Contemplative Prayer -
Catholic Communities of Oak Park and Neighbors

Saturday Contemplative Prayer
- Each Saturday morning, a group of ordinary men and women come together for a time of contemplative prayer. Together we share the practice of Christian meditation. We meet from 8:30 AM to 9:15 AM. The gathering includes a period of twenty minutes for meditative prayer, followed by a brief time for conversation and sharing about personal experiences with contemplative prayer practice.
  
  Christian contemplation is attuning to God’s presence by simply being fully conscious in the present moment. Various tools include centering prayer, the Jesus prayer, the breath prayer, lectio divina, and labyrinth walking.
  
  A weekly email reminder is sent to everyone on our list. All are invited to drop in occasionally or make this an ongoing practice. We typically gather at Ascension Church twice a month and on ZOOM the other Saturdays. Give yourself the gift of time in God’s presence.
  
  For more information or to be added to the email list, please contact Dr. David Anderson, Director of Pastoral Music and Liturgy at [email protected] or (708) 848-2703.
  Contemplative Prayer Schedule 2026-2027
  No Prayer on July 4 (Independence Day)
  July 11 & 25 - Via Zoom / July 18 - In-Person
  August 8 & 22 - Via Zoom / August 1, 15 & 29 - In-Person
  No Prayer on September 5 (Labor Day on September 7)
  September 19 - Via Zoom / September 12 & 26 - In-Person
  October 3, 17 & 31 - Via Zoom / October 10 - In-Person / October 24 - Silent Saturday from 8:30 AM to 1:30 PM at Ascension Campus (Church and Pine Room)
  November 7 & 21 - Via Zoom / November 14 - In-Person
  No Prayer on November 28 (Thanksgiving Day on November 26)
  December 5 & 19 - Via Zoom / December 12 - In-Person
  No Prayer on December 26 (Christmas Day on December 25)
  No Prayer on January 2 (New Year's Day on January 1)
  January 9 & 23 - Via Zoom / January 16 & 30 - In-Person
  February 6 - Silent Saturday from 8:30 AM to 1:30 PM at St. Edmund Campus (Murphy Hall) / February 13 - In-Person / February 20 & 27 - Via Zoom
  March 6 & 20 - Via Zoom / March 13 - In-Person
  No Prayer on March 27 (Holy Saturday)
  April 3 & 17 - Via Zoom / April 10 - In-Person / April 24 -Silent Saturday from 8:30 AM to 1:30 PM at St. Giles Campus (McDonough Hall)
  No Prayer on May 1 (First Communion)
  May 8 & 22 - Via Zoom / May 15 & 29 - In-Person
  June 5 & 19 - Via Zoom / June 12 & 26 - In-Person
  Contemplative Prayer Resources
  > Breath Prayer
  > Tree of Contemplative Practices
Seasonal Contemplative Prayer - Virtual Listening Sessions
- The Contemplative Prayer Ministry at St. Catherine of Siena-St. Lucy and St. Giles Parish offers a number of Virtual Listening Sessions scheduled during the year - One can sew, draw, color, yarn, rest or simply embrace the deep wisdom as we listen together to these transforming book sessions. No need to acquire a book; we just listen! - WE DO NOT HAVE SCHEDULED SESSIONS AT THIS MOMENT - SEE DATES, TIMES AND TOPICS ON THIS SPACE ONCE SESSIONS ARE AVAILABLE IN THE FUTURE!
  
  Questions? - Email the Contemplative Prayer Ministry at [email protected] for a zoom link.
  All the Virtual Listening Sessions can be accessed by using the Zoom link below at the time of meetings.
  > Access Zoom Meeting
  
  Please remember that we begin 30 minutes before the starting time for optional Centering prayer, for example, on Monday at 7:00 PM CT, we will have Centering Prayer... then, we listen for 45 minutes with 15 minutes for discussion if desired.
  
  MONDAY AT 7:30 PM CT
  How to Live in a Chaotic Climate: 10 Steps to Reconnect With Ourselves, Our Communities and Our Planet - LaUra Schmidt
  Eco-distress is real. HTLICC will help us rediscover meaning, joy and connection as the tumult around us increases. It unpacks the social, political, and spiritual nuances of the climate emergency step by step. Each step includes practices that draw on meditation, mindfulness, journaling, dance, somatics, and self-inquiry to help listeners cope with overwhelming feelings, heal wounds caused by disconnection and act in generative ways that help cultivate a just and equitable future for all.
  TUESDAY AT 2:00 PM CT
  Spiritual Pilgrims: Carl Jung and Teresa of Avila
  This work is about Christian individuation, the movement into the wholeness of one's personality as union with God deepens. Morton Kelsey says it is "one of the best accounts of inner journey he has ever encountered."
  We will read together from the book which I will provide for you!
  WEDNESDAY AT 2:00 PM or 7:30 PM CT
  Wild Mercy: Living the Fierce and Tender Wisdom of the Women Mystics - Mirabai Starr
  Mirabai Starr shares the subversive wisdom and fierce compassion of the feminine mystics; it is essential reading for anyone ready to awaken the feminine mystic within and birth her loving, creative, and untamed power into the world.
  THURSDAYS AT 10:30 AM or 7:30 AM CT
  The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture - Gabor Mate'
  The Myth of Normal is not just about trauma or illness. It is about the pain we have learned to ignore. The ways we have adopted to suffering and call it life. Mate' dares to tell the truth many of us have been too scared to speak: that what we think of as "normal" in our world is often deeply sick... and that healing requires a return not just to health, but to self.
  Here are 7 lessons from the book that will leave us feeling raw, human and strangely more alive:
  "What we call "normal" is often a clever disguise for pain."
  "Trauma is not what happens to you. It is what happens inside you."
  "Illness can be a message... not a failure."
  "We become who we have to be in order to survive."
  "Connection is more healing than any medicine."
  "The world does not need us to be more productive, but more whole."
  "Healing is remembering who you really are."
  SATURDAY AT 9:30 AM CT
  Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul: Celtic Wisdom For Reawakening To What Our Souls Know And Healing the World - John Philip Newell
  Newell shares the long hidden tradition of Celtic Christianity, explaining how this earth-based spirituality can help us rediscover the natural rhythms of life, deepen our spiritual connection with God, with each other, and with the earth. We will learn to listen to the Sacred around us and inside us.
  SUNDAYS AT 7:00 PM CT
  Path To the Palace of Nowhere Essential Guide to the Contemplative Teachings of Thomas Merton - James Finley

Contemplative Prayer -Catholic Communities of Oak Park and Neighbors

Contemplative Prayer Schedule 2026-2027

Contemplative Prayer Resources

Contemplative Prayer -
Catholic Communities of Oak Park and Neighbors