I took Fr. Menningers weekend course in contemplative prayer from the Cloud of Unknowing.' while on retreat at St. Joseph's Abbey 1975.❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

Fr. Thomas Keating is the very best gift that I have ever received ; I love this beautiful Monk from Spencer Mass. I have visited this Monastery many times. Now that I am elderly, I have precious memories. Veronica OCDS R. I.

Father, with respect and you can go and ask St. Therese yourself I'm sure :) she was celebrating her 100th year of entry into heaven.

I love this man and listen to everything he says. But I have yet to see a loosy goosy confederation survive the test of time. Zen has traditions and dharma transmission of teachers to ensure the teachings are preserved. Even then it struggles. But he may be right though, time will tell.

Oh, wow! Was having a really shit morning. This reminded me of what is important. Life! 1000 thanks. I feel instantly soothed and know the day will be beautiful, for I am blessed. X ☺️

I am so grateful for these videos of Fr. Keating. I miss him so very much.

Yaaa it is all about attitude!

I return over and again to these Keating discussions and descriptions. I realize in listening to him that I don't understand most of what I am experiencing until I am able to reflect on them in light of his words. One time through is never enough.

❤

It is such a glaring omission that young Catholics like me, exposed to modern enlightenment and scientific thinking, were not given exposure to contemplative prayer. Dogmatic theology and literal interpretations of The Bible, were not convincing and it was all too easy to fall into a demoralized, convenient agnosticism. This is exactly what I needed, yet my mother naively told me to never empty my mind in meditation, because "The Devil could come in and take me over".

Very healing to listen to

How does one go about getting spiritual direction from Mr. Frenette

It's so funny about life that when you think you've reached a crossroads, and where you feel that "now I've come as far as you can go, but without feeling satisfied" with the insights that you think you have acquired, sometimes by listening to spiritual leaders (within Buddhism, Christianity, Sufism, etc.) literally for thousands of hours. One thus feels a (perhaps justified) frustration. Then one "finds" something that suddenly lights up one's life and gives it a new meaning, mainly because all the fragmentary pieces put in the memory like pieces of a puzzle suddenly, thanks to Father Keating's clever and insightful way of helping me, put them in the right place. So much fell into place when I listened to part 1 and, later on, part 2. The funny thing was that part 1 appeared when I needed it the most. I began to listen, but it was during the day when everything else was distracting (like the attempted murder of former President Trump). I understood literally nothing and thought, "I wonder if he (Father Keating) himself understands what he is saying?" But then I thought: "I listen to this video at night when I get up (that is, at 4 in the morning), and when the brain is ready and alert, and the pieces might fall into place. I feel infinitely grateful to him and because God speaks through him! Thank you for this video and its wonderful message! ❤🙏

Popped into my feed at the perfect moment

This Oxf A loving message filled with joy Thank you❤️🙏😊

Nicely expressed😊

true dat

" Mysticism itself, by its very nature, is a contradiction, because it is not an ism. It is not a creed or dogma in which you can believe. You can be a mystic, but there is nothing like mysticism. And when one is a mystic the paradox deepens, it does not disappear. When one is a mystic there is no one left. There is a mystery, but with no center to it. It is like a cloud: translucent darkness, infinite darkness. One of the most important statements about mysticism in the Western hemisphere is the book called The Cloud of Unknowing. The name of the author is not known; it is good that we don’t know who wrote it. It indicates one thing: that before he wrote it he had disappeared into a cloud of unknowing. It is the only book in the Western world which comes close to the Upanishads, The Tao Te Ching, The Dhammapada. There is a rare insight in it. First he calls it a cloud. A cloud is vague, with no definable limits. It is constantly changing; it is not static - never, even for two consecutive moments, is it the same. It is a flux, it is pure change. And there is nothing substantial in it. If you hold it in your hand just mist will be left, nothing else. Maybe your hands will become wet, but you will not find any cloud in your fist. That’s what happens to the mystic: he becomes wet, really wet. Those countries where alcohol is prohibited they call dry, and those countries where alcohol is not prohibited they call wet. But the only wet person is the mystic. He is a real alcoholic! He cannot be helped by Alcoholics Anonymous. If a mystic enters there, they will all become alcoholics themselves! But for Dionysius it is even more a contradiction because he was a theologian. His whole book is written with a disguise, as if it is a treatise on theology; mysticism is just something by the side, secondary, not primary. Hence the name Theologia Mystica - as if mysticism is only a consequence of getting deep into the world of theology. Just the reverse is the case. The word “theology” means logic about God; theo means God. But there can be no logic about God. There is love about God, love for God, but no logic about God. There are no proofs possible. The only proof is the existence of the mystic. The presence of Dionysius, of Ramakrishna, of Bahauddin - the presence of these people is the proof that God exists, otherwise there is no proof. Because Buddhas have walked on the earth, there are a few footprints of God left behind on the shores of time. Philosophers have argued for centuries, but all their arguments are utterly futile and impotent; they have not come to a single conclusion. The mystic has to speak in contradictions because he is speaking about the whole, and the whole contains the contradictions. It contains the day and the night, both. If you call God the day, then it is only half the truth; if you call him the night, that too is only half the truth. Hence Dionysius calls God translucent darkness - as if the sun has risen in the night. The whole consists of both life and death. If you call God life, only life, then it is a half-statement. And remember a half-truth is far more dangerous than a complete lie because the complete lie is bound to be discovered sooner or later - just a little intelligence is needed. But the half-truth is very dangerous; even intelligent people, very intelligent people, may not be able to find that it is untrue. That is the danger of half-truths: they look like truths and they are not. They can keep you deceived for centuries. Mysticism is the whole truth; it has to be contradictory. Somewhere logic and love have to meet, because they both exist. Hence Theologia Mystica. Somewhere man and woman have to meet and merge and disappear into each other because they both exist and they are both halves of one whole. Hence the beauty and the bliss of a real meeting between a man and a woman: the orgasmic joy is possible only because two halves of a single whole have come together. Both were suffering, both were missing something. Suddenly, all that feeling of missing has disappeared. Of course, the meeting between a man and a woman can only be momentary. Again they are separate, and again the misery sets in, and again the desire to be united. Because the meeting is physical it cannot be very deep and it cannot be lasting either. But the meeting of the mystic with the whole is absolute; there is no coming back. He has gone beyond the point of no return. He has dissolved himself like a dew-drop slipping out of the lotus leaf into the lake. He has become the lake. Then whatsoever he says will be contradictory, because a part of it will be the vision of the dew-drop and a part of it will be the vision of the total lake, a part will be the standpoint of the part and a part will be the standpoint of the whole. Hence all mystics have spoken in contradictory terms. This is one of the reasons why intellectuals are against them, because the intellectual demands consistency and the mystics cannot be consistent. By the very nature of things that is not possible. He is helpless - he has to be contradictory. He has to say, “I am contradictory because I am vast enough to contain contradictions.” Logic is a small thing, love is infinity."

thank you plenty of food for thought, renewal and hope for the future of our troubled world

God Bless you.

God Bless you.

God Bless you.

wonderful!

Thank you Fr. Keating. I visited Spencer many times when you were Abbott. I am an eighty four year old woman. Veronica OCDS Barrington Carmel. R. I.

I pray for those who do not understand or except what Fr. Thomas Keating is teaching us. I don't mean to be facious. Veronica OCDS R. I.

Thank you

I hope I live to see Fr. Keating canonized. What a s Spirit-fillen man! I wish the music was not so loud; it drowns him out in many places.

I am so grateful for all these videos. Father Thomas Keating (FTK, as my teenage son dubbed him) has led me so much in my relationship with God. Thanks to all in this community.

I have followed your teachings for many years now -I am 81 years old now - this lecture however -which which was about 7 yrs ago - still had lots to teach me. I am Roman Catholic and have survived it through your teachings as you gave me permission to ignore the things I can’t accept and be patient with my friends who are more conservative. I love the Church and am so glad to be able to still enjoy being a practicing member!

Thanks but unfortunately the background music was too much distraction for me. (his words alone is enough elevation

Love, "Your inner authority is not based on outer authority, .. If you can see the inherent truth~beauty~integrity of everything, ... is God given, not earned or achieved, ... and it is okay."

A humble (most of the time 😘) prophet. The western Christian world needs this soul~mind nourishment. Thank you Fr. Richard for your diligence, passion, and courage, in sharing your life, insights, and love.

Blessed Joseph Boyle, pray for Contemplative Outreach of Colorado.

Father Richard I wish you could live 200 hundred years for you to be able to reach the whole world, come to Lebanon, Visit and teach all convents and Orders. Love you Father.

Contemplative prayer, as practiced in the modern prayer movement, is in opposition to biblical Christianity and should definitely be avoided. Read and follow the truth found only in God's Word, the Bible! We are to pray in faith (James 1:6), in direct address to God (Matthew 6:9), in Jesus’ name (John 14:13), offered with reverence and humility (Luke 18:13), with perseverance (Luke 18:1), and in submission to God’s will (Matthew 6:10). The Bible refers to prayer as beseeching the Lord (Psalm 118:25); pouring out one’s soul to the Lord (1 Samuel 1:15); crying out to heaven (2 Chronicles 32:20); and kneeling before the Father (Ephesians 3:14). God expects us to open our Bibles and study what He has said there. The Bible is the Word of God and is sufficient for our needs (see Revelation 22:18).

There is no biblical basis for what Keating teaches here. It is a blend of gnostic mysticism and Eastern spirituality.

The Holy Spirit is much more skilled at inserting the "divine IV tube" than any earthly medical technician.

The Cloud of Unknowing. The Cloud of Turbulence.

thank you! i will add the forgiveness prayer to my practic🌹🌹🌹🌹

You are so love and to share your rhoughts and supportive nature.

Our poor world needs to hear this

Just let it be when you listen.

Sha lala la la la la na bu la la la

i assume he’s 95 in this …. so sharp

Thank you for this message❤

Thank you so much!❤

Thank you Father

Very good my friend 👋🏽😊

Invaluable talk. Thank you. Father Keeting is still present through his amazing teachings.

Oh. This was such a heartwarming delight to listen to. Thank you ever so much for sharing. ❤