I had the most wonderful opportunity to speak to a group from Contemplative Outreach of Indianapolis on Saturday, January 14 on how contemplative prayer contributes to moral integrity. We had a wonderful day of centering prayer and conversation. If you have read some of the past posts, you get a good sense of what I focused on - St. Augustine's conversion as a model for how we are moved from dis-integration to self-integration through offering ourselves to God.

I'd like to revisit one idea in particular: Augustine's assertion that we become like that "upon which we gaze." If we focus our intention and attention on wealth, power, sex, the latest in technology, and other things that can grab and keep our attention diverted from God, we become like those things: shallow, empty, not lasting, not reliable. Not that these things are inherently evil but if they divert us from God then we are misusing them.

What suddenly came to me in preparing for this presentation is that the key way in which centering prayer contributes to moral integrity is that centering prayer IS "gazing upon the beloved" and that in so gazing we become like the beloved. So, if through centering prayer we focus our intention and attention upon God and sit in stillness before God, we become more like God: patient, kind, peaceful, loving.

"Contemplating Integrity: Centering Prayer and Moral Integrity"

Today is reading day at Marian University, which marks the end of fall semester classes and precedes exam week. A bit of a breather and an opportunity to return to the blog.

Over the break I'm going to be preparing for a talk I'm giving sponsored by Contemplative Outreach of Indianapolis. The title of the talk is "Contemplating Integrity: The Importance of Centering Prayer in the Cultivation of Moral Integrity." As I prepare, I'll share some of my thoughts in this space.

The event will be on Saturday, January 14, 2012 at St. Christopher Catholic Church in Speedway, Indiana. The session runs from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

If you are in Indianapolis (and if anyone is reading this!) and you are interested in attending the talk, please visit the Contemplative Outreach of Indianapolis website for information on how to register for the event. If you do attend the event and heard about it here, please come introduce yourself to me!