RETREATS AND DAYS OF PRAYER
Retreats and Days of Prayer are held for the parish at least twice a year, usually during Advent and Lent. They offer a time of quiet with guided reflection given by a retreat leader. A priest from inside or outside the archdiocese is asked to be the retreat leader.
PARISH MISSION
A Parish Mission is held annually. They usually last for three days with Mass and two talks a day.
CENTERING PRAYER
Centering Prayer is a practice of quieting self to achieve an interior silence needed to receive the gift of God's presence. Centering Prayer facilitates a movement from verbal and affective prayer to a receptive prayer of resting in God. It is a method of leading to Contemplative Prayer.
CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER
Contemplative Prayer is the opening of mind and heart, one's whole being, to God, It moves one beyond thoughts, words, and emotions. Contemplative Prayer is a gift from God which can be accepted through the emptying of self and achieving the inner quiet necessary for acceptance of the gift.
Lectio Divina is another avenue that may lead into contemplative prayer. Through Lectio Divina, which means "sacred reading," one can listen to or read the texts of scripture, sit with them, and converse with God about them. Such communing with God also can bring self to the state of contemplation, a time of resting in God.
CHRISTIAN MEDITATION
Christian Meditation grows out of Lectio Divina. Most commonly it is defined as the practice of pondering a text either from scripture or some other spiritual reading. It can be followed by affective prayer whereby one talks to God about the reading and gradually moves on to "contemplation."
The metation group at "SVDP follows the format promoted by John Main, a Benedictine monk in England. His procedure included a shor t spiritual reading and then sitting in a quiet, relaxed position for at least 20 minutes twice a day and reciting silently a mantra to maintain an open mind and heart cleared of all personal thought. John Main's successor is Father Laurence Freeman who continues to poromote Christian meditation as a means of contemplation.
SPIRITUAL DIRECTION
Spiritual direction is a type of spiritual mentoring for anyone who desires to walk with another to explore God's work in one's soul. It provides a safe place for someone to give voice to experiences of faith and/or doubt, a place where one can obtain help from another to become more aware of how God's Holy Spirit may be working in one's life. For more information or to make an appointment, call Elaine Caldwell at 713-663-3529 or email her at ecaldwell@svdp-edu.org
PARISH LIBRARY
The SVDP parish library provides written, video, and audio resources for parishioners. Subject, author, and title indexes are being updated from a manual card catalog to a computer printer of each. CD's and DVD's contain religious and classical music and topics related to scripture, liturgy, and faith formation. Written material includes bibles, encyclicals of pope, and books written by authors ranging from the early Church Fathers to present-day authors. The library allows open access during business hours and uses the honor system for checking out and returning library materials.