Centering Prayer in Denville draws people closer to God #Catholic – For Patrice McKenzie, a lector and extraordinary minister of the Eucharist at St. Mary’s Parish in Denville, N.J., it became, in her words, “a force in my life.” McKenzie, leader of St. Mary’s Centering Prayer Groups, said the practice of Centering Prayer “gives space between me and the chaos. That was what I finally understood about what is so important to me — that I just can receive things more spaciously than I could before.” McKenzie said, “There was another group that was starting that was ecumenical that was going to do Centering Prayer for Advent. And I was a long-time meditator. I meditated for 40 years before I found Centering Prayer, so I thought, ‘I will give it a try.’” She did so and was so moved that, when the group was going to stop after Advent, McKenzie became its convener and still attends its meetings. A few months later, McKenzie told Father Martin Glynn, St. Mary’s pastor, how much it was changing her life. He suggested bringing it to their parish, where it has found a home since September 2021. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Centering Prayer was founded in the early 1970s by three Trappist monks at St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, Mass., in response to the Second Vatican Council’s request to revive early contemplative teachings and present them in contemporary form. Centering Prayer is based on Jesus’s wisdom continuation in the Sermon on the Mount that says, “When you pray, go to your inner room, close the door and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you.” (Mt 6:6). The Centering Prayer Groups at St. Mary’s have a three-step process: a check-in, a 10- to 15-minute instruction and reflective reading, and a 20-minute practice of silent Centering Prayer, concluding with the recitation of The Lord’s Prayer and departure. Father Glynn said of Centering Prayer, “One of the things that really stands out to me, and especially today, is the old expression that says, ‘Silence is golden.’ And silence is really missing in our society today. People are so busy with everything, and there is always noise in the background. And I think that prayer just demands quiet. It takes people a while to get into it, but when they do, I think they really appreciate just being quiet in God’s presence.” At St. Mary’s, the Centering Prayer Groups meet on Thursday at 11 a.m. in person in the parish Trustee Room and at 7 p.m. in person as well as on Zoom. Joe Immitt, a St. Mary’s extraordinary minister of the Eucharist, usually joins the Thursday morning group. “Centering Prayer is different. I think of it as moving towards his Godliness, but at the same time receiving his reach — his hand out to me — as I learn who he really is,” Immitt said. “I have never felt closer to God than when I am in a Centering Prayer group. The feeling just grows, and you just kind of want to continue more and more to get as close [to God] as you possibly can.”  

For Patrice McKenzie, a lector and extraordinary minister of the Eucharist at St. Mary’s Parish in Denville, N.J., it became, in her words, “a force in my life.”
McKenzie, leader of St. Mary’s Centering Prayer Groups, said the practice of Centering Prayer “gives space between me and the chaos. That was what I finally understood about what is so important to me — that I just can receive things more spaciously than I could before.”

McKenzie said, “There was another group that was starting that was ecumenical that was going to do Centering Prayer for Advent. And I was a long-time meditator. I meditated for 40 years before I found Centering Prayer, so I thought, ‘I will give it a try.’”

She did so and was so moved that, when the group was going to stop after Advent, McKenzie became its convener and still attends its meetings.
A few months later, McKenzie told Father Martin Glynn, St. Mary’s pastor, how much it was changing her life. He suggested bringing it to their parish, where it has found a home since September 2021.

Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

Centering Prayer was founded in the early 1970s by three Trappist monks at St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, Mass., in response to the Second Vatican Council’s request to revive early contemplative teachings and present them in contemporary form. Centering Prayer is based on Jesus’s wisdom continuation in the Sermon on the Mount that says, “When you pray, go to your inner room, close the door and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you.” (Mt 6:6).

The Centering Prayer Groups at St. Mary’s have a three-step process: a check-in, a 10- to 15-minute instruction and reflective reading, and a 20-minute practice of silent Centering Prayer, concluding with the recitation of The Lord’s Prayer and departure.

Father Glynn said of Centering Prayer, “One of the things that really stands out to me, and especially today, is the old expression that says, ‘Silence is golden.’ And silence is really missing in our society today. People are so busy with everything, and there is always noise in the background. And I think that prayer just demands quiet. It takes people a while to get into it, but when they do, I think they really appreciate just being quiet in God’s presence.”

At St. Mary’s, the Centering Prayer Groups meet on Thursday at 11 a.m. in person in the parish Trustee Room and at 7 p.m. in person as well as on Zoom.

Joe Immitt, a St. Mary’s extraordinary minister of the Eucharist, usually joins the Thursday morning group.

“Centering Prayer is different. I think of it as moving towards his Godliness, but at the same time receiving his reach — his hand out to me — as I learn who he really is,” Immitt said. “I have never felt closer to God than when I am in a Centering Prayer group. The feeling just grows, and you just kind of want to continue more and more to get as close [to God] as you possibly can.”

Centering Prayer in Denville draws people closer to God #Catholic –

For Patrice McKenzie, a lector and extraordinary minister of the Eucharist at St. Mary’s Parish in Denville, N.J., it became, in her words, “a force in my life.”
McKenzie, leader of St. Mary’s Centering Prayer Groups, said the practice of Centering Prayer “gives space between me and the chaos. That was what I finally understood about what is so important to me — that I just can receive things more spaciously than I could before.”

McKenzie said, “There was another group that was starting that was ecumenical that was going to do Centering Prayer for Advent. And I was a long-time meditator. I meditated for 40 years before I found Centering Prayer, so I thought, ‘I will give it a try.’”

She did so and was so moved that, when the group was going to stop after Advent, McKenzie became its convener and still attends its meetings.
A few months later, McKenzie told Father Martin Glynn, St. Mary’s pastor, how much it was changing her life. He suggested bringing it to their parish, where it has found a home since September 2021.

Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

Centering Prayer was founded in the early 1970s by three Trappist monks at St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, Mass., in response to the Second Vatican Council’s request to revive early contemplative teachings and present them in contemporary form. Centering Prayer is based on Jesus’s wisdom continuation in the Sermon on the Mount that says, “When you pray, go to your inner room, close the door and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you.” (Mt 6:6).

The Centering Prayer Groups at St. Mary’s have a three-step process: a check-in, a 10- to 15-minute instruction and reflective reading, and a 20-minute practice of silent Centering Prayer, concluding with the recitation of The Lord’s Prayer and departure.

Father Glynn said of Centering Prayer, “One of the things that really stands out to me, and especially today, is the old expression that says, ‘Silence is golden.’ And silence is really missing in our society today. People are so busy with everything, and there is always noise in the background. And I think that prayer just demands quiet. It takes people a while to get into it, but when they do, I think they really appreciate just being quiet in God’s presence.”

At St. Mary’s, the Centering Prayer Groups meet on Thursday at 11 a.m. in person in the parish Trustee Room and at 7 p.m. in person as well as on Zoom.

Joe Immitt, a St. Mary’s extraordinary minister of the Eucharist, usually joins the Thursday morning group.

“Centering Prayer is different. I think of it as moving towards his Godliness, but at the same time receiving his reach — his hand out to me — as I learn who he really is,” Immitt said. “I have never felt closer to God than when I am in a Centering Prayer group. The feeling just grows, and you just kind of want to continue more and more to get as close [to God] as you possibly can.”