Who is for/against centering prayer?

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By going back over previous Posts I have been able to locate a link for Centering Prayer and will try to educate myself. I only know about CP from what I have read in this thread. I thought I had seen a link somewhere…
Quoting Carole…
One person who witnessed that he spent many hours a day in CP with experiences of visions and revelations, was the most uncharitable person in practical interaction with others. No visible fruit, no possibility of my acceptance.
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Well said, Carole…The best criteria for any sort of prayer or method is growth in charity “by their fruits you shall know them”. Though I know that the faults in the person do not necessarily therefore negate a prayer method…merely raises questions about the person themselves perhaps.
I know via discussion sites some of the members in this thread who practise CP…if I can assess by them there sure is something in CP since their charity and indeed humility is outstanding.

Barb:)
 
I asked a priest who I trust completely about this once, and while he didn’t give a complete theological breakdown, his look spoke volumes. He said that while it may not be completely bad, it’s not something for most people and most people run the risk of spiritual harm. I got the feeling that he was very skeptical of it’s potential benefits for anyone. That was enough for me. I’ve steered very clear of it.
 
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BarbaraTherese:
Hi Alan and all,

Insofar as I am aware, I dont think I follow any particular defined method with mental prayer. Is there a site that explains ‘centering prayer’ that is not a complex explanation (Barb here remember!) and one that has Church approval? They would be my two criteria :

l. Simplicity
2. Has approval of Catholic Church

From those positions, I will be able to make up my own mind about Centering Prayer. A link to a site explaining the method may be helpful to others too who may not, like me, insight what Centering Prayer is about - hence refraining from posting. I sighted this thread previously, but since I know nothing of CP as a method of mental prayer I bypassed the thread.

Thanks heaps…Barb:)
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Basically you sit still and quiet for 20 minutes, thinking about nothing in particular.

That’s what the fuss is about.

Many people do it (sitting quietly in the peaceful presence of God) inadvertently while at Eucharistic adoration. Centering prayer just formalizes it a bit to give a specific strategy (sacred word) to allow distractions to pass by – NOT a mantra on which to focus or concentrate.

Alan
 
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PaulVI:
I asked a priest who I trust completely about this once, and while he didn’t give a complete theological breakdown, his look spoke volumes. He said that while it may not be completely bad, it’s not something for most people and most people run the risk of spiritual harm. I got the feeling that he was very skeptical of it’s potential benefits for anyone. That was enough for me. I’ve steered very clear of it.
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I got a look like that, too, from a priest I trusted, when I asked if he’s heard of Fr. Thomas Keating. I said, “oh then you know what his ministry is about?” Father said, “not really but I get mailings from him asking for donations.”

Perhaps priests like to dislike him if he asks other priests for money.

Alan
 
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magdaline:
try this website - somewhat different than CP

wccm.org/

World Community Christian Meditation
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Thank you for the web site. It looks very interesting. I was a bit uncomfortable at first because of the way they discuss “mantra” but after I read a while I saw there seemed to be pretty good basis in it. They still use the “mantra” in much the way as the “sacred word” in CP but have a different way of explaining it I think.

I appreciated the FAQ section; it addressed many of the questions people would really ask. Whether one agrees with the answers (I didn’t see any particular problems with what I read) or not, at least they addressed those pertinent issues.

Alan
 
Hello Alan, could you clarify whether your poll is asking about
centering prayer or contemplative prayer?

God bless,
Noel.
 
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nkelly:
Hello Alan, could you clarify whether your poll is asking about
centering prayer or contemplative prayer?

God bless,
Noel.
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Certainly.

My intent originally was about centering prayer, as taught by Fr. Keating and Contemplative Outreach.

The division I was making about people’s backgrounds was supposed to include other contemplative forms as well. When I wrote the poll I was hoping to show that those who thought CP was dangerous were not generally those who are familiar with contemplation.

That was the original intent. As far as I’m concerned, it’s OK if this thread covers contemplative prayers of other sorts. My original intent is no longer interesting to me, though it served as a conversation guide at first.

Alan
 
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