Q: I am interested in knowing the history and significance of the bowl chime for the Centering Prayer practice. Our group rings it three times to begin (I'm not sure why), and uses a stop watch to end the time, which can jolt one out of the sweet time of silence. Yet we still then ring the bowl. Where did this practice start? What is the significance of ringing a bowl? Is there a better way to end the 20 minutes than a stop watch?

A: In the monastery the ringing of the bell has always been a call to prayer, an end of prayer, or the call to some activity. I remember in the seminary we would have spiritual reading during our meals and when the rector decided that it was time to end the reading, he would ring the bell and the meal would continue in silence.

The bowl is an extension of that tradition. It is a gentle way of entering into and ending the Centering Prayer period. It is rung three times to allow the group to gently enter into the prayer and then three times to gently end the prayer. I agree with you that it does not make sense that the timer goes off and then the bell is rung. It has always annoyed me but I let it go. It seems that the one leading could just look at a watch or have a quiet vibrating timer and then end the prayer session. This is a little refinement that could be encouraged. ‒ Fr. Carl.

(From CO e-News Bulletin, Nov. 2011)

Q: Many years ago Basil Pennington came to the Diocese of Corpus Christi to introduce Centering Prayer. As I recall, Fr Basil commenced with remarks that the Pope had told or encouraged the Trappists to take this prayer life from the monasteries out into the life of the faithful. How did the Pope come to ask the Trappists to introduce the faithful laity to Centering Prayer?

A: In 1971 when the leaders of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (Trappist) were meeting at Rome in General Chapter, Pope Paul VI welcomed them to the Vatican (as I understand it, Thomas Keating was there as an Abbott and Basil Pennington was there as his canon lawyer expert). In speaking to the Abbots and Abbesses, he asserted that there could never be a true renewal if there was not a renewal in depth of the members of the church themselves in their prayer life, their union and their communion with God. He urged them to do whatever they could to help their fellow Catholics in the west to recover the contemplative dimension of their Christian lives.

Abbot Thomas Keating took this invitation seriously at St. Joseph’s Monastery in Spencer, MA. As the fruit of the prayer, study and research, and life experiences as praying monks, they developed the method of Centering Prayer as a response to the Pope’s request and began to explore ways of sharing the Christian contemplative tradition. ‒ Fr. Carl

[Reference: Spirituality – an Ecumenical Perspective – editor Glenn E Hinson – Chapter 9 - Centering Prayer and The Friends – Basil Pennington O.C.S.O.]

(From CO e-News Bulletin, Nov. 2011)