Centering Prayer

Centering Prayer

Online Centering Prayer Group
Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m.
Sundays at 8:30 a.m.
If you are interested in participating with either of our online Centering Prayer groups, please follow this link for more information. All are welcome. You can join from home, wherever home is!

Centering Prayer

Centering Prayer is a receptive method of silent prayer that prepares us to receive the gift of contemplative prayer, prayer in which we experience God’s presence within us; closer than breathing, closer than thinking, closer than consciousness itself. This method of prayer is both a relationship with God and a discipline to foster that relationship.

Centering Prayer is not meant to replace other kinds of prayer. Rather, it adds depth of meaning to all prayer, and facilitates the movement from more active modes of prayer – verbal, mental or affective prayer – into a receptive prayer of resting in God.

Guidelines for Centering Prayer with Sacred Word or Image (20 minutes, 2 times daily)

  1. Choose a sacred word or image as a symbol of your intention to consent to God’s presence and action within.
  2. Sitting comfortably with eyes closed settle briefly. Silently introduce the sacred word as a symbol of your consent to God’s presence and action within.
  3. When engaged with your thoughts (which include body sensations, feelings, images, and reflections), return ever so gently to the sacred word.
  4. At the end of the prayer period, remain in silence for a couple of minutes to integrate this time of prayer into the rest of your life, your mind, and your heart. A bridge back to active life.

Centering Prayer Handouts

Resources