The spiritual discipline of contemplative prayer has an extremely long tradition in Christianity. Initially developed by hermits and monks, it has remained a sought-after method of experiencing the presence of God deep inside the self. One contemporary expression of this ancient practice is called Centering Prayer; you can experience it by joining in-person, Zoom, or hybrid groups.
To learn more about the practice of Centering Prayer, you can watch these videos:
- A brief video by Cynthia Bourgeault with an excellent description of how to do Centering Prayer and why it works – https://youtu.be/1aQmQu4lufo
- A video describing how to do Centering Prayer with Father Keating
- Longer descriptions of how to practice Centering Prayer by Father Keating
- Other videos by Cynthia Bourgeault – https://youtu.be/LaaA5hJAI0c & https://youtu.be/5ALAgUlzxX0
- Richard Rohr Speaks on Christianity
- The Centre for Action and Contemplation – You can sign up for Rohr’s Daily Meditations on this site.
An online shared Google Drive resource library for Centering Prayer https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1igd0JvOmMKSUcu7qy1YhQMuXqktUM27w?usp=sharing.
On this Google Drive site, James Bell has collected a number of useful reference materials for Centering Prayer Group members. These materials include summaries of books his group has read and discussed together, including but not limited to Cynthia Bourgeault’s two books on Centering Prayer, Richard Rohr’s books on The Universal Christ and The Naked Now, and several Thomas Keating videos.
It is quite useful for COCO to have a shared resource library available to all CP Groups and easily accessible on Google Drive. If you know of any other resources that could be added, please send your suggestions to James Bell.
You can read about Centering Prayer:
Father Keating’s Open Mind, Open Heart, 20th Anniversary Edition
“A deep and thorough overview of the Christian contemplative tradition, a process of interior transformation, a conversation initiated by God and leading, if we consent, to divine union. Herein a restructuring of consciousness takes place which empowers one to perceive, relate and respond to everyday life with increasing sensitivity to the divine presence in, through, and beyond everything that happens. Fr. Thomas gives step-by-step guidance in the method of Centering Prayer, a movement of divine love designed to renew the Christian contemplative tradition.
This is the twentieth anniversary edition of Continuum’s best-selling spiritual classic, which has sold well over half a million copies in the English language and has appeared in 10 foreign-language editions (Croatian, French, German, Hungarian, Indonesia, Italian, Korean, Spanish, Polish, and Portuguese). The new edition consists of a substantial new preface, an expanded glossary, some changes in terminology, and a reordering of several chapters. Open Mind, Open Heart is designed to initiate the readers into a deep, living relationship with God and provides step-by-step guidance in the method of Centering Prayer. Centering Prayer, says Father Keating, offers those who practice it place to go to persevere in the spirit.”
ebook – https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/open-mind-open-heart-20th-anniversary-edition
Paper book – https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/open-mind-open-heart-20th-anniversary-edition/9781472972095.html
A Review of a book by Caroline Oakes – https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/book-reviews/view/29334/practice-the-pause
Caroline Oakes shows how the gospels make it clear that Jesus practiced regular meditative prayer, and he invited his followers to follow his example. She goes on to describe the the current neuroscience research on the deeply positive effect of meditating on our brains. She frequently quotes Richard Rohr, Cynthia Bourgeault, and Father Keating, central figures in Centering Prayer.
A Podcast in which Caroline Oakes shares how contemplative prayer and meditation rewire our thinking and open us up for Divine connection. You’ll hear how Jesus practiced “the pause”–or took time away for centering and contemplation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84S6HZEfyuE
A Review of a book by Cynthia Bourgeault – https://silenceteaches.com/2017/04/01/heart-centering-prayer-book-review/
The YouTube video series of Cynthia Bourgeault’s 2016 “The Heart of Centering Prayer” lectures at Boston College Clough School of Theology and Ministry:
https://youtu.be/TufpAQUXpTo?si=K6RLbMBmHgcqOplu (Lecture 1)
https://youtu.be/JnMk494Y19Q?si=4avY4X16MzdZuiDy (Lecture 2)
https://youtu.be/j3tBWfCVoV8?si=rsqFWqe5s0xWmbVy (Lecture 3)
https://youtu.be/FzoJ02gbTHk?si=uWmMAbgc_TjIvcHJ (Lecture 4)
Read about Centering Prayer on Wikipedia
If you’d like to understand how meditation works, here’s a short article:
https://neurosciencenews.com/memory-meditation-23414/
Here is a summary of the contemporary practice of Centering Prayer – https://cac.org/centering-prayer-weekly-summary-2017-02-18/
One of the best ways to get to know what Centering Prayer is about, is by getting in touch with a group.
Contemplative Outreach Links
Below are some resources to help you explore the vast network of Contemplative Outreach communities and discover opportunities available for you and your Centering Prayer group.
| COCO Contemplative Outreach Central Ontario Website – Click here Contemplative Outreach Ltd. – Print and video resources, calendar of retreats and all events are available – Click here The Voice – A quarterly e-newsletter for Contemplative Outreach Volunteers – Click here Our COCO Facebook Page – Click here Our COCO Facebook Group – Click here |
Contemplative Outreach Central Ontario 