CREEDE HINSHAW: Meditative prayer draws one closer to God

Long before the buzzword “mindfulness” came Thomas Keating, the Roman Catholic priest and Trappist monk who wrote 30 books, produced multiple videos, established a monastery in Colorado to train and inspire pilgrims, led workshops across the globe and founded the Contemplative Outreach network for those who sought to grow more deeply in touch with God.

Father Keating died October 2018 at St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, Mass., aged 95, his obituary widely reported in Christian, Buddhist, Muslim and secular sources. His teaching and practice of prayer reached across faith lines.

Father Carl Arico, a friend, fellow priest and co-founder of Contemplative Outreach, said about Keating’s concept of centering prayer, “It is more heartfulness than mindfulness. It is rooted in the Christian tradition, which emphasizes the relationship with Christ which is its source.”

This son and grandson of prominent lawyers embraced the monastery in early young adulthood. He taught “centering prayer” or “contemplative prayer,” based on the deceptively simple practice of two 20-minute periods per day when the disciple escapes the cluttered cacophony of life and makes oneself available to God.

For Keating, this silence was the most important thing a disciple can do daily. He loved to say, “Silence is God’s first language. Everything else is a poor translation.”

A group of my clergy friends decided to study Keating’s work using a series of training videos and his most accessible book, “Open Mind, Open Heart.” Our plan was to play golf together, eat well and gather in the evening to watch and discuss the videos and practice our learning. But Keating was such a calming spirit that we had a difficult time staying alert after golf and a fine dinner. Before long, at least one of the members of our group was enrapt in his own silent meditation, sound asleep. These hurdles notwithstanding, the introduction was invaluable.

Keating’s approach to prayer challenges those who have been taught the only way to pray is with words. Keating would never deny the power of verbal prayer, but his great insight was that the disciple can be most in touch with God in becoming available, centered, and contemplative, trusting God to do the communicating.

I have practiced this form of prayer sporadically over the decades, sometimes more or less faithfully. I’ve never spent two daily 20-minute sessions in this form of prayer. Currently, with the help of my phone, I’m building my way back to 20 minutes each morning. I started with 5 minutes per day and add 30 seconds weekly. Now I am immersed in this silent prayer for 17 minutes each morning. Soon I’ll be at 20 minutes per morning, believing God is present and available in this loving devotion.

This form of prayer does not appeal to everybody. For some it seems impossible, unworkable and ineffective. Nor is this exercise a substitute for verbal prayer. Jesus taught the disciples to pray using words. Nevertheless, I commend meditative prayer as one more means of drawing nearer to God.