Spirituality Be still and know that I am God--Ps 46:10

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.

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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:

  • “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.”

  • “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.

  • Fridays, 10:00-11:00am

For more information and Zoom log-in credentials contact Janice.

Saturday  - Practice Prayer Group

Study and share in how this ancient form of Christian contemplative prayer speaks, silently, to the deepest parts of ourselves yearning for an intimate connection with God.

  • Saturdays, 8:00-9:00am

For more information and Zoom log-in credentials contact Janice.

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. 

About the facilitator of the Saturday Prayer Group: Teri Rose, OblSB

Teri is a Benedictine Oblate of St Paul’s Monastery. She was introduced to Centering Prayer 25 years ago in college. However, she didn’t begin practicing at that time, choosing to explore Eastern meditations instead. She continued this exploration, and absence from her Catholic upbringing, until three years ago when she again picked up Father Keating’s “Open Mind, Open Heart” (a book she has carried with her these 25 years). This time a line stuck out that began to change everything: "If you keep up this practice every day for several months, you will know whether or not it is right for you. There is no substitute for the practice of doing it." Teri took this direction and, within those several months, finally knew her full circle search for a deeper relationship with God led her right back to her own Christian tradition.

 

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:

  • If you would like to be a part of The Basilica Prayer Line and receive the weekly intentions, contact Wendy.

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 Andersen 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.