Describing what takes place in contemplative prayer, Father Thomas Keating, founder of the Centering Prayer movement, writes: "The full flowering of our relationship with God is somewhat like that of an elderly couple who have lived together for a long time, brought up the children, suffered together the ups and downs of daily life, and who really love each other. . . . They don't have to talk all the time. They chat as they pour coffee in the morning, but they can also sit together and look at a sunset and just enjoy each other's company. They might hold hands or look into each other's eyes to maintain the sense of union. They have moved beyond conversation to communion."

Not bad. Father Keating also presents an imaginative treatment of the Bethany household of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. He sees the first as symbolic of those on the Purgative Way; the second as following the Illuminative Way, which involves a deep listening to Jesus Christ; and the third as a paradigm of Christian transformation (we must die to the false self).

In this fourteenth John Main Seminar, Father Keating singles out Alcoholics Anonymous as "one of the most succinct and accurate expressions of Christian spirituality." He also discusses Lectio Divina as one of the oldest forms of meditative practice in the Christian religion, the link between the Eucharist and contemplation, and the place of the Christian contemplative tradition in the spiritual renewal of our time. Whether talking about the divine presence, the period of prayer as "a vacation from the false self," or the seven gifts of the Spirit, Father Keating demonstrates a magisterial overview of the faith and its various stages of development.

Read am Excerpt on Devotion


The Better Part

Stages of Contemplative Living

By Thomas Keating

Thomas Keating on reducing negativity through the devotion of contemplative prayer.

A Book Excerpt on Devotion


"Contemplative prayer is a major contribution to the diminishing of world problems of injustice, prejudice, health, and peace. If enough people progressed in contemplative prayer, they could reduce a sizable portion of the negativity in our world. The atmosphere of the planet has been filled with negativity from the endless procession of false selves that have peopled it from the beginning of time, including ourselves. But charity (divine love) is so strong that just a little of it can negate an enormous amount of negativity. A critical number of people actually meditating is an insight our Hindu and Buddhist friends also have. Contemplative prayer enables people to clean up their lives through the insights of self-knowledge that flow from such a practice, so that at least they don't continue to pour negative energy into the atmosphere. We would all do everyone on earth a great favor if we would die to our false selves and pour the divine energy of pure love into the atmosphere instead of the energy of our selfish drives for happiness. When contemplative persons get together in prayer, there is an enormous amount of positive energy generated, especially if they have been practicing for a long time.”