A Voice Crying in the Wilderness:
Contemplative prayer as a way
to make a straight path for the Lord
Father Terry Ryan, C.S.P., is a Paulist priest who travels throughout 
the United States offering workshops, missions, retreats and evening reflections on the Contemplative Experience. St. Thérèse of Lisieux, the great mystics, and the spirituality of the 11th step of a 12-step recovery program all provide the frameworks for Father Terry's discussions of the Contemplative Experience.
Father Terry is available to parishes and other groups that want to learn more about the purpose, method and practice of contemplation as a way of achieving a deeper spirituality.
Father Terry stresses flexibility: his sessions on St. Thérèse and the mystics can be done in a variety of formats: a day-long workshop, a weekend retreat, a three-day mission or an evening reflection. The workshop on using contemplative practice as part of the 11th step can be done on a Saturday or a weekend.
The contemplative experience of resting in God within and beyond our limiting thoughts, images and feelings can transform your active life. You will become freer of self-centered, fear-based motives and of desires for too much control, security and esteem. Contemplating the inner light of God’s will, we will discover who we truly are in his divine image and likeness.
Father Terry, who is fluent in Spanish, has worked in a bilingual parish in Houston, Texas, a downtown city parish in San Francisco, California, and in campus ministry parishes in Boulder, Colorado, and Knoxville Tennessee. Since 1979 he has been presenting the teachings of the mystics of the Western Tradition, especially from the Catholic Christian perspective. This rich tradition opens us to a deeper understanding of our contemplative roots and a contemplative understanding of the Gospels. In his presentations, Father Terry shows us a bridge to ecumenical and interfaith dialogue.
At present, Father Terry divides his time between Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Boulder, Colorado, and Old St. Mary's Church in San Francisco, California.
