COSA History

The COSA Journey to Oblate School of Theology

On January 11, 2004, Fr. Carl Arico blessed the new Contemplative Outreach San Antonio (COSA) headquarters located at the Omega Retreat Center on the monastery grounds of the Benedictine Sisters in Boerne, TX. That weekend, Fr. Carl was the retreat director for the center’s first silent Centering Prayer retreat. Fr. Carl  Arico continued to direct a weekend Centering Prayer retreat every January for ten years. During this ten-year period, COSA was abundantly blessed with faithful servant leadership, service teams, commissioned Centering Prayer presenters, and Centering Prayer Support Groups that enabled the chapter to sponsor a growing number of retreats and workshops, as well as to respond to a growing number of requests from churches and spiritual organizations for retreats, workshops and presentations.

In 2005,  Ed Alcott, adjunct professor at Oblate School of Theology (OST) in San Antonio, obtained permission to teach a summer course on Thomas Merton and Thomas Keating.  Thirty-four students took the course. Delighted at the response from the students, Ed approached Sr. Mary Agnes Zinni about doing a weekend retreat on the teachings of St. Teresa of Avila, which resulted in “The Stages of the Journey of Spiritual Growth” being held at Omega Retreat Center in February 2006.  It was eagerly attended and received by the retreatants, indicating a desire to learn more about the spiritual journey.

Around the same time, Benedictine Oblate Anna Falkenberg became familiar with a three year Christian Mysticism program sponsored by the World Community for Christian Meditation in Houston.  At the request of Sr. Mary Agnes, Anna brought a copy of the program to a meeting with Ed and COSA leadership team volunteers Cleo Tamez, Sam and Sharon Mungo and Sr. Mary Agnes. The potential for developing a unique San Antonio three-year program was recognized.  With this in mind, and needing the credibility, visibility and stability of Oblate School of Theology, Ed approached its president, Fr. Ronald Rolheiser. Fr. Rolheiser assigned Rose Marden, Associate Dean of Continuing Education, to our planning committee. He also gave the committee $5,000 for start-up expenses and volunteered OST for printing brochures to publicize and promote the program.

The planning committee estimated that it needed 25 participants to break even financially.  To its great surprise, when the program held its opening session in September 2006 at Colonial Hills Methodist Church (where Rev. Homer Bain, COSA’s first Coordinator attended services) 183 persons registered.  In 2009 when the program ended, the registration was at 177 individuals coming primarily from Catholic, Episcopalian, Methodist and Presbyterian faith traditions.

The planning committee was in awe as they witnessed the profound moving of the Holy Spirit in the response of the participants.   As a result of their experience, and at the conclusion of  Fr. Carl Arico’s  10-year commitment at Omega Retreat Center, the planning committee followed its conviction to move COSA to Oblate School of Theology. Cliff Knighten, who had served on the COSA Leadership Team and was in the Master’s Degree in Spirituality program at OST, was asked to relay our request to Fr. Rolheiser.

Fr. Rolheiser welcomed us with great kindness.  There was no vacant office at the time of our request, but the first one to be vacated was promised to COSA. On Christmas Eve 2013, Cleo Tamez, the COSA Coordinator, and Sr. Mary Agnes Zinni received an email from Cliff Knighten announcing the good news: COSA had its new home at Oblate School of Theology.

A new chapter in the sacred story of COSA at Oblate School of Theology is unfolding day by day.  Both COSA and OST have a deep awareness and the growing experience of the blessing that they are to each other.  Together they are witnessing the leading of the Holy Spirit in the words of Jeremiah 29:11-14:  “I know well the plans I have in mind for you… plans to give you a future full of hope…  when you seek me with all your heart you will find me with you, says the Lord.”

Written by Sr. Mary Agnes Zinni, OSB and Cleo Tamez, July 26, 2018