Q: Is it a good idea to listen to soft Gregorian Chant while engaged in Centering Prayer?
A: Let me share with you what many practitioners of Centering Prayer do: They use the chant as a vestibule to prepare for Centering Prayer, just for a few moments or so and then turn it off and enter into the prayer. We have a mobile app called Centering Prayer that you can get from iTunes which has this option. It plays the chant before your period of prayer and after if you choose. You can set the length of the time for your prayer – 20, 30, 40 minutes, etc., more or less. But if you play the chant while you are praying you will be listening to the chant rather than just letting it go.
I am sure whatever you are doing is pleasing to God. However please read over guideline #3 of Centering Prayer. It celebrates the gift of letting everything go in order to simply consent to God’s presence and action during the prayer time and beyond.
– Fr. Carl Arico
