In the preface of his final book, Contemplative Prayer For Today: Christian Meditation, he offers a summary of Carmelite teachings on contemplation. He shows the compatibility between John Main’s teachings on Christian Meditation and the Carmelite tradition. Fr. Ernest had a forceful statement: “My perspective is the Carmelite tradition of spirituality, which is the tradition I have tried to live and share over a lifetime. This book represents my studied conviction that this method of contemplative prayer (Christian Meditation) can renew the Christian life in the 21st Century.”
That is a bold and thought-provoking statement. The statement also flows from the mature acceptance of contemplative prayer in today’s church. In our day contemplative prayer is considered a goal for all. For several centuries contemplative prayer was all but forbidden. It was considered appropriate for an exceptional few individuals who were very advanced in the spiritual life. Discursive meditation, a type of intellectual prayer emphasizing the pursuit of insight and a resolution to do something good or avoid some fault, was the norm for other seekers of spiritual growth. Meditation gradually grew more complicated and more removed from lay experience. Lay people, for the most part, were left with devotions, the rosary, novenas, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and other expressions of popular religiosity as the accepted style of their prayer life. Of course, it is important to remember that Teresa was adamant that this simple style of prayer was open to the possibility of contemplation when practiced with sufficient love.
In the years after Vatican II several factors began to lead people to a desire for a deeper spirituality. Thomas Merton tapped a live nerve in the 1950s and 1960s with his message stressing deeper personal prayer and social justice. He opened the door to the riches of the neglected tradition of monastic prayer which he called “prayer of the heart.” Three fellow Trappists started a program based on Merton’s insights into the long monastic tradition of non-discursive prayer emphasizing silence and presence in prayer. This was called Centering Prayer. Then in the 1970s an Irish monk from England, John Main, Benedictine, initiated a movement for a similar type of contemplative prayer, Christian Meditation. There are other methods of contemplative prayer but these two are the most prominent today. Recognizing the similarity and the differences between the two movements, I am going to follow the lead of my brother and mentor, Fr. Ernest, and offer some thoughts on Christian Meditation.
The goal of Christian Meditation is a silence that leads to non-discursive prayer. It aims to quiet the mind and imagination. It hopes to create a silence in the individual so God can be active in prayer. The individual is asked simply to repeat the holy word, maranatha, which means the Lord will come. The choice of the word is arbitrary and it is important not to think of its meaning. The repetition connects to one’s breathing. John Main emphasizes that, in fact, the slow repetition of the word is the individual’s prayer. The repeating of the word symbolizes and encourages the faithful surrender to God. This abandonment of control results in the quieting of the mind and imagination. The simple and slow repetition of the word aims at slowing down the “chattering monkeys” that characterize the unbridled mind and imagination which seem to fear any part of silence. The silence gained through the slow, rhythmic repetition of the word is the language of God.
Distractions are a relentless quest of the ego. It wants control in order to close the door to the simple, loving presence of God that comes from letting go. It is this surrender in an open and very different style of unknowing that is the heart of Christina Meditation. More often than not it is battle for the half hour against the onslaught of the ego driven distractions. In the return to gently repeating the mantra we are opening ourselves to God’s saving and transforming presence.
In John Main’s structure simplicity is operating norm. He treats active prayer and contemplation as one spiritual practice. For him “meditation, meditative prayer, contemplation and contemplative prayer are all synonyms. There is no need to measure where one is on the path. The important thing is to grow in purity of heart and receptivity to divine grace.”
For John Main the program is experiential and practical. He wants people to start the journey and let the experience teach the rest. Through the simple repetition of the mantra, maranatha, the mind is cleared enough to make space for the Spirit. This is the movement toward purity of heart and openness to God’s presence.
Fr. Ernest has this description of that adds to the understanding of Christian Meditation.
“Contemplative prayer as wordless and imageless is an innovation in prayer practice for many adult Christians of this time. They are used to formulas or else chatty conversation with God. Christian Meditation is interested only in the journey inward. The mantra clears the mind, gets beyond thinking, and takes one from the head to the heart. The mantra is not repeated mindlessly, neither is it an object of analysis. It is recited attentively, savoring its sound interiorly, its richness and its promise, and letting it remove one from the anxieties of the moment. The person stands at the gate, watching and waiting, at attention, listening but hearing nothing, since the listening is to silence. The silence is not day-dreaming but focused and intentional. The prayer is present to everything and to nothing before the mystery of God.”
This leads to contemplation. It will not happen quickly but faithful and regular practice of Christian Meditation moves the person on the road to the freeing encounter with God in contemplation. It is important to understand that it does not matter how you feel during this type of prayer. Even more important we must realize the final measure of effective prayer is a life more in tune with the values of the Gospel.
Here is a clear and simple statement from John Main on how to begin Christian Meditation:
Sit down. Sit still and upright. Close your eyes lightly. Sit relaxed but alert. Silently, interiorly, begin to say a single word. We recommend the prayer phrase maranatha. Recite it as four syllables of equal length. Listen to it as you say it, gently but continuously. Do not think or imagine anything –spiritual or otherwise. If thoughts or images come, these are distractions at the time of meditation, so keep returning to simply saying the word. Meditate each morning and evening for between twenty and thirty minutes.
Christian Meditation enriches but does not replace other prayers such as Lectio Divina, the liturgy, spiritual reading and devotions. Christian Meditation is the foundation of a rich and committed spiritual life. If practiced daily over a period of time perceptible changes in one’s life will occur. More patience, more reconciliation, more enthusiasm for the liturgy, more openness to areas of blindness and prejudice, a new sincerity to the demands of justice – all of these and more are the fruit of this prayer. Faithfulness to Christian Meditation is an anchor for a spiritual life that opens one’s heart to surrender to God. Most often God responds in time with the gift of acquired contemplation. Christian Meditation is not magic. If you are looking for the easy fix, you will not find it. However, whatever leads you to purity of heart and surrender to God will be major factors along the road. Christian Meditation, if practiced faithfully and with generosity, can contribute to walking in the footsteps of Jesus Christ.
When I introduce this spiritual practice I make the following points:
- • It does not matter if you feel at peace even though this often is the case for beginners. How you feel is not the issue. The real issue is change in your in your heart that leads to a better life.
• Often the mind seems as if you have a barrel of monkeys roaming around. You need to peacefully return to the mantra and continue repeating it slowly and steadily.
• It is important to reject all thoughts including good and inspiring ideas. There is another time for them but not during this sacred time seeking silence.
• Always remember prayer is fundamentally an act of love for God. As Teresa said we need not think much but we need to love much.
• In the end it comes down to discipline. One has to make time twice a day for twenty to thirty minutes. The practice can easily be put off and eventually will slip away.
Christian Meditation needs to be joined to a total effort to pursue a pure heart. This is the surest way to contemplation which is the “treasure hidden in the field.” (Mt 13:44) Though contemplation is ultimately a free gift from God, we are free to pursue it with all our heart and thereby be open and ready when God calls.
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