5 Ideal Ways For Catholics to Meditate

Shutterstock.com

As Catholics living in a secular world, we can’t help but notice how much meditation and mindfulness practices have increased in popularity. Many schools are even using them to help students cope with stress. The fascination with these practices – which are derived from Eastern religions and philosophies – can be captivating. But what role can meditation play in our lives?

According to the “Catechism of the Catholic Church,” it plays a significant role. It defines meditation as “a prayerful quest engaging thought, imagination, emotion and desire.” In section 2705, it states “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.” Although this form of meditation differs from more mainstream versions, it can bring us inner peace by guiding us in the right direction.

Section 2706 reads “To meditate on what we read helps us to make it our own by confronting it with ourselves. Here, another book is opened: the book of life. We pass from thoughts to reality. To the extent that we are humble and faithful, we discover in meditation the movements that stir the heart and we are able to discern them. It is a question of acting truthfully in order to come into the light: ‘Lord, what do You want me to do?’”

But while a particular form of Christian meditation resonates with one person, it may not resonate with another. Thankfully, there are different ways for Christians to meditate. Here are five that could be ideal for Catholics.

Meditation Advised by Saint Francis de Sales

Nheyob/Wikimedia Commons

Saint Francis de Sales, the 16th Century well-educated nobleman who left his life of wealth for one of poverty as a missionary priest and bishop, was dedicated to becoming devout and enjoyed helping others try to also attain holiness. In his book “Introduction to the Devout Life,” which is still in print hundreds of years after he wrote it, meditation is a key part of ordinary people becoming holy.

In the book, he offers suggestions for how to make the most out of meditation. In addition to recommending that people meditate for one hour in the morning before eating and that they include the Lord’s Prayer and other prayers, he suggests ways to begin and end each meditation. “Place yourself before God. Ask Him to inspire your heart,” the saint wrote about starting a meditation. He later wrote “At the end of your meditation, linger a while and gather, so to say, a little spiritual bouquet from the thoughts you have dwelt upon, the sweet perfume whereof may refresh you throughout the day.”

Lectio Divina

Shutterstock.com

Lectio divina, which translates – from Latin – to divine reading, is a form of meditation that early Christian monks practiced, as they prepared to receive the Eucharist and as they prayed the Liturgy of the Hours. There are four steps in this meditation process. The first step consists of reading a passage of Scripture that relates, in some way, to what a person would like to meditate about. The second step is to meditate on that passage. That step is followed by contemplating the passage. Finally, the last step is to pray about the passage.

On the website for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the USCCB encourages Catholics to practice lectio divina. It states “As one reads and invites the Word to become a transforming lens that brings the events of daily living into focus, one can come to live more deeply and find the presence of God more readily in the events of each day.”

Visio Divina

Waiting For The Word/Flickr.com

While lectio divina provides Christians with a more traditional way to meditate, visio divina is a closely related form of meditation that can be helpful to people who are more visually oriented. It is also a Latin term. It means divine seeing or vision of the divine.

We can practice visio divina in the same way that we would practice lectio divina. However, instead of starting the process by reading a passage from Scripture, we would begin by finding and quietly, intently focusing on a picture. It could be a Christian icon, a religious painting, a print of a religious painting or a photo or drawing from a Christian magazine or website. After peacefully gazing at the picture in its entirety, we can then meditate on it, engage in thoughtful contemplation and pray about it. It’s also easy to combine lectio divina with visio divina by pairing a passage from The Bible with a related work of art.

Icon Painting

Public Domain

For those of us who are especially moved by works of art and would like to take a more active approach to meditating on religious artwork, icon painting might be an excellent way to do so. It’s a contemplative, precise method of recreating icons that are generally Byzantine portraits of Christian religious figures. It involves praying while painting replicas of sacred art featuring subjects like Jesus, Blessed Mother, the Holy Family, the Holy Trinity and saints and angels.

Because it’s done through precise repetitive strokes of paint, it’s possible for someone without much artistic talent or experience to do. Like visio divina, it’s also an activity that can easily be combined with reading a passage from Scripture that illuminates what the icon depicts. Becoming thoroughly immersed in the Christian icon and its message in this way helps connect us to our faith on a deeper level and in a fresh, exciting way.

The Rosary

Shutterstock.com

One final way of meditating that’s ideal for Catholics – and all other Christians as well – is to meditate on the life and works of Jesus while praying the Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious and Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary. In 1951, Pope Pius XII spoke to a crowd in St. Peter’s Square about the power of the Rosary.

“With meditation of the Sacred Mysteries added to the vocal prayers, there emerges another very great advantage, so that all, even the most simple and least educated, have in this a prompt and easy way to nourish and preserve their own faith,” said the pontiff. “And truly, from the frequent meditation on the Mysteries, the soul little by little and imperceptibly draws and absorbs the virtues they contain, and is wondrously enkindled with a longing for things immortal, and becomes strongly and easily impelled to follow the path which Christ Himself and His Mother have followed.”