Practices
Enter into the foundational practices of the Christian Wisdom path: simple yet transformative disciplines handed down through our lineage of contemplative teachers.
Centering Prayer
Lectio Divina
Visio Divina
Centering Prayer is a silent, meditative practice rooted in the Christian contemplative tradition. By gently releasing thoughts and resting in openness to God’s presence, it fosters inner stillness and deepens our capacity for communion with the divine.
Welcoming Practice
The Welcoming Practice is a method of gently consenting to God’s presence in the midst of life’s challenges. By acknowledging, feeling, and releasing our inner reactions, we open to greater freedom, healing, and surrender to divine love.
Lectio Divina is an ancient practice of sacred reading that invites us to listen deeply to scripture. Through slow, prayerful reflection, we open our hearts to the living Word and allow it to speak personally and transformatively.
Sacred Chant
Sacred Chant (such as chanting the psalms) is an ancient practice that unites voice, breath, and spirit in prayer. Simple melodies and rhythms open the heart, deepen silence, and draw us into the living stream of contemplative tradition.
Contemplative Liturgies invite us to enter sacred silence through prayer, chant, and stillness. Rooted in the Christian Wisdom tradition, they open the heart to divine presence and awaken a deeper sense of communion with God and one another.
Liturgy
Contemplative Liturgies invite us to enter sacred silence through prayer, chant, and stillness. Rooted in the Christian Wisdom tradition, they open the heart to divine presence and awaken a deeper sense of communion with God and one another.
A Note on the Contemplative Tradition...
Contemplation is the heartbeat of the Christian wisdom tradition. While often confused with meditation or deep thinking, true contemplation is a distinct mode of spiritual perception, what Cynthia Bourgeault calls "luminous seeing."
It is not merely a technique for relaxation, but a grounded, ancient, and quietly radical way of being that reshapes how we experience the world, the Divine, and ourselves. It is the practice of being fully present to what is.
Centering Prayer
Nearly every spiritual tradition offers forms of meditation. What makes Centering Prayer unique is that it arises from the heart of Christianity as a practice of consent, releasing thoughts and resting in God’s presence. Rooted in the early desert tradition, it was renewed in our time by teachers such as Thomas Keating, and is central to the mission of The Contemplative Society.
In Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening, Cynthia Bourgeault writes that while we may quiet “outer noise,” it is much harder to still the “inner noise.” Centering Prayer is a simple way to reconnect with our natural aptitude for the inner life, a practice that gradually leads us into self-emptying and a more unitive way of being.
The Four Guidelines
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Choose a Sacred Word as the symbol of your intention to consent to God’s presence and action within.
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Examples: God, Jesus, Love, Peace, Mercy, Let Go, Silence.
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Tip: The word is not sacred because of its meaning, but because of your intention. Pick one and stick with it during the sit.
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Sitting comfortably and with eyes closed, settle briefly and silently introduce the Sacred Word as the symbol of your consent to God’s presence and action within.
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When engaged with your thoughts, return ever-so-gently to the Sacred Word.
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Note: "Thoughts" include body sensations, feelings, images, and reflections. You will have thoughts! The practice is not to stop thinking, but to release the thought when you notice you are engaged with it, using the Sacred Word as your anchor back to intention.
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At the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of minutes.
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This transition helps you bring the atmosphere of silence into your daily life.
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*Recommended Time: 20 minutes, twice a day (morning and evening) is the recommended "dose" for transformation, but even 5–10 minutes is a beautiful start.
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Lectio Divina
Lectio Divina (Latin for “sacred reading”) is a contemplative practice rooted in the Benedictine tradition. It combines slow, attentive reading of a biblical or sacred text with meditation, prayer, and silence. Its purpose is not study or analysis, but direct encounter: opening ourselves to God’s word here and now, and deepening our knowledge of Christ in our lives today.
Unlike traditional Bible study, Lectio Divina asks us to set aside historical or theological interpretation. Instead, we listen with the heart, engaging the text with imagination, senses, and feeling. The question is always: What is God saying to me through this text in this moment? How does it guide me to walk the Christ path today?
Though originally a communal practice, Lectio Divina can be done either alone or with others.
The Four Movements of Lectio Divina
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Read (Lectio): Choose a short passage of Scripture or sacred text. Read it slowly and deliberately, aloud if possible, at least twice, emphasizing different words or phrases each time. In the traditional Benedictine style, a passage is often read four times.
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Meditate (Meditatio): Ponder the words and allow them to penetrate your awareness. Use your faculties of imagination, visualization, senses, and feelings. Receive the meaning rather than forcing one. Ask: What is the Spirit saying to me right now?
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Pray (Oratio): Respond in prayer to what arises. In a group setting, individuals may speak aloud one or two words that surfaced during meditation. Overlapping responses are welcome; what matters is allowing the Spirit to move freely.
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Contemplate (Contemplatio): Rest in silence, beyond thought and analysis. Simply allow the presence of God and the grace of what you have received to absorb into your being. “To pray is to remain tranquil in spirit in order to enjoy God for as long a time as possible,” wrote William of Saint-Thierry in the 12th century. Silence is the soil where this prayer takes root.
Visio Divina
Visio Divina (Latin for “sacred seeing”) is a contemplative practice rooted in the Christian tradition. It combines slow, attentive gazing at an image, icon, or part of creation with meditation, prayer, and silence. Its purpose is not artistic study or analysis, but direct encounter: opening ourselves to God’s presence here and now, and deepening our knowledge of Christ in our lives today.
Unlike traditional art appreciation, Visio Divina asks us to set aside aesthetic judgment or historical context. Instead, we look with the heart, engaging the image with imagination, senses, and feeling. The question is always: What is God saying to me through this image in this moment? How does it guide me to walk the Christ path today?
Though often practiced with religious art, Visio Divina can be done either alone or with others.
The Four Movements of Visio Divina
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Visio (Gaze): Simply look at the image. Let your eyes wander. Notice what draws your attention: a colour, a figure, a gesture, a shadow.
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Meditatio (Meditate): Now take in the whole image. Let it speak to you. The Questions: What does this image evoke in you? What feelings arise? If this is a scene, where are you in it? Are you a bystander? A participant?
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Oratio (Prayer): Speak to God about what you are noticing. The Conversation: Share what you're feeling. Ask questions. If the image unsettles you, say so. If it comforts you, give thanks.
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Contemplatio (Contemplate): Let go of analysis and words. Rest in silence. The Gift: Listen for God's still, small voice. Allow the image to continue working in you beyond thought.
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Welcoming Prayer
The Welcoming Practice takes the core of Centring Prayer out into daily life; that is, the witnessing component, which is one of the most transformative of the Christian spiritual practices. According to Cynthia Bourgeault, it is important to identify this as a practice and not a prayer, maintaining the emphasis on the action of letting go as opposed to passive acquiescence to external circumstances.
The practice was developed by Mary Mrozowski in the early 1980s, drawing on her work with biofeedback training, Jean Pierre de Caussade’s Abandonment to Divine Providence, and her integration of Thomas Keating’s teachings on the “false-self system”. It is intended to cultivate surrender to our deeper Self in times when attachment is tempting: difficult feelings and situations, feelings of inflation (eg. smugness, pride, vainglory), and even the “highs” (eg. “I don’t want this to end!”).
Step by Step
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Focus or sink in: Feel the feeling. When the first indications of an emotion or physical upset arise, focus on the sensation in the body. Where in the body is the emotion felt? Feel it without judgment. Don’t think about why the emotion is there or what it means, don’t tell stories, just feel it. When we can stop and observe the emotion without repressing or justifying it, we can more easily dissipate the energy in it. There is no need to do anything – just notice.
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Welcome: The turning point. Whatever the sensation is, welcome it by saying internally, “Welcome, pain” or “Welcome, frustration”. It is the sensation that was felt in the first step that is being welcomed, not the situation that brought it on. By doing this, an inner hospitality and unconditional presence is developed. In Cynthia’s words, “’You’ as pure consciousness have trumped ‘you’ as the victim of any story or situation…connected to sensation but separated from story, the inner shift can be extremely powerful”. By welcoming the sensation, we are thanking our body for alerting us to a provoking situation. Our attitude toward strong emotions that arise from these situations is transformed with practice.
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Letting go: freedom to choose. The letting go step incorporates the attitude of “let it be”. Surrender requires us to leave behind our wants, needs, and demands on the spiritual journey, giving up the adversarial or grasping position and making space to experience our union with God as the primary importance. Don’t rush to let go – stay with the physical sensation, alternating between observing and welcoming. Let go of the need to fix anything, to attach stories to the feeling, and wait until the emotional spike has passed. Do not attach to a happy ending. The dissipation of the emotion will make space for heart-centred awareness, creating the inner freedom needed for conscious action, freeing us from the mercy of patterned reactions and victimhood.
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Summary: Cynthia says it best: “’By the power of the Divine Indwelling active within me, I unconditionally embrace this moment, no matter its physical or psychological content’. And by this same indwelling strength, once inner wholeness is restored, I then choose how to deal with the outer situation, be it by acceptance or by spirited resistance. If the latter course is chosen, the actions taken – reflecting that higher coherence of witnessing presence – will have a greater effectiveness, bearing the right force and appropriate timing that Buddhist teaching classically designates as ‘skillful means’."
Sacred Chant
"Chanting is at the heart of all sacred traditions worldwide, and for very good reasons. What meditation accomplishes in silence, chanting accomplishes in sound: it wakes up the emotional center and sets it vibrating to the frequency of love and adoration while feeding the body with that mysterious higher “being food” of divine life. Sacred chanting is an extremely powerful way of awakening and purifying the heart because it allows us to experience, beyond the distortions of our own personal passions, the power and profundity of the divine passion itself.
At its simplest, chanting is simply a matter of putting voice to the words you see on a page. On a single tone is fine. Don’t be embarrassed or self-conscious about how you sound; instead, simply sense the wonder of your own breath and your own tone. Out of these two elements, all sacred traditions agree, the divine Source brought the created realm into being, and these two elements are right there in you! In a mysterious way, your true voice, whether large or small, high or low, bold or timorous, is very closely related to your true self; and as you learn to sing out of your own natural being without pretense or strain, the beauty of your unique quality of aliveness will shine through."
~ Cynthia Bourgeault, The Wisdom Way of Knowing: Reclaiming An Ancient Tradition to Awaken the Heart
Christian sacred chant is a contemplative practice that joins breath, voice, and prayer to awaken the heart. Like meditation in silence, chant opens us to God’s presence through sound, attuning us to love and devotion while nourishing body and spirit. Rooted in the early church and the Benedictine monastic tradition, Christian chant carries forward a lineage shared by sacred traditions worldwide, where voice and vibration are seen as pathways into the divine mystery. Simple and accessible, chanting allows us to discover our true voice and deepen our connection with God.
Contemplative Liturgies
Contemplative liturgy offers a way of entering prayer through shared rhythm, silence, and sacred text. Rooted in the Christian Wisdom tradition, these simple forms are designed to deepen presence, open the heart, and attune us to God’s ongoing work in the world. Whether through the cosmic vision of Teilhard de Chardin’s Mass on the World or the meditative chants of Taizé, these liturgies invite groups to gather in prayer that is spacious, inclusive, and transformative.
The resources below provide suggested outlines and materials that can be adapted for use in your own community.