Introduction to Centering Prayer

Welcome! I’m Brother James Dowd of the Benedictine Way and I’m delighted you are interested in learning about Centering Prayer.

Simply put, Centering Prayer is a practice that helps us to live a Contemplative Life.

When I was a new Benedictine monk, one of the first things I learned was the opening lines of the Rule of St. Benedict. This ancient text taught us, right from the beginning, to “listen with the ear of your heart.”

And in that practice – learning to listen with the ear of your heart – lay the essential wisdom of Centering Prayer.

You see, deep listening, striving to really listen, is the key to a good relationship. Without that kind of listening, the genuineness of a relationship is lost.

So, too, with God. Our ability to quiet our minds so that we might listen with God – notice I did not say “listen for God” but rather listen withGod. That’s because a strong relationship is one in which both parties listen with each other.

They listen with each other to know the others’ heart, to know their joys, to know their pain, to know all that makes them the wonderful being they are.

And that’s what Centering Prayer is all about. The goal is not to ask God for anything, or to Praise God, or to offer Thanksgiving to God. No, the purpose is simply to “be” with God and to learn to listen with God and to allow God to listen with you.

In a world that is so loud, so fast-paced, and so anxious, doesn’t that sound appealing? Doesn’t it sound like exactly the type of meditation we need? Doesn’t a gentle way to be with God sound appealing?

But don’t think this is some new, gimmicky way to pray. It is as old as Christian monasticism – about 1,800 years old! Those monks who went off into the desert to listen with God were on to something.

Today, we need this form of sanity in our lives. Most of us are not going to head off into the desert. Instead, we need to listen for God in our homes, our neighborhoods, our workplaces, churches, and communities. Most of all, we need to listen with God in our own hearts through the practice of Centering Prayer.

If you’d like to learn more about Centering Prayer, please take a look at the instructional videos we offer. The videos explain more about this ancient practice which has been having a rebirth in our time.

I encourage you to join us on a Centering Prayer Sit soon. You are welcome no matter your level of experience or even if you have no experience at all.

Peace be upon you.