Our Mission
Established at Georgetown University in 2005, the John Main Center is committed to developing an ecumenical community of meditation, inspired by the teaching of Fr. John Main, OSB (1926 – 1982). Its aim is to encourage the daily personal practice of meditation and to nurture the experience of community that it creates. The Center offers regular sessions devoted to the practice of silence in the Christian tradition of meditation. Because meditation is a universal spiritual tradition, the John Main Center welcomes everyone to the peace of its sacred space. The Center initiates and encourages inter-religious dialogue, especially in the common ground revealed through the contemplative experience of all traditions. Although the John Main Center is a project of the World Community for Christian Meditation, Georgetown University and the WCCM collaborate with respect to the spiritual programming offered at the Center.
Our Story
The John Main Center was founded in 2005, as a partnership between Georgetown University and the World Community for Christian Meditation. Through the work of our directors, student volunteers, faculty, staff, and community members, we have been able to bring the gift of meditation to a new generation. Our doors are open to all.
John Main
John Main was a Benedictine monk (1926-1982) who helped bring about a renewal in Christian contemplative practice, through the rediscovery of meditation is the Western Christian tradition. Through his life and work, John Main demonstrated that meditation was not a practice of “the East,” or limited to certain spiritual or religious paths. Rather, his life and teaching pointed to the universality of the human contemplative experience and the community it creates.
Advisory Board
DENNIS MCAULIFFE
Special Assistant to the President for Contemplatives in Action, Georgetown University
LAURENCE FREEMAN
Benedictine monk
Director of The World Community for Christian Meditation
TIM KELLY
WCCM-USA Region 4 Coordinator
NICK SCRIMENTI
Program Coordinator
GU College, Religious Studies, ‘18
JUNIE NATHANI
Assistant Vice President, Leadership Resources, Georgetown University
GREGORY ROBISON
Executive Director, Meditatio Foundation
GENE BEBEAU
ELIN HAAGA
SEAN HAGAN
From the Director
Dear Friends,
Greetings and welcome to the John Main Center website.
As the oldest Catholic and Jesuit institute of higher learning in the country, Georgetown University has a renowned heritage and tradition. “Cura Personalis”, or care of the whole person, is one of the many transcendent values present here on campus. The John Main Center offers daily meditation and programs to students, faculty, staff, and local community members precisely to nurture the growth of the whole person.
While we are rooted in the practice of Christian meditation, we are inclusive of all faith traditions. This particular discipline of meditation is inspired by the early Christian Desert Mothers and Fathers, and John Cassian in particular, and was taught and articulated by Benedictine monk Fr. John Main, OSB. In the words of Fr. John:
The all-important aim in Christian meditation is to allow God’s mysterious and silent presence within us to become more and more not only a reality, but the reality which gives meaning, shape and purpose to everything we do, to everything we are.
The John Main Center offers numerous opportunities to develop and nurture your contemplative practice and journey.
We look forward to seeing you and thank you for your continued support of our mission.
Peace,
Lisa Directo Davis
Program Director
John Main Center for Meditation and Interreligious Dialogue
