Listen to God’s call
Give yourself the space to hear God’s voice and let yourself be drawn deeper into your relationship with God.
There numerous ways to find the sacred in your everyday life.
Vincentian Spirituality
Men and women grow together spiritually as they offer person-to-person service to those in need.
Because Christ is uniquely present in the needy and those suffering, our actions and relationships invite growth and change in a deep and lasting way.
Four characteristics describe St. Vincent de Paul and his ministry — guiding principles we can integrate into our own lives.
- Freedom, acceptance, patience and love.
By letting go of the need for perfection, admitting our own shortcomings, and offering them in service to the Lord, we find freedom, acceptance, patience and love for ourselves and others. - Absolute balance between prayer and action Embracing the humble discipline of prayer give us more ability to act boldly in love.
Through prayer and meditation we receive what we need to be of service. Through action we find God and are drawn back into prayer. - Attentiveness to the moment God is present in time, history, events and people.
We must be attentive to the sacred Now — who we are with, and what we are doing — trusting that God provides us what we need, who we need, when we need it. - God is in charge.
When we put our trust in God’s goodness and mercy we can surrender our need to control everything and everyone in our lives. We develop patience and trust to let God be God, and to wait...
St. Vincent de Paul said that we cannot move forward alone. The desire for spiritual growth requires us to embrace all others. He encouraged people to move forward as a community together, united in the desire to grow and live in peace and love.
Find your inner silence
Consider joining us for Centering Prayer.
Here are two explanations of what draws people to this practice:
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“God’s native language is silence, and I want to develop a deeper relationship with God. In Centering Prayer I challenge myself to understand and be comfortable in silence – not just with my mind, but with my being.”
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“Before practicing Centering Prayer I thought I knew what mysticism was, but it was only an intellectual understanding. Now I understand it with my heart. It also helped me to understand and appropriately draw from other mystical traditions like yoga and some Buddhist constructs to enhance my Christianity and Catholicism.”
Friday - Contemplative Prayer Group
Meet with other spiritual seekers to discuss a book about Centering Prayer, and then practice Centering Prayer for 20 minutes.
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Fridays, 10:00-11:00am
For more information and Zoom log-in credentials contact Janice.
Centering Prayer – In Person
For a healthy community, we need authentic conversation. We also need silence. We are invited to come together to cultivate interior silence—to sit together in sacred space to just listen. Not to ourselves, but to God. Join us for this monthly, in-person, Centering Prayer (or meditative practice close to you) community event.
- First Saturday of each month, St. Joseph Chapel, 4:00pm
Father Thomas Keating once commented on an article that spoke of the blissfulness attained through Centering Prayer with... “Maybe in the beginning!” He knew that the purpose of this contemplative form of prayer wasn’t simply relaxation or spiritual consolation. Centering Prayer is a meaningful practice meant to deepen our relationship with God. A relationship nurtured in the deepest silence within our hearts. And nurturing this relationship inevitably includes wrestling with what we want (or programs for happiness) versus what God wants for us (us healed to bring love and oneness forward). Your primary Centering Prayer practice happens daily, in solitude, however, coming together each week with this group helps you explore the questions that arise through hearing of the experiences of others. Participating in a group also helps strengthen your consistency in daily practice. All levels of experience, including beginners, are encouraged and invited to join us.
There is power in prayer
Become a part of The Basilica prayer line. On your own, pray daily for the needs of our community.
Requests are compiled weekly and sent to members of the Basilica Prayer Line through e-mail or traditional mail.
Get Involved:
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To request prayer for an individual or concern, go to Prayer Request, or call the Parish office 612.333.1381.
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If you would like to be a part of The Basilica Prayer Line and receive the weekly intentions, contact Sophie.
Guidance on your spiritual journey
Spiritual direction helps you explore and foster your relationship with the Mystery we call God in partnership with another.
- Reflect on your relationship with the divine
- Allow God to stir your mind and heart
- Learn about your personal spirituality
The purpose of spiritual direction is to deepen your connection to God, not to solve a particular problem or work through a crisis.
Benefit from another’s insights
A director helps you honestly face your image of God, possibly distorted because of earlier experiences.
Contact Janice for more information or to meet with a spiritual director.
“God is the primary director of the soul. A spiritual director's human efforts are to assist the soul to be open and available. Besides being a good empathetic listener and caring, compassionate friend on the spiritual journey, a good spiritual director must be skilled in discerning the constructive and destructive forces that come into play when one is responding to God's invitation to develop a deeper personal relationship."
– From The Art of Spiritual Direction, by Vincentia Roney, S.C.