MORNING OF PRAYER

Wednesday, September 8

9:30 AM – 1:00 PM

The first program of the year is a morning of simple silence with periods of Lectio Divina and Contemplative Prayer throughout. It’s the best way to start a new year at Francis House and to celebrate the birthday of Mary the Mother of Jesus. Love offering. Lunch included.

SAVOR: MINDFUL EATING, MINDFUL LIFE

Thursday, September 9

7:00 – 8:30 PM

With Savor, world-renowned Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh and Harvard nutritionist Dr. Lilian Cheung show us how to end our struggles with weight once and for all. Savor teaches us how to easily adopt the practice of mindfulness and integrate it into eating, exercise, and all facets of our daily life, so that being conscious and present becomes a core part of our being. It is the awareness of the present moment, the realization of why we do what we do, that enables us to stop feeling bad and start changing our behavior. This evening is best followed by joining Taste & See, beginning September 16. Donation: $35 (includes $20 hardcover book)

LECTIO DIVINA RETREAT

Tuesday, September 14

9:30 AM – 1:00 PM

Lectio Divina is a form of prayer that saturates us in Scripture. It allows the Word of God to penetrate into our entire being and take root in our everyday life. It teaches us to pray with Scripture by reading, reflecting, responding and resting in God’s Word for 20 minutes. Would you like to practice this? Love offering. Lunch included.

PERSONAL RETREAT DAY

Wednesday    9:30 AM – 2:30 PM

Take a day away from the busyness of your life to rest awhile in the Lord and experience God’s presence. Come to Francis House for silence, personal prayer and optional spiritual direction. The day begins and ends with a brief prayer together. Donation: $10; $40 with spiritual direction. Please bring a bag lunch.

MONTHLY SPIRITUAL EXERCISES

9 Wednesdays    3:30 – 4:45 PM

If you need or desire a retreat but simply cannot get away, please give yourself the gift of this retreat that invites you to pray with Scripture each day using the format of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. We will meet monthly for sharing and input on the next month’s prayer.  This is a wonderful way to experience the Spiritual Exercises.    Love Offering

MEETING CHRIST IN PRAYER
8-WEEK EXPERIENCE OF THE SPIRITUAL EXERCISES

8 Wednesdays  7:00 – 8:30 PM

September 15, 22, 29
October 6, 13, 20, 27
November 3

This is another wonderful way to experience the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. You will be invited to pray about 30 minutes each day. If your relationship with God is pleading for attention and if you feel called by God to be more attentive and prayerful, please treat yourself to this 8-week retreat.

You will:

• Learn to pray more deeply
• Grow in friendship with God
• Come to know Jesus more intimately
• Savor the Word of God as a primary means of recognizing the presence and action of God

Love offering.

TASTE AND SEE

12 Thursdays    8:45 – 9:45 AM

September 16 to December 9

Invite God into your relationship with food! This weekly gathering will help us eat healthfully, enjoy food as God desires and enjoy God even more than food! Are you willing? Pray for the grace and act as though you have it. We will also read  Addiction and Grace by Gerald May and Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh.  Donation: $100 for the series or $10 single session.

STUDY OF ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS

9  Thursdays    1:00 – 2:15 PM

We continue our study of St. John of the Cross this year using The Science of the Cross by Edith Stein, OCD.  St. Edith Stein is remarkable in her treatment of the works of St. John of the Cross.  We will follow with Lectio Divina and Contemplative Prayer from 2:30 – 3:30 for those who can stay. Donation: $150.

ABANDONMENT TO DIVINE PROVIDENCE

4  Thursdays    4:00 – 5:00 PM

Spend the next few months being saturated with the words of Fr. Jean Pierre de Caussade, S.J. who insists, in his classic, Abandonment to Divine Providence, that abandoning ourselves to God and God’s will for us changes anxiety into peace and fear into confidence. He teaches us how to give ourselves over to God and actually live in consolation and trust. Donation $50 (includes book)

MERTON SERIES: SOUL SEARCHING

4 Thursdays    7:00 – 8:30 PM

Merton speaks to the soul like no other. He gently leads us toward spiritual transformation and a more contemplative and peace-filled life. Merton reminds us: “Your life is shaped by the ends you live for. You are made in the image of what you desire.” We will study Merton in these four sessions and let his pursuit of his true self in God foster our own search. Topics include:

Entering the School of Your Experience
Traveling Your Road to Joy
Writing Yourself into the Book of Life

You will receive a book each evening to lead you through your two weeks of prayer between sessions. Come to as many as you can, but please come to the first one if possible. Please register early. Donation: $50 for the series, including books, or $20 each session.

FRIDAY MORNING RETREAT
LISTEN TO THE MASTERS

Francis of Assisi, Evelyn Underhill,
The Cloud of Unknowing and Mother Teresa

4 Fridays    9:30 AM  –  Noon

We all need consolation. These readings provide just what we need for strength and encouragement on the journey. We will spend one morning each month together, and the rest of the month praying over the content of these treasures, allowing their words to saturate us with wisdom and peace. These retreat mornings provide time for private prayer and direct our prayer and reading for the month.  Donation: $150 (includes 4 books)

TRANSFORMATION IN CHRIST
A THOMAS KEATING SERIES

9 Fridays    1:00 – 2:15 PM

September 17 & 24
October 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
November 12 & 19

This series condenses the accumulated wisdom of Father Thomas Keating’s many years of teaching and practice into nine essential topics. Each of our nine sessions will include 20 minutes of Contemplative Prayer and viewing and discussing one of the nine 20-minute DVD’s of Thomas Keating. This program invites all who feel called to a deeper, quieter prayer, to more centeredness, joy and interior peace. Come to as many as you can. Donation: $100 for the series or $15 each session.

SPIRITUAL READING GROUP

9 Fridays    6:30 – 8:30 PM

Good spiritual reading is a must for spiritual growth. Companions on the journey help with the practice of this spiritual exercise. This will be fun as well as fruitful. Can you devote one Friday night a month to this pursuit? This year we will feast on a variety of spiritual gems:

Becoming Who You Are……… James Martin, SJ
Mystical Hope………………….. Cynthia Bourgeault
The Gift of Peace…… Joseph Cardinal Bernardin
Faith in the Darkness……………. Mother Teresa

Donation: $150

LIVING CONTEMPLATIVELY

9 Saturdays    9:30 AM – 3:30 PM

This program calls out to those who desire to live more contemplatively in the world, to grow in union with God and others, and to become more aware, intentional and free.  God liberates us and heals us through the practice of contemplative prayer.  It’s worth a day a month and an hour a day.  We will focus on three works of Thomas Merton and use his Bridges to Contemplative Living series as our guide throughout the year. Bring a bag lunch. Tuition: $325.

CENTERING PRAYER
INTRODUCTORY WORKSHOP

9:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Sunday, September 19

What is Centering Prayer? Is God calling me to this form of prayer? Do I have a desire for union with God that seems unfulfilled by other types of prayer? How do I ‘do” Centering Prayer? Will Centering Prayer really change me? Is the fact that I can’t quiet my mind a problem? Come and see. It is well worth the day. Donation: $25.

CLASSICS ON CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER

10 Tuesdays     6:30 – 8:30 PM

We will be instructed in contemplative prayer by the best teachers.  We will begin with the classic, The Cloud of Unknowing and follow that with The Contemplative Heart, by James Finley. The evening includes Lectio Divina and two 20-minute sessions of contemplative prayer.  We will also view some 20 minute DVD’s of Thomas Keating as time permits.     Donation: $150 (includes both books).

IMAGES AND PRAYER

Sunday, September 26

9:30 AM – 2:30 PM

There are so many ways to pray! This day will be an opportunity to consider creative journaling as a method to pray. We will create images through the use of pastels, water color and collage. These will be starting points for prayer. Come spend some creative time with God. No artistic skills are necessary. Supplies will be provided.  Donation: $25. Please bring a bag lunch. Presenter: Sandy Carmichael