If we take Eternity to mean not Infinite Temporal Duration but timelessness, then Eternal Life belongs to those who live in the Present.” Ludwig Wittgenstein
Ah, to live in the Present!
It seems we’re always running around doing lots of things, but never really present in the moment. We get things done, mark them off our list, and feel accomplished. But have we been truly present in the moment? Or are we just off to do the next thing?
When Jesus speaks of eternal life, as he does so often in John’s gospel, he isn’t speaking about life after death that goes on forever and ever and ever. He is speaking about “Zoe” in Greek, which means a quality of life, a timelessness that is saturated with divinity, love, fullness of life, life to the full! This is a life that starts now. It is a way of living that Jesus invites us to enter into even now, in this present moment.
So how do we do that? How do we live in the present? How to we become ever more aware of the timeless godliness, the Love-saturated milieu in which we live and move and have our being?
Well, one discipline that truly helps us to enter more deeply into the present moment, a moment filled with God’s on Presence, is the practice of Centering Prayer.
Centering Prayer is really a new “take” on an ancient discipline, used by the Desert Fathers, and monks throughout the ages. It was developed by the Cistercian monk Thomas Keating and others, to make the ancient wisdom of silent, quiet, and contemplative prayer accessible to men and women of the 21st Century.
Centering Prayer is about calming down, sitting in the quiet, being still and getting in touch with the deep inner self that is One with God, and with all God’s children and all God’s creation. As Keating himself describes it:
Centering prayer is the opening of mind and heart, body and emotions—our whole being—to God, the Ultimate Mystery, beyond words, thoughts and emotions—beyond, in other words, the psychological content of the present moment. In Centering Prayer, we do not deny or repress what is in our consciousness. We simply accept the fact of whatever is there and go beyond it, not by effort, but by letting go of whatever is there.
This “letting go” is a letting go of external circumstances and their turmoil
It is a letting go of the interior noise of our thoughts and feelings.
And through this daily discipline, we eventually come more intimately into contact with our Source and Center: God who is Love. And we begin to live more deliberately out of that Source and Center: God who is Love. And we come to recognize more readily that Love not only within us, but all around us, everywhere and in everyone. And we begin to live more in the timelessness of God, who is NOW.
It is interesting that, as Diarmuid O’Murchu points out, formal religion seems to be declining around the world. Yet, at the same time, there is a notable increase in people seeking out more adult forms of faith and spirituality, both within and outside traditional settings. Well, Centering Prayer is a traditional Christian prayer form that is used by many within and without of formal religion. It is for those who want a deep connection with God, who want to live a more intentional, meaningful, divinely inspired life.
I’ll write more about Centering Prayer in the future. But if this sounds attractive to you, consider joining us for our Centering Prayer Experience, which I’ll be starting after I return from Assisi at the end of September. I’ll be there precisely to lead folks in a “peace” retreat, where we dive into quiet, stillness, Centering Prayer and contemplation, so that we can return to life with a renewed commitment to live out of our Source and Center. When I return, I’d like to start a Centering Prayer experience. People would be invited to join me in person at Saint Miriam church or via Zoom. I’ll give some simple teachings on Centering Prayer and the practicalities of how to “do” it. And then we will practice together for 20 minutes or so, supporting each other in our efforts and forming community as we do so.
Check out Thomas Keating, if you feel intrigued. And join us as we learn to live in the Present, which is nothing less than to live fully in God.
Peace and every good,
Father Liam