Centering Prayer

[Apotheoun]

[quote name='StColette' date='31 August 2009 - 02:05 PM' timestamp='1251749135' post='1958961']
Todd, could you provide a reference to this, please? I've tried searching one online and found like one from wiki and one that didn't seem very scholarly or give too much detail.
[/quote]
Not many of the liturgical books (and they are voluminous in number) of the Byzantine liturgy are available online. In fact, the only online resources tend to be for the major feasts of the liturgical calendar, and St. Gregory of Sinai's memorial is not a major feast in the liturgical cycle, but the feast of St. Gregory Palamas (+ A.D. 1359) is a major celebration (i.e., it is the Second Sunday of Great Fast), and English version of the liturgical texts for his feast are available online through the Ruthenian Catholic Church's "Metropolitan Cantor Institute" at the following link:

[url="http://www.metropolitancantorinstitute.org/sheetmusic/general/GF2SundayGreatVespers.pdf"][u]Vesper Propers for the Second Sunday of the Great Fast: Memory of our Holy Father Gregory, Archbishop of Thessalonica[/u][/url]


In addition to St. Gregory Palamas the Eastern Catholic Churches also recognize St. Sergius of Radonezh as a saint (n.b., he has also recently been added to the newest version of the Roman Martyrology, which means that his feast is no longer peculiar to the Eastern Catholic Churches, but is now also a feast in the Roman Rite). St. Sergius (circa A.D. 1322 - A.D. 1392) lived and died at a time when the Russian Orthodox Church was not in communion with Rome; and moreover, he was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1452, which was eleven years after that Church had rejected the decrees and authority of the Council of Florence, and yet Rome itself has added St. Sergius to its own calendar.

St. Sergius is the ninth of eleven saints listed for September 25th in the latest edition of the [i]Martyrologium Romanum[/i] published in Rome in 2004 (page 536):

Here is his entry in Latin (minus the accents):

[indent]In monasterio Sanctissimae Trinitatis in Mosquensi Russiae regione, sancti Sergii de Radonez, qui, primum in silvis asperis eremita, dein vitam coenobiticam coluit et hegumenus electus propagavit, vir mitis, consiliarius principum et consolator fidelium.[/indent]


Finally, Pope Pius X in the early 20th century gave his approval to the Russian Catholic Church's liturgical books, which are identical to the Russian Orthodox books of that time period, and when questioned about whether or not Russian Catholics should follow Orthodox liturgical practice, he answered by saying that their practice should be "nec plus, nec minus, nec aliter" (no more, no less, no different) than that of the Russian Orthodox Church. That means that all the saints canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church up to the first decade of the 20th century are recognized as saints by the Russian Catholic Church, which is in communion with the bishop of Rome, and -- of course -- because the Russian Catholic Church recognizes the saints glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church it follows by extension that all those saints are also recognized by the other Eastern Catholic Churches.

Edited September 1, 2009 by Apotheoun

[perfectunion33]

To become centered on prayer, is to become centered on Christ. The goal and loftiest state of prayer is to reach Divine Union with our Beloved Lord Jesus. Most call this contemplation, but there are many different terms. One cannot just simply reach the highest states of contemplation by prayer alone, no, in order to reach such a state it takes much self -denial and detachment from all that is not God, so as to become attached to God alone. It is possible to see and experience the Beatific Vision here in this life in a somewhat veiled way, although in a very real way. My advice to anyone who desires to reach such a lofty state is to seek much solitude and silence praying unceasingly to God and to read good spiritual books. I recommend reading Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila and Ascent to Mount Carmel by St. John of the Cross. May the Lord bless each and everyone of you and draw you to Himself in the deepest recesses of your soul.

[Brother Adam]

It was reading those texts is exactly why I reject the use of the word 'centering prayer'. It causes far too much confusion among the laity thanks to publishers like St. Mary Press.

[AccountDeleted]

Brother Adam has a good point. It is very hard to discuss anything without first defining the terms. I used to think that centering prayer was similar to contemplation until I read more about it. While some define it as contemplation of nothingness, others see it as contemplation on the presence of God -- and these are two very different things - just as the Buddhist concept of "God" is very different from the Christian one.

The "nothingness" is a very dangerous area, and in my humble opinion, should be avoided as much as possible. Some Eastern forms of meditation aim at simple calming of the mind or "bliss" or many other objectives (raising kundalini etc etc etc), which can lead to areas where humans are not meant to go. One needs to ask whether they are trying to grab from God (through "centering prayer") that which is His alone to bestow on whomever He pleases - contemplation.

Christian meditation should have as its sole purpose: loving attentiveness to God, for His praise and glory and worship. This is what humans were created for. Prayer... meditation... the gift of contemplation, from God. Without Him? Forget it.

Edited September 18, 2009 by nunsense

[perfectunion33]

Maybe it would be more helpful if we start up a new thread about contemplation, define the term, and help teach others how to reach this state of prayer in their own lives.

[Ephrem Augustine]

[quote name='Raphael' date='09 July 2009 - 11:28 AM' timestamp='1247156890' post='1915652']
I said, "well, a lot of centering prayer advocates say that it's focusing on nothingness for the sake of nothingness, which is obviously wrong." She agreed.

[/quote]

I have met dozens of centering prayer advocates, none of whom talk about focusing on nothingness.
I have found it helpful to let go of my affections for specific things, images, etc, and focusing my attention around Jesus, have mercy.

But, as much of so called progressive Catholicism is fading away in this country, and as there is so much more fascinating exploration of the traditions of the Church, I think the holy Spirit will already be doing that work.

Edited February 3, 2010 by Ephrem Augustine