Mindful Silence: The Heart of Christian Contemplation

Phileena Heuertz

Phileena Heuertz is one of the leading directors of Word Made Flesh (WMF)--an international community serving Christ among the most vulnerable of the world's poor. She is the author of Pilgrimage of a Soul:Contemplative Spirituality for the Active Life.


Over the years, Phileena has traveled through nearly 70 countries working with marginalized and oppressed people--abandoned children, victims of HIV and AIDS, sexually exploited women and children, people recovering from drug addictions, children who live on the streets, refugees and children of combat and war.


Since 1995, Phileena has served WMF through child advocacy, community care and leadership development. In 2004 she founded the Community Care Center-one of the internal support offices for the international movement. Phileena believes that union of action and contemplation is crucial to ongoing personal transformation, healthy community life, and sustainable, authentic social justice efforts. Phileena's responsibilities require her attention in the international office in Omaha, Nebraska, as well as in the WMF communities across the globe.