Meditation

The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines meditation or mental prayer as a quest of the mind to understand the why and how of Christian life in order to adhere to what the Lord is asking. (CCC #2705; 2723) Mental prayer can be formal or informal depending whether we set aside time for mental prayer or engage in it while we are doing something else, such as cruising on the interstate. Spiritual writers say that mental prayer is the single most effective religious exercise in advancing in holiness. The Second Vatican Council gives meditation priority over all other prayer forms for religious. (Decree on Up-to-Date Renewal of Religious Life, 21) Its basic purpose is to make one perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect. (Matt. 5:48)

Meditation takes advantage of the fact that everything a person does goes through three stages. First there is the thought, then an emotion, and finally the energy of the emotion is discharged in some act. A person may see a child darting into the street in front of an automobile. This sets off strong emotions having to do with the child’s life and safety. The strong emotion usually results in some sort of action to prevent injury or death to the child. A less dramatic example of how we work can be seen at any bowling lane. The bowler sees that the ball he releases is not going on the track that he intended. That begets an emotion or wish that the ball would correct its path. This typically ends in the futile motion of the bowler’s body trying to guide the ball as it rolls down the lane. The key to all our activity lies in thought. All our thoughts work themselves out in some fashion. The manifest themselves in perspiration and tension if they cause anxiety, in our frowns, flushed faces and clenched fists, even violence, if our thoughts beget anger. Our thoughts end in good deeds if they tend to make us feel sympathetic to someone in need. If we want to act in a godly manner, we must fill our minds with godly thoughts. This is the role of meditation. Meditations mobilizes thought, imagination, emotion, and desire for purposes of conversion. (CCC #2708) If we constantly fill our minds with material concerns, our acting will be materialistic. If we fill our minds with pornography unchaste acts of some sort are sure to follow. The start of avoiding evil and practicing virtue is to meditate on good things. A sculptor who is working on the statue of a living person gradually molds the clay until it becomes more and more like the original. Jesus said, "I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do" (John 13:15). A person who meditates on the example of Jesus and his teaching gradually molds his life to resemble that of Jesus.

Some think of meditation as esoteric, something done by Eastern mystics or Catholic monks with nothing better to do than contemplate their navels. Actually it is a process that everyone engages in. If two lovers think about one another they bring forth emotions of love that are discharged in words of endearment, signs of affection, or manifestations of thoughtfulness. Lovers separated by large distances are right to demand constant calls and letters. The mind must think about something and, if it does not dwell on the present beloved, another may become the beloved. Everyone meditates. What the Church desires is that some time be spent in thinking of one’s relationship to God.