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World Without End
Thomas Keating, author of Open Mind, Open Heart and father of the centering prayer movement, reflects on his life and Christian practice.In these conversations with film maker and writer Lucette Verboven, Thomas Keating OCSO – bestselling author, Trappist monk and founder of the Centering Prayer movement – looks back on his long life and spiritual development.Following on from his previous books Invitation to Love, Open Mind, Open Heart and The Mystery of Christ, Father Keating now turns his attention to the themes of awakening, the nature of true happiness and the character and purpose of death. World Without End also contains an interview with Abbot Joseph Boyle OCSO, who presides over the monastery where Father Keating is resident, high in the Rocky Mountains in Snowmass, Colorado. Verboven's insightful questions probe into the depths of Father Keating's spirituality, discussing identity, transformation, silence, nature and the cosmos – themes universal and applicable to all those searching for a deeper and more meaningful life.
- GenresSpiritualityNonfiction
177 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 26, 2017
57 people are currently reading
43 people want to read
About the author
Thomas Keating
123 books171 followersKeating entered the Cistercian Order in Valley Falls, Rhode Island in January, 1944. He was appointed Superior of St. Benedict's Monastery, Snowmass, Colorado in 1958, and was elected abbot of St. Joseph's Abbey, Spencer, Massachusetts in 1961. He returned to Snowmass after retiring as abbot of Spencer in 1981, where he established a program of ten-day intensive retreats in the practice of Centering Prayer, a contemporary form of the Christian contemplative tradition.
He is one of three architects of Centering Prayer, a contemporary method of contemplative prayer, that emerged from St. Joseph's Abbey in 1975. Frs. William Menninger and Basil Pennington, also Cistercian monks, were the other architects.
n 1984, Fr. Thomas Keating along with Gustave Reininger and Edward Bednar, co-founded Contemplative Outreach, Ltd., an international, ecumenical spiritual network that teaches the practice of Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina, a method of prayer drawn from the Christian contemplative tradition. Contemplative Outreach provides a support system for those on the contemplative path through a wide variety of resources, workshops, and retreats.
Fr. Keating currently lives at St. Benedict's Monastery in Snowmass, Colorado.
He is one of three architects of Centering Prayer, a contemporary method of contemplative prayer, that emerged from St. Joseph's Abbey in 1975. Frs. William Menninger and Basil Pennington, also Cistercian monks, were the other architects.
n 1984, Fr. Thomas Keating along with Gustave Reininger and Edward Bednar, co-founded Contemplative Outreach, Ltd., an international, ecumenical spiritual network that teaches the practice of Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina, a method of prayer drawn from the Christian contemplative tradition. Contemplative Outreach provides a support system for those on the contemplative path through a wide variety of resources, workshops, and retreats.
Fr. Keating currently lives at St. Benedict's Monastery in Snowmass, Colorado.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 6, 2020
Thomas Keating is a well-known Trappist priest who has written many books and is considered a scholar to many. This particular book is formatted in a Q & A style that gives the novice a good understanding of how he thinks. One of his views along with many other Christian scholars is that God is not a person or a being, way up in the sky, but a consciousness within one’s soul. He said, “heaven and hell are not so much places, but psychological states.” Keating is a devout Christian who studies many different religions and embraces much of what he reads regarding other religions.
Being raised Catholic myself this quotation from the book caught my attention. “At Yale, I was challenged by the modern philosophers that we had to read. The chief book that influenced me was Leo Tolstoy’s book about the kingdom of God and the Beatitudes, entitled The Kingdom of God is Within You.1 It alerted me to the fact that many people who think themselves Catholics are not really catholic; at least, they are not following the gospel model, which is essentially, as Pope Francis teaches, the religion of the poor. The poor are not just those who have few resources of a material kind. There are also those who are spiritually poor and morally bankrupt. The spiritually poor are those who lack the greatest resource of all, which is the conviction of God’s presence within them as a loving God, healing their emotional and mental wounds, and inviting them to share the divine life, light and love. This is where true happiness is. The spiritually poor are those who lack the conviction.”
I love reading books like this, it gives me inspiration and solace. This is a short book, and I welcome all of Thomas Keating’s work.
Being raised Catholic myself this quotation from the book caught my attention. “At Yale, I was challenged by the modern philosophers that we had to read. The chief book that influenced me was Leo Tolstoy’s book about the kingdom of God and the Beatitudes, entitled The Kingdom of God is Within You.1 It alerted me to the fact that many people who think themselves Catholics are not really catholic; at least, they are not following the gospel model, which is essentially, as Pope Francis teaches, the religion of the poor. The poor are not just those who have few resources of a material kind. There are also those who are spiritually poor and morally bankrupt. The spiritually poor are those who lack the greatest resource of all, which is the conviction of God’s presence within them as a loving God, healing their emotional and mental wounds, and inviting them to share the divine life, light and love. This is where true happiness is. The spiritually poor are those who lack the conviction.”
I love reading books like this, it gives me inspiration and solace. This is a short book, and I welcome all of Thomas Keating’s work.
January 8, 2019
My high rating is because I personally loved this book. The reason is simple: I love Thomas Keating. The interview was done in 2015 and Fr. Keating died in October 2018. In this book we get his take on his life at the age of 92 and his thoughts and wisdom. It is clear that he speaks from a heart of love and he speaks honestly. Lucette Verboven is interviewing him and she has prepared to meet him. She has the questions that I wanted to hear asked and answered by this wonderful man.
The book has an introduction written by Verboven and then follows a series of questions and answers in two sections. The longest is Fr. Keating with a second interview of Joseph Boyle, the abbot of the monastery where Fr. Keating was living.
In my opinion, Fr. Keating gives us a good idea of where religion is heading and where it should lead. He doesn't give us dogma, but rather an invitation to be open to Ultimate Reality. He, too, has had to let go of old stuff to be more open.
I found a short clip of Verboven's interview which she put on the Internet in honor of Thomas Keating after he died. At the end you can see him lay his hands on the table drawing her in and he says the bottom line of the truth as he sees it. I was deeply touched by his looking deeply in her eyes as he said those few words. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LY7F6...
The book has an introduction written by Verboven and then follows a series of questions and answers in two sections. The longest is Fr. Keating with a second interview of Joseph Boyle, the abbot of the monastery where Fr. Keating was living.
In my opinion, Fr. Keating gives us a good idea of where religion is heading and where it should lead. He doesn't give us dogma, but rather an invitation to be open to Ultimate Reality. He, too, has had to let go of old stuff to be more open.
I found a short clip of Verboven's interview which she put on the Internet in honor of Thomas Keating after he died. At the end you can see him lay his hands on the table drawing her in and he says the bottom line of the truth as he sees it. I was deeply touched by his looking deeply in her eyes as he said those few words. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LY7F6...
November 5, 2017
The transcript of interviews by an exuberant and excited European woman who is intensely interested in Thomas Keating and his work with the Centering Prayer, apparently the book analogue to a television program filmed for Belgian TV around the same time.
Most of the book features the interview of Thomas Keating in which he describes his upbringing, movement toward becoming a Cistercian monk, and his encouragement and exposition on the concept of the Centering Prayer. The final interview of the book is with Thomas Boyle about his upbringing and experiences with Keating and the concept of Centering Prayer.
This is by no means a how-to manual about centering prayer, although one learns a bit about it. The interviewees are no doubt sincere in their faith, but as often happens with mystics, have become extremely ecumenical to the point of becoming "new agey" in their viewpoints. No exclusive claims for Christianity in these parts.
If you're a fan of Thomas Keating and his work, and you want to read an interview with him, this is your book. If you're looking for resources about centering prayer, look elsewhere.
**--galley received as part of early review program
Most of the book features the interview of Thomas Keating in which he describes his upbringing, movement toward becoming a Cistercian monk, and his encouragement and exposition on the concept of the Centering Prayer. The final interview of the book is with Thomas Boyle about his upbringing and experiences with Keating and the concept of Centering Prayer.
This is by no means a how-to manual about centering prayer, although one learns a bit about it. The interviewees are no doubt sincere in their faith, but as often happens with mystics, have become extremely ecumenical to the point of becoming "new agey" in their viewpoints. No exclusive claims for Christianity in these parts.
If you're a fan of Thomas Keating and his work, and you want to read an interview with him, this is your book. If you're looking for resources about centering prayer, look elsewhere.
**--galley received as part of early review program
March 1, 2018
What a life changing book. It changed my whole life around. The words of both Fr. Thomas Keating and Fr. Joseph Boyle are so beautiful, so inspiring, such wisdom to mull over for a life time. I liked the question/answer format, made the words more concrete and to the point. It was a good reminder to view God as bigger than what we perceive, that His love is all encompassing, and He never leaves us. Great for those on a spiritual journey. Highly recommend.
July 12, 2020
Wonderful book based on an interview by Lucette Verboven which covers hie life, centering prayer, contemplative outreach and the life style of the Trappists. The book was written in the interview style of question and answer. Inspiring read.
June 21, 2019
A valiant effort to explain the undescribable! Didn't really work for me although I'm sure others would think differently.
October 28, 2020
Continuing my journey learning from Thomas Keating. I really liked this one, a set of interviews with him
April 11, 2023
Even more profound upon a second reading. Keating’s understanding of the Trinity is helpful, scripturally based (see the Gospel of John, Jesus’s Discourse at The Last Supper)and reflects his unwillingness to limit God. His appreciation of evolutionary theology through the work of the paleontologist Teilhard de Chardin is instructive. I highly recommend this book to fans of Keating but his authored other books on Centering Prayer, etc that many may find more accessible and a better place to start.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews