Contemplative Outreach Chicago

04/23/2026

This graphic gives a three minute into to Centering Prayer.
You cannot do it wrong!

03/26/2026

Three week email program from Spirituality and Practice. Monday, April 6 - Friday, April 24. $42.

(April 6 – 24) Readings and spiritual practices to help you make small steps to turn your life around.

03/12/2026

(March 23 – April 17) An e-course exploring Celtic wisdom and poetry.

03/08/2026

Spend an hour with Fr Thomas Keating, leading proponent of Centering Prayer.

Thomas Keating discusses his concept of the three stages of the spiritual journey: to know the other, to become the other, and there is no other. It involv...

03/08/2026

Judith Valente informs us there are a few more seats available for the one-day retreat on Saturday, March 14. Here's info and registration:

03/05/2026

Of course, a compassionate believer is our goal.

03/04/2026

One man’s thoughts:

https://stbridesliverpool.org.uk/blog/2018/2/22/contemplation-and-contemplative-prayer-a-reflection

02/25/2026

Please join in global community for the 34th annual United in Prayer Day, an 18-hour Centering Prayer vigil via Zoom on March 6-7, 2026 (March 7 is Thomas Keating's birthday).

This event is free and all are welcome. For more information and the schedule, please go here:

https://www.contemplativeoutreach.org/event/2026-united-in-prayer-global-zoom-gathering/?mc_cid=9921154ab2&mc_eid=8087264d20

02/25/2026

Father Thomas Keating:

02/25/2026

"What if they are the true dwelling of the holy"?

02/24/2026

To all Chicago-area centering prayer practitioners:

I invite you to consider becoming a centering prayer group facilitator for those incarcerated at Cook County jail. The jail has a very strong advocacy of mental health as well as spiritual support for those men and women in their care. This can be a very grace filled and transforming ministry for those who participate as facilitators. We are always accompanied by at least one other volunteer and our format and materials are provided by years of experience with these groups.

My name is Alan Krema and I am welcoming you to our new Centering Prayer group to be formed in collaboration with Kolbe House Jail Ministry. This will be the third year of this program. Our goal is to provide accompaniment and discernment for those who may be interested to volunteer as a centering prayer facilitator in Cook County jail.

If you think you may be interested, you are welcome to join us.

Our format will be to hold six monthly zoom gatherings. Each session will have centering prayer, a short video of incarcerated individuals engaged in the prayer, a reading from jail ministry books, and time for sharing the wisdom of transformation experienced in the practice of centering prayer.

The only requirement for participation is for you to come with a desire to know your self and to engage in the mystery of your relationship to God.

Our first Zoom meeting will be on Wednesday March 11, 4:00 - 5:30 pm. We will meet once per month with the goal of helping those interested apply for Cook County jail credentials in August. For anyone new to centering prayer or wanting a refresher, we will hold two sessions separately for the introduction to centering prayer. The date and time of these sessions will be determined later.

If your are interested in joining us or have questions, please contact [email protected].

08/12/2024

Centering Prayer Gathering During the Democratic National Convention
August 19 – 22, 2024
I and a few members of our local Centering Prayer community are going to hold a communal Centering Prayer gathering near the grounds of the Democratic National convention in Chicago. We will hold this gathering at St. Andrews chapel on the grounds of St Leonard’s Ministries, 50 N. Hoyne, a few blocks from the United Center where the convention is being held.
We will sit in mediation without engaging any issues. We will simply hold our awareness of and consent to the divine nature which we all share as our human birthright. This is a Centering Prayer gathering, but anyone with a practice of silent mediation is welcome. We will provide guided instruction into Centering Prayer for those who may not be familiar with it. This prayer is intended as a transformation of consciousness as participants let go of engaging thoughts related to issues and polarization into the simple consent and openness to the presence and action of the divine within us.
The release and consent we experience in Centering Prayer is an act of love which holds others in compassionate awareness without our mind clinging to energetic and emotional narratives. This is indeed challenging, even counter cultural as we are bombarded each day with stories of “othering.” In Centering Prayer we come to know, with our whole Being, the nature of our source, which is the source of all and which shows each of us to be connected into One divine source.
The awareness generated by a communal intentional Centering Prayer gathering puts a new form of consciousness into the human family. The divine indwelling is sensed as a communal presence and extends outward as an invitation to notice and hold this presence to everyone.
Please consider joining us during these days. If you wish to meditate with us, but are not able to join us in person, we encourage you to fill out this document to indicate the times, dates, and place from which you will be meditating. In doing so, you will join others from around the country who are adding to the energetic presence we are creating.
If you choose to participate in-person, you're invited to sit with us for a few minutes or to stay for as much of the meditation period as you like. We will be meeting in the Chapel at St. Leonard’s at these times:
Monday August 19 from 10 am – 12 noon.
Tuesday and Wednesday from 12 noon – 4 pm.
Thursday from 2 pm – 5 pm.

If you are coming, please let us know when you will join at St. Leonard’s by email at [email protected]. We will forward to you details as they arise about parking and transportation.
In Great Love,
Alan Krema