PROGRAMS

CAC INTERN (n.): A person, esp. a student of life, participating in an intensive spiritual formation process for the furthering of personal and global conversion in order to gain Gospel-living experience. Synonyms: journeyer, seeker, disciple.

The Center for Action and Contemplation was founded in 1987 by Richard Rohr, OFM, to integrate study and contemplation with peace and justice ministries. Since that time, the CAC has attracted people from around the world who share its vision and values.

The CAC actively supports and educates those who desire to promote societal peace and justice. The structure of the internship is designed for a strong and varied integration of action and contemplation. Through the practice of contemplative prayer and through active engagement with challenging issues and marginalized people, staff and interns continue the journey of faith together and strive to become active contemplatives, and contemplative in all their actions.

Internship programming includes:

• classes & field experiences in social justice issues and contemplative practice
  
• border awareness trip at the US/Mexico border
  
• facilitated group processing, giving the opportunity to communally reflect and process the experience
  
• time for personal reflection, contemplative prayer, group prayer, liturgies, and camaraderie

During their stay, interns live in community at the CAC guesthouse, Stillpoint. Stillpoint is an inviting older home where simpler living and vegetarianism are practiced. Facilities include a chapel, library, hermitage, labyrinth, and meditation garden space. While the guest house is located in a residential neighborhood (just a few houses from the Center) people often comment that the backyard feels very rural. As part of living in community, interns often assist with the cooking, help out with household chores and gardening, and share meals together. It is helpful for interns to understand the need to be flexible and to be prepared for a lesser degree of privacy than that to which they may be accustomed.

The Setting

New Mexico provides an ideal backdrop for the internship program. Located in the heart of the “Land of Enchantment,” this area of the Southwest has long been known as sacred ground, a place of great spiritual energy. The beauty of God’s creation is shown in the diversity of people in New Mexico. New Mexico is home to Native American, Hispanic, Black, Asian and Anglo populations and cultures.

God’s beauty shines in the beautiful dance between sunlight and clouds at sunset, the powerful and awesome blaze of lightning in thunderstorms over the desert, the way the red rocks seem to glow with the touch of evening sunlight, and the eclectic range of wildlife in New Mexico.

God’s beautiful creations create a peaceful and contemplative place for the location of CAC internships.

New Mexico is also a place of social controversy. Kirtland Air Force Base, housed in Albuquerque, is one of the nation’s largest military installations and is the national command, control and communications center for all nuclear weapons in the United States. About seventy miles north of Albuquerque is Los Alamos, the “Nuclear City,” where the first atomic bomb was developed. Less than one hundred miles south is where the first atomic bomb was exploded.

More than 65% of New Mexico’s economy is military related. At the same time, New Mexico is one of the poorest states in the nation. In thirty out of thirty-three counties, over 30% of all households have incomes less than $10,000 per year. Illiteracy and drop-out rates are high while education is a very low priority.

Albuquerque is also less than five hours from the Mexican border. New immigration laws have only slightly reduced the number of undocumented Mexicans and Central Americans entering the U.S. Large numbers continue to travel through Albuquerque, or to settle here in colonias with no infrastructure. These controversies and injustices tell of a need for the social change that is emphasized and studied during CAC internships.

It seems that the setting of New Mexico embodies the same atmosphere as that of the CAC — a crossroads between action and contemplation.

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