Curious about contemplative prayer

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po18guy said:
The Rosary is a form of contemplative prayer, so it is much more commonly seen in that form.
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The Rosary can be very much a form of contemplative prayer, but it depends much on the person’s understanding of contemplation and their openness to God.

Generally a person begins a devotion in praying the Rosary and they at first focused on the words of the Hail Mary’s with difficulty in meditating on the mysteries.

If they stay with it long enough, the mysteries become the focus, but their on a very elementary spiritual level of meditation. The person meditates on images they’ve created in their mind, often based from pictures or movies, such as Jesus of Nazareth. In fact, most people are stuck at this level.

The person who is drawn toward contemplation, will be drawn to the presence of Christ dwelling within and as they’re praying, the deeper mysteries of the Rosary will be revealed to them. At this point, they’re not even aware they’re saying Hail Mary’s, for the prayer has become as automatic as breathing,

For myself, I never got to use the Rosary as a method of Contemplative Prayer, until I spent years at other forms of Contemplative Prayer.

In all, contemplation isn’t what the prayer does, but what God does within you.

Jim
 
Bookcat said:
Not one I would recommend to someone coming out of the starting gate.
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Why is that? It was the only book I ever read when I started. Except for When the Well Runs Dry, but that’s not exactly about contemplation, though excellent.
 
Julia_Mae said:
Why is that? It was the only book I ever read when I started. Except for When the Well Runs Dry, but that’s not exactly about contemplation, though excellent.
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I don’t know why…guess I’ll find out when I download it to my daughters kindle.🤷. Is it pretty orthodox?
 
Julia_Mae said:
Why is that? It was the only book I ever read when I started. Except for When the Well Runs Dry, but that’s not exactly about contemplation, though excellent.
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I agree. It’s about contemplative prayer and opening ourselves up to contemplation.

Fr Thomas Keating’s Open Mind Open Heart are very good and easy to read.

Fr Thomas Merton’s New Seeds of Contemplation is excellent.

Jim
 
JimR-OCDS said:
I agree. It’s about contemplative prayer and opening ourselves up to contemplation.

Fr Thomas Keating’s Open Mind Open Heart are very good and easy to read.

Fr Thomas Merton’s New Seeds of Contemplation is excellent.

Jim
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Caution with Keating, a proponent of Centering Prayer, which is not the same as Contemplative Prayer.
 
Julia_Mae said:
Why is that? It was the only book I ever read when I started. .
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Because one must understand that work correctly and in context etc and an apophatic work from the end of the 14th century is not necessarily the best place for one to start.

And as the author himself notes the work is not intended for beginners but for those advanced in the spiritual life.
 
Bookcat said:
Not one I would recommend to someone coming out of the starting gate.
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I heard about this book. I can’t remember where, I think it was one of the article links provided here. But it said that this book, though good and speaking about contemplative prayer, is somehow what helped get the other type of prayer going (the banned topic prayer) because people were misreading what it actually had to say. The poster might be saying to hold off for new people because they might accidentally fall into that same line of thinking.

I might be wrong though

Derek
 
dje101 said:
I heard about this book. I can’t remember where, I think it was one of the article links provided here. But it said that this book, though good and speaking about contemplative prayer, is somehow what helped get the other type of prayer going (the banned topic prayer) because people were misreading what it actually had to say. The poster might be saying to hold off for new people because they might accidentally fall into that same line of thinking.

I might be wrong though

Derek
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I wish this subject wasn’t such a minefield. Really having a hard time discerning all this…like a mental block. Just going from retrospect of possible infusement as a gift. Samson
 
Julia_Mae said:
Why is that? It was the only book I ever read when I started. .
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Because one must understand that work correctly and in context etc and an apophatic work from the end of the 14th century is not necessarily the best place for one to start.

And as the author himself notes the work is not intended for beginners but for those advanced in the spiritual life…
 
Luigi_Daniele said:
Caution with Keating, a proponent of Centering Prayer, which is not the same as Contemplative Prayer.
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Yeah, from what I’ve read about those two, the last thig I want to read at this point is their books. Maybe when I’m more advanced and for educational purposes will I be willing to read it, but not right now and not for any spiritual guidance.

I’d rather stick with known and approved techniques and writings, like St. Theresa of Avila. Afterall, reading about her is what got me reading about this, and yearning for this level this of prayer.

Derek
 
Bookcat said:
Because one must understand that work correctly and in context etc and an apophatic work from the end of the 14th century is not necessarily the best place for one to start.

And as the author himself notes the work is not intended for beginners but for those advanced in the spiritual life…
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Did you post this a minute ago and delete it??
 
Luigi_Daniele said:
Caution with Keating, a proponent of Centering Prayer, which is not the same as Contemplative Prayer.
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Actually it is, the same and the particular book by Fr. Keating’s has the Imprimature as well as Thomas Merton’s.

Jim
 
Samson01 said:
lol.ok, thanks. Need get some time away…
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Your vision is not failing you 🙂 It seemed better to put it after the other posts (which wondered as to my reasons) – so one sees what my main reason was 🙂
 
dje101 said:
Yeah, from what I’ve read about those two, the last thig I want to read at this point is their books. Maybe when I’m more advanced and for educational purposes will I be willing to read it, but not right now and not for any spiritual guidance.

I’d rather stick with known and approved techniques and writings, like St. Theresa of Avila. Afterall, reading about her is what got me reading about this, and yearning for this level this of prayer.

Derek
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’
Fr Keating gives you what St Teresa of Avila and St John of the Cross taught. He merely makes it understandable for the contemporary mind.

FYI, as a Secular Order Discalced Carmelite, I’ve read St Teresa and St John of the Cross as well as Fr Keating’s books.

There is no conflict with what he teaches.

I’ve also read Fr Dubey’s works, again, he says the same as Fr Keating, only in his style of writing.

Jim
 
JimR-OCDS said:
’
Fr Keating gives you what St Teresa of Avila and St John of the Cross taught. He merely makes it understandable for the contemporary mind.
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No I would not say that (though I imagine he might refer to your great Masters in the book of course and can have had various good things to say about them–I do not recall --been years and years since I was reading that book (nor do I recommend it I will note))…but we can not go into that here for it would be getting into a banned thing.

He is promoting centering prayer in that book and that book is thus a banned topic here on the forum
 
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