Centering Prayer and the prayer of recollection

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I was told recently that centering prayer is the same thing as the prayer of recollection that St Theresa of Avila talked about. But I am feeling uneasy about it as I read it has origins from a Trappist monk who consulted with eastern religions in order to form this type of prayer for Christians. Any advice? thanks!
 
You may or may not know that this is a controversial topic on these forums. The arguing between the pro and con here has been so heated, with all sorts of misinformation and strongly held opinions, that it was banned to even discuss for many years. Here is a link from the late Carmelite scholar Ernest Larkin that shows how Centering Prayer and the Carmelite tradition of contemplative prayer are the same, or very similar:

https://www.contemplativeoutreach.o...s/private/cp-carmelite-contemplative-trad.pdf

Hopefully, this will give you one positive perspective to help in your discernment, but as I said, there are also many naysayers and I’m certain you will soon hear from them in this thread as well.
 
Why are you concerned about eastern spirituality?
Christianity is an eastern religion afterall and our Eastern Catholic brethren still have the sacraments.
 

From the Catholic Answers article:
Many people assume centering prayer is compatible with Catholic tradition, but in fact the techniques of centering prayer are neither Christian nor prayer. They are at the level of human faculties and as such are an operation of man, not of God. The deception and dangers can be grave.

Centering prayer differs from Christian prayer in that the intent of the technique is to bring the practitioner to the center of his own being. There he is, supposedly, to experience the presence of the God who indwells him. Christian prayer, on the contrary, centers upon God in a relational way, as someone apart from oneself. The Christian knows a God who is personal, yet who, as Creator, infinitely transcends his creature.
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St. Teresa never taught centering prayer, and if she were still living, she would most likely discourage it. Her meditations were meant to focus on God, not to empty one’s mind.
 
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misstherese said:
not to empty one’s mind.
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Is that what Buddhists do? Empty their mind?
I’m usually skeptical of Centering Prayer Groups too but to be fair there is some scare-mongering around this idea of “emptying ones mind”.
Some people " and if you empty your mind , you will be fair game for Satan, and, and He will take over your life and you will be damned forever"
Is that the really the case?
I tend to think anyone who is genuinely seeking God will find Him, no matter what technique they use. So it is our motivation? If we are stubborn and proud about “our way is the only way” that might be a problem too.
 
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I don’t find the logic used by the author of that article any better than the alleged logic used by centering prayer practitioners.
 
Are you familiar with Thomas Merton, who I believe the Trappist Monk mentioned in the OP is ?

Eastern Christianity is not what he drew on to form his own spirituality. It seems for Merton, Catholicism wasn’t enough.

 
Yes, are you? Have you actually read his books cover to cover and closely studied his life rather than rely on the 1000 cuts of Chinese whispers?

Bishop Barron echoes my own views:


He speaks to you at 7:06 mm:ss.

He was a pain in the b*tt personality wise but he was fully Catholic and likely more holy and insightful into things divine than you or I.

Nor is centering prayer his baby in particular.
And it is Catholic also.
 
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goodcatholic said:
I don’t find the logic used by the author of that article any better than the alleged logic used by centering prayer practitioners.
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I’m neither surprised nor troubled by that. Father Larkin expressed his ideas linking the active recollection of St. Teresa of Avila with today’s centering prayer over 10 years ago, and the disagreements and arguing over it continue to this day! Clearly, this way of prayer is not for everyone. I’ll risk exposing my ignorance by asking you how you find his logic disagreeable, but I’m probably getting in over my head. I’m no expert.
goodcatholic said:
Some people say, " and if you empty your mind , you will be fair game for Satan, and, and He will take over your life and you will be damned forever"

Is that the really the case?

I tend to think anyone who is genuinely seeking God will find Him, no matter what technique they use.
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Here, you and I agree. When it comes to prayer, I believe our intention matters very much. As for “emptying the mind,” that is a rather meaningless term for me. My mind is always full and busy, only sometimes just a little more calm and focused during my time of prayer.

In other posts, I see references to Thomas Merton. I think his writings certainly were an inspiration for centering prayer, but it was fully articulated after his death by his fellow Cistercians Thomas Keating, Basil Pennington and William Meninger. Personally, I’ve always connected better with John Main, the Benedictine teacher who formulated what he called Christian Meditation, which is based more on the writings of the Desert Father John Cassian than on Carmelite or other ways, but to each his own.
 
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What was not a bad article though I think it mischaractorizes CP practicioners a bit. One thing said:

"They do not need anyone to teach them the Our Father. They need instruction about more simplified prayer forms. Should their prayer be tending towards simpler expressions? Is it normal and good to experience moments of sitting quietly in God’s presence? What should one do when one feels drawn to God beyond words?

“The saints and fathers seek to answer these questions. They tell their readers how to act when they experience acquired recollection, or even the early stages of infused contemplation. They recommend that their readers simply and gently say a word or phrase now and then to help sustain their experience of being in God’s presence.”

Is one’s prayer “tending toward simpler expressions”?
Does one feel “drawn to God beyond words”.

Perhaps so and perhaps not. I think that is where all the controversy originates. Those who would answer “yes” to those questions most likely favor CP. Those who would newer “no” might see it as “dangerous”.

I answer “yes” and love Thomas Merton but don’t do Centering Prayer. I favor another method.
 
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Thank you for sharing this from Bishop Barron. I’ve several books from Thomas Merton and am extremely grateful for that.
 
It’s the not that emptying ones mind is itself a danger, but that the practice has no roots in Christianity and does not focus on God. It focuses on nothing which places itself at man’s level. Grace can’t come unless we put our minds toward God.
 
Thanks for the Bishop Barron video. This confirms the view I’ve always had of Merton.

The continued reaction to Centering Prayer continues to baffle me. Perhaps there are dangers for someone just starting off on the prayer path, but I can’t imagine that anybody with some prayer experience is suddenly going to fall off the Catholic bandwagon by practicing Centering Prayer techniques in a Catholic context.
 
Prayer is by definition personal conversation with God.

Any practice of prayer that puts that on hold so to speak is plainly wrong headed.

St Josemaria Escriva, on pray, in the Way: "You write, “To pray is to talk with God. But about what?” About what? About Him, about yourself—joys, sorrows, successes and failures, noble ambitions, daily worries, weaknesses! And acts of thanksgiving and petitions—and Love and reparation.
In a word, to get to know him and to get to know yourself—“to get acquainted!”

Sharing everything with Him, trusting Him, abandoning your care and concerns into Him!

God gave us an intellect to use to get to know Him…not to run around trying to empty it.
 
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