Thomas Keating (1923–2018)

This book is designed to initiate the reader into a deep, living relationship with God. Written by an acknowledged spiritual master, the book moves beyond "discursive meditation and particular acts to the intuitive level of contemplation." Keating gives an overview of the history of contemplative prayer in the Christian tradition, and step-by-step guidance in the method of centering prayer. Special attention is paid to the role of the Sacred Word, Christian growth and transformation, and show more active prayer. The book ends with an explicit treatment of the contemplative dimension of the gospel. Open Mind, Open Heart will take readers into a world where God can do anything, into a realm of the greatest adventure—"Where one is open to the Infinite and hence to infinite possibilities. show less

Father Keating is a prolific writer of spiritual texts which are considered by contemporaries to be "transformative". That's because he is a Trappist monk (Cistercian Order) whose Catholicism is drawn from genuine spiritual values and is of very little comfort to the hierarchy of the "Religions". For example, he does not trumpet his "belief" and "Faith", but instead, seeks God and is only motivated to help us/others -- to inspire, heal and reveal.

My impression is that now, here, toward the show more end of his remarkable life, he no longer "believes" in God. Like Mother Teresa, who documented her own exhaustion with devotions to which God remains relentlessly silent, he is well past fatigue and anger, and has discovered that Consciousness is divine. That humans are spiritual, and "God" head is a human creation which is not really operational or even necessary in the function of the Church or hierarchy the "Religions". Hence, Religion falls away, leaving the centering praying core.

Hint: Anyone who prays "for" things is missing...well, everything.

Love -- yourself, others, If God exists, this Loving is the only possible thing he is remotely interested in. show less

A book portions of which I return to periodically, but rarely read all the way through. On my recent complete pass through it I was struck by how dated the "Divine Therapist" trope seems today. But I also discovered greater value than before in his chapter on the relationship of the rosary to contemplative prayer, so I was glad to have read it again.

Invitation to Love provides a road map for the journey that begins when Centering Prayer is seriously undertaken. Pointing to some of the recognizable landmarks on this journey, as well as to its ultimate destination, Father Keating addresses common questions regarding contemplative practice: How will it affect my life? Where does it lead us spiritually? What obstacles will I encounter along the way? How does it work? Following on from Open Mind, Open Heart, this book establishes a dialogue show more between the insights of contemporary psychology and the classic Christian spiritual masters, providing a solid conceptual background for the practice of Centering Prayer. This is a practical book, articulating the stages of the process of spiritual growth, and outlining how we might develop a deeper relationship with God and move from contemplation to action. show less