Journey to the Center: The Lenten Struggle for Inner Freedom - Part 1, Thomas Keating

In the first nine minutes, Fr. Thomas Keating gives a marvelous introduction to Centering Prayer. He then discusses the season of Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday and lasts for 40 days, until Christ's passion, death, and resurrection.

A quote from Thomas Keating's book "The Mystery of Christ" lays the foundation for what Thomas is talking about in this video:

“Each feast of the liturgical year is both an event to be celebrated and a grace to be received. The grace of Christmas is to know Christ in his humanity. The grace of Epiphany is to know him in his divinity. The grace of Holy Week is to know him in his emptying and dying. The grace of Ascension is to know him as the cosmic Christ. It is to know the glorified Christ, who has passed, not into some geographical location, but into the heart of all creation."

For Part 2 of this talk, go to    • Journey to the Center:  The Lenten St...  .

This talk was originally part of a retreat with Fr. Thomas at First United Methodist Church in Austin, TX on February 9, 2008, sponsored by Contemplative Outreach, which promotes and supports the practice of Centering Prayer world wide: http://www.contemplativeoutreach.org.