St. John the Divine Anglican | Church in Courtenay, BC

Please come join us Mondays 5:30pm in the Church beginning June 1st, 2026.

Contemplative prayer, resting silently in God’s presence beyond thoughts or concepts, has a long history which may have been practiced about 700 BC with prayers such as Psalm 46:10: ‘be still and know that I am God’. Later, Jesus said in Matt 6:6: ‘but whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret…’. The Desert Fathers and Mothers, particularly Evagrius Ponticus (345 AD) deeply encouraged silent prayer. Christian monk, John Cassian (360AD) wrote about it, passing it on as tradition and St Augustine, a little later, talked about prayer as ‘the internal articulation of love and a ceaseless desire for God’. St Patrick and St Columbanus in the 4th and 5th centuries figured prominently in keeping silent prayer a part of Christian life in Ireland, Britain and Europe during the collapse of Rome. In time, around 1000 AD, silent prayer became relegated to monasteries where, during the Middle Ages, a great many of our well known saints practiced contemplation. Since Vatican ll in our day, John Main OSB, Thomas Keating OCSO, Thomas Merton OCSO and several other notables re-captured the tradition from these ancient strands and have taught meditation to thousands, young and old, from all walks of life.

Contemplative prayer is a solitary endeavour, but within a group is particularly supportive. William Johnston SJ says: “…we can sit together in silent and wordless meditation …and such silence will be almost palpable and it can unite people more deeply than words”. As Jesus said, ‘where two or three are gathered in my name there I am…’ Matt 18:20

Laurence Freeman OSB, in ‘Tasting Wisdom’, 2025, p 31, says, “As we let go of words and thought, we are pilgrims from mind to heart. We come to places where only the Spirit teaches and leads into silence… . It is the light-filled silence of a communion of love.” …the fruits of the Spirit by the grace of God.

Yours in Christ,

Barb Neid and Linda McAnsh