Meditation - being still in the presence of God
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February 28, 2010 - 21:43
Dear bro / sis,
Recently I listen to Laurence Freeman's talk about meditation. I heard there are some debates regarding how Catholic should do meditation. Anyone knows what reference or concept is the right one?
Peace be with you,
William
March 6, 2010 - 23:05
#2
Silence...
Thanks Ben. Did you memorize the whole CCC ? :-p
BTW, when you are talking about silence of heart... will this be achievable when we are reflecting about scripture? One of the suggestion from Laurence Freeman is to repeat words, such as: "Jesus", "Maranatha".
What do you think?
BTW, when you are talking about silence of heart... will this be achievable when we are reflecting about scripture? One of the suggestion from Laurence Freeman is to repeat words, such as: "Jesus", "Maranatha".
What do you think?
March 15, 2010 - 13:43
#3
Silence.....
Silence of the heart refers to the quietness within when one prepares to pray. Often when one is praying the day's thoughts would cause us to drift away from prayer or some random thought would come in. Someone was saying that the trick is not to force your mind to focus because that would also take away the silence as well. He was saying the way is to aknowledge the distractions then come back again to be in silence. This silence is needed to effetively hear God speaking (but not in a werid/different sounding tone) when we reflect in prayer. It would take years of being in complete silence when praying, sometimes when after many years silence is hard to achieve. So need to be patient when praying. Partial silence is of course possible, just ask and trust in the Lord.
There are various method to reach that inner silence, some would sit at a quiet place, some would go for a stroll to calm down the heart, some would even listen to praise and worship songs. But since everyone is different, we need to find the method which suit us best.
The suggestion to repeat words like Jesus and Marantha is for meditation after we have achieve some silence. We can use the scriptures to pick out phrases and words which strike us. Then we can repeat them to hear what God is trying to say to us. Again, these are just beginner's tips, when people are more proficient, they can use their own methods which will allow them to listen better.
October 1, 2010 - 17:47
#4
Meditation VS Contemplation
I have read the CCC however I become even more confused haha
it is said that in meditation:
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.
so is Meditation done by thinking about Christian faith?
then, by saying "Jesus" or "Maranatha", we concentrate our mind in speaking this word, therefore we doesn't think about why and how of the Christian life, therefore does it mean that it is not form of meditation? Is it form of contemplation?
please enlighten me =p, bcoz from what I read in website (which i forget what website) it is said that in meditation, our mind contributes nothing, however in contemplation, we ponder about something (Christian faith). Which is contradicting from CCC that you have given.
October 3, 2010 - 10:01
#5
It seems that different
It seems that different people might understand meditation and contemplation differently. From lectio divina, meditation is the step when our mind is engaged by asking, thinking, reflecting, and pondering. The next step after meditation is oratio, when one responds to the message that he has heard in meditation, and then it is contemplation when the mind is at rest in gazing the Lord and simply being at his presence.
October 13, 2010 - 23:20
#6
Expressions of Prayer
I spent time to read more on the type of prayer according to Catholic Church;
1. Vocal Prayer
2. Meditation
3. Contemplative Prayer
I think Bro Oka has got it right. The word meditation in Catholic teaching refer to prayer exercise that involves active engagement of our mind, etc. Meanwhile contemplative prayer is where the silence become important as we are meeting God in the depth of our inner being. The repetation of "maranatha" is meant to help us in reaching the inner being. (Recalling Fr. Gino's teaching about: Body > emotion > mind > Inner being).
What do you think?
For Catholic teachings on Meditation. Please read 2705 - 2708 ( for completion sake read 2700 - 2719 which includes comptemplative prayer). http://ev6.org/archive/catechism/p4s1c3a1.htm . That is for general understanding on Catholic stance.
From the above teaching, it is understood that the Church does not give a specific way or method to prayer. This is especially so after Vatican II when the Church realised that there shouldn't be a method to retrict how God speaks to us. Everyone is different and everyone relates/communicates to God in his own unique way. But what is generally agreed is that silence is an important aspect to go into prayer. Even in differnet religons, it can be seen that there are many ways to go into that state of silence. Silence is not just a quiet surrounding but an inner silence of the mind and heart, to be open to God speaking. That is not easy to sustain or achieve and requires an amount of time of practice.
Then we move into meditative prayer. This is also just one form of prayer with the form of Lectio Divina and Rosary being popular forms. It would be good to explore different ways to relate to God and a good place to start is praying with the daily scriptures. When exploring the ways, it is important to take note that there are several forms of prayers out there that are not of Catholic origins. It can be dangerous to use foreign methods that actually invites another spiritual being during prayer. So read more online or ask around if you feel that you want to explore a new method of prayer.
This is the very perfection of a man, to find out his own imperfections. - St. Augustine.