What is the Centering Prayer?¹
Centering Prayer is a method of meditation used by Christians placing a strong emphasis on interior silence. The modern Centering Prayer movement in Christianity can be traced to several books published by three Trappist monks of St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts in the 1970s: Fr. William Meninger, Fr. M. Basil Pennington and Abbot Thomas Keating.[1] The name was taken from Thomas Merton‘s description of contemplative prayer (a much older and more traditional practice) as prayer that is “centered entirely on the presence of God”.[2] In his book Contemplative Prayer, Merton writes ““Monastic prayer begins not so much with “considerations” as with a “return to the heart,” finding one’s deepest center, awakening the profound depths of our being”.
The creators of the Centering Prayer movement claim to trace their roots to the contemplative prayer of the Desert Fathers of early Christian monasticism, to the Lectio Divina tradition of Benedictine monasticism, and to works like The Cloud of Unknowing and the writings of St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross. Advocates of Centering Prayer say it does not replace other prayer but encourages silence and deeper connection to God.[3] Also advocates of Centering Prayer say it helps people be more present and open to God.[4] Father Thomas Keating has promoted both Lectio Divina and Centering Prayer.[5]
listen to Fr Tom Keating teaching us about the Centering Prayer:
This is how Fr. Keating and Fr Richard Rohr have described it:
CENTERING PRAYER ²
For those not familiar with Centering Prayer, its beauty is that you don’t have to talk—or even think. That’s the point. You sit quietly in the formless presence of God. What a relief to cease mental chatter or activity of any kind! We can literally do what the psalmist recommends “Be still and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10).
Father Thomas Keating is the spiritual giant who helped originate this method in the late 1970s and has taught it to millions. Centering Prayer is probably the single-most prevalent meditative prayer approach practiced by evolving Christians today.
Father Keating describes Centering Prayer this way:
“The centering prayer method is simple: Find a quiet place to pray alone. Sit in silence with the intention of being in God’s presence. When you become aware of any thoughts or feelings, turn away from them and focus on a “sacred word” of your choosing. Let go of every kind of thought during prayer, even the most devout thoughts.”
He famously said, “If Mary appears to you, tell her you are busy.” As Father Keating has further framed it, Centering Prayer focuses not on communion with God but union with God. The goal is transcendence.
Richard Rohr describes his version of Centering Prayer as contemplative prayer. He says,
“Contemplative prayer is entering a deeper silence and letting go of our habitual thoughts, sensations, and feelings in order to connect to a truth greater than ourselves. This is largely a practice of disidentification with your own compulsive thoughts and obsessive feelings. I always say when I teach contemplation, ‘Most people do not see things as they are; most people see things as they are.’ They see it through their own agendas, and it doesn’t lead to very broad seeing.
In religious language, we’re handing over to God all the negative, fearful, angry thoughts that try to grab hold of us. Now, when that stream of consciousness clears out—and it does with some regularity—it’s always a wonderful sense of openness to the divine, to whatever God wants to say. Because, basically, you’re not in the way.”
- taken from: Wikipedia
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