Centering Prayer

The Centering Prayer movement within the Catholic Church began following Vatican II, which fostered a renewed interest in the ancient contemplative prayer practices. Three Trappist monks, William Meninger, Basil Pennington and Thomas Keating, responded by seeking to develop an accessible discipline for the contemporary church. Centering Prayer followed, birthed in light of the aged monastic practice of Lectio Divina, the prayer disciplines outlined in the fourteenth century classic “The Cloud of Unknowing”, and the writings of Christian mystics like John Cassian, Francis de Sales, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Therese of Lisieux, and Thomas Merton. Centering Prayer is considered a response to the Sermon on the Mount: “…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 repay you.” (Matthew 6.6)1

There is far more to Centering Prayer than I can describe here. I find it to be a valuable part of my own prayer life, supplementing my daily prayer routine and truly centering me. For a detailed explanation and description of Centering Prayer, visit the Contemplative Outreach website here.

The Centering Prayer Guidelines:

1)  Choose a sacred word as the symbol of your intention to consent to God’s presence and action within.

2) Sitting comfortably and with eyes closed, settle briefly and silently introduce the sacred word as the symbol of your consent to God’s presence and action within.

3) When engaged with your thoughts (which include 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.

There are inevitable questions that come up when beginning to practice Centering Prayer. For a some more information, you can download an informational pamphlet here –>, as published by Contemplative Outreach.

1Source: Contemplative Outreach