The Dangers of Centering Prayer

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This is a GREAT article on why Centering Prayer and Eastern forms of Meditation are works of Satan:

saint-mike.org/library/Occult/CenteringPrayer.html

The article was originally published in “This Rock,” magazine, published by Catholic Answers, which is affiliated with EWTN. That is, the source of the article is credible.
 
Centering prayer has a far older history in Christianity than the 1960’s, which the article gives as an origin.
 
If you want to spend 20 minutes in prayerful meditation–pray the Rosary. Centering Prayer–been there–done that!! The Rosary is the answer.

Micki
 
As I was taught, prayer and meditation are two different things in Catholicism. Prayer is directive and purposeful, I pray to somebody (God, Jesus, Mary, the Saints, etc.); I pray for somebody (the Pope, or the sick, injured, souls in purgutory, etc.); while meditation is a type of “internal pondering” which serves an entirely different purpose in Catholicism.

The weakness is that Catholicism doesn’t explain HOW to meditate, it just describes what meditation is.

Centering Prayer is a meld of Transcendental Meditation methods with Catholic Praying - which really doesn’t make sense.

The doctrines of Eastern Religions are diametrically opposed to those of Christianity, and their meditative techniques do not complement Catholic praying in the least bit.

Catholics have perfected the art of praying while Buddhists have perfected the art of meditation; but like oil and water, the mix of Buddhist meditation with Catholic praying is immiscible.

It sounds like Trappist monk Thomas Merton started an annoying fad with his 1960s comtemplative or centering prayer experiments.
 
Here’s the reference from the article that Serendipity was referring to:

“The book often claimed as a precedent for centering prayer is The Cloud of Unknowing, by anunknown fourteenth-century English author. But the claim is in vain, for ***The Cloud of Unknowing ***clearly repudiates the emphasis given in centering prayer to techniques: “I am trying to make clear with words what experience teaches more convincingly, that techniques and methods are ultimately useless for awakening contemplative love.” *The Cloud *must be seen in its historic context. Though its emphasis is on the “negative way,” we must remember that it presupposes its reader is well grounded in the “positive way” to God by means of the word of God, creation, and sacramental means. When this prerequisite is met, a book like this can help prayer to go beyond creatures to the Uncreated God. But to see *The Cloud *as pointing us to technique (as centering prayer does) is profoundly to misread the text.”

My interpretation is this: Techniques and methods making use of our human nature (breathing techniques, body position, lighting, music, chanting, focusing on a mantra) are USELESS for accessing the Divine Love.

The Key to understanding this is the Incarnation. Since the MOST that we humans can ever be is an imitation of Christ, it is best to study how the Divine worked in Him. How was Christ the God-Man?

According to Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma 1955 ed. page 147, this is infallible dogma, **“In the Hypostatic Union each of the two natures of Christ continues unimpaired, untransformed and unfixed with the other.” **(The “two natures” are in reference to Christ’s human nature and Christ’s divine nature.There was not a mixing of Christ’s human nature and Christ’s divine nature).

The text goes on to say, “According to the testimony of Holy Writ, Christ is true God and true Man that is, possessor of the unimpaired Divine Nature and an unimpaired human nature.”

The text quotes St. Tertullian, “The identity of each of the two substances remained intact, so that the spirit (the Divine Spirit) performed His works in Him, that is miracles and signs, as also the flesh underwent sufferings. As both substances, each in its own condition of being, acted in distinct ways, each performed the feats and acheived the successes peculiar to it”

To access the divine you must use GRACE, which you obtain through the sacraments and secondarily through prayer. Grace alone allows the human nature to share with the Divine Love of God. Grace alone is the channel that allows us to share in God’s Divinity.

Eastern Meditation is an entirely humanistic creation that does not recognize Sanctifying Grace, the real channels of Divine Love. Eastern Meditation is a mirage.
 
Eastern Meditation mixed with Catholic Contemplation seems to reproduce the heresies of Monophysitism and Monothelitism.

Here are the definitions according to The Modern Catholic Dictionary by Father Hardon. . I’ll let you judge for yourself:

MONOPHYSITISM: A historical system that arose in the fifth century, claiming that in Christ there was only one nature. It came as a reaction to Nestorianism, which postulated two persons in Christ. Among the Monophysites was Eutyches (378-454), head of a monastery near Constantinople. In his effort to save the unity of the Word Incarnate, he suppressed Christ’s human nature. **Other Monyphysites spoke of a single combined nature that was both human and divine. **Condenmed by the Council of Chalcedon in 451, Monophysitism still prevails in the East among the Copts and the Syrian Jacobites (Etym. Greek monos, single + physis, nature.)

MONOTHELITISM: A heresy that began in the Seventh century out of an attempt to conciliate the Monophysites. The latter confused the idea of personality with the undivided activity of a single will, claiming that there was a kind of divine-human operation in Christ. The Monothelites recognized the orthodox doctrine of Christ’s two natures, but taught that these two natures had a common will and a common activity. This view was urged by Sergius (d. 638), Patriarch of Constantinople, who had brought Pope Honorius to support his cause. The East was divided in controversy for over a half century, until the Sixth General Council held at Constantinople condemned Monothelitism in 681. (Etym. Greek* monos*, single + thelein, will.)

My opinion is that if you try to meld Eastern Meditation with Catholic Contemplation, you get a melding (unity, oneness) of human and divine natures and/or a melding (unity, oneness) of Human and Divine Wills, or a combination of one or both. These things appear to fall within the relm of the aforementioned heresies.

Besides … if a Catholic does Eastern Meditation, he’s broken the Second Commandment … possibly a Mortal Sin … and at the least a Venial Sin. Either way, he immediately enters into this type of prayer in a weakened state. Worst case scenario … he’s doing his meditation WITHOUT any Sanctifying Grace, opening himself up to the influences of the Devil without any armor of God’s life. (that’s what happened to me!)

I’ll tell you a personal account. Before I returned to The Church, I was into a lot of “stuff,” one of which was Zen Meditation. I studied and practiced Zen and Buddhism for two weeks, and at the conclusion of those two weeks, I found, through Centering Prayer and Zen Meditation, a dark fiery abyss filled with demons. By the end of the two weeks, I was hallucinating. I saw demons with my waking eyes. I was anxious, stressed out, and on the verge of mental collapse. I was in a state of extreme psychological trauma. I cannot stress enough the extreme danger of Eastern Meditation.

I learned the hard way that Buddhism and the Eastern religions are works of the Devil. God allowed this to happen, in order to teach me this lesson. The “god” of the Buddhists is NOT the Triune God.

True Catholic Contemplation is reserved for FEW souls. It takes obedience to the teachings of the Church Magesterium, conquering of sin through Grace, and often times YEARS of patience and diligence.

Our society is looking for fast solutions to everything. Eastern Mysticism appears to be the fast and easy way to achieve Contemplation. In reality, Centering Prayer is a mirage. If you achieve Nirvana, you will only find darkness and fire.
 
This is an area that I am only recently learning the history so my graps of semantics is still poor. I think I misunderstood you Grape, and I apologize. I vlaue your interpretatiosn and insight. My understanding, which may be very erroneous on this issue is that Catholicism differs form other approahces in that it teaches that centering entailed in contemplation is not something that the individual can do much to accomplish. I am thinking not only of the Unknowning, but also of the works of Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross.

Maybe my lack fo familarity of this subject from the Catholic approach means that I am incorrectly conencting the concepts of cnetering with contemplation. I think of Ascent of Mount Carmel and the Dark Night, and the Way of Perfection. Particularly in John of the Cross’s works, it is mentioned that to achieve union with God, one must seek purgation of the sense and the spirit actively (though fasting, and developing a regular and intense prayer and meditation practice among other things like developing virtues). But that one must also be passively purged of senses and in a spiritual sense by God. That not all people have to potential for comtemplation and to have a spiritual relationship in which one is directly centered on God, and has some sort of union with God. And even if one did reach that stage, there is no gurantee that it will always be accessible.

This is why I thought that the concept of centering can be Christian and safe, if done under the guidance of a spiritual director, but it is by no means available for every one, or even most people (which I think differs from the technique and belief of centering held in Eastern circles). It is also why I thought the history has deeper roots in Christianity, but I many be interpreting things wrong.

I also wonder about quotes by early Christians like Saint Augustine who said he searched for God everywhere but found him within. Other mystics like Teresa of Avila, and I think Catherine of Siena and Gertrude of Helfa have made similiar comments. Perhaps I gravely misunderstood them by translating this to mean that they had practiced some sort of centering.

From what I have read also, I think that thsoe who are meant to be able to contemplate and achieve union with God, never need toa ks questions. It seems that the process is almost natural. That almost automatically, those who meditate find themselves centered on God and gradually entering deep states of contemplation.
 
I have found Buddhism to be full of good fruit. It is easy for me to see our God’s work in the many Buddhist teachings that closely parallel the teachings of Christ. Buddhism is truly a great preparation for the gospel. It is wonderful to see God’s work in the lives of our Eastern brothers and sisters.

My prayer life has been greatly enriched by meditation practices that are indebted to both Zen meditation teachers and Christian meditation teachers.

Since encountering God in meditation transcends words, it seems counter productive to attempt to be clinically precise about terms like meditation contemplation or prayer. In learning to meditate it is more productive to do meditation than it is to talk about it.
I ask the Holy Spirit to guide my meditation and prayer efforts so that they are always an effort to become ever more intimate with the Lord. With this frame of mind, I have every confidence that our Lord will send evil packing if it trys to butt in.

I think of St. Paul’s words: “Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophetic utterances. Test everything; retain what is good.” 1 Thes 5:17-21.

It is small wonder that the West has made so little progress in evangelizing the East when we approach them with an arrogance that writes off everything about their beliefs as “Satanic.” This gives God too little credit for his work in the lives of Eastern people.
 
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SeattlePapist:
I have found Buddhism to be full of good fruit. It is easy for me to see our God’s work in the many Buddhist teachings that closely parallel the teachings of Christ. Buddhism is truly a great preparation for the gospel. It is wonderful to see God’s work in the lives of our Eastern brothers and sisters.

It is small wonder that the West has made so little progress in evangelizing the East when we approach them with an arrogance that writes off everything about their beliefs as “Satanic.” This gives God too little credit for his work in the lives of Eastern people.
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You do understand that the underlying doctrine behind Buddhism is Immanentism which the Vatican strictly opposes?

This is what puzzles me about a trained Trappist Monk and ordained Priest like Thomas Merton trying to meld Buddhism with Catholicism, its a blatant act of heresy which Fr. Merton should have known better?
 
These are very good issues that you point out Kevin. You are right. It is not good to be ambiguous about ones’ concept of whom it is that deserves our worship.

However on the question of whether God exists, the original Buddha simply replied that he did not know. This is why much of Buddhist thought that is compatible with our Catholic faith. Buddhism does not require its followers to change their concepts about God. Their centuries of experience have given the world some pearls of wisdom with regard to meditative prayer. Christianity can look at this and say in effect: Great, now here is the personal God who loves you enough to not only supply you with wisdom about how to live your life and find happiness but also love you enough to incarnate and give meaning to the suffering that you mistakenly believe you can completely escape through detachment.

To equate Buddhism with Christianity would be heresy. To appreciate the wisdom in their perspectives on meditation and their rules for living a virtuous life is not heresy; it is humility, compassion and love.

Buddhism and Christianity agree so much on how to lead a virtuous life, that I am convinced our Lord is coming through to them more that the enemy.

Anyway, just because Buddhists have much to learn about true enlightenment from Christ, doesn’t mean the body of Christ can’t learn a few choice things from them.

Meditation has greatly enriched my prayer life.

One of the greatest things about being a Catholic truth seeker is that we can be open minded and inquire. Most other religions don’t seem to be given this luxury. I believe that is because the truth stands up under scrutiny while a half truth doesn’t.
 
There is an old saying, if you want something done, ask a busy person. May God help me to quickly provide some assistance on this difficult topic, for I am in the process of a huge move out of state.

A friend just sent me the book on Centering Prayer by Pennington, and I have completed much of it. This author provides a wonderful method of helping the soul to focus on God - not on nothingness. We need to stress that he does not advocate the eastern practices of “emptying the mind.”

It is important to note though, that the practice of using a sacred word to help the person stay focused is a very good aid —HOWEVER, it is only for those who are very mature in their spiritual growth and have advanced in prayer. Otherwise, we see the problems that can occur, such as Grape mentioned.

My opinion is that those who attempt to promote the practice indiscriminately to anyone who will listen, have opened the door to irreparable spiritual harm if the person is a beginner.

Alternatively, I see how good the concept can be for the very few who possess all three spiritual signs mentioned by St. John of the Cross, as criteria for practicing it.

One of the real problems for persons in advanced prayer is that both the will and the understanding have no desire to work, and the imagination remains quite active in presenting a barrage of thoughts to the mind to disquiet it and cause it to run after these novel ideas. St. Teresa of Avila wrote that God had not shown her any effective method of quieting the imagination, and we should pay no more attention to it than we would to a mad man.

Now how does one do that? Possibly with a sacred word that helps the person re-center or re-focus on God alone rather than the array of thoughts that intrude on its contemplation. In this way alone, I see real value.

You may ask why the will and understanding are at rest for the spiritually mature Using the analogy of the orange being peeled, as St. Teresa explained, the mind must do its homework with meditation, little by little peeling back the rind to get to the fruit inside. The will grows in faith and love as the understanding presents positive food to meditate upon to know God better.

Pennington uses a beautiful image of the cow who takes in its food, and then regurgitates it to chew it over and over again. This is meditation, and it helps us to grow in love and knowledge. However, there comes a day when one has peeled all of the rind God had intended for it, and one has no desire to work any longer. It loves God passionately and wants to taste the fruit. The understanding finds that any effort to meditate results in an insipid distaste and disquiet. It is impossible for one to meditate, and that is one of the signs St. John says MUST be present.

The soul would love to mediate as was its practice for many years, for it was one of its greatest joys, but it can no longer do so. The will loves deeply and has come to mature faith through all of God’s dealings with it, and both the will and the understanding are now at rest. Hence, this person finds the problems with its imagination, which runs wild with thoughts, preventing the other two faculties from staying in rest and contemplation.

I think you can see why the beginner would have problems. He has not advanced this far, and needs to do the work of feeding and chewing, so to speak. He cannot just go into a contemplative mode and remain there for 20 minutes, as the authors suggest.

Pray God this will suffice for the moment, for I have to attend to my moving. Perhaps I can follow up in next week if there are any questions.
 
Permit me to introduce my qualifications for commenting on this matter of centering prayer.

I have never married, for by age 23, I began a rugged spiritual journey that led me into the steep mountainous paths of Far Eastern religion and Catholic mysticism. Confused by the disparites and differences, I found myself knocking on the medieval gates of St Joesph’s Abbey in Spencer,Mass. With no money or possessions, only a small Bible and the ragged clothes on my back, I sought refuge and answers there. I took theology course work, chanted the hours, worked the hay fields, and spent many intimate hours discussing religious topics with the Abbot RtRv.Thomas Keating. He was Abbot General of the whole western hemisphere Trappist community. So much time was spent in private discussions, that the monks began to show a keen interest in me, perhaps even envy, asking what we talked about. After a long time, I left there, though I was invited to become a priest, and for 5 years I worked my own peace corps, teaching Scripture and contemplation at health spas, ashrams and monasteries.

Now I am 63, have worked as a City Engineer, with a BSEE, in construction for 35 years in San Diego, and live alone as a modern day monk, in a chaste lifestyle practicing Catholicism. I am currently offering a course in The Catholic Mystics at my parish. For 40 years I have practiced intense contemplation, for as long as 3 hours at a time, entering into realms of the mind and soul that have carried risks and rewards beyond description.

All this I express to establish my qualifications for commenting on Catholic mystical contemplation.

Fr Thomas Keating is the founder of centering prayer movement, assisted by a couple of monks that were living at Spencer Abbey when I arrived. He was interviewing young men like myself who showed a keen interest in the Eastern religions, because he wanted to meld the Eastern and Western approaches. He was data gathering our questions and concerns, and has since written many books on various aspects of mystical contemplation. One of these is The Heart of the World, 1982, that deals with some important issues mentioned in this thread. I will quote some of his opening words in the next post, since these postings are limited in size.
 
Open Mind, Open Heart,The Mystery of Christ,The Heart of the World, are titles Fr Thomas Keating, OSB, has written. Excellent and insightful, readers will find that many of their fears and reservations concerning Centering Prayer may be resolved.
The Prologue of Heart of the World, begins:

“As a member of a community of Cistercian monks since 1944, I have had the rare opportunity to absorb the contemplative tradition of Christianity within the context of monastic practice and experience. In recent years, my position in the community has brought me into contact with many Christians who remain almost totally unaware of the spiritual potential contained in their own tradition. The had turned to the East in the hope of finding a teaching and practice that would satisfy their hunger for spiritual experience. My own exposure to Eastern methods of meditation began in the 1960s. It awakened in me a deep appreciation of these values. These Eastern methods have expanded my understanding of the mystery of Christ and the message of the Gospel. Moreover, they mirror aspects of Christion mysticism overlooked in recent centuries. The contemplative dimension of life, present in all the great reliions, is the common heart of the world. There the human family is already one.
“In our time,” Pope John XXIII said on his deathbed, “we should emphasize what unites rather than what divides.” It is only with Vatican II that the Catholic Church explicitly embraced the values of the non-Christian religions and officially recognized in them the face of Christ; hidden no doubt, but truly present and revealing the mystery of God.”
(Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to NonCrhristian Religions, p660).
" The genuine traditions of spirituality of the East and Christianity are coming together in a confrontation that should be complementary rather than contradictory. Christianity and the great religions of the East have developed distinctive approaches to the Absolute which could significatnly enrich each other… It is news to most of our contemporaries that there is such a thing as a Christian spirituality which can be experienced. …
This book is an attempt to outline the principles of that spirituality for those in the Christan community who are eager to incorporate a contemplative dimension into their lives…".

I hope that this long post has helped those fearful of Centering Prayer. True, it takes a long suffering practice to climb the interior mountain, by enduring many hazards and deprivations to a total vision of true holiness at the summit. A healthy reservation before attempting the climb, and a careful calculation of the steep cost before ascending the foothills of human consciousness, are much in order.

Sanctifying grace is a narrow path that only a few will enter upon, but sadly that spiritual highway has always been less traveled. Strive to enter this Path of the Masters, despite your ‘fear and trembling’. “Why are you anxious and doubt, you of little faith?” Shall not God provide a guide and tutor for your star trek?

I bear witness in my foretastes of paradisal bliss, of private revelations, and visions of God. Partaking now in the communion of the saints is an experience awaiting us the living, as well as the faithfully departed in Christ. Let us risk religion beyond ritual in the here and now .Let us trust in St Theresa de Avila, St John of the Cross, St Benedict, St Francis, and many other Catholic Mystics, that the rugged ascent is well worth the heavy cost for such divine wisdom, hidden since the foundation of the Earth.
 
Dear Weeorphan,

RE: "Permit me to introduce my qualifications for commenting on this matter of centering prayer."

Permit me to paraphrase what I hear you saying. Because you have impressive credentials, you are worthy to be believed that this method is an excellent way of going to God, so that we may strive to obtain the wonders you experience:
“foretastes of paradisal bliss, of private revelations, and visions of God.”

And then you sum it all up, qualifying C.P. as though it were doctrine taught by the saints. "Let us risk religion beyond ritual in the here and now .Let us trust in St Theresa de Avila, St John of the Cross, St Benedict, St Francis, and many other Catholic Mystics."

My friend, I would run to the nearest exit after reading this, for you have exonerated here a most dangerous path and have misrepresented as "Truth" the very opposite doctrine taught by these saints. It seems that you trust as more worthy of belief, a book upholding a practice that is experiential and not yet doctrinally approved by the teaching authority of the Church.

I may not have visions of God, no revelations, nor dwell in paradisal bliss, because I prefer to pick up my cross daily and follow Christ, and you know what? I will be safe as I stay within “ritual.”

My intent is not to demean your thoughts, for you may be honestly and innocently misguided. I trust that if you don’t already own the written works of these saints, that you obtain a copy — and may I suggest that you seek a spiritual director who understands them as well, in order to guide you.

🙂 Carole
 
Weeorphan, your post is very timely for me. In some ways I am the exact opposite of you, in that today I took my very first course on centering prayer – my first toes in the water, after reading and speculating about it for 18 months. And it was a very good day, I enjoyed it. I do have a slight headache though, not sure if that’s from the centering prayer or if it would have happened anyway. One thing that there was some discussion about on these boards some months back – does centering prayer fit into the Teresian framework (prayer of recollection, prayer of quiet, etc.) or is it something totally different? This question has been asked before but no one was able to answer it. I admire your credentials and hope you will be able to answer my questions.
 
Dear Buzzcut,

We chatted on those very threads where you state:
One thing that there was some discussion about on these boards some months back – does centering prayer fit into the Teresian framework (prayer of recollection, prayer of quiet, etc.) or is it something totally different? This question has been asked before but no one was able to answer it.
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Your question was answered in depth, but your hidden attraction to C.P. was apparent through the very books you were reading and through the commentary you provided in the thread. And now it seems your attraction has born fruit and you decided to try it.
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Weeorphan:
Sanctifying grace is a narrow path that only a few will enter upon, but sadly that spiritual highway has always been less traveled. Strive to enter this Path of the Masters, despite your ‘fear and trembling’. “Why are you anxious and doubt, you of little faith?” Shall not God provide a guide and tutor for your star trek?
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Sanctifying grace is not obtained through C.P. - period. It is obtained only through the sacraments given by Christ to the Church. Let us not be deceived that C.P. is an adjunct to it, nor a wonderful gift that God is presently bestowing on the Church which was hidden from so many saints during the last 2,000+ years. Are we to prefer a star trek tutor? . . . :ehh: to Doctors of the Church?

May God be with you in your journey.
 
Hi, Joysong, the subject has certainly been discussed at length, but my questions have not been answered. I’m going to write a letter to Father Keating. I don’t like bothering famous people with my questions, as I assume Father Keating is very busy and has great demands on his time. But that is what I’ll do.
 
Dear Buzzcut,

Excellent idea, but are you prepared to embrace Karl’s answer if it is not in accord with your desires? Buzz, do you really believe that any method which promises “visions of God, private revelations, bliss” and the like, is the “narrow road”" that Jesus said few travel? Or might it be a spicy super highway that would lure many away from authenticity?

I reviewed this morning the comments by Fr. Thomas Dubay on C.P. in his book Seeking Spiritual Direction, pgs. 172, 201-202. He is very renouned for his writings, and a highly competent authority on Sts. Teresa and John of the Cross.

If you are interested, I can spend a few moments typing it out for you, but I assure you, he is not favorably inclined to the practice of C.P., for many reasons. Judging from the extent of your reading, perhaps you already have the book.

For the research time I spent on your behalf, I am sad to hear that nothing I furnished was able to answer your questions. This is the first time I was aware that more information was needed, and I am wondering what point was lacking that caused you to remain in search mode? And do I need to express my credentials in order to be believed?

It seems that the Holy Spirit is the most trustworthy guide to inwardly convict us that we are or are not in the presence of Truth. At the very least, He will give us an uncomfortable check in our spirit indicating we need more research, so that He can give assurance when we finally encounter Truth. In other words, I don’t need a clanging symbol.

Your friend in Christ,
Carole
 
OOPS! In my last post, the pages I should have included from Fr. Dubay’s book are 201 through 204, not 201-202. Excellent!

Carole
 
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