Meditation, Reflection, and Resolution

Over the last few days I have been encouraging you to spend more time in friendship with Jesus by moving from stage one, vocal prayer, talking to God, to listening in Meditation so that you can reach stage 5, infused prayer or contemplation, which is the beginning of the experience of heaven on earth. The Rosary is a combination of vocal prayer and meditation, but to move to meditation it is helpful to understand what it is… Jordan Aumann, Spiritual Theology, p. 318 Meditation is a reasoned application of the mind to some supernatural truth, in order to penetrate its meaning, love it, and carry it into practice with the assistance of grace.  Meditation is to turn your attention to God To think about what He has said or done In order to understand it  To love God for the things He has said and done To form firm convictions That we will put into practice with the assistance of grace What do we meditate upon? As Christians we meditate on the Word of God, but the Word of God is more than the Bible. Jesus is the Word of God. The full Word of God is all that Jesus revealed through his life and his teachings. The full revelation of Jesus is handed down to us through Scripture, Tradition and the teachings of the Catholic Church, called the Magisterium. The complete teaching of Jesus, the full Word of God is called the Deposit of Faith. As Christians meditate upon all that is contained in the Deposit of Faith, all that is found in Scripture, Tradition and the Magisterium. We can use as good meditation material anything from the Old or New Testaments, or the writings of the saints like Augustine, Aquinas, Teresa of Avila, Therese of Lisieux or St. Faustina. And it doesn’t stop there. We can also reflect upon the teachings of the Church, the Magisterium. In fact, the best synthesis or summary of the Deposit of Faith, all that Jesus revealed is the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Catechism is wonderful to meditate upon. Or consider other Magisterial teachings such as St. John Paull II’s letter on the Christian Meaning of Human suffering. All these things are an expression of the Deposit of Faith or the Word of God. All of these are great things to meditate upon during meditation or the Rosary.  There is a simple method to meditation. It is like having coffee with a friend. Set a specific time and place conducive to a leisurely intimate conversation. Then Talk and share, listen and understand and finally just enjoy the time together. We have broken it down into 3 R’s which we shared with you yesterday:  Read something from the Bible or from the Tradition, some good writing from a Saint or a spiritual author. As soon as something profound strikes you – stop reading.  Reflect or Think about what struck you  Try to understand what you read Apply it to your life Draw practical conclusions for yourself Talk over all of this with Jesus in your mind and heart  Resolution   Choose something practical and concrete to remember or to do today based on your meditation  Write down your resolution and keep it with you The two most powerful aspects of Meditation are reflecting upon the Word of God and the forming of a resolution. These two together, founded on the grace of God, are the transforming powers of meditation. On the first, the power of reflection Jordan Aumann writes: Numerous persons who live habitually in sin continue in that condition simply because they never reflect seriously upon the state of their souls. Some of them do not have malicious hearts, nor do they hate the things of God or their own salvation; they have simply given themselves entirely to purely natural activities and have neglected the things that are of importance to their soul. One of the greatest proofs that their sad condition is due not so much to malice as to the lack of reflection is the fact that when they…attend a retreat or mission, they may experience a complete conversion of life.