A little context: when I was working for the Diocese of Baton Rouge in Catechesis another peer and I were talking about prayer and I began to speak of meditation as a necessary step to, support for, and component of prayer. She was alarmed to even be speaking of meditation in the context of Christian prayer and cautioned me that I wasn’t opening myself up to the demonic by engaging in it. This wasn’t the first time I had heard this from well-meaning Catholics before.
But, how sad, I thought. She seemed unaware that meditatio is an integral component to Lectio Divina (lectio, meditatio, oratio, contemplatio). She also seemed unfamiliar with the practice of meditation as a component of Mental Prayer in the Carmelite tradition. More generally speaking, meditation is a western term and concept that has only secondarily been applied to non-western phenomena in contemporary times. It has been a key component of the western philosophical tradition to its origins in Plato and Aristotle.
So, as I was recently reading the Way of Perfection by St. Teresa of Avila I was encouraged to find that in her time she faced similar reticence to meditation and/or the practice of mental prayer in otherwise well meaning Christians. What I found instructive is that she not only brings up this fear but successfully refutes its false logic.
I encourage anyone who has questions about this topic to read Chapter 21 of the Way of Perfection themselves. It is a short chapter and there are plenty of versions available online.
I will briefly highlight the argument as I read it:
- Teresa is concerned with obstacles to resoluteness in the practice of prayer.
- Fear of meditation and/or mental prayer is viewed as an obstacle to resoluteness.
- We must ignore these fears as they have their origin in the Enemy (World, flesh, devil).
- We are in greater danger by not practicing meditation than by not practicing it because without it we lack the ability to be recollected and focused, i.e. we are led astray by distraction not by attentiveness.
- Meditation is an integral spiritual discipline to mental prayer.
- Mental prayer is essential to authenticity of prayer and perseverance in its practice.
What are the false reasons St. Teresa gives for being fearful of meditation?
- It is not for women – being prone to illusion (her words, not mine!).
- The possibility of deception or being led astray.
- Knowing someone who prayed a lot but fell away.
- It is harmful to virtue.
- The Lord’s Prayer and Hail Mary are sufficient (which Teresa agrees with in a qualified way).
- The practice of recollection is too difficult.
In response to the first two Teresa believes that the danger of being led into illusion or of deception and being led astray is much greater for the person who will not recollect themselves in the practice of prayer through disciplines like meditation. It is these who have a much greater chance of being lost. To number three and four she responds that falling away as such isn’t a testimony against prayer but rather can happen through discouragement along the path of perfection, especially in the face of thoughts that convince us to abandon the practice of prayer. This can especially happen after a fall when it seems like we had been consistent in our application of spiritual discipline. We wrongly think, “these disciplines aren’t helping at all!”. Teresa reminds us that these thoughts are not from God, but from the Evil One. Similarly, the only way that prayer is harmful to virtue is perhaps when it is done in a way where self is sought instead of God. The Carmelite tradition mitigates against this in the way it teaches prayer.
For those who would want us to stick with the prayers from the Holy Scriptures, Teresa would agree that we don’t need more than these, however, she writes that:
If they tell you that prayer should be vocal (recited only), ask, for the sake of more precision , if in vocal prayer the mind and heart must be attentive to what you say.
Way of Perfection, Chapter 21
She thinks that a person couldn’t respond any way but yes to this inquiry and to her this is the combination of mental and vocal prayer, which is the ideal. Practices like meditation help to recollect us and to familiarize ourselves with who God is and what he has done for us in Christ. They also help us, for instance, to understand the deeper meaning of the prayers we are reciting. Teresa brings up the example of Sisters who may meditate for an hour on part of the Lord’s prayer.
To the concern that the practice of recollection is too difficult and the belief that one cannot perform this it seems Teresa is suspect of this claim because of the many other ways life demands resoluteness and perseverance through difficult things for lesser goals.
I will conclude with some passages from Teresa where she clearly doesn’t mince words in how we should respond to fears about meditation or recollection:
… give up these fears. Never pay attention in like matters to the opinion of the crowd.
… they are running away from good to free themselves from evil (those who would dissuade from meditation).
But that the way of (mental) prayer would be a danger — God would never will that.
Way of Perfection, Chapter 21
Teresa clearly sees the need to unify the practice of mental prayer to vocal prayer. This cannot be done without interior recollection. Meditation is an important component both to interior recollection, and deeper understanding of faith and traditional prayers. If someone tries to dissuade you from this, know that you aren’t the first person who has experienced this but nonetheless, particularly if you have a type of contemplative vocation, that you are called to not only not abandon the practice but become even more resolute in it.
Note: in this article I am using the terms meditation and mental prayer somewhat synonymously. I am doing this because people are less familiar with the term mental prayer. However, in truth, at least in the Carmelite presentation of prayer meditation is seen more as a foundation to prayer as such.