{"id":544,"date":"2025-11-11T23:28:43","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T23:28:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coidaho.org\/?p=544"},"modified":"2025-11-11T23:28:44","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T23:28:44","slug":"understanding-centering-prayer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coidaho.org\/?p=544","title":{"rendered":"Understanding Centering Prayer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Centering Prayer is a method of Christian silent prayer, rooted in the contemplative tradition of the Church, designed to deepen our relationship with God, the Indwelling Presence.<\/sup> It’s an opening of mind and heart to God, the Ultimate Mystery, beyond thoughts, words, and emotions.<\/sup> Developed by Trappist monks Fr. William Meninger<\/strong>, Fr. Thomas Keating<\/strong>, and Fr. Basil Pennington<\/strong> in the 1970s, it makes the ancient practice described in texts like The Cloud of Unknowing<\/em> accessible to modern Christians.<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steps and Ways to Practice<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Centering Prayer is a simple but challenging discipline.<\/sup> The practice is summarized in four basic guidelines:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Choose a Sacred Word<\/strong> as the symbol of your intention to consent to God’s presence and action within. The word should be short\u2014one or two syllables\u2014such as “Lord,” “Peace,” “Yes,” or “Love.” Alternatively, you can use a sacred breath.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Sitting comfortably and with eyes closed<\/strong>, settle briefly and silently introduce the sacred word as the symbol of your consent to God’s presence and action within.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. When engaged with your thoughts<\/strong>, return ever-so-gently to the sacred word. Thoughts include body sensations, feelings, images, and reflections. The key is to let go of every thought without judgment, using the sacred word as an anchor to your intention.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. At the end of the prayer period<\/strong> (usually 20 minutes), remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of minutes to allow the return to ordinary awareness to be gradual.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Fr. Thomas Keating<\/strong> explained the method, relating it to Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount: “Centering Prayer is a method designed to facilitate the development of contemplative prayer by preparing our faculties to receive this gift.<\/sup> . . . It is at the same time a relationship with God and a discipline to foster that relationship.”<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Great Spiritual Practice<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Centering Prayer is considered a great spiritual practice because it facilitates the healing of the “false self”\u2014the ego-centered identity\u2014and the emergence of the “True Self,” which is rooted in God.<\/sup> Fr. William Meninger<\/strong> described the practice simply yet profoundly, noting that when thoughts inevitably wander, returning to the sacred word “is a good thing, because each time you are reaffirming your love of God!”<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    By creating an interior environment of silence and letting go of the constant need for control and analysis, we allow the Divine to act within us.<\/sup> This movement beyond verbal prayer to communion fosters a deeper trust and surrender that permeates daily life.<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As Fr. Richard Rohr<\/strong> encapsulates the transformation brought about by contemplative practice, “Our hope lies in the fact that meditation is going to change the society that we live in, just as it has changed us.” The fruit of Centering Prayer is not a feeling during the prayer time itself, but a growing capacity for peace, compassion, and presence that carries into all of one’s actions and relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This video provides an overview of how the three Trappist monks developed Centering Prayer. Thomas Keating & William Meninger on History and Vision of Centering Prayer & Contemplative Outreach<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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