Contemplative Outreach News
A Newsletter for Christian Transformation
Volume 3, Number 1 - July, 1989

The Spiritual Senses National Presenter Training
Questions About Centering Prayer Prison Ministry

The Spiritual Senses, Part I
by Father Thomas Keating

The disciples of the Lord who are most clearly delineated in the Gospel as advanced in prayer and faith are Mary of Bethany and John the Evangelist. John resting in the bosom of the Lord is a lively image of the resting of contemplative prayer. The word for "bosom" signifies he was resting in the hollow of Jesus' chest; that is, in the valley between the breasts. In other words, he could not get any closer. And it was there that he was listening to the heartbeat of the Savior, which is the purpose of contemplative prayer and its mysterious resting.

Another paradigm of contemplation is Mary of Bethany sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening to His discourse. Some translations speak of His "words," others of His "word." If the latter is correct, we have a lively image of what takes place in Lectio Divina, the oldest method of Christian meditation leading to the penetrating knowledge of Christ.

Lectio Divina is not designed to learn something on the conceptual level, still less is it biblical study which is useful at another time. It is just hanging out with Christ and using the texts for conversation. The same Spirit who inspired the text is within us inspiring us to understand what the Spirit is saying to us day by day. The conversation develops after the manner of an interview or heavy date. A heavy date is something you do not miss. Fidelity to the interview day by day proves one's sincerity and determination to grow in this deepening relationship with Christ.

As Mary of Bethany sat listening to his words, a blurring took place. Not the blurring of somnambulance, but the blurring of the superficial level of discursive meditation. This blurring was the result of her attraction to go beyond words to the Word, to the Person who was speaking, and to enter into union with that Person. In the perspective of the developing friendship of Christ, the words of scripture are take-off points.

Mary of Bethany is a model of how a developing relationship with Christ moves beyond acquaintanceship to the commitment that characterizes friendship. You cannot walk away from a friendship without breaking someone's heart. Mary at the feet of Jesus was communing with the Person who was speaking. To commune is to rest in each other's presence and to enjoy the mutual gift of each other's presence without saying or doing anything, except perhaps to hold hands. The personal gift of oneself to God and of God to us is exactly what contemplation, understood in its traditional meaning, is.

Suppose in our daily encounter with the Lord, as we listen to the text and reflect upon various aspects of it responding with gratitude, humility, love, petition, sorrow, joy, we feel this blurring of the conceptual level because we are beginning to interiorize the content or the substance of the message. Jesus becomes not just a concept but a Person; not a picture or statue, but a living presence speaking to our heart through his Spirit.

To maintain that attentiveness, one may find it helpful to use s short phrase or word to sustain the general, loving awareness of the presence of Christ. For those who come out of the Christian tradition, listening is a good starting point because we are used to hearing the word of God in the liturgy and in private scripture reading. However, one who is visually orientated may prefer as the take-off point a visual image such as an icon. The significance of an icon as opposed to a picture is that the presence of the Mystery is believed to be communicated by the icon. Moreover, it is not so much we who are looking at the icon as God looking at us. If we are already enveloped by the loving gaze of God, we do not have to do anything to obtain His attention. This is what might be called the awakening of spiritual attentiveness. All prayer, ritual and the sacraments are designed to awaken spiritual attentiveness. They are designed to awaken not more thoughts or more particular acts, but the total surrender of self to the Presence that is giving itself to us.

A third take-off point, hallowed by tradition, is the sacred breath. This practice consists of identifying one's normal breathing with inhaling the divine Spirit and exhaling the divine love into the universe. Whichever take-off point one feels most comfortable with, one does not remain on that level. The take-off point is just the occasion that institutes the process of interiorization to the spiritual level of hearing the word of God, gazing upon God or breathing God.

Once these starting points have awakened spiritual attentiveness, you forget the take-off point and rest in the presence of the Mystery, beyond words and particular acts except, ever so gently, to maintain the general loving awareness of the Presence.

(This is Part I of a 4 part series on the Spiritual Senses)

The Spiritual Senses National Presenter Training
Questions About Centering Prayer Prison Ministry

National Presenter Training

A national presenter training will occur in Indiana at the Beech Grove Benedictine Center in early August. It was decided at the 1988 Summit Meeting in Snowmass, Colorado that there was a particular need to increase the number of those qualified to present Introductory Centering Prayer workshops.

According to Gail Fitzpatrick-Hopler, Executive Director of Contemplative Outreach, the original vision of Father Thomas Keating when Contemplative Outreach was established was a broad one. "His idea was to empower others to do workshops."

According to Gail, "this particular training is for people who basically have been presenting or facilitating workshops and Centering Prayer groups." She said the Indiana presenters training will give them a chance to come together for more intensive study on presenting Centering Prayer in the context of the Christian tradition.

"Our culture is so complex...people expect things to be complex. When you call something teaching this implies learning, effort or work. Centering Prayer is none of these things, but rather involves consent to God's presence and action within us." Gail said the August training is an effort to keep the simplicity and integrity of Centering Prayer as a means for living the contemplative life.

The 48 people who will attend the August training will return to their respective regions and act as consultants in those local areas, and conduct in-service workshops for facilitators. They represent all regions in the U.S. as well as England and the Philippines. A long range plan is to conduct such trainings regionally, with those who have attended this training, in concert with members of the national faculty, as regional faculty. The national faculty consists of twelve persons chosen by Fr. Thomas to make the first presenter training a reality. The first regional training will occur in December in Snowmass, Colorado.

Questions About Centering Prayer

Question: I find myself using the sacred word less than I have in the past. Is that okay?

Fr. Thomas: Its use will normally vary from one period of prayer to the next. The principle is always, use it to go towards greater peace, silence, and beyond. Pick it up or lay it down according to its usefulness. It is not a vehicle to go from the surface of your faculties to the depths. It is a condition that one sets up in order to go there. Suppose I have a ball in my hand and stretch out my arm. If I open my hand, the ball will fall. Opening my hand is not the means by which the ball falls to the floor. It is rather the condition of the ball falling to the floor. The sacred word is a condition, a direction that one takes, and then lets go. The attraction of grace takes over after that.

Question: During Centering Prayer, is it all right to think about what is happening, or is it better to forget what is happening?

Fr. Thomas: It is good to suspend judgment during the time of Centering Prayer. Afterwards, it can be helpful to reflect on your experience, so that you can gradually develop a conceptual background to sustain your motivation. As you gain new insights, you have to integrate them into the rest of your life of faith. That requires some form of conceptualization. But during prayer you do not have to analyze it to enjoy its benefits.

Question: What is the relationship between the time of Centering Prayer and the rest of one's life?

Fr. Thomas: The inward silence that one experiences in Centering Prayer will not be reserved to that time. Moments of silence will overtake you in the course of daily life. When the process of purification does its work, the awareness of the presence of God will become more frequent because there will be fewer interior obstacles to interfere with it. When the obstacles inside are emptied out, the light of God's presence will illumine your spirit even when you are immersed in activity. Our spirit is the dwelling place of the Spirit of Christ. That fact will gradually become part of every other reality and will not be overshadowed by circumstances, external objects, thoughts and emotions, even in the midst of a lot of activity. As the unconscious is emptied out, the awareness of your center leads to the awareness of the center in everyone else. Instead of seeing characteristics you like or do not like, you see what is most real in everyone Christ dwelling within them.

(We took forward to hearing your response to Fr. Thomas' answers)

The Spiritual Senses National Presenter Training
Questions About Centering Prayer Prison Ministry

Prison Ministry
by Fr. Carl Arico

Security is tight.. There is no rushing. It is an exercise in waiting. I wait to move to the next area when it is considered safe. Finally I arrive at the conference room. There are 26 prisoners waiting to attend the workshop on Centering Prayer. A guard watches. I have been invited by Fr. 'Chip' O'Toole, the prison chaplain. It cannot be the usual one day introductory workshop. The prison schedule will not allow for this. Two sessions are scheduled, from 8 to 10:30 in the morning and from 12:30 to 3:30 in the afternoon. The workshop begins with a wait and see attitude on the part of the men. Even though it is a beautiful afternoon and outdoor recreation is an option, all but two men return for the afternoon session. By the end of the afternoon there is a free sharing of questions and experiences.

New Jersey State Prison is for men who are serving a minimum sentence of 25 years. As I leave I can only think of the title of the book on prison prayer groups, "We're All Doing Time." I will be returning to do an intensive day of prayer with them.

(Contemplative Outreach would like to hear from you if you have had any experiences with prison inmates and Centering Prayer).