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help learn to edit community portal recent changes upload file special pages search search appearance donate create account log in personal tools donate create account log in contents move to sidebar hide top 1 name 2 origins 3 practice 4 reception 5 research 6 see also 7 references 8 sources 9 further reading 10 external links toggle the table of contents centering prayer 4 languages deutsch suomi nederlands português edit links article talk english read edit view history tools tools move to sidebar hide actions read edit view history general what links here related changes upload file permanent link page information cite this page get shortened url switch to legacy parser print export download as pdf printable version in other projects wikidata item appearance move to sidebar hide from wikipedia the free encyclopedia redirected from centering prayer form of contemplative prayer centering prayer is a method of christian prayer developed in the 20th century by trappist monks at st joseph s abbey in spencer massachusetts fr william meninger fr basil pennington and fr thomas keating developed from the historical practice of contemplative prayer centering prayer is influenced by ancient christian practices outlined in texts by st teresa avila st john of the cross and the text the cloud of unknowing as well as many other ancient christian writings it is not meant to replace other kinds of prayer rather it aims to cast a new light and depth of meaning on them by fostering a direct experience of god centering prayer is not without controversy among some catholics by arguing the practice is inappropriate and deviates from mainstream views of prayer name edit the name was taken from thomas merton s description of contemplative prayer from which centering prayer draws as prayer that is centered entirely on the presence of god web 1 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 in the presence of god 1 origins edit the 20th century trappist monk and writer thomas merton renewed christian interest in contemplative practices in addition to traditional trappist practices late in his life he was influenced by buddhist meditation particularly as found in zen he became a friend of buddhist thich nhat hanh praised chogyam trungpa who founded shambhala buddhism in the united states and was also an acquaintance of the current dalai lama his theology attempted to unify the tenets of the roman catholic faith with other philosophical trends including existentialism web 2 in this context he was an advocate of the non discursive style of contemplative prayer which he saw as a direct confrontation of finite and irrational man with his ground of being cistercian monk thomas keating a founder of centering prayer was abbot all through the 1960s and 1970s at st joseph s abbey in spencer massachusetts this region has multiple religious institutions including a theravada buddhist centre insight meditation society keating was asked to renew the contemplative dimension of the gospel and helped develop centering prayer to introduce christian contemplative practices to younger people who were fleeing to eastern spiritual traditions web 3 early christian sources sometimes used the ancient greek term θεωρία theoria to describe what is now known as contemplation 2 modern advocates of centering prayer also cite influence form desert fathers of early christian monasticism 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 the earliest christian writings that clearly speak of contemplative prayer come from the 4th century monk st john cassian who wrote of a practice he learned from the desert fathers specifically from isaac citation needed cassian s writings remained influential until the medieval era when monastic practice shifted from a mystical orientation to scholasticism during the 16th century carmelite saints teresa of avila and john of the cross wrote and taught about the stages of contemplative prayer christian prayer practice edit this section may contain original research please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations statements consisting only of original research should be removed june 2023 learn how and when to remove this message in centering prayer the participant rests in the presence of god directly and surrenders discursive thoughts and imagined scenes the participant s aim is to be present to the lord to consent to god s presence and action during the time of prayer 3 fr m basil pennington describes four steps for practicing centering prayer 4 sit comfortably with your eyes closed relax and quiet yourself be in love and faith to god choose a sacred word that best supports your sincere intention to be in the lord s presence and open to his divine action within you let that word be gently present as your symbol of your sincere intention to be in the lord s presence and open to his divine action within you whenever you become aware of thoughts feelings perceptions images associations etc simply return to your sacred word as a symbol of your intention to consent to god s presence and action 5 in addition keating writes the method consists in letting go of every kind of thought during prayer even the most devout thoughts 6 the sacred word can be god jesus abba father love peace or a similar word 7 rather than being a tool to quiet the mind it is a consent to the presence and action of god within and just be with god helping people to be more present and open to god 8 advocates of centering prayer also say it does not replace other prayer but encourages silence and deeper connection to god 9 centering prayer advocates link the practice to traditional forms of christian meditation such as on the rosary or lectio divina and keating has promoted both lectio divina and centering prayer 10 reception edit pope francis did not comment on centering prayer directly but spoke very highly of thomas merton who described contemplative prayer as prayer centered entirely on the presence of god web 4 pope francis listed merton as one of four great americans in a speech before the u s congress in september 2015 and encouraged sowing dialogue and peace in his contemplative style web 5 in 1989 the congregation for the doctrine of the faith led by cardinal joseph ratzinger later pope benedict xvi issued letter to the bishops of the catholic church on some aspects of christian meditation web 6 the letter addresses perceived problems in some modern prayer methods many of which have been influenced by eastern religions and the new age movement keating said that this letter does not directly apply to centering prayer and states that the gift of contemplative prayer can only be granted through the holy spirit web 7 connie rossini and dan burke however argued there are similarities between the teaching of keating and his colleagues and specific criticisms made by the cdf 11 web 8 while dan decelles considers centering prayer to fall afoul of the caution against similar prayer forms in this letter web 9 in 2003 the pontifical council for interreligious dialogue and the pontifical council for culture published jesus christ the bearer of the water of life a christian reflection on the new age web 10 susan brinkmann writes that her concerns were addressed in this document web 11 centering prayer practitioners respond that bearer of the water of life does not have doctrinal authority and neither vatican document mentions centering prayer contemplative outreach or keating by name according to rossini centering prayer is contradicted by the teachings of teresa of ávila web 12 she further states that centering prayer is in contradiction to lectio divina web 13 arguing that traditional prayers such as the holy rosary and lectio divina engage the heart and mind with sacred scripture while centering prayer is devoid of content web 14 john d dreher argues that centering prayer is a distortion of the teachings of the desert fathers and the cloud of unknowing web 15 research edit research has been conducted on the centering prayer program indicating that it may be helpful for women receiving chemotherapy 12 and that it may help congregants experience a more collaborative relationship with god as well as reduced stress 13 andrew b newberg explained one study that examined the brains of nuns who engaged in centering prayer which is meant to create a feeling of oneness with god the nuns brain scans showed similarities to people who use drugs like psilocybin mushrooms newberg said and both experiences tend to result in very permanent changes in the way in which the brain works web 16 unreliable medical source see also edit christian contemplation hesychasm hesychia references edit merton 2009 p 5 6 johnston 2004 p 24 keating 2009 p 23 pennington1986 guidelines for centering prayer contemplative outreach ltd march 2025 keating 2006 p 21 robinson isabelle 2020 12 12 about the sacred word contemplative outreach ltd retrieved 2026 01 03 godtalk centering prayer www jesuit org uk jesuits in britain retrieved 2016 12 13 centering prayer contemplative practice for the 21st century america magazine 2014 12 03 retrieved 2016 12 13 lectio divina contemplative outreach ltd retrieved 2016 12 13 rossini 2015c p 120 mary e johnson ann m dose teri britt pipe wesley o petersen mashele huschka mary m gallenberg prema peethambaram jeff sloan marlene h frost 2009 centering prayer for women receiving chemotherapy for recurrent ovarian cancer a pilot study oncology nursing forum 36 4 421 428 doi 10 1188 09 onf 421 428 issn 0190 535x pmid 19581232 s2cid 19561259 jane k ferguson eleanor w willemsen maylynn v castañeto 2010 centering prayer as a healing response to everyday stress a psychological and spiritual process pastoral psychology 59 3 305 329 doi 10 1007 s11089 009 0225 7 issn 0031 2789 s2cid 143866042 sources edit printed sources johnston william 2004 the inner eye of love mysticism and religion harper collins p 24 isbn 978 0 8232 1777 9 keating fr thomas 2006 open mind open heart 20th anniversary edition london bloomsbury p 21 keating thomas 2009 intimacy with god an introduction to centering prayer merton thomas 2009 contemplative prayer first paperback ed new york crown publishing group pp 5 6 isbn 978 0 307 58953 8 pennington fr m basil 1986 centering prayer refining the rules review for religious 45 3 386 393 rossini connie 2015c is centering prayer catholic fr thomas keating meets teresa of avil and the cdf new ulm minnesota four waters press isbn 978 0692518489 web sources the center for christian spirituality thomas merton centering prayer christian existentialism archived from the original on 2014 04 11 retrieved 2009 09 19 rose phil fox meditation for christians patheos retrieved 23 february 2013 history of centering prayer contemplative outreach ltd retrieved 2016 12 13 visit to the congress of the united states of america washington d c 24 september 2015 retrieved 2018 12 27 letter to the bishops of the catholic church on some aspects of christian meditation frequently asked questions contemplative outreach ltd retrieved 2016 07 26 what does the vatican say about centering prayer spiritualdirection com catholic spiritual direction 2010 10 18 retrieved 2016 07 26 centering prayer meets the vatican www catholicculture org retrieved 2016 07 26 jesus christ the bearer of the water of life a christian reflection on the new age priest and former new age enthusiast warns catholics away from eastern meditation women of grace 18 january 2011 retrieved 2016 07 27 rossini connie 17 october 2015a why centering prayer falls short of true intimacy with christ national catholic register retrieved 2016 07 26 quick questions 2016 05 26 retrieved 2016 07 26 rossini connie 17 november 2015b why centering prayer is not christian prayer national catholic register retrieved 2016 07 27 the danger of centering prayer www catholicculture org retrieved 2016 07 26 buxton ryan 2015 05 28 neuroscientist explains the similarities between the brains of praying nuns and psychedelic drug users huffington post further reading edit sadhana a way to god by anthony de mello 1978 isbn 0 385 19614 8 a closer look at centering prayer www catholicculture org retrieved 2016 07 26 contemplative prayer by thomas merton image books 1996 isbn 0 385 09219 9 active meditations for contemplative prayer by thomas keating continuum international publishing group 1997 isbn 0 8264 1061 8 foundations for centering prayer and the christian contemplative life by thomas keating continuum international publishing group 2002 isbn 0 8264 1397 8 open mind open heart the contemplative dimension of the gospel by thomas keating continuum international publishing group 2002 isbn 0 8264 1420 6 jean pierre de caussade april 2007 abandonment to divine providence cosimo inc isbn 978 1 60206 433 1 philippe fr jacques 2008 time for god scepter publishers isbn 978 1594170669 chicoine glenn 2019 a defense of centering prayer cistercian studies 54 3 319 340 external links edit contemplative outreach network of people practicing centering prayer is centering prayer catholic finding intimacy with god through authentic contemplation interview with thomas keating on centering prayer at the wayback machine archived 2010 02 03 by readthespirit com catholic spiritual direction the contemplative society contemplative prayer and the cloud of unknowing the cloud of unknowing at the wayback machine archived 2013 10 10 kyrie centering prayer index dead link a gift from the desert link removed jesus prayer about centering prayer at the wayback machine archived 2008 12 23 online meditation class retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title centering_prayer oldid 1376035907 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