Well-known retreat master and author of the bestselling Centering Prayer, Basil Pennington now demonstrates the spiritually enriching power of that ancient prayer technique when used in conjunction with scripture. Just as a centering prayer involves listening to a call, he explains, so too our encounters with the Word of God are a listening experience. This devotional book contains thirty excerpts from Matthew's Gospel with corresponding meditational essays that invite prayerful reflection through "centering." We are guided through such areas as poverty of spirit, self-alienation, the transformation of consciousness, authentic love, abandonment and "letting go," and openness to the Spirit.Equally suites for a personal at-home retreat or in a prayer-group setting, this treasury of Gospel spirituality brings even greater joy to the experience of centering prayer.