Official Website of the Centering Prayer Network Australia
“Be still and know that I am GOD” — Psalm 46:10
Quotes to nourish the journey:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. ” ~ Luke 10:27
"Our greatest need is to be silent before this great God, with the appetite and with the tongue, for the only language He hears is the silent language of love." ~ St. John of the Cross, 'Letter 8,' The Letters
“Faith is opening and surrendering to God. The spiritual journey does not require going anywhere because God is already with us and in us.” Open Mind, Open Heart ~ Thomas Keating
'The ripe fruit of the grace of Pentecost is the practice of the beatitudes. The beatitudes are acts of virtue inspired by the Spirit and which manifest the risen life of Christ within us.' THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST p. 94 ~ Thomas Keating
“All will come of its own accord in good time and with abundant fullness, so long as one does not attempt to hoard or cling.” ― Cynthia Bourgeault, The Wisdom Jesus: Transforming Heart and Mind
"The root of all prayer is silence. Contemplative prayer is an experience of God’s presence as the ground in which our being is rooted, the Source from whom our life emerges at every moment. Through grace we open our awareness to God whom we know by faith is within us, closer than breathing, closer than thinking, closer than choosing, closer than consciousness itself.” Open Mind Open Heart ~ Thomas Keating
“The best way to receive divine love is to give it away, and the more we pass on the more we increase our capacity to receive.” Heart of the World ~ Thomas Keating
“In prayer we acknowledge God as the supreme source from which flows all strength, all goodness, all existence, acknowledging that we have our being, life, itself from this supreme Power. One can then communicate with this Source, worship it, and ultimately place one's very center in it.”
― Cynthia Bourgeault, Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening
“Any practice moving towards contemplation … bonds the people who are doing it with everybody else who is doing a similar practice, and indeed with everyone else in the human family … What is deepest in them, their oneness with the divine presence, resonates with what is deepest in us. Hence, their joys, their trials, and their openness to God are part of us.” The Better Part, page 70. ~ Thomas Keating
"Contemplative prayer is not so much the absence of thoughts as detachment from them. It is the opening of the mind and heart, body and emotions — our whole being — to God, the Ultimate Mystery, beyond words, thoughts and emotions . . . ." Open Mind, Open Heart. ~ Thomas Keating
"There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit;
there are different forms of service but the same Lord;
there are different workings but the same God
who produces all of them in everyone."
I Corinthians 12:4-7
”Interior silence is one of the most strengthening and affirming of human experiences. There is nothing more affirming in fact, than the experience of God´s presence. That revelation says, as nothing else can, You are a good person, I created you and I love you .” Open Mind Open Heart ~ Thomas Keating
“Somewhere in those depths of silence I came upon my first experiences of God as a loving presence that was always near, and prayer as a simple trust in that presence.” ― Cynthia Bourgeault, Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening
”Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight .”
~ Proverbs 3:5-6
"Nothing is more beautiful than the uniqueness that God has created.
~You don't have to create the beauty ~ you´ve got the beauty.
~ You don't have to create the freedom ~ you´ve got it.
~ You don´t have to create the image of God in you ~ you have it.
~ You don´t have to win over God´s love ~ you have more than you know what to do with."
"Centering Prayer," Heartfulness: Transformation in Christ ~ Fr Thomas Keating
"The modern world lies under a pervasive sense of anguish, of being abandoned, or at least experiencing God as absent. Yet events that seem to turn our lives upside down and inside out are part of God's redemptive plan, not only for us, but for the world in which we live. God may be preparing a great awakening for the world, if God can find enough people to cooperate in this mysterious plan."
~ Fr Thomas Keating
"The modern world lies under a pervasive sense of anguish, of being abandoned, or at least experiencing God as absent. Yet events that seem to turn our lives upside down and inside out are part of God's redemptive plan, not only for us, but for the world in which we live. God may be preparing a great awakening for the world, if God can find enough people to cooperate in this mysterious plan."
~ Fr Thomas Keating
"The careful balance between silence and words, withdrawal and involvement, distance and closeness, solitude and community, forms the basis of the Christian life." Out of Solitude ~ Henri Nouwen
“An important part of response to divine love, once it has been received, is to pass it on to our neighbour in a way that is appropriate in the present moment.” Open Mind, Open Heart Pg. 103 ~ Thomas Keating
“Motivation is everything in the spiritual journey. ” Intimacy with God ~ Thomas Keating
“Our greatest need is to be silent before this great God with our appetite and with our tongue, for the language he best hears is the silent language of love.” – St. John of the Cross
"The world is created as a means of God's self-revelation so that, like a mirror or footprint, it might lead us to love and praise the Creator. We are created to read the book of creation so that we may know the Author of Life. This book of creation is an expression of who God is and is meant to lead humans to what it signifies, namely, the eternal Trinity of dynamic, self-diffusive love." — Sister Ilia Delio, OSF
"In Centering Prayer … little by little, we enter into prayer
without intentionality except to consent
… and consent becomes surrender
… and surrender becomes total receptivity
… and, as the process continues,
total receptivity becomes effortless, peaceful.
… It is free and has nothing to attain, to get, or desire
… So, no thinking, no reflection, no desire,
no words, no thing
… just receptivity and consent."
‘Centering Prayer’ segment, Heartfulness: Transformation in Christ ~ Thomas Keating
“Contemplative practices facilitate and deepen our relationship with God. They are an opportunity to invite the Indwelling Presence into everything we do. Contemplative practices give us the eyes to see and the ears to hear God calling us to the banquet.”
"We may think of prayer as thoughts or feelings expressed in words. But this is only one expression. In the Christian tradition Contemplative Prayer is considered to be the pure gift of God. It is the opening of mind and heart ~ our whole being ~ to God, the Ultimate Mystery, beyond thoughts, words, and emotions. Through grace we open our awareness to God whom we know by faith is within us, closer than breathing, closer than thinking, closer than choosing ~ closer than consciousness itself."
"In silence we come to know and live from the Divine Mystery within us."
“Silence is not the absence of noise but the absence of resistance to God.”
“God is always present. We’re the ones who are absent.”
“The yearning you feel for God is actually God’s yearning for you - His invitation to an incredible intimacy and tenderness.”
OTHER QUOTES: