What does the Catholic Church say about meditation?
Faced with the emergence of interest in meditative practices around the world (particularly Eastern meditation practices), the Catholic Church has issued a Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Churchwritten by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) on October 15, 1989. This document aims to answer the questions of many Christians who seek to enrich their prayers with meditative practices. But what is meditation? And can we associate all meditative practices with Christian meditation?
Excerpts from Joseph Ratzinger's (Benedict XVI) note on meditation
Prayer is a fundamental dimension of Christian life. Since the Old Testament, it has accompanied man in his relationship with God. Through the intercession of the Holy Spirit, man rediscovers a union with God hindered by original sin.
" Christian prayer (...) is, strictly speaking, a personal, intimate and profound dialogue between man and God. "(Letter to Bishops, I. §3)
Meditation as a path towards the mystery of revelation
Limited in his rational intelligence, man meditates on the mysteries of faith in order to touch divine truth with his fingertips. What's more, he develops an intimate relationship with the Triune God, just as Jesus did to " (Letter to Bishops, IV. §13).
Moreover, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger tells us: " It is to the Church that the prayer of Jesus is entrusted ("you therefore, pray thus", Mt 6:9), and for this reason, Christian prayer, even when it arises in solitude, is in the Church's hands is in reality always situated within that "communion of saints" in which and with which we pray, both in public and liturgical form and in private."(Letter to Bishops, II.§7)
To achieve this, an asceticism is needed to purify the heart of sins, prior to prayer. Man must free himself from the selfish inclinations of his passions, to develop a virtue that will predispose him to welcome God into his heart. This effort will enable man to " realize God's will and share in the freedom of the Holy Spirit" (Letter to Bishops, IV. §18). Integrating Christian meditation into daily life enables man to dispose his whole person (body, soul and spirit) to the presence of God. Meditation is therefore a method of disposing the body for prayer. It is also considered a form of prayer in its own right, notably in Lectio divina and the Jesus Prayer.
This asceticism of the heart cannot, however, be compared or associated with a certain emptiness created and sought after by certain meditative practices, particularly Eastern ones. Indeed, Christian meditation enables man to welcome God into his being, while taking into account the influence of the body on the disposition of the spirit. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger puts it this way: " Eastern Christian meditation has valued psychophysical symbolism, which is often absent from Western prayer. This can range from a specific bodily attitude to vital functions such as breathing and heartbeat. Thus, the exercise of the "Jesus prayer", which adapts to the natural breathing rhythm, can - at least for a while - be of real help to many. "Thus, Christian meditation is a practice enabling man to place himself in the presence of God, by disposing his mind through an attitude of the body. This discipline must not, however, become the finality of the act, or man would run the risk of becoming inward-looking, contrary to the altruism required by Christian charity.
Possible pitfalls and points to watch out for
"We shouldn't reject these indications [yoga, Zen, etc.] a priori because they're not Christian. On the contrary, we can gather from them what is useful, provided we never lose sight of the Christian concept of prayer" (Letter to Bishops, V. §16).
As this letter states, the Catholic Church does not theoretically condemn meditative practices that differ from Christian meditation. However, it does warn against practices that need to be thought through and discerned.
"(...) "Remaining within oneself": this is the real danger." (Letter to Bishops, V. §19)
Entering into one's interiority should not be considered an end in itself, as the cardinal reminds us: "Saint Augustine is an outstanding master on this point: if you want to find God, he says, abandon the outside world and enter into yourself. However," he continues, "do not remain within yourself, but surpass yourself, for you are not God: He is deeper and greater than you. "(Letter to Bishops, V. §19). We must bear in mind that we are God's creatures, whose vocation it is to love Him and to let ourselves be loved by Him. However, to remain in our own interiority cultivates a form of egocentricity that we Christians seek to avoid. We want to transcend the "I", which is a creature, to drink from the source of life: God.
It is therefore necessary to be vigilant in the practice of meditation to avoid falling into a practice contrary to what the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches. The Letter to Bishops puts it this way: " Understood in an inadequate and incorrect way, symbolism can even become an idol, and therefore an obstacle to the elevation of the spirit towards God. To experience in the context of prayer the whole reality of one's own body as a symbol is even more difficult: it can degenerate into a cult of the body, and lead to the surreptitious identification of all one's sensations with spiritual experiences. "(Letter to Bishops, VI. §27). What the cardinal is talking about here is psychophysical symbolism, particularly valued in the East. Misinterpreted and misused, it can become a real obstacle to our relationship with God. That's why it's important to start Christian meditation in a specific setting, with guided meditations.
Can you meditate if you're a Christian?
Meditation is permissible for Catholics. The Church does not officially condemn meditative practices other than Christian meditation, but it does recommend a certain caution if you wish to practice them. In short, it's wise to practice Christian meditation in a supervised and guided way, through meditation programs for example.
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