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The Better Part: Stages of Contemplative Living
The talks on which this book was based were given at the John Main Seminar in 1998, the annual international event of the World Community for Christian Meditaion. Previous presenters have included the Dalai Lama, Jean Vanier, Bede Griffi ths, and William Johnston. Father Keating's enlightening commentary on the contemplative meaning of the gospel, particularly the story of the siblings from Bethany, Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, fi ts into the great monstic tradition of Christian teaching. A monk refl ects on Scripture in the light of experience. He or she utters a word that startles his listeners into realizing that tradition is not a matter of secondhand experience but the living and human self-transmission of Christ to his disciples.
128 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2000
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About the author
Thomas Keating
122 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 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 19, 2018
I started reading this book years ago (in 2009) and recently picked it up again. Today I finally finished it.
Keating uses a modern psychological vocabulary to infuse new life into the lost teachings of the Christian contemplative tradition. The book begins with the story of Mary and Martha at Bethany, and then of Lazarus, but the rest of the chapters contain relatively few direct references to scripture; they are much more experiential in nature. The techniques and histories given are practical and approachable, yet deeply conceived in spiritual wisdom (there are manifold comparisons to Buddhism and Hinduism). The final call of the book is to peace and understanding, which is only possible if we fall away from our false selves.
Selected quotes that demonstrate Keating's diversity of thinking:
"The divine action challenges our idea of God, our idea of Jesus Christ, our idea of the spiritual life. Surrender to the unknown marks the great transitions of the spiritual journey. On the brink of each new breakthrough there is a crisis of trust and love." (21)
"Guilt feelings are harmful. There is true guilt when we do something wrong, but if it lasts more than fifteen or twenty seconds, it is probably neurotic. It reflects our disappointment at not showing up as holy or as nice as we had imagined ourselves to be." (61)
"[P]eople today are looking not so much for doctrinal certitude as for meaning in life. This need is greatly increased by the information explosion, a horizontal expansion towards unlimited information without a corresponding vertical dimension of meaning. We need an explosion of meaning if we are to handle this [...] in a fully human way. It is not surprising that people, prompted by the grace of God, are thinking, 'How does one live in a world where neither science nor religion are meeting the needs of people at the deepest level?'" (72)
"Perhaps the first duty of the Christian religion now is not so much to propogate itself as to foster communion with the other world religions. [...] We tend to be overprotective of our particular religious persuasion not so much out of religious conviction, but because we need to enjoy the security of enjoying God's special favor and to feel better than other people. This is not religion. It is rather an expression of the false self." (123)
"The Spirit may be asking the Christian denominations to join forces with each other and with the other world religions in addressing human needs and social issues. The God in us is calling us to serve the God in others." (128, the final paragraph of the book)
*********************
Thoughts after reading for the second time: I had strangely forgotten that I had read this a year ago. The lessons it contains clearly had not yet been absorbed into my deeper self. This will probably be the case for years to come. I found the simplified psychological language a bit off-putting this time, but each time I thought about giving up the re-read, I would come across a passage that would just blow my heart open. I'm used to more sophisticated verbiage, so I came to the text with that prejudice. I'm glad I was able to set it aside, at least for periods of time, so that the Spirit could work its way in.
Keating uses a modern psychological vocabulary to infuse new life into the lost teachings of the Christian contemplative tradition. The book begins with the story of Mary and Martha at Bethany, and then of Lazarus, but the rest of the chapters contain relatively few direct references to scripture; they are much more experiential in nature. The techniques and histories given are practical and approachable, yet deeply conceived in spiritual wisdom (there are manifold comparisons to Buddhism and Hinduism). The final call of the book is to peace and understanding, which is only possible if we fall away from our false selves.
Selected quotes that demonstrate Keating's diversity of thinking:
"The divine action challenges our idea of God, our idea of Jesus Christ, our idea of the spiritual life. Surrender to the unknown marks the great transitions of the spiritual journey. On the brink of each new breakthrough there is a crisis of trust and love." (21)
"Guilt feelings are harmful. There is true guilt when we do something wrong, but if it lasts more than fifteen or twenty seconds, it is probably neurotic. It reflects our disappointment at not showing up as holy or as nice as we had imagined ourselves to be." (61)
"[P]eople today are looking not so much for doctrinal certitude as for meaning in life. This need is greatly increased by the information explosion, a horizontal expansion towards unlimited information without a corresponding vertical dimension of meaning. We need an explosion of meaning if we are to handle this [...] in a fully human way. It is not surprising that people, prompted by the grace of God, are thinking, 'How does one live in a world where neither science nor religion are meeting the needs of people at the deepest level?'" (72)
"Perhaps the first duty of the Christian religion now is not so much to propogate itself as to foster communion with the other world religions. [...] We tend to be overprotective of our particular religious persuasion not so much out of religious conviction, but because we need to enjoy the security of enjoying God's special favor and to feel better than other people. This is not religion. It is rather an expression of the false self." (123)
"The Spirit may be asking the Christian denominations to join forces with each other and with the other world religions in addressing human needs and social issues. The God in us is calling us to serve the God in others." (128, the final paragraph of the book)
*********************
Thoughts after reading for the second time: I had strangely forgotten that I had read this a year ago. The lessons it contains clearly had not yet been absorbed into my deeper self. This will probably be the case for years to come. I found the simplified psychological language a bit off-putting this time, but each time I thought about giving up the re-read, I would come across a passage that would just blow my heart open. I'm used to more sophisticated verbiage, so I came to the text with that prejudice. I'm glad I was able to set it aside, at least for periods of time, so that the Spirit could work its way in.
January 13, 2022
Thomas Keating is a wonderful author who gives great examples of how to really pray with our whole attentive selves. He teaches us through beautiful Scriptures.
May 17, 2021
Engaging and insightful - a book to which I can return for wisdom and guidance in soul journey and contemplation.
August 9, 2022
Quise cerrar este año la lectura de varios libros pendientes, que no pude concluir por no estar listo para ello.
Este libro muestra el camino espiritual de todo cristiano, que pasa desde el apego a la Ley (los mandamientos) , cuya imagen es Marta a la resurrección en vida, personificada por Lázaro. Habló aquí Keating de la oración centrante que no tiene método porque el espíritu te guía, empero sí muestra pasos para ese despertar espiritual que se logra a través de esta vía netamente cristiana.
Lo que sí me parece extraño es que Keating admitiera que podemos recibir al Espíritu Santo por medio de recurrir a libros de otras religiones y otro tipo de aseveraciones que lo colocan en la heterodoxia. La mística rompe límites y supongo que como gran parte de su generación, Keating tenía el imperativo de tender puentes con otros credos y ¿qué mejor por medio de la espiritualidad? Yo diría que hay que ser muy perspicaces con algunas afirmaciones del libro. Sin embargo resulta una lectura sencilla y agradable.
Este libro muestra el camino espiritual de todo cristiano, que pasa desde el apego a la Ley (los mandamientos) , cuya imagen es Marta a la resurrección en vida, personificada por Lázaro. Habló aquí Keating de la oración centrante que no tiene método porque el espíritu te guía, empero sí muestra pasos para ese despertar espiritual que se logra a través de esta vía netamente cristiana.
Lo que sí me parece extraño es que Keating admitiera que podemos recibir al Espíritu Santo por medio de recurrir a libros de otras religiones y otro tipo de aseveraciones que lo colocan en la heterodoxia. La mística rompe límites y supongo que como gran parte de su generación, Keating tenía el imperativo de tender puentes con otros credos y ¿qué mejor por medio de la espiritualidad? Yo diría que hay que ser muy perspicaces con algunas afirmaciones del libro. Sin embargo resulta una lectura sencilla y agradable.
July 26, 2025
I really liked this book and enjoyed the concepts it covered. It really taught me a lot.
However the book uses a lot of comlicated words that i didn't completly understand. But that wasn't a big issue. It was still amazing.
However the book uses a lot of comlicated words that i didn't completly understand. But that wasn't a big issue. It was still amazing.
Read
August 2, 2011Written with spiritual simplicity, this book is a wonderfiul introduction to someone, like myself, who had never heard of Centering Prayer.
Most interesting for me were the following passages:
"The spiritual journey is very hard to initiate if we have interiorized a negative or emotionally charged idea of God in early childhood such as 'God is a tyrant....an implacable judge.......or a policeman on the watch to catch me if I do wrong.' This is not religious education; it is a form of terrorism. It makes God into a monster. No such God exists."
"Alcoholics Anonymous is one of the most succinct and accurate expressions of Christian spirituality. It is one of God's greatest gifts to our time. It brings many of those in recovery to a contemplative practice."
Most interesting for me were the following passages:
"The spiritual journey is very hard to initiate if we have interiorized a negative or emotionally charged idea of God in early childhood such as 'God is a tyrant....an implacable judge.......or a policeman on the watch to catch me if I do wrong.' This is not religious education; it is a form of terrorism. It makes God into a monster. No such God exists."
"Alcoholics Anonymous is one of the most succinct and accurate expressions of Christian spirituality. It is one of God's greatest gifts to our time. It brings many of those in recovery to a contemplative practice."
October 6, 2012
This was truly a wonderful book. I was afraid that the book would be a very woo-woo mystical kind of book about communing with the Divine. Instead it was a very readable, plain, easy to understand and oftentimes humorous introduction to the practice of Centering Prayer. It reminded me a lot of books about Buddhist meditation, especially Zen, which talk about the fact that you're already "there" so there is no "there" to get to. Just breathe and sit and wait.
February 11, 2013
This is a great short book for those who wish to understand more of how contemplative prayer works in daily life. I appreciated Father Keating's words as he breaks the contemplative life into stages, and doesn't just tell the reader that the goal is for spiritual consolation--it's a way of life. Very good read.
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October 5, 2008dalam pencarian inspirasi iman
September 14, 2011
beautifully written to help one understand living the life God calls us to live.
February 16, 2012
Insightful description and context regarding the Western model of spirituality, (Pre-Vatican II). Loved his discourse about Lectio Divina.
September 4, 2012
Buena introducción a la espiritualidad de Fr Thomas Keating.
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September 15, 2017A very good thoughtful read!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews