Fr. Thomas Keating and two other Trappists began the Centering Prayer movement in the 1970's to renew the Christian tradition of contemplation. Go to Contemplative Outreach which he co-founded, at contemplativeoutreach.org, for more information on Centering Prayer, including retreats and local chapters that offer support to practitioners at all levels in the U.S. and around the world.
This talk was recorded at a September 1997 conference in Louisville, KY. Part 2, which is a question & answer session, is at youtu.be/5VDkZBYst3Q.
The Parable of the Great Banquet to which Fr. Keating refers is found in the Bible at Luke 14: 15-24 (RSV):
When one of those who sat at table with him heard this, he said to him, “Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!” But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet, and invited many; and at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for all is now ready.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it; I pray you, have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them; I pray you, have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ So the servant came and reported this to his master. Then the householder in anger said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and maimed and blind and lame.’ And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges, and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’”
- Centering Prayer Revisited, by Thomas Keating - Part 1 ( Download)
- The Method of Centering Prayer - Part 1, with Thomas Keating ( Download)
- Centering Prayer Revisited, by Thomas Keating - Part 2: Q & A ( Download)
- Centering Prayer Timer, Led by Thomas Keating at Folsom Prison ( Download)
- The Psychological Experience of Centering Prayer - Part 1, with Thomas Keating ( Download)
- Living in the Presence of God Day after Day after Day, by Thomas Keating - Part 1 ( Download)
- The Centrality of Contemplation for the Active Life, Part 1 - Fr. Thomas Keating ( Download)
- 5a. Progress in Centering Prayer, Part 1, with Thomas Keating ( Download)
- Centering Prayer Methodology (Part 1/2) ( Download)
- The Method of Centering Prayer - Part 2, with Thomas Keating ( Download)
- The Complete 20min Centering Prayer by Fr. Thomas Keating (with him reciting the Lord’s Prayer) ( Download)
- Who is Called to be a Contemplative by Thomas Keating - Part 1 ( Download)
- 1a. Prayer as Relating to God, Part 1, with Thomas Keating ( Download)
- Mary the Mother of God: A Model of Lay Contemplative Life, Part 1 - Thomas Keating ( Download)
- 3. What Centering Prayer is Not and What It Is, from Six Continuing Sessions by Thomas Keating ( Download)
