Day of Silent Prayer Canceled for Saturday, November 19 due to multiple COVID-19 exposures among scheduled attendees.

Welcome!

Contemplative Outreach of New Jersey is a community of individuals and prayer groups who practice centering prayer. We teach centering prayer and offer events and educational programs to support those who practice centering prayer. We also teach other practices that promote a deepening of our relationship with God and support all of us attempting to live the contemplative dimension of the Gospel in daily life. All are welcome at our gatherings whether in person or on Zoom. We are a chapter of Contemplative Outreach, Ltd., a global interdenominational spiritual network founded by Fr. Thomas Keating, Fr. Carl Arico, and others.

Upcoming Events

Back to Basics: Days of Silent Prayer

Canceled for Saturday, November 19 due to multiple COVID-19 exposures among scheduled attendees.

In person only

When: Third Saturdays of each month — December 17, January 21, February 18, March 18, April 15, 9:30 am to 2 pm; Advent Day of Prayer with Fr. Carl Arico, December 17, 2022

 Where: Benedictine Sisters, St. Walburga Monastery, 851 North Broad Street, Elizabeth, NJ 07208. Ample parking is available.

Theme for the Year: Come and pray together to renew our practices in community. No presentations except for the Advent Day of Prayer with Fr. Carl Arico in December. The space within the monastery may vary due to construction. We will email our list and post here if we are using any space other than the usual center, located to the left of the complex on the lower level as you enter from North Broad Street.

Format

  • Two 30-minute periods of Centering Prayer followed by Lectio Divina in the morning; same format in the afternoon, followed by an opportunity for sharing.
  • Option to join the Sisters for Mass at 8 am and for noontime prayer
  • Please bring your lunch. We will not offer shared food, but coffee/tea will be available.

Registration and Payment: We ask $20/session or $115 for all 7 sessions. All are welcome regardless of ability to pay. No fee is requested from members of vowed religious communities.

There is an issue with our online registration and payment system. Please register by postal mail (send a check to Barbara Sherry, 1189 Kennedy Blvd, Bayonne, NJ 07002) or register and pay on site. Thanks for your patience.

COVID-19 precautions: To protect our community and the Sisters who are graciously hosting us, proof of vaccination and any COVID-19 booster is required the first time you join us in 2022-23. Masking is optional. We will arrange chairs for social distancing when possible. If you have any symptoms that may be associated with COVID-19 infection, have had a recent exposure to COVID-19, or feel at all unwell, then please stay home.

Overnight accommodations before and/or after a Day of Silent Prayer: Limited accommodations are available at the St. Walburga Monastery Mansion House Friday night before and/or Saturday night after a Day of Silent Prayer in December, February and March only. This is not a retreat but an effort to facilitate participation by those who live at a distance and to offer an option for those who may desire more time away for prayer. Click here for more information.

 

Centering Prayer Mini-Intensive

First Saturdays, from 8 am to 9:15 am, via Zoom

Two 25-minute periods of centering prayer separated by a 5-min contemplative walk followed by Lectio Divina and discussion.

Zoom room opens about 7:45-7:50 am; please enter in silence.

Click here to join: https://tinyurl.com/cs944brn

 

Material from Past Events

Fr. Carl Arico’s Advent Day of Prayer December 18, 2021

Please find links to audio recordings of Fr. Carl Arico’s talks on December 18, 2021 as well as text of prayers and other readings used that day.