Centering Prayer and the Healing of the Unconscious

Front Cover
Lantern Books, 2007 - 312 pages
In this searching study, Fr. Murchadh Fr. Ó Madagáin describes the life and thoughts of Fr. Thomas Keating, the Trappist monk who was one of the founders of the centering prayer movement. Centering prayer aims to reclaim the Christian contemplative and mystical traditions after centuries of neglect and to make it available for modern spiritual seekers. Fr. Ó Madagáin traces its roots back to the fourth- and fifth-century Desert Fathers such as Evagrius and John Cassian. He shows how it was used in the medieval classic The Cloud of Unknowing and practiced by saints John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila, then revived by Thomas Merton during the twentieth century. Fr. Ó Madagáin illustrates how, by bringing the insights of contemporary psychology to bear on this ancient method of prayer, Fr. Keating has not only revitalized the contemplative tradition, but also has enabled it to become a powerful tool for people of faith to gain insight into themselves and God, whom Keating calls the "divine healer." Fr. Ó Madagáin also unpacks the processes at work in centering prayer and clears up some of the common misunderstandings that surround it. Centering Prayer and the Healing of the Unconscious is an essential work for all those interested in the history and practice of centering prayer. In addition to describing the background of this unique and effective practice, Fr. Ó Madagáin offers unique insights into the ideas of one of its leading contemporary teachers and practitioners.

From inside the book

Contents

THE BEGiNNiNGS OF CENTERiNG PRAyER
1
What is Silent Prayer? Healing and What Needs to be Healed
7
GROWiNG iN CONSCiOUSNESS
19
CENTERiNG PRAyER
35
CHAPTER
59
35
103
THE CLOUD OF UNkNOWiNG
105
LECTiO DiViNA
115
48
181
ST JOHN OF THE CROSS
187
54
220
CENTERING PRAyER AND THE NEW AGE
225
PRAyER AND EvERyDAy LIFE
251
THE QUESTION OF HEALING
269
59
287
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHy
306

MEDiTATiON EAST AND WEST
123
40
149
ST TERESA OF AViLA
154
185
308
Copyright

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Page 143 - The Catholic Church rejects nothing which is true and holy in these religions. She looks with sincere respect upon those ways of conduct and of life, those rules and teachings which, though differing in many particulars from what she holds and sets forth, nevertheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men.
Page 10 - If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.
Page 125 - Two ideas are psychologically deep-rooted in man: Self-protection and self-preservation. For self-protection man has created God, on whom he depends for his own protection, safety and security, just as a child depends on its parent. For self-preservation man has conceived the idea of an immortal Soul or Atman, which will live eternally. In his ignorance, weakness, fear, and desire, man needs these two things to console himself. Hence he clings to them deeply and...
Page 11 - FOR me to be a saint means to be myself. Therefore the problem of sanctity and salvation is in fact the problem of finding out who I am and of discovering my true self.
Page 108 - This word will be your defense in conflict and in peace. Use it to beat upon the cloud of darkness above you and to subdue all distractions, consigning them to the cloud of forgetting beneath you. Should some thought go on annoying you demanding to know what you are doing, answer with this one word alone. If your mind begins to intellectualize over the meaning and connotations of this little word, remind yourself that its value lies in its simplicity. Do this and I assure you these thoughts will...
Page 93 - The goal of our profession is the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of heaven ; but our immediate aim or target is purity of heart, without which it is impossible for anyone to reach that goal.
Page 154 - ... method involves less work than the other, and you get more water.) Or it may flow from a river or a stream. (The garden is watered much better by this means because the ground is more fully soaked, and there is no need to water so frequently — and much less work for the gardener.) Or the water may be provided by a great deal of rain. (For the Lord waters the garden without any work on our part — and this way is incomparably better than all the others mentioned.)

About the author (2007)

Fr. Murchadh O'Madagain was born and raised in Galway in the West of Ireland. He was ordained a priest in 1998 and has worked as a hospital chaplain and in various parishes. He studied in Rome from 2002-05 and completed his doctorate in Spiritual Theology. He moved to the United States in 2013.

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