit. |
| Contemplative Outreach |
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