Meditative Prayer
Continuing our series on prayer, we have looked at the expression of prayer that is vocal, and now we look at the expression of prayer that is meditative, sometimes called mental prayer or just meditation. Christian meditation is always in the context of Christian faith (doctrine) and prayer by which we seek communion with the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit, one God. We surrender ourselves to the “You” of God. It is interpersonal. It is opening of our hearts to receive the love of God always present, and then to return love to Him.
Continuing our series on prayer, we have looked at the expression of prayer that is vocal, and now we look at the expression of prayer that is meditative, sometimes called mental prayer or just meditation. Christian meditation is always in the context of Christian faith (doctrine) and prayer by which we seek communion with the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit, one God. We surrender ourselves to the “You” of God. It is interpersonal. It is opening of our hearts to receive the love of God always present, and then to return love to Him.
In ordinary
friendship we get to know one another by talking and gradual self-disclosure. When
people fall in love, even more they want to know everything about the other. Or
say you’re playing the lead role in a play. Don’t you want to learn everything
you can about the character you are playing so you can imitate him perfectly?
Well it is
no different for a Christian. We are disciples of Jesus. We try to imitate Him.
We want to know everything we can about Him. Who is He? What is He like? What
moves Him? What makes Him weep? What does He love? We know that our
sanctification (being made holy) is by the Holy Spirit transforming us, with
our cooperation, into an image of Jesus Christ. So we want to know everything
we can about Him. The best way to do that is through meditative prayer over the
Scriptures, particularly the Gospels which portray Jesus.
The
Catechism of the Catholic Church (at 2724) says, “Meditation is a prayerful
quest engaging thought imagination, emotion, and desire. Its goal is to make
our own in faith the subject considered, by confronting it with the reality of
our own life.” And (at 2705), “The mind seeks to understand the why and how of
the Christian life, in order to adhere and respond to what the Lord is asking.”
Meditation
begin with the mind (understanding), and in prayerful pondering and meditation,
it moves to imagination and to the heart. It can touch the emotions, not in the
sense of indulging in emotions and sentimentality, but in the sense of truly
touching our hearts, our affectivity, our whole person, our deepest desires.
This is
what a time of meditation might look like. First, chose a Scripture passage.
Start with the Gospels. A great place to start is John 13-17. Say that today
you are going to read from John chapter 14. Next, go to a quiet place. Recall
that God is present with you, and recall that He is in you, so make an
intention that you want to open your heart to Him and welcome Him there. Praise
and adore Him for a moment, thank Him for His goodness and all His blessings.
If any sin or fault comes to mind confess it and ask for forgiveness. Ask the
Holy Spirit to guide your meditation.
Then pick
up the Bible and perhaps read a paragraph or two of chapter 14 to get an
overview. Use your thinking enough to know the basic meaning of the text (but
this is not a study time!). Get a sense of where the action is taking place,
who is present, what is going on. You can even imagine the setting and place
yourself in it. Then focus just on verse 1. Read it slowly asking the Holy
Spirit to illumine it for you. Read it again slowly, prayerfully.
Chew on it. Seek
to know Jesus, how He is feeling, what is important to Him. Listen for the Holy
Spirit’s word to you: what is the meaning for you right here and now in your
life. You don’t rush on. Maybe you have a conversation with God in your
imagination; maybe you ponder in silence a bit. You stay with that one verse,
slowly absorbing all it has for you, until you are nourished. At first it may
not be much, but over time it will come to be so very much! You stay with each
verse so long as God is speaking with you, heart to heart. You do the same
verse by verse until your allotted time is filled. Thank the Lord for how He
met with you today. Jot down a word or two in your journal if you want.
Then come back
the next day. And the next. And the next. Your friendship with Jesus will grow.
He will show you more and more of the Father (Jn 14:9-11).
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church is located in California City, CA. Visit our website at ollcalcity.org.
Dibby Green
Originally published in the print edition of the Mojave Desert News on December 12, 2019.Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church is located in California City, CA. Visit our website at ollcalcity.org.