Centering Prayer is a method of prayer which leads to a deeper relationship with God. It consists of responding to the Spirit of Christ by consenting to God’s presence and action within. It facilitates a movement from more active modes of prayer–verbal, discursive or affective prayer–into a receptive prayer of resting, silently, in God.
History of Contemplative Prayer and the Centering Practice
Contemplative Prayer is an ancient Christian practice developed primarily in Monasteries. It is a process of interior purification leading, if we consent, to divine union. Based on developing the grace of Baptism and the regular practice of reading and meditating on the scriptures, contemplation opens our minds and hearts, our whole being, to God, the ultimate mystery.
Centering Prayer is a method designed to facilitate the development of contemplative prayer by preparing our faculties to cooperate with this gift. It is an attempt to present the teaching of an earlier time (e.g. the Cloud of Unknowing) in an updated form and to give it order and regularity.
Centering Prayer was distilled into a simple method of prayer in the 1970’s by three Trappist monks: Fr. William Meninger, Fr. Basil Pennington, and Abbot Thomas Keating at St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, Massachusets.
Since then, Fr. Keating (left) and an ecumenical group of lay people have formed Contemplative Outreach Limited (see International Network) to provide a support network, information, and resources for those practicing Centering Prayer. This lifelong practice is greatly helped by belonging to a support group where prayer, faith, trials, and joys can be shared. The Triangle has a wealth of such groups that welcome newcomers at anytime (see CO/CENC and the newsletter link).
Guidelines for Centering Prayer
- Choose a sacred word as the symbol of your intention to consent to God’s presence and action within.
- Sitting comfortably and with eyes closed, settle briefly and silently introduce the sacred word as the symbol of your consent to God’s presence and action within.
- When you become aware of thoughts, return ever-so-gently to the sacred word.
- At the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of minutes.
Explanations
- The sacred word expresses our intention to be in God’s presence and yield to the divine action.
Examples: Lord, Jesus, Mary, Abba, Kyie, Mater, Maria, Peace, Mercy, Silence, Stillness. - Whatever word is chosen, keep it for the entire prayer period. The word is not sacred in itself; it is invoked to gently return our minds to silent openness to God
- Thoughts are a normal part of Centering Prayer. They include sense perceptions, feeling, images, memories, reflections, and commentaries. Centering is a discipline of gently “letting go” of these “thoughts” to make space in our hearts for God, to signal our openness to the Spirit.
Centering is based on ancient Christian practices and is both psychologically and spiritually sound. For more about the transforming power of Centering Prayer, we highly recommend Fr. Keating’s article: Centering Prayer and the Transformation of Divine Love.
Further articles by Fr. Keating and chapters of his books can be found on the Contemplative Outreach Ltd. page.
We also encourage you to visit a local support group and experience Centering for yourself.