Contemplative prayer retreat scheduled on Feb. 2

Intermountain Catholic

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DRAPER — Two forms of contemplative prayer will be the focus of a half-day retreat offered Feb. 2 by Monsignor Terence Moore, pastor of Saint John the Baptist Parish.

The event fits into the Year of Faith called by Pope Benedict XVI, which began last October and ends this November. Prayer is one of the pillars of the Year of Faith; the other two are catechesis and charity. (More information on the Year of Faith may be found online at www.vatican.va/special/annus_fidei/index_en.htm)

Msgr. Moore will focus on lectio divina and centering prayer, he said.

Lectio divina "dates back to early monastic communities," according to "God’s Word. Ever Ancient, Ever New: The Art and Practice of Lectio Divina" by Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Sister Antoine Lawlor, DMin.

The document is posted on the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website at www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/catechesis/catechetical-sunday/word-of-god/upload/lectio-divina.pdf.

"It was a method practiced by monks in their daily encounter with Scripture, both as they prepared for the Eucharist and as they prayed the Liturgy of the Hours. Its use continued in the Middle Ages in religious orders, such as the Benedictines and Carmelites, that not only practiced lectio divina daily but passed this treasure from the past on to the next generations," according to Sr. Antoine.

Centering prayer also developed from the monastic tradition. It is "a method of silent prayer that prepares us to receive the gift of contemplative prayer, prayer in which we experience God’s presence within us, closer than breathing, closer than thinking, closer than consciousness itself. This method of prayer is both a relationship with God and a discipline to foster that relationship," according to the website www.contemplativeoutreach.org.

Msgr. Moore occasionally uses his homily to direct the congregation in one of these types of prayer, especially on Holy Thursday and Good Friday, he said. "Any time I’ve done it, little snippets of it during homily time, people just seem to love it."

The retreat will be divided into two sections, he explained, one on lectio divina and one on centering prayer. They will focus on the Psalms and end with the Lord’s Prayer.

"It’s all designed to take texts of Scripture, savor them, reflect on them," Msgr. Moore said.