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Meditation & Contemplation

Contemplative Spirituality
 

Contemplative prayer is a particular way of Christian - especially Ignatian - prayer. It focuses on the immediate dialogical relationship between the praying person and God, shaped by orientation towards Jesus Christ, "the way and the truth and the life" (John 14:6).
In contemplative prayer, we focus our attention on the rhythm of our breathing, on the name of Jesus Christ, repeated in the rhythm of our breathing, and on our relationship with him. An appropriate sitting position and body posture support the meditating person in collecting themself. This tradition of prayer is echoed in what Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) calls the "Third Way of Praying" in his "Spiritual Exercises" (cf. nos. 252 and 258). Our offers aim to cultivate this way of praying at St. Michael's:

  • Contemplation through the Jesus Prayer – Open Contemplative Evening (3 x 30 min)
    Monday 19:00 – 21:00
    Directors: Gisela Reindl-Schmid and Marie-Luise Fleck
    The contemplative evenings will not take place in August.
  • Contemplative afternoons with Eucharist service
    Saturday 14:00 – 18:00 (please check the schedule for concrete dates)
    Director: Gisela Reindl-Schmid
    (For more info see www.kontemplativ-leben.de)

Interreligious Spirituality

St. Michael's Center offers not only events related to Ignatian spirituality, but also others that take up questions of interreligious dialogue. They are less christocentric, but fundamentally "prayers of simplicity". Their foundation is attentiveness on breath and body, an existence in silence, without words or thoughts. Eastern paths of spirituality (e.g. Yoga, Zen) consider themselves as paths into emptiness; from a Christian standpoint we might say: into the vast openness of the "pneuma" (the spirit).
The following offers at St. Michael's Center move around this realm of meditation and contemplation. They form part of a "mystical dialogue" with other religions.

Practice Paths Yoga and Christian Spirituality
once monthly
Saturday or Sunday, 15:00 – 17:00
Director: Carmen Wagner

Zen Meditation Group
Wednesday 19:30 – 21:15

Zen Afternoon (Zazenkai)
once monthly
Sunday 14:30 – 18:00
Director: P. Stefan Bauberger SJ

All appointments of this group (Wednesday nights and Sunday Zazenkais) are cancelled until further notice.

Jesuit Forum

The Jesuit Forum at Michaelssaal offers a platform for theological and spiritual impulses on one hand, for questions of our time in the broadest sense on the other. The evening starts with an expert lecture of about 50 minutes' length. After that there is about half an hour for open discussions and exchanges on the respective topic. We always end within the set timeframe (7:30 p.m to 9:00 p.m.).