Worthy of His Heritage

One class forever changed the life of Thomas Keating '40. While struggling at Yale, so much so that Mr. Boyden paid him one of his famous visits, during which he admonished the young man to pull his grades up, Keating happened upon a philosophy class. The philosophy class inspired a curiosity in Christianity and eventually Keating realized the contemplative life was his calling. Despite the objections of his family and the departure from his New York City upbringing, he joined a Trappist monastery in 1944, and 20 years later became the abbot of a Cistercian monastery. Today, Father Keating heads Contemplative Outreach, which teaches a form of meditation he helped to develop.

In November 2006, Father Keating will return to Deerfield to participate in the first large meeting of The New England Independent School Spiritual Council (NEISSC) on the third and fourth, and to receive Deerfield's highly esteemed Heritage Award on Tuesday, November 7, which is given annually to an alumnus "whose professional and personal achievements represent a special contribution to the betterment of society. In short, someone whose life exemplifies the academy's motto, 'Be Worthy of Your Heritage.'"

Centering Prayer is described by father Keating as "a very simple method in which one opens oneself to God and consents to His presence in us and to His actions in us." The inspiration for Centering Prayer, which was developed by Father Keating and three other monks of his Trappist order, sprang from an interest in Eastern meditation and the discovery of a Christian 14th-century guide to contemplative meditation titled "The Cloud of Unknowing," as well as the writings of the contemplatives Saint John of the Cross and Saint Teresa of Avila.

In 1984 Father Keating founded Contemplative Outreach, an organization that promotes Centering Prayer to people all over the world. He has written dozens of books on the subject and travels over 60,000 miles a year promoting and teaching Centering Prayer, and has regularly appeared on panels with the Dalai Lama and other religious leaders.

During his visit to Deerfield, Father Keating will address the NEISSC attendees, which will include administrators, chaplains, professionals who promote spiritual and ethical education, and/or other people who have an interest in the education of students on school campuses, such as the Reverend E. Washington (Tony) Jarvis, formerly of Roxbury Latin School, Dr. Diana Eck of the Pluralism Project at Harvard University, and Director David Streight of the Council for Spiritual and Ethical Education.

Jan Flaska, Deerfield's dean of spiritual and ethical life said, "Whether Father Keating chooses to expound upon his comments from "The Transformation of Suffering," or to elaborate on his thoughts in "Manifesting God," which discusses how the service projects that people such as Deerfield students involve themselves in are an example of the loving and peaceful expression of human relationships that can be produced in spite of challenging odds, or whether he focuses on the sometimes seemingly impossible task of trying to reconcile suffering and pain, it will be a tremendous honor to have him here at Deerfield." Father Keating will also address Deerfield students, faculty and staff at the School Meeting where he will be presented with the Heritage Award.