Prayer as a Path to Deepen Your Relationship with God
Course objectives:
- Define the history and nature of Centering prayer with roots in the Contemplative Christian tradition through online video, audio and written presentations.
- Practice the formal method of Centering Prayer utilizing online practice sessions, inspirational poetry, and music.
- Utilize, reflect upon, and answer online questions pertaining to the relevance of Centering Prayer as it relates to one's own life.
- Discuss and outline the psychology of Centering Prayer, including the "seven moments" of Centering Prayer along with the four levels of awareness.
Centering Prayer is a silent prayer practice that can move you toward a profound relationship with the Spirit of God within. It is a way of praying that opens the door to the Divine Indwelling—the ground of our being. With Centering Prayer, Father Thomas Keating and his colleagues Gail Fitzpatrick-Hopler and Father Carl Arico present the first online course in this method for deepening your intimacy with God and ultimately consenting to the presence and action of the Divine in all aspects of your life.
A Prayer Practice Inspired by the Christian Mystics
Father Thomas Keating, answering a life calling, sought to renew a prayer practice that goes beyond asking for aid or offering praise—one that invites you to enter into a deeper relationship with God. Based on the wisdom sayings of Jesus and inspired by teachings from the classic 14th-century text The Cloud of Unknowing, Saint John of the Cross, Saint Teresa of Avila, Thomas Merton, and others, Centering Prayer is a method of four guidelines that has sparked the modern renewal of contemplative Christianity. “Centering Prayer does not replace other types of prayer,” teaches Keating. “Rather, the practice gives a new depth of meaning to all forms of prayer.”
Training from a Respected Voice in the Revival of Contemplative Christianity
This eight-part intensive learning program features invaluable teaching sessions with Father Thomas Keating and his colleagues from Contemplative Outreach, Gail Fitzpatrick-Hopler and Father Carl Arico. The course also includes private journaling. You will receive over nine hours of downloadable audio and video instruction, plus a rich selection of written exercises and information that you can fill out on your computer or print at home.
Centering Prayer provides precise, direct training in contemplative practice—as well as a treasury of wisdom from Father Keating himself. His teachings, stories, and insights reveal the fruits of fully engaging in this path of complete consent to God’s presence and action within. Join him as you learn this simple yet transformative method for taking prayer to its deepest level—and inviting the grace of the Divine to live through you.
Centering Prayer Highlights
- Eight sessions of personal training in the path of Centering Prayer
- Guided video teaching sessions with Contemplative Outreach instructors Gail Fitzpatrick-Hopler and Father Carl Arico
- A private journal to track your progress and deepen your practice
- Downloadable audio, video, and printable written lessons
- Personal reminders and notifications to keep your practice on track
