Praying From The Heart
Several years ago, I started being drawn instinctively by a no conceptual kind of prayer and I began to search for support in my community. I experienced Centering Prayer (CP) with a group in 2004 and my curiosity deepened when I learned about the History of Contemplative Prayer in the Christian Tradition (1). After two years of practicing CP and noticing the effects in my daily life and the improvements of my relationship with God, I decided to start to service on Contemplative Outreach Northeast Ohio.
In 2009, after several years as volunteer in my parish and organizing many activities of Contemplative Outreach, I found out very challenging to expose new people to this kind of prayer. I just felt a call to start a new prayer group called “Prayer From The Heart ” – Opening to the Presence of God in our daily Life – as a way to introduce Centering Prayer slowly using Contemplative Outreach materials and offering myself to be with them. After a year, of praying together once every two weeks all year around, I was able to consolidate a new group. My experience leading this group for 4 years convinced me that Centering Prayer is one way to initiate contemplative prayer.
I have been practicing Centering Prayer as meditative practice everyday and I have been blessed by all the gifts that I have received during all this years. A new way of seeing reality have opened to me and I feel that I need to share my experience so people arounds me can wake up too.
Praying From The Heart is an Ecumenical Contemplative site. The purpose is to offer material that have touched my soul and that I am very sure other people may benefit for their own spiritual search and meaning in life.
Josefina U Fernandez