Question about the Daughters of St. Paul

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Shana

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I am very much interested and attracted to the Daughters of St. Paul for many reasons. The only problem I have right now is that I noticed they sell books by Thomas Keating who is behind the centering prayer movement, which I have read many warnings about on Catholic Answers and elsewhere. Through talking with them I can tell they love the Church and are concerned with being orthodox and faithful, just them selling these books threw me off and I’m not sure what to make of it. Any suggestions or advice? Thank you!
 
I would get in contact with them and warn them about these books, with some writings on bishops, etc. on how they are perilous to souls. They may not know this.

I’m sure there are many other religious orders around which are very faithful to the magisterium. Here is a site that has a good listing with their search option.

Take a look through. If they decide they don’t want to remove the books, I would look for another order to join. These books on centering prayer are Eastern Mysticism derived practices, which the Church does not agree with, and I wouldn’t want to be the cause of losses of souls because of selling something not agreed on by the teachings of the Church.

I’m a traditional roman catholic faithful to the Pope, myself, so I would want to join a religious order that was 100% faithful.
 
Shana said:
The only problem I have right now is that I noticed they sell books by Thomas Keating who is behind the centering prayer movement, which I have read many warnings about on Catholic Answers and elsewhere.
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Has the centering prayer been officially condemned by the Catholic Church, or is it just something that the conservative folks here at CAF disapprove of?
 
centering prayer is I think still a banned topic so let’s discuss order in thread title, I looked recently through their catalog looking for some LOTH helps, and did not see anything OP describes. They are not the same as Paulist Press, who sell a wide range of books, some by authors many here would consider liberal. also just because a website catalog or store sells a wide range of items does not necessarily mean whoever owns and operates that sales arm of the order or parish has read and approved each an every item, nor is it reasonable to assume they should.

If you want to know about the order themselves, research the order, talk to the leadership, to sisters who belong, make a visit, find out about their programs to nourish vocations, their formation and the like. To judge by what they might sell in their on-line store is not going to tell a whole lot about the order. If you are talking about books actually published under their auspices, that is a different thing, so try to see if you can find a listing that shows what they actually publish, that will be a far more reliable indicator.
 
It seems to me that ‘centering prayer’ is contemplative prayer by another name and there is no danger in it. Thomas Keating is promoting exactly the same prayer form as The World Community for Christian Meditation. As a hermit I regularly make use of contemplative prayer and it is perfectly valid method of prayer.
 
Sancta_Rosa said:
It seems to me that ‘centering prayer’ is contemplative prayer by another name and there is no danger in it. Thomas Keating is promoting exactly the same prayer form as The World Community for Christian Meditation. As a hermit I regularly make use of contemplative prayer and it is perfectly valid method of prayer.
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No, this is not true! It is NOT the same thing as contemplative prayer. The apologists have answered questions on this topic before and been VERY clear about this. As every apologist answer I’ve read so far has been orthodox, I would trust them on this.

I would definitely suggest talking to the sisters about this before joining them. If they’re not too concerned about it, that could be a very big red flag! Though I’ve heard of them before and was under the impression that they are orthodox and loyal to the Magisterium… so I’ll admit that I’m a bit puzzled as to why they would publish the books.
 
Sancta_Rosa said:
It seems to me that ‘centering prayer’ is contemplative prayer by another name and there is no danger in it. Thomas Keating is promoting exactly the same prayer form as The World Community for Christian Meditation. As a hermit I regularly make use of contemplative prayer and it is perfectly valid method of prayer.
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After being contacted by PM and doing some further research and thinking on the subject I withdraw any supportive statements I made concerning ‘centering prayer’. 😊
 
i am friends with a community of the Daughters of Saint Paul. Unfortunately all the sisters I know were sent to different places and I miss them soo much.

They taught us how to make a rosary. I’ll never forget Sr. Geralda, an old nun but still strong for the Lord! She’s very motherly to us, very very kind and I miss her so much. She was sent to another island in our country (which is an archipelago) and I don’t have any contacts with her.

I remember an FSP novice during 2009 Ash Wedensday. There was an old beggar who asks her for some coins. The novice has no money with her. So she gave the old lady a big hug. The beggar was very dirty and the nun seems not to mind. I saw the poor beggar very happy. She received more than she expected. I know the novice when she comforted my younger brother who has special needs. My brother was crying and this novice embraced him and talked to him. I was touched with that novice.

FSPs are one of the best religious orders i have known. You may ask them why they sell Thomas Keating’s books.
 
Yes, they are all around the globe but differ in each nation. In some places they are A-OK,
in others, half on & half off, and in still other, they are very off. They are to be held responsible for all that they carry in their Centers. That is how the Founder, Bl. James
Alberione wanted it. They are not to sell what could bring harm to souls…Look well!
I too, see red flags going up…
 
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