By Sister of Loretto Jean Johnson
“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 653, “Contemplative prayer is the simple expression of the mystery of prayer. It is the gaze of faith fixed on Jesus, an attentiveness to the Word of God, a silent love. It achieves real union with the prayer of Christ to the extent that it makes us share in his mystery.”
Contemplative prayer is a process of interior transformation, a conversation initiated by God and leading, if we consent, to divine union. In the Christian tradition, contemplative prayer is considered to be the pure gift of God. Centering prayer is a method designed to facilitate the development of contemplative prayer by preparing our faculties to receive this gift.
We have three Trappist monks — Thomas Keating, OCSO, William Meninger, OCSO and Basil Pennington, OCSO — to thank for presenting the teaching of earlier times in an updated form. Centering prayer is not meant to replace other kinds of prayer, rather it is at the same time a relationship with God and a discipline to foster that relationship. This method of prayer is a movement beyond conversation with Christ to communion with Him.
Centering prayer is based on the wisdom saying of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 6:6: “But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.”
Centering prayer is also inspired by writings of major contributors to the Christian contemplative heritage to name a few: John Cassian; the anonymous author of The Cloud of the Unknowning; Teresa of Avila; John of the Cross and Thomas Merton.
What is this updated form? There are four simple guidelines:
1. Choose a sacred word as the symbol of your intention to consent to God’s presence and action within.
2. Sitting comfortable and with eyes closed, settle briefly and introduce the sacred word as the symbol of your consent to God’s presence and action within.
3. When engaged with your thoughts (including body sensations, feelings, images and reflections), return ever-so-gently to the sacred word.
4. At the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of minutes.
This method of centering prayer, taught through the organization Contemplative Outreach, recommends the minimum time for this prayer is 20 minutes twice a day — first thing in the morning and again in the afternoon or early evening.
In silence we come to know and live from the Divine Mystery within us. One has a growing awareness of God as the source and center of all and an increased capacity to live ordinary life with extraordinary love.
For more information, visit www.contemplativeoutreach.org. For information about centering prayer locally, contact Judy Sharer at jrs.sharer@gmail.com or 270-765-7108.
Sister of Loretto Jean Johnson is a commissioned presenter and mentor for Contemplative Outreach’s Centering Prayer Programs.
