Centering Prayer

“Silence is God’s first language; everything else is a poor translation. In order to hear that language, we must learn to be still and to rest in God.” — Thomas Keating, Invitation to Love
 

Centering Prayer is a method of silent prayer that prepares us to receive the gift of contemplative prayer, prayer in which we experience God's presence within us, closer than breathing, closer than thinking, closer than consciousness itself. This method of prayer is both a relationship with God and a discipline to foster that relationship.

Centering Prayer is not meant to replace other kinds of prayer. Rather, it adds depth of meaning to all prayer and facilitates the movement from more active modes of prayer — verbal, mental or affective prayer — into a receptive prayer of resting in God. Centering Prayer emphasizes prayer as a personal relationship with God and as a movement beyond conversation with Christ to communion.

The focus of Centering Prayer is the deepening of our relationship with God. The effects of Centering Prayer are ecclesial, as the prayer tends to build communities of faith and bond the members together in mutual friendship and love.

To attend the group or sign up for a workshop, contact Kathleen Symons