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HISTORY
PEOPLE
LINKS
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A glimpse of Reality...
“I wait
patiently for God to save me; I depend on him alone.”
(Ps. 62:1)
Last year, as I was preparing for the Christmas holidays, I could
not muster as much enthusiasm as with previous years due to the
economic crunch our country was plunged in since the start of the
last quarter of the year. There was just not enough money to spend
on the things I always associated with Christmas. For the first
time in years I had to trim down my expenses to the bare
necessities and had to forego giving gifts to friends and others
outside my immediate family. Needless to say, I was going through
the motions with a heavy heart. But, having not that much to do, I
had more time to reflect about things and I found more time to
pray. I then realized what the Lord is trying to teach me and with
His mercy and grace was able to look at all his blessings that I
have taken for granted. He filled my heart with gratitude over
these blessings in my life.
As a result, I had the most meaningful Christmas celebration with
my whole family as we all went to Christmas Eve Mass together and
partook of the noche buena meal I prepared, devoid of all the
trimmings that only tend to disrupt the peace and real joy that
Christmas brings.
Thank you Lord, for giving me the best gift…a heart full of
gratitude for your kindness and mercy.
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“The spiritual
tradition of a community depends on the commitment of its members
to the transformational journey and to each other. To offer one
another space in which to grow as persons is an integral part of
this commitment.”
- Thomas Keating
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A glimpse of Reality...
“No one has ever seen
God. Yet, if we love one another, God dwells in us and his love is
brought to perfection in us.”
(1 Jn 4:12)
Outside the church where I go to mass daily, there are a few
beggars loitering about. As I pass by them, I always give prayers,
even if I do so with eyes averted and on rare occasions give
money. One day, a man with a disfigured arm confronted me and I
was touched enough to give him something. I dropped it in his
hands and made sure I didn’t touch him. But, the money fell to the
ground. As he bent to pick it up, I felt deep shame. I said I was
sorry. He thought I was apologizing because of my lack of
compassion for when giving lacks love, it is groundless.
Lord, forgive me for my lack of love.
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"A community of faith offers
the support of example, correction and mutual concern in the spiritual
journey.
Above all … silent prayer
binds the community in a common search for transformation and union with
God.
The presence of Christ is
ministered to each other; and becomes tangible in the community."
̶ (Guidelines for
Christian Growth and Transformation #22, ̶ Open Mind, Open Heart)
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History of
Contemplative Outreach Philippines
Contemplative Outreach Philippines (COP) took root at the Parish of
Santuario de San Antonio in Forbes Park, Makati in 1985 as a ministry
that taught the method of Centering Prayer, and offered practices that
brought its fruit into daily life. However, it was only in 1990
that it became a chapter of Contemplative Outreach Ltd. (CO Ltd.) of New
York, an organization put up by Fr. Thomas Keating, O.C.S.O., solely to
teach Centering Prayer.
 Many
workshops were given during the years that followed. At this
stage, Grace Padilla and Lita Salinas, prime movers of Centering Prayer
practice in the country, were invited to be part of the National Faculty
of CO Ltd. They were the first Asians to be given such an
assignment. It was both a function and a privilege. The
function was to teach Centering Prayer and the privilege was to be
invited to attend Faculty meetings once a year, Coordinators’
Conferences, Formation Programs and Retreats, all aimed at enriching the
ministry in all aspects. Since all these activities are both for
information and formation, the experiences derived from these were
unquantifiable. Both Grace and Lita benefited from these
tremendously. The programs, the inputs that these two learned were
brought home and applied to COP and an ongoing Formation Program was
devised for everyone who by this time had come together regularly as a
Support Group in this new found way of relating to God.
Another
factor contributing to the further spread of Centering Prayer practice
were the visits of Fr. Basil Pennington (first in 1987 and almost yearly
thereafter), Fr. Thomas Keating (in 1989, 1990 and many more times later
on), and Fr. William Meninger in 1998. These three Cistercian
monks were responsible for reintroducing the ancient practice of
contemplative prayer in a contemporary setting as Centering Prayer”.
Fr. Carl
Arico, Vice-President of CO Ltd., came in 1992, and Mrs. Bonnie Shimizu,
Chairperson, Resource Faculty Service Team, came in 2005 to give a
“Formation for Presenter Workshop” to a group of committed members.
Since then, hundreds of workshops, retreats and formation programs have
been given benefiting more than a few thousands, COP members and others,
including the clergy and religious communities, desiring to know more
about Centering Prayer and its application in daily life.
As an organization, COP is
served by a Servant Leader Team (SLT) made up of 10 members, 9 of whom
are elected by its voting members. The 10th member is
the mentor/spiritual adviser commissioned by Fr. Thomas Keating.
Together they make up the Circle of Service (COS) whose function is to
see to it that the vision of Contemplative Outreach (CO) is fostered,
and its mission of spreading the prayer and supporting the members in
their spiritual journey is facilitated.
The
COP Secretariat is located at St. John Bosco Parish, Makati, Philippines
at Rm. 211 in the Parish Building. For information about COP, the
Secretariat can be contacted thru the ff:
Office telephone number – (+632)
501-52-31
Email
address - cop.secretariat@gmail.com.ph
Pastoral Statement
An Endorsement
from the Archbishop of Manila
 On
Feb. 16, 1997, his Eminence, Jaime Cardinal Sin, Archbishop of Manila,
issued a Pastoral Statement on Centering Prayer. Based on an
exhaustive study commissioned by the Cardinal himself, the Statement
clarified Centering Prayer’s true definition, purpose, and benefits, and
how spiritual guidance can help enhance the practice.
Cardinal Sin
concluded the assessment with the pronouncement that Centering Prayer
“merits the approval of the Catholic Christian faith community . . .
because it has brought renewal and deepening of Christian Prayer and
life among increasing numbers of individuals and communities, and has
brought back many seekers for God and for spiritual life back to the
Church.”
The Cardinal has
disseminated the Pastoral Statement on Centering Prayer to all parishes,
religious houses, and seminaries in the Archdiocese of Manila. He
personally released it to then COP Director, Lita Salinas (now COP
mentor/spiritual adviser), thus recognizing the Outreach as the official
organization authorized to teach Centering Prayer and its formation
programs through its bona fide commissioned presenters.
February 16, 1997
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