The Published Articles of Ernest E. Larkin, O.Carm. The Carmelite Tradition and Centering Prayer The Carmelite Tradition and Centering Prayer Christian Meditation Introduction: The moments coalesced into the habit or state of contemplation, as taught by St John of the In this paper I propose to interface the Cross in The Ascent of Mount Carmel Carmelite tradition on contemplative prayer [2.14.2.]. Thus the habit of contemplation and two popular forms of contemplative was built up, according to the adage: sow an practice called centering prayer and “Christian act and you reap a habit. This result was Meditation.” We are asking how these called acquired contemplation, a widely used, current practices fit into that contemplative experience of God that by tradition. Do the new forms agree or disagree definition could be achieved by ordinary grace with past thinking? What does the Carmelite and human industry. tradition have to say pro and con about them? Contemplation was thus deemed We have a double question: what can accessible to any sincere seeker. According to Carmelites learn from these new movements Quiroga, John of the Cross expected his and what can centering prayer and Christian novices to reach at least this state of initial Meditation learn from our tradition? These contemplation by the end of the one-year forms are new, though their proponents novitiate, an opinion shared by Thomas of maintain that they are simply the Jesus (1564-1627) and others. (Arraj, 64-65). contemplative tradition of the Church in This thumb-nail history recalls a time contemporary dress. How should Carmelites very much like our own, a time of great regard them? Are they in continuity with the enthusiasm and optimism about reaching past and to what extent do they represent contemplation. The concept of an “acquired something new? These are the questions of contemplation” democratized contemplation this paper. and made it available to all. John himself An Historical Vignette spoke explicitly only about the gift of special, infused contemplation, a mystical gift which Let me begin with a little history that presumably was not available to everybody. sets the stage for our inquiry. One of the first This transitional, acquired contemplation was generations of Discalced Carmelite writers, there for the taking according to the early José de J.-M Quiroga (1562-1628) set down Discalced teachers, who claimed John of the the method of mental prayer taught by St John Cross as warranty for this opinion. of the Cross. It consisted of three steps: 1) the In this paper we accept both kinds of representation of some mysteries; 2) contemplation as valid outcomes of pondering them; and 3) experiencing the fruit contemplative practice.2 We believe that of the process in “an attentive and loving acquired contemplation is the same reality as quietude toward God,” “a peaceful, loving and initial infused contemplation; only the naming calm quiet of faith,” or a “simple attention to and theological explanation are different. The God.”1. The method was contemplative, legitimacy of acquired contemplation was because it led into passing moments of defended as recently as the l940’s by the contemplation; these moments became longer eminent Discalced Carmelite, Gabriel of St and longer and soon dominated the prayer. Mary Magdalen. 3 Page 50 The Published Articles of Ernest E. Larkin, O.Carm. The Carmelite Tradition and Centering Prayer Contemplative Prayer Today extraordinary in the spiritual life. But contemplation as such is for everyone to We cite this history as a backdrop for practice in these new methods. the topic of this paper. Today thousands of What are these methods? We single devout Christians are pondering the mystery out centering prayer, taught by Contemplative of God’s presence in daily contemplative Outreach under the leadership of Thomas prayer. They sit silently before an ikon or the Keating, and Christian Meditation as tabernacle and if asked, they would describe developed by John Main and promoted by the their prayer as simple, loving attention beyond World Community for Christian Meditation words or images. “I look at him and he looks under the leadership of Laurence Freeman. at me.” They ponder in very simple attention These two methods of simple, non-discursive, as John of the Cross’ second step directs and loving attention to God are chosen for study they experience a sense of loving presence as out of a plethora of non-discursive ways of in the third step of John of the Cross’ method praying, because they are widely known and of meditation. The third step in fact is the practiced in North America today. They are point of the prayer, its beginning and end. lumped together, because they are similar in The ability to stay in this posture of attention approach. They have the same roots in the to God is assumed, and no clear distinction is western mystical tradition, and while they drawn between the discrete acts and the state have significant differences, they are more of contemplation that is developed. alike than different and they offer name The ancients postulated a long and recognition for each other consistent effort at daily meditation to reach the state of acquired contemplation — one Lectio Divina year was thought sufficient but also necessary among the Carmelites cited above. This view Let me introduce these prayers in the would be considered optimistic by older context of lectio divina. Lectio divina is the religious and clergy who were trained to ancient, monastic formula for appropriating expect progression in mental prayer that saw the biblical text and for leading the contemplation as a far-off goal. Now we are practitioner into the experience of being taught to practice directly and contemplation. A biblical text is read, immediately a quiet, gentle resting in God that pondered, prayed over, and finally is itself considered to be contemplation and to experienced. The first three acts of lectio lead to ever higher degrees of contemplation. divina — reading, meditating, praying — The contemplation that is the outcome culminate in the fourth act of tasting or of theses contemplative acts is seldom touching the reality in the text. The fourth act defined. The contemporary methods consist is called contemplation; it is more receptive in the very acts that were seen as the fruit of than the first three, though the whole lectio the representation and the pondering in John divina in the monastic tradition is a of the Cross’ meditation. The contemplation contemplative exercise. in these contemplative acts is seldom defined. Thomas Keating often presents It is left generic in nature, having lost its centering prayer as a way to restore this specificity. In modern writing contemplation contemplative dimension of lectio divina. For describes almost any mental prayer that is too long the prayer has been too heady and silent and wordless, from quiet resting in the rationalistic; the first three discursive acts divine presence to infused contemplation. have received almost exclusive attention and Infused contemplation remains as a special the final act is neglected. He would correct mystical gift, admittedly rare and that imbalance by promoting the fourth act on Page 51 The Published Articles of Ernest E. Larkin, O.Carm. The Carmelite Tradition and Centering Prayer its own as the way to renew the contemplative The architects of these new prayer character of lectio divina. The Trappists forms learned from the East, but they based designed a prayer form that begins and ends their teaching on the ancient, western mystical with the fourth act. This centering prayer is to tradition. The Trappists at Spencer, Mass be practiced methodically and regularly twice developed centering prayer largely from The a day as the keystone of one’s prayer life. Cloud of Unknowing. John Main discovered Centering prayer does not replace lectio, nor is Christian Meditation in John Cassian. As a it a new form of lectio divina. It is an exercise layman he had learned the original lines of his to sharpen one’s contemplative awareness, a approach from an Eastern swami, but he found way to renew all four acts by raising the his way of meditating in John Cassian and The contemplative character of a person’s life. Cloud. John Main made the teaching of Christian Meditation has a similar purpose contemplative prayer to lay people the life- John Main considers his discipline of work of his latter years. meditating to be the traditional, Christian The new styles of contemplative meditation of the past. He is simply renewing prayer go right to the heart of prayer, seeking the meditative or contemplative practice of the experience and contact with the living God in past, and both of these are the same one loving faith and quiet presence. The new practice. He calls his prayer “contemplation, methods are “spiritual exercises,” designed to contemplative prayer, and meditative raise up the whole spiritual life as aerobics or practice,” all three terms being synonyms of a workout in the gym tone up the physical meditation. 4 John Main’s meditation, in his body. The practice takes place twice daily, for view, is mainline Christian practice from the twenty minutes to a half hour, and the two past, and it is practiced in the rosary or periods are the anchors and the catalysts of the litanies, in the “Jesus prayer” and in the short rest of the prayer life of the participant. These ejaculatory phrases as taught by John Cassian two periods represent a conversion, a new and The Cloud of Unknowing. Christian commitment that is to be the heart and soul of Meditation for him stands on its own as the a new prayer life. The two periods are to be meditation of the Christian tradition over faithfully carried out as the first order of one’s against the rational, discursive methods of the prayer life each day.