Don't Be Afraid of Meditation
A simple explanation of meditation, and what you need to know to start today.
“It is morally impossible for him who neglects meditation to stay away from sin,” says St. Alphonsus.
“He who neglects mental prayer needs not a devil to carry him to hell, he brings himself there with his own hands.” says St. Teresa of Avila.
Oh.
One may understand the necessity of meditation, but does putting it into practice seem… scary, overwhelming, difficult?
You’re not alone. Most people find mental prayer daunting. St. Teresa herself will attest to its difficulty. She struggled to meditate for many years. (Now we consider her one of the master teachers of meditation -- God is funny, isn’t He?)
The aim of this post is to help you understand that meditation can be simple and practical. It is one of THE most important practices one can do. It is not reserved only for monks and nuns, or those who are super pious, or those who are far advanced in the spiritual life; rather, just like sanctity, it is possible for all.
I think the most helpful book one could read about meditation is Conversation With Christ. I highly recommend that you do. But if you don’t, I have summarized and paraphrased the most important points of the book here.
I hope to make this as simple and straight-forward as possible so that anyone, in any state and stage of life, can start applying it.
Definition of Meditation
“Mental prayer is nothing else than an intimate friendship, a frequent heart-to-heart conversation with Him by whom we know ourselves to be loved.”
- St. Teresa of Avila
Meditation is interior prayer without the aid of spiritual books; it is prayer in which we talk to God in our own way and with our own words.
Meditation is not spiritual reading nor an examination of conscience. You might do spiritual reading before the meditation to prepare for it; you might examine your conscience afterward because you were given the grace to do so; but these things are not the meditation itself.
Everything that comes before the meditation, all that accompanies the meditation, and everything that comes after the meditation, is all aimed to stimulate the conversation with Christ.
The Purpose of Meditation
To have a friendly, intimate conversation with Christ.
Meditation is not meant to be philosophical thought nor theological speculation. The meat of meditation is love. Meditation is not thinking much but loving much.
“Place yourself in the presence of our Lord and converse with Him, heart to heart, without fatiguing the understanding.”
- St. Teresa of Avila.
The Five General Steps (put as simply as possible):
Prepare.
Come away from distracting occupations. Pause and place yourself in the presence of your God. If you can do this before the Blessed Sacrament, so much the better, but if not, simply remember that Christ is present.Select Material.
Choose a subject for the conversation. The Gospel is best, but a meditational book works, or in the very least, look at an image of Our Lord.Consider.
Examine the selected material and consider it. It is helpful to ask questions such as, “Who? What? Where? How? Why?” Reflect and consider the material until a definite impression has been made.Converse.
Now the soul speaks to Christ about what has just been considered. All the proceeding steps are devised to produce this conversation. In your own words, express your love to Christ; adore Him, thank Him, petition Him. (If conversation falters, return to the consideration to stimulate new thoughts for further conversation).Conclude.
This is optional, but it’s nice to tie up loose ends. It would be rude to walk away from someone in the middle of a conversation without an explanation or saying goodbye. So, take a moment to thank Christ for the time spent together and for any graces received before you leave the conversation.
*None of this has to take a long time. Meditation can take five minutes, or it can take an hour. Many saints recommend at least 15 minutes of meditation per day, so that would be a good goal to aim for. If you can’t do 15, start with 5 or 10.
Tips for Successful Meditation
To be successful, you must be thoroughly convinced of the importance of meditation. If you are not convinced that it is necessary and of the utmost importance, you will soon give it up. You must understand that it is a vital part of your life that cannot be omitted. Then, understanding its importance, you must be resolved never to omit it from your daily practice. And understand, also, that meditation is not easy, and it will require perseverance. So, be determined to persevere.
Determine a precise time to meditate each day. Select a definite hour in which you will meet Christ every day for a conversation. Choose the time that is most suited to you personally, based on your temperament and occupations.
Realize that meditation is not an isolated experience. Conversations with Christ will be smoother and easier if you:
a) Maintain the presence of God all day by thinking of Him often and uttering ejaculatory prayers during your duties.
b) Daily spiritual reading to furnish thoughts and ideas for conversation.
c) Practice mortification, to gain detachment from the world, and self-control and discipline.
d) Humility of Heart, to avoid excessive preoccupation with self during time of conversation; remember, your sufficiency is in Christ, not in yourself.And finally, have hope that you will improve and succeed. Launch into prayer with confidence that you will get better at it.
Summary of Tips:
Never omit meditation from your daily life.
Be determined to persevere.
Select a definite hour in which you will speak to Christ every day.
Meditation is not an isolated experience.
Launch into prayer with hope and confidence.
Your “Checklist”
Select a suitable hour.
Retreat from distracting occupations.
Kneel to begin the conversation. It is highly recommended to begin on your knees, then when you become weary, you may change positions. You can sit or stand or walk. (St. Teresa says to be comfortable, but not too comfortable, or else you will fall asleep).
Your eyes should remain closed to limit distractions. St. Teresa is pretty firm about this. It might feel awkward at first, but it is helpful and highly recommended. It will get easier with time.
Call to mind the presence of God. Christ is nearby and ready to hear your prayer. He is close to you and ready to converse with you.
Humble yourself before God by considering your faults. Don’t open up conversation with Christ while you are distracted by your own self-importance.
Choose suitable material for the meditation. Read from the Gospel or from a book, centering your attention on the material. This will provide the subject of the conversation. Apply your intellect to the material. You can imagine yourself in the scene and consider who was there, what was happening, what were they doing, why were they doing it, etc. If your imagination is lacking, don’t worry. Remember: prayer is about love, not thought. The purpose of this is not to conjure up the most vivid image possible, but to enter into a conversation with Christ.
^ None of this has to take a long time. All of this is for the purpose of leading up to the conversation. The conversation is the focal part.
Now begin to talk to Christ: slowly, sincerely, and directly. Speak to Him just as you would with an intimate friend: easily and without strain. Don’t worry about your choice of words or manner of expression. Don’t try to sound eloquent or distinguished; just speak frankly in your own words.
These words are not vocal, they are non-verbal. This is interior prayer.
But meditation is not constant chatter. Break it up between periods of conversation and periods of silent attention.
Does God Talk Back?
Yes, He does. But don’t expect God to speak audibly into your ears. That’s not how He communicates with us. He speaks to our heart through grace, light, and love. He inspires and illuminates.
“Do you suppose that because we cannot hear Him, He is silent? He speaks clearly to the heart when we beg Him from our heart to do so.” - St. Teresa of Avila
“God does speak to us when we pour out our hearts to Him. We need no think that God makes Himself heard in an audible manner. He answers us by sending graces and light and love, whereby we understand His ways better and burn with desire to embrace them generously. Listening consists in accepting these graces and striving to profit by them.” - Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen
“He does not, indeed, make His voice heard in any voice which reaches the ears, but in a voice that your heart can well perceive.” - St. Alphonsus Ligouri
The Conversation”
The soul speaks directly to Christ in its own words.
The conversation is slow and sincere, silent and interior.
It should be interspersed with periods of attentive silence.
It should be sustained without tense/violent effort.
This is an intimate union between two friends; the primary purpose of meditation is not petition but a friendly conversation, although petitions can be part of it.
God converses with us through inspiration and illumination.
The Conclusion of Meditation
A conclusion is not necessary but is generally helpful. Make an act of gratitude for the time spent together and the graces received. Take reluctant leave of your good Friend. (It can be helpful here to take note of any failings during the meditation and to promise to do better during the next conversation.)
Tips for Dealing with Difficulties in Meditation: Distractions and Aridity
Distractions
A distraction is an intrusive thought that is foreign to the subject of the meditation.
Distractions can be either voluntary or involuntary. If you suffer from scruples, please read this next part carefully:
Voluntary distractions are willfully introduced to the mind, or willfully entertained should they appear. Voluntary distractions are a deliberate act of irreverence. Please notice the words: voluntary, willful, deliberate.
Involuntary distractions are not willfully incited or retained. Generally speaking, involuntary distractions are a difficulty that simply must be endured. They arise from many sources, and although we may succeed at lessening them, it is impossible to eradicate them all.
These distractions might come from exterior sensations, a failure to properly prepare, an overactive imagination, failure to control the passions, poor health, excessive fatigue, etc., etc. Individual temperaments will have different weaknesses: some find it difficult to focus on one thing for very long, others brood over their failures and allow it to disturb their meditation, some will find meditation makes them drowsy.
We can and must attempt to purge our involuntary distractions, but nevertheless, some will remain. Nothing will be gained by becoming sad or upset about the distractions that you can’t control. Do not lose your peace of mind over them. Distractions will be a constant, unavoidable annoyance, and the only thing to be done is to be patient.
Dispel the distractions as best as you can.
Continue to meditate despite the distractions.
Do not give up meditation because of the distractions.
You are preoccupied with your perceived “failures” (distractions), but God is not. God is looking at the interior intention and desire of your heart.
“His majesty knows our wretchedness and the weakness of our nature better than we ourselves, and He knows that all the time these souls are longing to think of Him and to love Him. It is this determination that He desires.”
- St. Teresa of Avila
If you want to persevere in meditation, be prepared to encounter difficulties. If you persevere in your meditation despite these difficulties, then that is good prayer and pleasing to God.
St. Alphonsus Ligouri said that he who omits mental prayer on account of distractions gives delight to the devil.
St. Francis de Sales said that if we do nothing during meditation except continually banish distractions, then the meditation was well made.
St. Thomas said that involuntary distractions do not take away the fruit of mental prayer.
The takeaway:
Distractions are common to all who meditate.
Distractions can be reduced, and we should do all we can to lessen them.
However, they cannot be entirely eradicated.
Do not let distractions discourage you from persevering in meditation.
The two vital attitudes to bring to meditation are a determination to remove distractions, and patient to endure what cannot be removed.
Aridity
Aridity is not a lack of attention like a distraction, it is an experience of no consolation or satisfaction during the conversation. It can even be a repugnance to prayer. The temptation to quit is more severe.
Yet, the remedy is the same:
Eliminate the aridities the best that you can.
Patiently endure the rest.
You may remember from my previous post on aridity that they have two sources: they are either caused by our own negligence and lukewarmness, or they are a purifying dryness which comes from God. If the aridity is a result of our own tepidity, then we can do something about it. If the aridity is a purification from God, then we must endure it.
Three main sources of aridity in meditation:
Lack of development in the spiritual life. The remedy to this is to strengthen and grow our love of Christ. We must strive to extirpate our tepidity, to cut attachments to venial sins, to love Christ more and better, etc.
Involuntary circumstances, such as illness, fatigue, anxiety, or preoccupations. We can try to lessen these as much as it is in our power to do so, but much of these will probably have to be patiently endured.
The purifying action of God. God Himself is purifying us in order to lead us into higher forms of prayer. A period of time devoid of consolation is necessary to prepare the soul for a closer union with God.
True love is to serve even when there is no delight in serving. This must be our practice if we want to profit from aridity. Aridity in meditation is a perfect opportunity to demonstrate unselfish love. It says to Christ, “I do not require consolation to sustain my love for you.” Thus, aridity is an opportunity to be drawn into a more mature, unselfish love of Christ. If meditation is dry and wearisome, offer Christ your generous, unselfish love.
Great article