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The following information on meditations is excerpted from the Miles Jesu Faith Family Formation Handbook available in the Bookstore.
From the very beginning of Miles Jesu there has been a special emphasis on meditation in depth (Constitutions, 210).
An important type of prayer is meditation, which is the application of our minds to the understanding of a supernatural truth, in order to love it and live it with the help of grace. It is a form of communication with God and requires attentive effort. It is not to be confused with a study of religious truths, nor with the strange non-Christian practices of self-emptying or self-realization, or so-called Eastern meditation. The form of prayer called Christian meditation has been practiced since the Church's beginnings in order to bring Christ's people into intimate conversation with the Lord. Although we meditate by using our minds to attain, penetrate, and seize solid convictions about a supernatural truth, "...the most important element in meditation is the act of love aroused in the will on the presentation of some supernatural truth by the intellect. As St. Teresa of Jesus points out, meditation consists not so much in thinking a great deal but in loving a great deal. When the will bursts forth with acts of love, an intimate contact is established between the soul and God, and then it is that the soul can truly be said to be praying. Discursus is merely a preparation for the arousal of love." (Jordan Aumann, O.P., Spiritual Theology, p. 318)
The meditation period should end with a practical resolution for the day. Intimate conversation with our Lord will urge us to action, because love must inspire action. Without practical resolutions the results of this time will be only passive and theoretical. When meditation is perverted into speculation, study, or a self-seeking of pleasurable conversation without backbone, then we deceive ourselves and harm our spiritual lives. Our knowledge of our fallen humanity becomes inaccurate and our spirituality superficial.
If we begin every meditation upon the divine mysteries with a realization that we are in God's presence, our disposition and attention will improve. We, of course, believe God is present everywhere, including here, but we often act is if He were not. If we habitually perform this very first step in meditating, we will be more aware of God's presence throughout the day and more fruitful in good actions. Since our attention will also improve, our meditation will become more worthy of God's service and more centered upon the Lord Himself. We should especially call upon the Holy Spirit for the graces and enlightenment we need. It is also good to invoke our Blessed Mother, our Guardian Angel, and any other patron saints, so that they may intercede for us with God for a more profitable meditation. We should also purify our intentions by offering all our efforts to God's praise and glory.
Usually the subject or topic for meditation is related to our spiritual deficiencies or needs, which will change as we mature. Our spiritual directors can help us fine-tune our needs. Especially for beginners, a good book on the topic chosen is an essential tool. This keeps our thoughts disciplined and orderly and reduces distractions, although the temptation to study the book must be avoided. The aim is to penetrate fruitfully one or two truths, not to master the contents of the book. To find these truths, the book is read at a leisurely pace, bit by bit, until a point that urges deeper consideration is emt. When we come upon a point which strikes our attention, we stop reading in order to penetrate and pray about that point. But if we find nothing that fruitfully moves us after some effort, or if there seems to be no more fruit to be gleaned there, we begin again to read calmly until we come upon a place which seems to promise us some spiritual benefit.
We must never forget that we are using our minds to find God and to speak with Him. He is our End, not the methods we use nor the new truths we discover on our way to Him. Such side-tracks must be avoided. St. Frances de Chantel defines the proper way to use methods:
"The great method for mental prayer is simply this: that there is no method when the Holy Spirit has taken charge of the person meditating, for then He does with the soul as it pleases Him, and all rules and methods vanish away ... Should it happen during prayer that we experience some impulse from God by means of which He indicates that He wishes to communicate Himself to us, we must then halt all activity and come to a full stop, in order to give place to His coming and not hinder Him by any action which might go counter to His will." (St. Chantel on Prayer, Daughters of St. Paul, 1968, p. 16)
Preparation is an important part of meditation
"Of meditations badly made, so very many are only the result of a lack of preparation ... which consists in nothing more than this: peace of conscience, watchfulness over the senses, a normal awareness of God, a familiar conversation with the Divine Majesty in one's soul, and above all the liberation of the soul from all ungoverned affections and passions."
Distractions in meditation are rather commonplace. Our fast-paced life, work, and concerns can cause them, but often the cause is difficult to pin point exactly. A more practical matter is how to deal with them when they arise. We must learn how to get back on track: "It is certain that distractions are multiplied ordinarily according to the degree of one's vivacity of mind, and that there are minds so restless as to be distracted during the entire time of an office. Yet the will of a person is no more guilty than would be the case as regards dreams coming to them in sleep. Patience in these cases, a continuous desire for God, renewed from time to time, is often of more worth and profit to the soul, than an entirely peaceful, calm and pleasant power of attention."
Periods of dryness in meditation are routine for everyone.
Dryness is an absence of the experience or feeling of affections and consolations during meditation. It is not itself an evil. God can send us many consolations in order to motivate us to seek Him. When we discover that the practice of prayer and virtue is pleasurable it draws us to firmly commit ourselves to it. However, God uses consolations to help us find Him, not to lead us away from Him. He also withholds consolations so that we do not become too attached and dependent on them. He wants us to seek no the consolations of God but the God of consolations.
During dryness in prayer, the only course is perseverance. Whoever gives up loses all. Rather than being distressed, the person in spiritual dryness should calmly employ ejaculatory aspirations, vocal prayer, reading or other acts of exterior devotion, which an inspire interior devotion. In short, we must beg the Lord for a hearing, for His help and graces. By offering God all our efforts out of the midst of dryness, we are praying very virtuously and powerfully.
If we are but patient, the Lord will assuredly return with His consolations. It is best to plan a regular time and place for meditation. A regular time will condition our minds to expect meditation and apply ourselves to it. A regular place and time will also train us to meditate with alacrity and less inhibitions. The time when the mind is most alert and recollected, or free from distractions and interruptions is preferable. In front of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is an ideal place, but if our duties rule this out, a private place which is conducive to recollected attention is adequate. Our postrue should avoid the extremes of being too comfortable or too uncomfortable. Short ejaculatory prayers thoughout the day will preseve the fruits and affections gained through meditation.
Meditation is indispensible for anyone who is seriously striving for perfection. Nothing can substitute for the the benefits of this form of private prayer.
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