How do Catholics Meditate?

[RobNY]

How do we Meditate? I don’t assume we do as the Buddhists do but surely we have our own way?

Meditation is not a method, although there are many methods for meditation.

Meditation is simply using our minds and our hearts to dwell on God.

It doesn’t matter how one does it. It just matters that one does do it.

Here are some typical methods.

1. The Rosary.

In the rosary, one meditates on the various ‘mysteries.’ Usually one reads a selection from the Scriptures as the basis for meditation on that mystery. This can be aided or expanded by connecting the mystery to some particular spiritual ‘fruit’ which one wishes to obtain through this meditation.

Note: the rosary can be prayed differently by everyone. This is why it is such a universal prayer. The rosary is adaptable to everyone’s manner of praying.

1. Lectio Divina, or sacred reading. One takes the Scriptures and reads slowly, consuming only a small amount at a time, allowing oneself to dwell on the Sacred text. Chewing over it slowly, sometimes the reader goes back and rereads what he has just read. Other times he dwells on a few words. The point of reading is to give food for meditation. By the gift of God, what one meditates on may spark the heart to flame, i.e. to affective prayer. Lastly, by the gift of God, one may be raised from affective prayer to contemplation of God. This is pure gift.

I thought most of us do exactly this most of the time. Does it require training? Who trained David, a man after God’s own heart?

It requires training, but not from any man. The Spirit is the interior Master who teaches us in our weakness how to pray.

-Rob

Addendum:

The “Ignatian” method of “contemplation” (what the classical writers would call “meditation” instead) is to use the imaginative faculty in prayer, for example, to put oneself in the gospel reading and imagine the words of the gospel spoken to oneself. This is a great method of meditation… if it’s for you. For many of us, this simply doesn’t work. Like I said above, there are different ‘methods’ but none of these methods is ‘the way.’ “The Way” is simply Jesus Christ, in prayer. If a method “doesn’t work” just keep praying and spend time with Jesus.