Centering prayer is resting in God

In the late ’90s, I was searching for a lifestyle strategy that could intensify a spiritual journey begun 10 years ago in Japan through a profound conversion experience. Learning about centering prayer for the first time, I did not hesitate to sign up for the introductory retreat since I felt this could be the spiritual handle I was looking for. Looking back, I believe the Holy Spirit led me into the practice of centering prayer with almost immediate ease; indeed, His yoke is easy and His burden light. Early appreciation of the prayer began with the awareness of spiritual calm, growing compassion for others, and increasing detachment from worldly concerns. As I persevered in keeping the practice, I began to know myself more through God’s eyes, broken yet made whole in His love. Through the years, I shared the experience of this prayer of utmost simplicity with men and women bound by a common longing for the living God. The two 20-minute sessions of the prayer each day and the weekly centering prayer group meetings provided a metronomic rhythm, like a heartbeat guiding me into a deepening intimacy with God. Today, the fruits of centering prayer are felt in the daily taking up of my cross, learning to forgive, to understand, to serve, and to love through the most difficult circumstances. Most of all, my heart rests in His presence, full of gratitude and praise.

What is this centering prayer that moves me so? It is praying to God in complete silence, with eyes closed, soundless, unmoving, at rest. Even the mind is still, clutching at no thought, unmoved by no thought. In these times, this contemplative pose may seem too difficult to achieve, but Fr. Thomas Keating, a Trappist monk, has evolved the ancient prayer of contemplation into the format of centering prayer, simple, clear, and straightforward. The practice of centering prayer fits easily into one’s daily routine. This is true for lay persons, as well as for people with a calling to religious life. The only effort one has to make is to consent, and say, yes, to God’s presence, for 20 minutes, twice a day.

The increasingly popular practice of centering prayer can bring about profound spiritual and psychological growth, according to Fr. Keating. He defines centering prayer as a contemplative practice, "a very simple method in which one opens oneself to God and consents to His presence in us and to His actions with us." He uses the word "contemplation" in its classical sense, which is "being with God." Thus, centering prayer is like "two friends sitting in silence, being in each other’s presence." Centering prayer consists more of one’s intention than attention. As we pray, we let go of emotions, thoughts, and sensations, and just sit waiting for God. Surrendering in this manner sets in motion a profoundly transformative process, what Fr. Keating refers to as "divine therapy."

As a student in Yale University in the early 1940s, Thomas Keating underwent a profound conversion: He deeply grasped the fact that Christianity was a contemplative religion. He realized that the spiritual sense of scripture was much more important than the literal, and that union with the Divine was not only possible but was available to everyone. "That insight," says Fr. Keating, "was the seed that has continued to grow all through my life. What I am doing now is trying to share that insight." Well-read in both philosophy and psychology, Fr. Keating has, since the early 1980s, been sowing the seeds of centering prayer and spreading Christian contemplation in the Americas and the rest of the world. He has devised a system that attempts to detail the spiritual journey catalyzed by the practice of centering prayer. Today, centering prayer draws thousands of Catholics as well as Episcopalians, Methodists, and others to workshops and retreats.

A three-time visitor to the Philippines, Fr. Thomas Keating will once again visit Manila this July to share in the celebration of the 15th anniversary of Contemplative Outreach Philippines. This is the Manila-based movement of centering prayer practitioners headed by director Lita Salinas. On his visit, Fr. Keating will give a one-day recollection on centering prayer on July 23, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Every Nation Leadership Institute, Fort Bonifacio Complex, Makati City. Tickets are available at P200 each. For inquiries and reservations, call Annamarie at 842-0201, Billie at 843-8292, Jazmin at 843-8830, and Nancy at 843-8970.