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Meditation / The Highest Form of Prayer
(continued)
Although
meditation is principally centered in the will, Teresa is insistent that
both
intellect and will be employed if meditation is to prove successful.
In her program, she would have the intellect supply material for the conversation
with Christ.
For example, the intellect is employed
to consider the passion of Christ and His sufferings; and then the will
is brought into play to talk with Christ about it, express its sorrow,
or promise to avoid sin in the future. In her plan, the meditation
itself (or the consideration as we here term it) is the task of the intellect,
while the conversation is the function of the will. The consideration
is only a reasoning process by which the intellect turns the will towards
Christ.
Teresa is careful to advise us against rushing
into conversation with Christ until we are convinced we can sustain it.
She tells us to picture Our Lord and think of Him in one of His mysteries,
and then, when the heart is moved, speak to Him about the subject of the
day's meditation. This procedure will result in an orderly plan for
our conversation, and will hinder wanderings of the mind. The average
person is definitely not accustomed to this interior conversation, and
hence, Teresa would have him approach the problem systematically.
In her outline of prayer,
Teresa clearly distinguishes the work of the intellect and the work of
the will. To the intellectual process she adds a function called
intellectual memory: namely, the formation of images from the memory, and
intellectual reasoning. The intellectual memory depicts some scene
in Christ's life, and the intellect itself examines it; then the will employs
the result. Her concept of meditation can be depicted thus:
Meditation
| Work of Intellect |
|
Work of Will
|
| Memory
|
|
CONVERSATION
|
| + |
producing ----> |
WITH
|
| Consideration
|
|
CHRIST
|
Needless to say, the conversation is the all-important
element here; the work of the intellect merely prepares for the conversation
and serves as a guide for it. Some people require a greater amount
of reasoning before they are able to begin their conversation; some require
less. There is no hard and fast rule on the matter since each person
is different.
This intellectual prelude
to our conversation with Christ has frightened many. There is nothing
complicated about this procedure. We just carefully consider Christ
in one of His mysteries in much the same manner as we examine a newspaper
story about someone. In other words, just fill the mind and memory
with Christ so that we can more easily talk to Him. The fundamental rule
of meditation is: prayer consists not in thinking much, but in
loving much.
Here are her own words:
"The first thing
I wish to discuss, as far as my limited understanding will allow, is the
nature of the essence of perfect prayer. For I have come across some
people who believe that the whole thing consists in thought; and thus if
they are able to think a great deal about God, however much the effort
may cost them, they immediately imagine they are spiritually minded; while,
if they become distracted, and their efforts to think of good things fail,
they are at once become greatly discouraged and suppose themselves to be
lost. I do not mean that it is not a favor from the Lord if any of
us is able to continually meditate upon His works; and it is good for us
to try to do this. But it must be recognized that not everyone has
by nature an imagination capable of meditating, whereas all souls are capable
of love. I have written elsewhere of what I believe to be the reasons
for this wandering of the imagination...and so I am not discussing that
now, I am only anxious to explain that the soul is not thought, nor is
the will controlled by thought--it would be a great misfortune if it were.
The soul's profit, then, consists not in thinking much, but in loving much."
Again, prayer does not consist in involved, complicated
reasoning, but in thought which is productive of conversation with Christ.
Here, she gives us an
actual demonstration of true meditation:
"We begin to meditate
upon a scene of the Passion--let us say upon the binding of the Lord to
the column. The mind sets to work to seek out the reasons which are
to be found for the great afflictions and distress which His Majesty must
have suffered when He was alone there. It is well to reflect for
a time and to think of the pains which He bore there, why He bore them,
Who He is that bore them, and with what love He suffered them. But
we must not always tire ourselves by going in search of such ideas; we
must sometimes remain by His side with our minds hushed in silence.
If we can, we should occupy ourselves in looking upon Him Who is looking
at us; keep Him company; talk with Him; pray to Him; humble ourselves before
Him; have our delight in Him; and remember that He never deserved to be
there. Anyone who can do this, though he may be but a beginner in
prayer, will derive great benefit from it, for this kind of prayer brings
many benefits; at least, so my soul has found."
The mind and memory must
be saturated with the thought of Christ before we begin our conversation
with Him. If we use only our will, leaving the mind and memory free,
then our conversation will soon falter and distracting thoughts and memories
will crowd out our prayer. Hence it is necessary to fill the mind
and memory with Christ so that the entire organism(mind, memory, and
heart) may be centered on Him.
Teresa presents us a
crystal-clear picture of meditation: the mind furnishing matter for the
heart's talk with Christ. And, above all, her fundamental rule that
prayer
consists not in thought, but in love.
CHRISTIAN MEDITATION
REQUIRES US TO EMPTY OUR MINDS OF ALL THOUGHTS EXCEPT THOSE OF JESUS.
This is in sharp contrast to TM and other types of meditation and eastern
mysticism, in which the mind is emptied of ALL thoughts, thereby setting
the stage for the powers of hell to come into the mind and occupy it or
even take possession of it. IT IS VERY DANGEROUS TO ONE'S SALVATION
TO COMPLETELY EMPTY THE MIND OF ALL THOUGHTS. BUT IT IS OF GREAT
BENEFIT TO EMPTY THE MIND OF EVERYTHING EXCEPT JESUS.
If your mind is in bondage to evil spirits,
call out to God (in your heart) and ask Him to free you from this; and
He will.
Meditation Page
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