What Does “Centering” Really Even Mean?
Our Lenten Theme is "A Centering Lent in a Chaotic World" but what does that truly mean?
Drawing the Circle
Imagine kneeling in the sand.
With your hand, you draw a circle around you.
A simple line marking space. A reminder of where you stand.
There you are, in the center of the circle.
That circle is not a wall. It is not a rejection of the world. It is not a defensive perimeter against culture or history or people.
It is an act of attention and intention.
It is a declaration that I have a center.
And that center matters.
When you draw that circle, you are quietly saying: I will not live from everywhere at once. I will not allow every attraction, every agitation, every interruption to dictate who I am. I will stand somewhere.
Centering means deciding where that “somewhere” is.
It is locating the interior point from which your thoughts, reactions, ambitions, and fears flow.
Most of us do not live from a chosen center. We live from whatever shouts the loudest. The latest headline. The strongest emotion. The deepest insecurity. The most recent praise. The sharpest criticism.
The circle in the sand is a refusal to drift unconsciously.
It is saying: I will know what sits at the center of my life.
And if something has moved into that place without my consent, I will notice.
That is the beginning of centering. Returning to the established center when our circle gets jostled or we get pulled into something or someone else’s gravity.
So Now, let us look back….
What you’re about to read is ancient wisdom most Christians were never taught, insight from the Desert Fathers and Fr. Thomas Keating on how the center of your life quietly shifts without you noticing. If you want clarity, steadiness, and interior freedom in a chaotic age, we invite you to keep reading. Support to keep this ministry going costs less than a sandwich, but will nourish your soul with a banquet.