What does the Contemplative Outreach logo signify?
The symbol representing Contemplative Outreach is called “Job’s Redeemer – Patient Waiting.” The heart and soul of Centering Prayer is consenting to God’s presence and action in our lives. Like Job, our patient waiting and consenting is our gift of gratitude.
The elements of the symbol include:
- The Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, which acknowledge that our God is at the center of our consent and being.
- The cross, symbol of our salvation, stands for our dying to our thoughts and commentaries.
- The flowers symbolize the abundance of life and the resurrection. These flowers represent our letting go, in which our false self gives way to the flowering of the new self.
- The circle is a sign of an ongoing process bringing us deeper into Divine Intimacy.
This symbol has been seen in three different locations: on an ancient church in the land of Uz, which is referred to in Scripture as the residence of Job; on a Byzantine stone from excavations in Jerusalem; and in a church named “Multiplication of the Loaves” in the Galilee area.
St Patrick’s Centering Prayer Group continues to be active during the entire Pandemic largely due to the efforts of two of our Parishioners, Dan Wagner, and Liz Lefevre.
Through Dan’s role as Co-Coordinator of Contemplative Outreach of Central Florida, he has enabled the sharing of our Chapter’s Zoom account, not only to keep our local prayer group connected with the help of Liz Lefevre, but other prayer groups in our chapter connected with each other.
Five prayer groups, open to anyone, even internationally, have prayed together weekly and had a two day Zoom retreat attended internationally by 54 people.
Our local groups are small intimate affairs with anywhere from two to a dozen people. Attendance fluctuates. The convenience of being able to walk to your home office and engage and converse in the absolute safely of your own home with people of like minds and spirits has been a balm to the soul during this time of quarantine.
This outreach has showed us how we can meet virtually and connect on a level unimagined before this Pandemic made it the only safe option. The technology takes a little getting used to, but with the use of the speaker view function, you can communicate with someone on a deeper level than you would think.
It is also a blessing for those with mobility and transportation issues who are unable to attend in person and are using Zoom to connect, converse and pray with us.
What a Blessing Zoom has been that God has provided during this pandemic.
