A Special Opportunity
Faith and Science Conference
Enhanced by Art, Music and Interfaith Mysticism
Rome, Italy, Tuesday-Friday, June 17-20, 2025, The Jubilee Year
Conference Theme: A Journey into God’s Mystical Love
A note by Jeff Renner,
Contemplative Outreach of Puget Sound North Chapter Coordinator
I count the times I spent with Father Thomas Keating among the great blessings of my life. During one intensive retreat at St. Benedict's Monastery in Snowmass, Colorado, Father Thomas spent close to an hour with our small group. It was an electric experience, as he shared his insights and wisdom ranging from our relationship with God, the practice of Centering Prayer, Suffering and Evolution, and Science and Religion.
"The main thing is to have a big idea of God-huge! Science, both the infinitesimal aspect of it and the grandiose astronomical aspect of it, are presenting us with a new cosmology that religion has to take into account, especially the Christian tradition"
Father Thomas' insights on the interrelationship between Science and Religion are the driving force behind a unique, accessible and engaging conference on Faith and Science next June in Rome, Italy. It's dedicated to Father Keating. Knowing the appeal of two retreats offered by his trusted assistant Bonnie Shimizu and sponsored by our Chapter, we are are bringing this conference to your attention as registration is now open for this Interfaith and Interdisciplinary conference...and with an early registration discount! Details may be accessed through the attached website. If you are able to attend, you will encounter at least one familiar face. I have the honor of moderating the conference session.
Free Online Retreat!
The Contemplative Summit
October 24-27, 2024
4 days of talks and live practices with 30+ leading wisdom teachers!
Exploring life’s big questions, like:
How do you keep your heart open in the midst of so much suffering?
How do we respond to the feeling of God’s absence in prayer?
What are the spiritual gifts of aging?
Who are some of the (perhaps forgotten) mystics who can hold our hands through liminal times?
Plus, you’ll have the chance to experience a new spiritual practice each day, make new friends in our daily small groups, and even try out a session with a new spiritual director, if you choose!
Online Event Opportunities
Contemplative Outreach Chapters across the country are offering online opportunities. See a list of some of them here.
What we're reading
The Divine Millieu by Pierre Teilhard
Reviewed by Bridget Rosen
I was browsing through my home library and came across “The Divine Milieu” by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. I have heard that Teilhard de Chardin books are difficult to read so I took the challenge. I was surprised. Yes, there were words that I had to look up to understand what I was reading but the words said things in a new a different way yet felt so true. The word milieu is French and there isn’t anything equivalent in English. It means both center and environment or setting. This is where Teilhard de Chardin seems to find God. The Divine Milieu is an essential companion to Teilhard de Chardin’s The Phenomenon of Man and expands on the spiritual message so basic to his thought. He shows how man's spiritual life can become a participation in the destiny of the universe.
What we're watching
This is part of a weekly series of newly released outtakes from Fr. Thomas Keating's 2009 series with Betty Sue Flowers, "Heartfulness."
FEATURED PRODUCT
Thomas Keating: The Secret Embrace
Fr. Thomas Keating wanted to include a poem he had written in the next printing of Peter Jones' other book, From the Mind to the Heart. Peter encouraged his Uncle Thomas to submit more poems, and from that request, seven additional poems are the centerpiece of this beautifully-designed book.
What emerges from the core of Fr. Thomas's thinking is an alternate way of articulating high spiritual concepts inside short interconnected verses that provide an ambience in which to absorb them. Charlotte Frieze, author and artist, has contributed her watercolor paintings depicting the sea, forever in a state of transformation and transcendence.
Oneness, The Secret Embrace - Thomas Keating's Poetry, with Cynthia Bourgeault
Over three Zoom calls that were held April 30 - May 2, 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, sponsored by Contemplative Outreach of South Africa and Contemplative Outreach International, with support from The Trust for the Meditation Process. Cynthia deftly and gracefully presents an evolved view of the being and theology of Fr. Thomas through a review of eight poems from the book, The Secret Embrace.
The video recordings of these Zoom calls are now public on the Contemplative Outreach Youtube channel for all to enjoy. Please feel free to share.
Session 1: https://youtu.be/HLQYx9sZHMY
Session 2: https://youtu.be/EY0WpDgdAnM
Session 3: https://youtu.be/zffJMQzlcn4.
These videos have a pause for Centering Prayer, where more than 2,000 people prayed in silence together from over 59 countries, the largest gathering of the worldwide community to date.
