Centering Prayer

When I was in Seminary I was introduced to Centering Prayer. One day a week I would go to a Centering Prayer group for discussion and prayer time. I would describe Centering Prayer as an inner connection with God. Thomas Keating, a Trappist monk and priest is considered to be one of the fathers of Centering Prayer. From his website it states this on Centering Pray:

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 with Him.

The source of Centering Prayer, as in all methods leading to contemplative prayer, is the Indwelling Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The focus of Centering Prayer is the deepening of our relationship with the living Christ. 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.

I have also included a video of Fr Keating describing the method of pray. give it a try. If you are interested in this, please let me know.

Click here for video

Lectio Divina

We often think that prayer and reading Scripture are two separate things... we pray and we read our Bible. Have you ever considered that the two actually go hand in hand. The ancient practice of lectio divina, or divine reading, incorporates reading Scripture and listening for the message God has for us. Reading, reflecting, responding and resting — this is the basic rhythm of divine reading.

The Upper Room Daily Reflections gives these steps:

1. Read the scripture slowly. Watch for a key phrase or word that jumps out at you or promises to have special meaning for you. It is better to dwell profoundly on one word or phrase than to skim the surface of several chapters. Read with your own life and choices in mind.
2. Reflect on a word or phrase. Let the special word or phrase that you discovered in the first phase sink into your heart. Bring mind, will and emotions to the task. Be like Mary, Jesus’ mother, who heard of the angel’s announcement and “treasured” and “pondered” what she had heard (Luke 2:19).
3. Respond to what you have read. Form a prayer that expresses your response to the idea, then “pray it back to God.” What you have read is woven through what you tell God.
4. Rest in God’s word. Let the text soak into your deepest being, savoring an encounter with God and truth. When ready, move toward the moment in which you ask God to show you how to live out what you have experienced.

Give it a try

Pray as you go

A friend posted a link to the website www.pray-as-you-go.org. I have found it to be very meaningful and useful. There are some great things on the site. For instance, breathing exercises to prepare for prayer, Stations of the Cross, and a great variety of prayerful music.

From the website:
Pray-as-you-go is a daily prayer session, designed for use on portable MP3 players (you can also listen to it on your computer), to help you pray whilst travelling to and from work, study, etc.
A new prayer session is produced every day. It is not a 'Thought for the Day', a sermon or a bible-study, but rather a framework for your own prayer.
Lasting between ten and thirteen minutes, it combines music, scripture and some questions for reflection. The aim is to help you to:

- become more aware of God's presence in your life

- listen to and reflect on God's word

- grow in your relationship with God.

It is produced by Jesuit Media Initiatives, with material written by a number of British Jesuits and other experts in the spirituality of St Ignatius of Loyola. Although the content is different every day, it keeps to the same basic format.

Try today's prayer here or go to the full site above and explore!
http://www.pray-as-you-go.org/mp3/PAYG_120305.mp3