This is a compilation of articles on centering prayer. As such, it is a bit uneven. I enjoyed the articles by Keating the best. He has some wonderful thoughts about the sacred journey: “Our journey is a process of dismantling the monumental illusion that God is distant or absent” (1-2). “The start, middle, and end of the spiritual journey is the conviction that God is always present. As we progress on this journey, God becomes more and more present to us… The spiritual journey is a gradual process of enlarging our emotional, mental, and physical relationship with the divine reality that is present in us, but not ordinarily accessible to our emotions or rationalizations” (2). “Prayer, the sacraments, and good works are all directed toward one purpose: to awaken us to who we actually are but do not yet know. The reception of the Eucharist is not a passing visit from Christ, but an awakening to his abiding presence within us, leading us into the further experience of the Father” (6). “The spiritual journey is often presented as the purification of illusion, as liberation from seeking the wrong things or too much of good things, as freedom from compulsions that arise from the misguided search for happiness” (8). “When we say, ‘Come, Lord Jesus,’ we should remember that Christ is already here. His coming means that he becomes more and more present to our consciousness. He does not move. We move. This process is one of consent to God’s presence, surrender to it, and being transformed by it” (10). Though critics of mysticism argue that it is too individualistic, Thomas Ward uses the illustration of a circle, with God at the center, and individuals on the perimeter, to demonstrate how our pursuit of God brings us closer to one another: “Each person move Godward through grace. Part of that movement is inward to one’s personal center, but another part is toward others through God” (16). Truly, the gate of heaven is everywhere – with those who possess eyes to see!
The Divine Indwelling
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