Is it Traditional for Catholics to meditate?

[TheHolyTrinity]

I found this in a news paper about Meditation in schools - is this a good thing or a bad thing?
Are these principles of Meditation Catholic based. According to the article it was introduced by Benedictine monk John Main who met a Hindu swami who taught him the art of meditation. There is no information on the principle of meditation and so have no idea how Meditation works in the Catholic Church.

stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/papakura-courier/6970060/Shh-These-year-8-students-and-teacher-are-meditating-in-class

What are yours thoughts?

 

[curlycool89]

Meditation has become such a catch-all for too many things, so I think you need to be more specific about what you’re asking.

Meditation could mean being in adoration and thinking about the mystery of the Eucharist. To meditate on that just means you’re thinking about it, maybe starting off with one though (“The Eucharist is the True Presence”) and seeing where your brain goes from there (like “what does that mean for me” or “do I really believe this, and what should I be doing since I believe”).

Or you could have that “clear your mind” meditation (I actually have no idea what that really means. I have enough trouble turning off my brain when trying to sleep), which seems more from eastern philosophy and could be taken to mean false things (I don’t know, like saying you can reach “perfection” this way or something).

 

[martininthefiel]

Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

 

[edward_george]

You know the Rosary is just a form of meditation, right? The practice of Lectio Divina also has meditation as one of its steps. Obviously this sort of meditation, wherein one seeks to reflect upon the truths of the faith and thus place himself more and more deeply in the presence of God is different from what is meant by meditation in the Buddhist or New Age sense. Meditation goes back beyond even the time of the Church; the Psalmist repeatedly speaks of meditating upon the law of the Lord, and Mary pondered what was happening and kept it in her heart.

-ACEGC

 

[Filii_Dei]

Meditation has become such a catch-all for too many things, so I think you need to be more specific about what you’re asking.

Meditation could mean being in adoration and thinking about the mystery of the Eucharist. To meditate on that just means you’re thinking about it, maybe starting off with one though (“The Eucharist is the True Presence”) and seeing where your brain goes from there (like “what does that mean for me” or “do I really believe this, and what should I be doing since I believe”).

Or you could have that “clear your mind” meditation (I actually have no idea what that really means. I have enough trouble turning off my brain when trying to sleep), which seems more from eastern philosophy and could be taken to mean false things (I don’t know, like saying you can reach “perfection” this way or something).

Just to avoid any misunderstanding, I believe that by ‘eastern philosophy’ you mean Buddhism? I hope nobody takes this to mean an attack on Hesychasm, which has a long and proud tradition in the Eastern Churches.

 

[Alfonsus]

I think you need to make sure which part of meditation that we object:

1. The goal and/or philosophy: This is basically what a Catholic can object. Is you do meditation to, for instance, get liberation or enlightenment and stop there? Is it to generate a calm state of mind? Is it a form of prayer in front of God? How about its theological foundation?
2. Technique. In this area, we see overlap with lots of other religious traditions, since the technique is basically a tool to focus yourself to one thing at a single time. Either a religious text, presence of a deity, reflection of one conduct, a name, a theme, prayer.

And combine 1+2 you can have diverse spirituality schools: for instance Ignatian meditation is discursive and engage imagination. Carmelite meditation & Eastern Churches meditation is non-discursive and formless. Others a good mix of discursive, non-discursive, formless, imaginative meditation with different ratio of mix. Each has their own justification.

 

[Rich_C]

Yes, but Catholic meditate on the True God, not ourselves or anything else. I don’t know if it’s a good idea to teach this to children unless their formation is well known to be solid. If it is taught to children, I think the best foundation would the doing it in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament with some concrete imagery of Our Lord as an aid. Just my 2 cents.

 

[curlycool89]

Just to avoid any misunderstanding, I believe that by ‘eastern philosophy’ you mean Buddhism? I hope nobody takes this to mean an attack on Hesychasm, which has a long and proud tradition in the Eastern Churches.

Yes, of course. Eastern philosophy as in non-Christian ones, which seem to predominately come out of the far east/Indian subcontinent.

Yes, but Catholic meditate on the True God, not ourselves or anything else. I don’t know if it’s a good idea to teach this to children unless their formation is well known to be solid. If it is taught to children, I think the best foundation would the doing it in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament with some concrete imagery of Our Lord as an aid. Just my 2 cents.

Well, we can meditate on how we can better conform our lives to that of Christ (maybe that overlaps a bit with reflecting on our lives and what we can do better).

 

[Alfonsus]

Well, the subject of meditation, as meditation itself goes, is very diverse.
You can meditate about yourself, and we often do this: the examination of conscience. A very discursive meditation, going inside ones self and see what happened during the day, why myself chose to do this and that, what agitate oneself, what resolution to take…

So basically, in term of technique, subject, theme, we can find overlaps with differing religious tradition and psychology.

The difference is the framework where these meditation are exercised. Catholic put this meditation in different framework for different goal than an Atheist, Buddhist, Hindu, a patient undergoing psychological therapy do the same meditation.