Fr. Daniel Renaud, OMI recounts the beginnings of the modern Contemplative Prayer movement:

 Inspired by the ambience of spiritual renewal in the Catholic Church [in the wake of Vatican II], Fr. Thomas Keating felt compelled to reclaim the contemplative Christian tradition for all people, especially for the young. He noticed with sadness how thousands of young people from all over the world were flocking to the East, especially India, seeking religious masters to quench their authentic spiritual thirst. How could the Church revive the contemplative tradition in a form that would attract people to be transformed for ministry? Fr. Keating’s work and the ensuing vision of the Contemplative movement, became the answer to this crucial question.

Contemplative prayer was not “invented” by Fr. Keating. There is a history to its development in its present form. Many people contributed to its resurgence from the Christian tradition... The post Vatican II years were becoming a strain and many religious were burning out in the chaotic aftermath caused by its massive disruptions. Change can be difficult! The first creative result was a form of prayer derived from contemplative prayer as described in the famous spiritual classic The Cloud of Unknowing. The present-day practice of Centering prayer evolved from both Fr. William Meninger’s “Prayer of the Cloud” and Fr. Basil Pennington’s centering prayer whom he taught to Religious provincials in a retreat in Connecticut. It is there that the term centering prayer was coined.