By Marlene Quaroni - Florida Catholic
Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC
From left: Barbara Mannas, Oblate Father Bill Sheehan, and Sister Anastasia Maguire of the Sisters of Mercy. Sister Maguire and Mannas are co-coordinators of Contemplative Outreach in the archdiocese.
MIAMI SHORES| No one would confuse Barbara Mannas for a �New Age� groupie. She is 80, soft-spoken, modest and a daily communicant at her parish, St. Martha in Miami Shores.
Yet 15 years ago, Mannas discovered centering prayer. �It just changed my life, that�s all,� she says. �It�s just about becoming closer to God. It�s a transformational process � putting on the mind of Christ, as St. Paul says.�
This month, Mannas was among nearly 60 people who came together at St. Martha to mark the 25th anniversary of the start of centering prayer groups in South Florida. In fact, she serves as co-coordinator of the South Florida chapter of Contemplative Outreach, a worldwide community of individuals and centering prayer groups.
When practicing centering prayer, a soul silently communes with God.
�The greatest obstacle to our spiritual journey is that we pray as if we�re separated from God,� said Oblate Father Bill Sheehan, a centering prayer retreat director and the person who, in that capacity, taught Mannas about centering prayer 15 years ago. �We are all one with God. There is never a moment that we�re separated. God is love and when we pray, we feel that love.�
Father Sheehan, who served as archdiocesan director of formation for the Office of Lay Ministry and director of Ministry to Priests from 1981 to 1988, was among the first to practice centering prayer in the archdiocese, leading a group at the Pastoral Center where he worked. He now lives in Massachusetts and travels around the country directing centering prayer retreats.
�Centering prayer got a foothold here at the Pastoral Center,� said Father Sheehan, who was elated to return to the starting place for the 25th anniversary. �Within Catholic tradition there�s a whole panorama of prayers. ... Catholics have a rich mystical tradition.�
Centering prayer � also known as contemplative prayer � has its roots in the fourth century when it was practiced by the desert fathers of Egypt, Palestine and Syria, including St. Augustine and St. Gregory the Great. It continued with the English mystics from the 14th century, who authored books such as �The Cloud of Unknowing,� and continued with St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross. Most recently, three Trappist monks from St. Joseph�s Abbey in Spencer, Mass. � Father William Meninger, Father M. Basil Pennington and Father Thomas Keating � have written a number of books on the subject and been key proponents of the practice.
In the traditional Christian understanding, contemplation, or contemplative prayer, is the opening of mind and heart � one's whole being � to God, and a process of interior transformation.
�In centering prayer you consent to God�s intention in your life,� said Father Sheehan. �Find a quiet place and rid your mind of all distractions. When thoughts enter your mind, say a sacred word that you�ve chosen, such as God, peace, love, Abba or father. Become one with God.�
Critics of centering prayer have compared the practice to Eastern meditation such as Zen and the use of Hindu mantras.
�Some have misinterpreted centering prayer as some sort of New Age movement,� said Father Sheehan. �That�s not what it is.�
�It�s all based on our wonderful mystic Catholic tradition,� added Mannas, who converted to Catholicism at age 25. �That�s what we are taught � the tradition of St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila.�
She said the �sacred word� that is part of centering prayer is mentioned in �The Cloud of Unknowing� and is not a mantra as understood by Buddhists or Hindus � a word meant to induce a state of meditation.
�The Christian mystic tradition is a mystic tradition of love,� Mannas said. �The purpose of centering prayer is to be closer to God. The Buddhist tradition emphasizes detachment whereas in Christian mysticism the emphasis is on love.�
Centering prayer also encourages another ancient practice, that of Lectio Divina, which involves listening to the word of God by meditating on Scripture.
In 1989, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, wrote in a �Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on Some Aspects of Christian Meditation� that �Christian experience has known of this practice from the earliest times, from the epoch of the desert fathers.�
He noted however, that �genuine Christian mysticism has nothing to do with technique: it is always a gift of God, and the one who benefits from it knows himself to be unworthy.� The future pope also added that �contemplative Christian prayer always leads to love of neighbor, to action and to the acceptance of trials, and precisely because of this it draws one close to God.�
Mannas agreed. �At centering prayer, we are not looking for experiences. We are looking to sit in the presence of God.� She also quoted Father Keating as constantly saying, �Your contemplation should result in action. Otherwise, there�s something wrong with your contemplation.�
Miami�s second archbishop, Edward McCarthy, included centering prayer in a pastoral letter on prayer that he published in September 1983. He described it as �a method of quieting our interior life of thought, desire and emotion in order to center our entire self upon the presence of God within us.�
He also defended centering prayer against the New Age accusations in another pastoral letter, ��Priestly People,� which he issued in October 1994.
The 25th anniversary event included a period of centering prayer, the conference by Father Sheehan, a scripture reading, Mass and luncheon.
�Father Sheehan is happy that we�re having this event at the Pastoral Center. �This is where it all began,� said Sister Anastasia Maguire, of the Sisters of Mercy, who serves as coordinator of Contemplative Outreach in the South Florida area.
Mannas facilitates a group that gathers at St. Martha on Saturday mornings and explained the need for groups.
�Getting together with others keeps you on track,� she said. �A bonding takes place, we call them support groups. We support each other in our journey. Father Keating made many videos which we view, we listen to readings and have discussions. We encourage each other to persevere in our individual practices. We have 17 groups in South Florida.�
For the anniversary celebration, groups came from as far south as Key Largo and as far north as Pompano Beach, including parishioners of St. Patrick Church, St. Martha, Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Gabriel and St. Thomas University. Contemplative Outreach annually serves more than 40,000 people, has more than 120 active chapters in 39 countries and supports more than 800 prayer groups with about 5,000 members.
The motto of Contemplative Outreach is �Silence, Solitude, Solidarity, Service.�
�I notice the people who come to our prayer group, they become more involved in the church,� said Mannas. �The fruit of centering prayer is in your daily life. You will see your attitudes about things changing. You will notice God pointing out your weaknesses. But that�s alright because you are aware of his mercy and his love.�
Ana Rodriguez-Soto contributed to this report.
Yet 15 years ago, Mannas discovered centering prayer. �It just changed my life, that�s all,� she says. �It�s just about becoming closer to God. It�s a transformational process � putting on the mind of Christ, as St. Paul says.�
This month, Mannas was among nearly 60 people who came together at St. Martha to mark the 25th anniversary of the start of centering prayer groups in South Florida. In fact, she serves as co-coordinator of the South Florida chapter of Contemplative Outreach, a worldwide community of individuals and centering prayer groups.
When practicing centering prayer, a soul silently communes with God.
�The greatest obstacle to our spiritual journey is that we pray as if we�re separated from God,� said Oblate Father Bill Sheehan, a centering prayer retreat director and the person who, in that capacity, taught Mannas about centering prayer 15 years ago. �We are all one with God. There is never a moment that we�re separated. God is love and when we pray, we feel that love.�
Father Sheehan, who served as archdiocesan director of formation for the Office of Lay Ministry and director of Ministry to Priests from 1981 to 1988, was among the first to practice centering prayer in the archdiocese, leading a group at the Pastoral Center where he worked. He now lives in Massachusetts and travels around the country directing centering prayer retreats.
�Centering prayer got a foothold here at the Pastoral Center,� said Father Sheehan, who was elated to return to the starting place for the 25th anniversary. �Within Catholic tradition there�s a whole panorama of prayers. ... Catholics have a rich mystical tradition.�
Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC
Oblate Father Bill Sheehan addresses centering prayer groups at the Pastoral Center during the 25th anniversary lunch.
In the traditional Christian understanding, contemplation, or contemplative prayer, is the opening of mind and heart � one's whole being � to God, and a process of interior transformation.
�In centering prayer you consent to God�s intention in your life,� said Father Sheehan. �Find a quiet place and rid your mind of all distractions. When thoughts enter your mind, say a sacred word that you�ve chosen, such as God, peace, love, Abba or father. Become one with God.�
Critics of centering prayer have compared the practice to Eastern meditation such as Zen and the use of Hindu mantras.
�Some have misinterpreted centering prayer as some sort of New Age movement,� said Father Sheehan. �That�s not what it is.�
�It�s all based on our wonderful mystic Catholic tradition,� added Mannas, who converted to Catholicism at age 25. �That�s what we are taught � the tradition of St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila.�
She said the �sacred word� that is part of centering prayer is mentioned in �The Cloud of Unknowing� and is not a mantra as understood by Buddhists or Hindus � a word meant to induce a state of meditation.
�The Christian mystic tradition is a mystic tradition of love,� Mannas said. �The purpose of centering prayer is to be closer to God. The Buddhist tradition emphasizes detachment whereas in Christian mysticism the emphasis is on love.�
Centering prayer also encourages another ancient practice, that of Lectio Divina, which involves listening to the word of God by meditating on Scripture.
In 1989, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, wrote in a �Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on Some Aspects of Christian Meditation� that �Christian experience has known of this practice from the earliest times, from the epoch of the desert fathers.�
He noted however, that �genuine Christian mysticism has nothing to do with technique: it is always a gift of God, and the one who benefits from it knows himself to be unworthy.� The future pope also added that �contemplative Christian prayer always leads to love of neighbor, to action and to the acceptance of trials, and precisely because of this it draws one close to God.�
Mannas agreed. �At centering prayer, we are not looking for experiences. We are looking to sit in the presence of God.� She also quoted Father Keating as constantly saying, �Your contemplation should result in action. Otherwise, there�s something wrong with your contemplation.�
Miami�s second archbishop, Edward McCarthy, included centering prayer in a pastoral letter on prayer that he published in September 1983. He described it as �a method of quieting our interior life of thought, desire and emotion in order to center our entire self upon the presence of God within us.�
He also defended centering prayer against the New Age accusations in another pastoral letter, ��Priestly People,� which he issued in October 1994.
The 25th anniversary event included a period of centering prayer, the conference by Father Sheehan, a scripture reading, Mass and luncheon.
�Father Sheehan is happy that we�re having this event at the Pastoral Center. �This is where it all began,� said Sister Anastasia Maguire, of the Sisters of Mercy, who serves as coordinator of Contemplative Outreach in the South Florida area.
Mannas facilitates a group that gathers at St. Martha on Saturday mornings and explained the need for groups.
�Getting together with others keeps you on track,� she said. �A bonding takes place, we call them support groups. We support each other in our journey. Father Keating made many videos which we view, we listen to readings and have discussions. We encourage each other to persevere in our individual practices. We have 17 groups in South Florida.�
For the anniversary celebration, groups came from as far south as Key Largo and as far north as Pompano Beach, including parishioners of St. Patrick Church, St. Martha, Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Gabriel and St. Thomas University. Contemplative Outreach annually serves more than 40,000 people, has more than 120 active chapters in 39 countries and supports more than 800 prayer groups with about 5,000 members.
The motto of Contemplative Outreach is �Silence, Solitude, Solidarity, Service.�
�I notice the people who come to our prayer group, they become more involved in the church,� said Mannas. �The fruit of centering prayer is in your daily life. You will see your attitudes about things changing. You will notice God pointing out your weaknesses. But that�s alright because you are aware of his mercy and his love.�
Ana Rodriguez-Soto contributed to this report.
