St. Teresa of Avila wrote: 'All difficulties in prayer can be traced to one cause: praying as if God were absent.' This is the conviction that we bring with us from early childhood and apply to everyday life and to our lives in general. It gets stronger as we grow up, unless we are touched by the Gospel and begin the spiritual journey. This journey is a process of dismantling the monumental illusion that God is distant or absent.
Thomas KeatingOne of the great purposes of religion itself is being hindered by an exclusive-ism that doesn't take into account the common elements and values that we actually share.
Thomas KeatingGod seems willing to act as the most sublime psychologist, psychotherapist, or even psychiatrist if we are willing.
Thomas KeatingBy deepening the spiritual dialogue between the spiritual traditions of the various religions in a spirit of friendship, one begins to understand just what the classical terms of the various spiritual traditions really mean.
Thomas KeatingIn centering prayer, the sacred word is not the object of the attention but rather the expression of the intention of the will.
Thomas Keating