Prayer of the Heart

Prayer of the Heart MS 402:

Prayer of the Heart is a short introductory course to a spiritual practice developed in the Eastern Mediterranean, Mesopotamia and Persia more than 1500 years ago and that continues today. The practitioner comes to greater clarity and awareness of who they are in the world. This spiritual practice integrates dimensions of life that are often forgotten or overlooked.                                     

xxx Term: 3 Saturdays from 9 April

Saturdays: 10.00am – 1.00pm

Course Fee: £30 each day

Entry: The foundation for participation in the day is an openness to discuss the significance of human experience and a willingness to use poetry and sacred texts as resources

Teaching and Learning Style: The encounters will be experiential, participatory and developmental.

Tutor: James Leachman, OSB

 

 

 

 

 

———————————————————————————————-

Programme Outline

This course has been developed to offer an introduction to the tradition of Prayer of the Heart.

Prayer of the Heart  (Spirituality) MS 402

xxx 09   The Sower and The Good Earth: Early traditions, a method. Doing a first practical exercise.

xxx 16    Beginning to understand ourselves anew: A further exercise.

xxx 23    Living by a new identity that comes from the heart: Coming to a deeper awareness and understanding of our own autonomous actions & our human strengths.

SATURDAYS: 3 Saturdays from 9 xxx 10.00am – 1.00pm

Full Course Fee: £90

Skills

A variety of skills is needed for this course: giving attention both to the classical and personal sources of inspiration (lectio) and to  persevering in prayer or meditation (praxis).

Four elements characterise our way of listening to the heart’s search for meaning and transcendence: martyria (proclamation, communication – an ability to speak about the content of our experience), koinonia (building of trust and community & the human relationships of everyday life), liturgia (ritual, worship, practices of prayer), diakonia (care, charity directed towards others).

© Ealing Abbey, page created 10 February 2016