Redemption basically is about holistic health, if you want to

“Redemption basically is about holistic health, if you want to translate it into modern parlance. What I suggest — based on the Christian tradition but not often preached — is that you can't enter into the fullness of the Pascal mystery of the redemption unless there is a radical transformation of motivation within you.” — Thomas Keating

Hear now, O seeker of wholeness, the wisdom of Thomas Keating, the monk of silence and teacher of the inner path, who bridged the ancient truths of faith with the language of the modern soul. In this profound saying, he reveals that redemption, that sacred word spoken in cathedrals and whispered in prayers, is not a distant promise or a ritual of belief alone — it is the restoration of holistic health, the healing of the whole being: body, mind, and spirit. Keating calls us to see that salvation is not only the forgiveness of sin but the transformation of the self — a renewal so deep that even our motives, the hidden roots of our choices, are changed by love.

The origin of these words lies in Keating’s lifelong journey as a contemplative, a monk of the Trappist Order, who spent his years inviting modern souls to rediscover the living depths of the Christian mystery through inner stillness and self-examination. In his practice of Centering Prayer, he saw that healing is not achieved by mere obedience to doctrine, but by union with the Divine, by allowing grace to reach the wounded places of the human heart. He saw how people sought redemption as an external transaction — a cleansing from guilt — but neglected the inner renewal of desire and purpose. Thus he proclaimed: one cannot truly enter the Paschal mystery — the mystery of death, resurrection, and rebirth — without a radical transformation of motivation, without turning from self-centered striving to selfless love.

This teaching, though clothed in the words of Christianity, carries the ancient resonance of universal truth. The wise of every age have known that healing of the soul cannot come from the outside; it must arise from within. The philosopher must be purified of pride before attaining wisdom; the warrior must surrender anger before knowing peace; the saint must release the self before touching eternity. So too does Keating reveal that redemption is not granted to those who merely seek relief from pain, but to those who allow their very motives — their fears, ambitions, and desires — to be transformed by grace. To be redeemed is to become whole, to see with new eyes, to act not from compulsion but from compassion.

Consider, O listener, the tale of Saint Augustine, whose youth was spent in worldly pleasures, ambition, and self-indulgence. He sought happiness in power, in lust, in learning, yet found only emptiness. When he encountered the living truth of divine love, he did not merely renounce his sins — his entire motivation changed. He no longer sought for himself, but for God, no longer to be admired, but to serve. His transformation was not one of belief alone, but of being. In this, Augustine became a living image of what Keating describes: redemption as holistic health — not the escape from suffering, but the restoration of harmony between the mind, the body, and the soul’s true purpose.

Keating’s words also remind us that the world’s suffering, both personal and collective, springs from disordered motivation — from fear masquerading as ambition, from greed masked as progress, from the endless grasping for control. He teaches that redemption begins where the heart is humbled, where motives are purified by compassion, where love replaces fear as the engine of human action. Only then can humanity know the fullness of the Paschal mystery — the passage from death to life, from separation to unity, from sickness to wholeness. This transformation, he says, is not an abstract theology but a living process, as real as healing from illness or awakening from a long sleep.

The lesson in this quote, therefore, is both spiritual and practical. Do not seek redemption as an idea, but as a way of living. Begin by examining your motivation: why you act, why you speak, why you desire what you desire. Ask yourself — is it love that moves me, or fear? Is it service or self-preservation? The path to redemption is not paved with outward deeds alone, but with inward honesty. Cultivate holistic health: feed the body with simplicity, the mind with truth, and the soul with silence. Practice compassion until it becomes your natural breath. And when your motives are transformed, you will find that the redemption you sought was never distant — it was the healing of your own heart.

Therefore, O child of the eternal mystery, remember the teaching of Thomas Keating: redemption is not merely divine pardon, but divine participation. To be redeemed is to be whole; to be whole is to love. Let your motives be purified as fire refines gold. Let every thought and act spring from the well of compassion. For when your heart is aligned with love, your mind with truth, and your body with peace, you will have entered into the fullness of the Paschal mystery — and there, in that union of health and holiness, you shall know redemption not as a doctrine, but as life itself.