Essential Book: Centering Prayer by M. Basil Pennington

Fr. Pennington, a Cistercian, wrote this book in the late 1970's after a series of popular retreats and lectures. It was well received and sold just as well. This was and is a sign of the spiritual hunger that we all have built into us. Real people want to know how to pray. He offers a method that gives us both permission and a starting place to learn prayer. "Centering Prayer" is Roman Catholic in its scholarship and viewpoint but is much broader that one might think. A non-Christian will find resonance here as much as I did as a non-Roman Catholic.

Fr. Basil Pennington
July 23, 1931-July 3, 2005

Is meditation consistant with Christianity?? I have to be reminded occasionally that I need to pray-or better said, I need to NEED to pray. I began 'Centering Prayer' as a Lenten thing and to further the discipline of reading an old book for every new one. I actually put it on my "to read" list after hearing it outlined during a seminar several years ago. I found this paperback copy for 50 cents at a used book sale last month. It has been a move of God's Grace.


Pennington's writing style is efficient and clear though he gives numerous lengthy quotations from many of the church fathers. You will have to wade through a lot of history, some Latin terms and other jargon. Prepare yourself for the first 60 pages. They are confusing unless you have read some Merton, Desert Fathers and other Christian Mystics. HOWEVER, it it worth the effort and prepares the reader for the method. The writer offers a practical way to answer the question:

Is Meditation Un-Christian? The short answer is no-we just call it contemplative prayer. The most word-centered evangelical cannot deny that our delight in God is to "meditate day and night" on scripture. Sometimes we forget about the oriental influence on Christianity and Judiasm. Why should the eastern religions have a lock on this anyway. It is scriptural and grows the Disciple.

Pennington defines "Centering Prayer" as, "any method by which the pray-er seeks to bring his or her scattered thoughts and feelings together for a certain deepening." (61) It is neither new nor unique to this book but an application of ancient Christian praxis. The 3-rule "formula", 1-take a minute to quiet down;2- Rest in the Center by the use of a "prayer word" that can be repeated until we achieve that meditative rest; and 3- to use our prayer word when we become aware of anything that disturbs our prayer filled center to return to prayer. End with or "come out" of prayer time with an "Our Father" or other formula prayer (65) The successful end to the method is that it is no longer needed.

The method's essence is in the prayer word. Eastern meditation would call this a mantra, though the author hesitates to use that word. Deriving your prayer word is the crucial first step in prayerful "rootedness or centeredness." To find God we need quiet. To find quiet in such a noisy world we need a starting place. That start comes with " a quieting word, a gentle word, a soft word that quiets the mind and allows the heart space." (71) The chapter on "New Packaging" is basically a commentary on the book, "The Cloud of Unknowing" and gives wise counsel on choosing your unique prayer word.

Set a particular place aside for prayer if possible, sit quietly and allow yourself time, at least 20 minutes. Lots of busy people do this in the shower-it may be the only quiet some get during the day. Begin by repeating your prayer word, keep it simple, and allow the prayer word to fade into silence. stay in this centered place and listen. God has something to say to you-and probably won't use words.

The question that I most often get when teaching prayer is, "What do I do with these distracting thoughts that I have?" Centering Prayer is a healing and nurturing time with God that is destroyed by external thoughts. These thoughts are wild monkeys swinging through our minds and stealing intimacy with God. Pennington's Chapter 6 deals lends a five way strategy to deal with them by using the gentle assertion of your personal prayer word. These are five common types of thoughts that disrupt our prayer and meditation.

The first type of though is the "Simple Thought". These are the natural and steady stream of thoughts that simply need to be put aside by using your prayer word to deny them a hand hold. Second is the "Catching Thought" that hooks us and comes to us during the course or prayer. They are born in prayer and can drag our awareness away. We must hold tenaciously to the prayer word "which capsulates the the fullness of my faith-love relationship with God." (105) You don't quit but renew your prayer. Third are the "Monitor Thoughts". These are very troublesome because they tempt us to make prayer a production event or worse a celebration of what we are doing. To conquer this we must remember who we are praying to and "ruthlessly" insert the prayer word and return to the presence. Fourth are the "Bright Idea" thoughts. These tempt us to leave prayer to go and do something-probably something good but half baked if we allow it to interfere with our prayer. Don't quit. Center with the prayer word and complete the time of prayer. Fifth and finally, the "Stressful Thoughts". Prayer can bring us stresses from relations and situations in our daily lives. It is this type of thought that can halt the prayer that can bring healing of the stresser. Only by being aware and staying centered can we continue to experience God's presence in prayer. (P. 103-110)

This process is better learned with a spiritual director or a trusted Christian friend that shares your journey. However, God has given you a sufficient amount of information to discover deeper prayer on your own. Pennington parallels Centering/contemplative/meditative Prayer with Sleep. "Just as dreams release tension from our lives while we sleep, so too do thoughts and images that flow through our minds while we are resting in contemplative prayer." (p. 109) In this contemplation God is given our thoughts and takes over.

We need an action to end also. The author suggests using the Lord's Prayer or other formula prayer as a way to "come out" of prayer. A favorite scripture, poem or song would work also. End this precious time with a formal invitation for God to come with us on the rest of our journey.

We begin with a process. We will know that it is successful when it disappears and we no longer need it.

The author is clear that prayer method is only to assist and the purity of prayer can only be achieved when kept very simple. The key is to be in touch with Christ and to "Know Thyself" before plumbing deeper spiritual depths. The book also provides written prayers, daily schedules, retreat outlines, relaxation exercises and other helps. His method is useful for all of us "Martha/Active's" who secretly want that "Mary/Contemplative" prayer experience. The Bibliography is rich with resources too. Many of them are public domain and on Google Library.

The book begs to be used. Here is how I applied it to my day-to-day. Each year I study the Psalm of my age. A United Methodist Bishop started me on this discipline several years ago. My "prayer word" comes from Psalm 52-"I trust in the steadfast Love of God". When my day gets distracted I say this until I actually hear it. At the top of the hour I take a full moment of quiet meditation, centering on this psalm and afterward write a short prayer in my journal. I seek the quiet daily for the suggested 20 minutes at a time too. I am blessed to have an office and a prayer garden at work and am building on at home too. However, even in my busiest times I can find that 2-3 minutes to center up the next hour. The very busiest among us can will a precious centering moment without regard to the noise, haste or place. The fruit of this practice is rich and healthy everyday living. Christian prayer/meditation is practical.