This E-Course has ended, but we will be putting in into our on-demand system that allows you to schedule a course at your own pace. Please check back soon.

The Welcoming Prayer is a method of consenting to God’s presence and action in our physical and emotional reactions to events and situations in daily life. If Centering Prayer (or another daily prayer) is practiced for one hour of the day, the Welcoming Prayer is for the other 23 hours. It is a "letting go" in the present moment, in the midst of the activity of ordinary life. It helps to dismantle the emotional programs of the false-self system and to heal the wounds of a lifetime by addressing them where they are stored — in the body.

Practicing the Welcoming Prayer offers us the opportunity to make choices free of the false-self system — responding instead of reacting to the present moment. Through the action of the Holy Spirit, the practice empowers us to take appropriate action as freely and lovingly as possible in any situation that presents itself.

"To welcome and to let go
is one of the most
radically loving, faith-filled
gestures we can make
in each moment of each day.
It is an open-hearted embrace
of all that is in ourselves
and in the world."
— Mary Mrozowski, creator of the Welcoming Prayer

Contemplative Outreach, founded by Fr. Thomas Keating and best known for its pioneering teaching of Centering Prayer, developed an e-course in 2016 on the contemplative practice of welcoming. This 2020 course is an updated version of that original. You can look forward to these components:

  • 12 emails that give the core teachings and practices.
  • Four videos, covering:
    1. The Human Condition
    2. The Method of the Welcoming Prayer
    3. Nuances and Practice
    4. Fruits of the Prayer
  • Step-by-step instructions on the Welcoming Prayer.
  • Practical instruction on the method of Welcoming Prayer, along with opportunities to practice together via Zoom video-enabled prayer chapels. Login information will be sent in the emails before each Zoom session. Here are the dates: (1) Thursday October 15 at 1:00PM Eastern time (noon Central time, 11AM Mountain time, 10AM Pacific time). (2) Thursday October 22 at 1:00PM Eastern time (noon Central time, 11AM Mountain time, 10AM Pacific time) and (3) Thursday October 29 at 1PM Eastern time (noon Central time, 11AM Mountain time, 10AM Pacific time). All Zoom sessions will be recorded for those that cannot attend the live sessions.
  • Mini-practices to root the Welcoming Prayer in your daily life.
  • Community connection and support via the online Practice Circle forum, available 24/7.

Presenters for this e-course are all part of Contemplative Outreach's Welcoming Prayer service team:

Mary Dwyer
Therese Saulnier
Cherry Haisten
Jim McElroy
Mary Lapham
Dave Dierig

Join us to learn or to deepen or renew this practical and profound prayer. The more we experience the Welcoming Prayer, the more we realize that we need to do the Welcoming Prayer. We learn the Welcoming Prayer through repeated practice, through the deepening of our understanding of the prayer. As we continue to consent, we open to God's healing on ever-deepening levels.

4 CEHs for chaplains available.

Partial scholarships are available through Contemplative Outreach. Please fill out this online form and someone will contact you.

To register for this e-course, click on the "Subscribe to E-Course" button below.

$59.95

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