Christian meditation is a form of prayer in which a structured attempt is made to become aware of and reflect upon the revelations of God.Christian Meditation for Beginners by Thomas Zanzig, Marilyn Kielbasa 2000, page 7 The word meditation comes from the Latin word meditārī, which has a range of meanings including to reflect on, to study, and to practice. Christian meditation is the process of deliberately focusing on specific thoughts (such as a Bible passage) and reflecting on their meaning in the context of the love of God.An Introduction to Christian Spirituality by F. Antonisamy, 2000 pages 76–77
Christian meditation aims to heighten the personal relationship based on the love of God that marks Christian communion.Christian Meditation by Edmund P. Clowney, 1979 pages 12–13The Encyclopedia of Christianity, Volume 3 by Erwin Fahlbusch, Geoffrey William Bromiley 2003 page 488 Both in Eastern and Western Christianity meditation is the middle level in a broad three-stage characterization of prayer: it involves more reflection than first level vocal prayer, but is more structured than the multiple layers of contemplative prayer.Simple Ways to Pray by Emilie Griffin 2005 page 134Christian Spirituality in the Catholic Tradition by Jordan Aumann 1985 Ignatius Press page 180Orthodox Prayer Life: The Interior Way by Mattá al-Miskīn 2003 St Vladimir Press, "Chapter 2: Degrees of Prayer" pages 39–42 The Art of Prayer: an Orthodox Anthology by Igumen Chariton 1997 pages 63–65 Teachings in both the Eastern and Western Christian churches have emphasized the use of Christian meditation as an element in increasing one's knowledge of Christ.Teaching World Civilization with Joy and Enthusiasm by Benjamin Lee Wren 2004 page 236The Way of Perfection by Teresa of Avila 2007 page 145The Byzantine Empire by Robert Browning 1992 page 238
Context and structure
Christian meditation involves looking back on Jesus' life, thanksgiving and adoration of God for his action in sending Jesus for human salvation.Systematic theology, Volume 3 by Wolfhart Pannenberg, Geoffrey W. Bromiley 1997 page 210 In her book The Interior Castle (Mansions 6, Chapter 7) Saint Teresa of Avila defined Christian meditation as follows:
By meditation I mean prolonged reasoning with the understanding, in this way. We begin by thinking of the favor which God bestowed upon us by giving us His only Son; and we do not stop there but proceed to consider the mysteries of His whole glorious life.This Is Your Mother: The Scriptural Roots of the Rosary by Ronald Walls, 2003 page 4
Quoting the Gospel of Matthew: "No one knows the Father but only the Son and anyone whom the Son wants to reveal him" and I Corinthians: "But we have received the Spirit who is from God so that we may realize what God has freely given us", theologian Hans von Balthasar explained the context of Christian meditation as follows:
The dimensions of Christian meditation develop from God's having completed his self-revelation in two directions: Speaking out of his own, and speaking as a man, through his Son, disclosing the depths of man.... And this meditation can take place only where the revealing man, God's Son, Jesus Christ, reveals God as his Father: in the Holy Spirit of God, so we may join in probing God's depths, which only God's Spirit probes.Hans Urs von Balthasar, 1989 Christian meditation Ignatius Press pages 9-10
Building on that theme, E. P. Clowney explained that three dimensions of Christian meditation are crucial, not merely for showing its distinctiveness, but for guiding its practice. The first is that Christian meditation is grounded in the Bible. Because the God of the Bible is a personal God who speaks in words of revelation, Christian meditation responds to this revelation and focuses on that aspect, in contrast to mystic meditations which use mantras. The second distinctive mark of Christian meditation is that it responds to the love of God, as in I John: "We love, for he first loved us". The personal relationship based on the love of God that marks Christian communion is thus heightened in Christian meditation. The third dimension is that the revelations of the Bible and the love of God lead to the worship of God: making Christian meditation an exercise in praise.
Thomas Merton characterized the goal of Christian meditation as follows: "The true end of Christian meditation is practically the same as the end of liturgical prayer and the reception of the sacraments: a deeper union by grace and charity with the Incarnate Word, who is the only Mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ."Spiritual direction and meditation by Thomas Merton 1960 page 105 While Protestants view salvation in terms of faith and grace alone (i.e. sola fide and sola gratia) both Western and Eastern Catholic Christians see a role for meditation on the path to salvation and redemption.Christian spirituality: an introduction by Alister E. McGrath 1999 pages 67-72 Apostle Paul stated in Epistle to the Romans that salvation only comes from "God that hath mercy".Christian Meditation by Edmund P. Clowney, 1979 page 48 The path to salvation in Christian meditation is not one of give and take, and the aim of meditation is to bring joy to the heart of God. The Word of God directs meditations to show the two aspects of love that please God: obedience and adoration. The initiative in Christian salvation is with God, and one does not meditate or love God to gain his favor.Christian Meditation by Edmund P. Clowney, 1979 page 27-28
Holy Spirit's role In Western Christian teachings, meditation is usually believed to involve the inherent action of the Holy Spirit to help the meditating Christian understand the deeper meanings of the Word of God.Lectio Divina by Christine Valters Paintner, Lucy Wynkoop 2008 page 36 In the 12th century, decades before Guigo II's the Ladder of the Monk, one of his predecessors, Guigo I, emphasized this belief by stating that when earnest meditation begins, the Holy Spirit enters the soul of the meditator, "turns water into wine" and shows the path toward contemplation and a better understanding of God.Carthusian spirituality: the writings of Hugh of Balma and Guigo de Ponte by Hugh of Balma, Guigo de Ponte and Dennis D. Martin (Translator) 1996 pages 184–187
In the 19th century, Charles Spurgeon affirmed this belief within the Protestant tradition and wrote: "The Spirit has taught us in meditation to ponder its message, to put aside, if we will, the responsibility of preparing the message we've got to give. Just trust God for that."Christian spirituality: an introduction by Alister E. McGrath 1999 pages 84-87 In the 20th century, Hans Urs von Balthasar paraphrased this teaching as follows:Hans Urs von Balthasar, 1989 Christian meditation Ignatius Press pages 27–30
The vistas of God's Word unfold to the meditating Christian solely through the gift of the Divine Spirit. How could we understand what is within God and is disclosed to us except through the Spirit of God who is communicated to us?
As a biblical basis for this teaching, von Balthasar referred to 1 Corinthians 2:9-10: "these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God."
Distinction from non-Christian meditation
Christian meditation is generally held to be distinct from the styles of meditations performed in Eastern religions (such as Buddhism) or in the context of the New Age.How to pray by Elmer L. Towns 2006 page 178Christian Meditation by Edmund P. Clowney, 1979 pages 7–13 While other types of meditation may suggest approaches to disengage the mind, Christian meditation aims to fill the mind with thoughts related to biblical passages or Christian devotions.Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald S. Whitney 1997 Chapter 3, Part2: Meditating on God's Word Although some mystics in both the Western and Eastern churches have associated feelings of ecstasy with meditation (e.g. St. Teresa of Avila's legendary meditative ecstasy),A history of Christian spirituality: an analytical introduction by Urban Tigner Holmes, 2002 page 98An Anthology of Christian mysticism by Harvey D. Egan 1991 page 311 St. Gregory of Sinai, one of the originators of Hesychasm, stated that the goal of Christian meditation is "seeking guidance from the Holy Spirit, beyond the minor phenomenon of ecstasy".Encyclopedia of Christian Theology, Volume 1 edited by Jean-Yves Lacoste 2004 page 695
Modern Christian teachings on meditation at times include specific criticism of the Transcendental Meditation technique, e.g. John Bertram Phillips stated that Christian meditation involves the action of the Holy Spirit on biblical passages and warned of approaches that "disengage the mind" from scripture.Exploring Psalms by John Phillips, 2002 page 19 According to Edmund P. Clowney, Christian meditation contrasts with cosmic styles of oriental meditation as radically as the portrayal of God the Father in the Bible contrasts with discussions of Krishna or Brahman in Indian teachings.Christian Meditation by Edmund P. Clowney, 1979 page 12 Unlike eastern meditations, most styles of Christian meditations are intended to stimulate thought and deepen meaning. Christian meditation aims to heighten the personal relationship based on the love of God that marks Christian communion. According to Clowney it is the search for wisdom, not ecstasy, that marks the path of Christian meditation, a wisdom sought in the "Christ of Scripture and the Scripture of Christ".Christian Meditation by Edmund P. Clowney, 1979 page 29
A 1989 document generally known as Aspects of Christian meditation set forth the position of the Holy See with respect to the differences between Christian and eastern styles of meditation. The document, issued as a letter to all Catholic bishops, stresses the differences between Christian and eastern meditative approaches. It warns of the dangers of attempting to mix Christian meditation with eastern approaches since that could be both confusing and misleading, and may result in the loss of the essential Christocentric nature of Christian meditation.Vatican website: Letter on certain aspects of Christian meditation (in German), October 15, 1989EWTN: Letter on certain aspects of Christian meditation (in English), October 15, 1989Catholicism in dialogue: conversations across traditions by Wayne Teasdale 2004 Page 74 The letter warned that euphoric states obtained through Eastern meditation should not be confused with prayer or assumed to be signs of the presence of God, a state that should always result in loving service to others. Without these truths, the letter said, meditation, which should be a flight from the self, can degenerate into a form of self-absorption.
Some authors emphasize similarities between Christian meditation and non-Christian meditation. Psychologist Daniel Goleman gives an overview of many styles of meditation in The Varieties of the Meditative Experience, and includes a section on what he believes are key commonalities (as well as differences); he argues that all share the goal of the cultivation of attention.Daniel Goleman, The Varieties of Meditative Experience. New York: Tarcher. . p. 104-113. Thomas Merton, an American Catholic monk, believed Christianity had forsaken its mystical tradition in favor of Cartesian emphasis on rationality and concepts.Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander p. 285. Eastern traditions, for Merton, were mostly untainted by this type of thinking and thus had much to offer in terms of how to think of and understand oneself. Having studied the Desert Fathers and other Christian mystics, Merton found many parallels between the language of these Christian mystics and the language of Zen philosophy.Solitary Explorer: Thomas Merton's Transforming Journey p. 105. This said, Merton felt non-Christian religions had little or nothing to contribute in terms of doctrine.