For it is only in the Mass where the Mystery of God is summed up and stated and restated. O Mary my Queen and my Mother give me the Grace to understand that in you in your womb is the whole of creation — Creator and Creature. I also pray to the Creator, Jesus Christ, to help me to enter into eternal union with the Eternal God. This and the subsequent three meditations will be concerned with the meaning of man in the light of St. We beg to put on the mind of Christ in order to see what He thinks man is. The Meaning of Man. And so what follows is their basic summation of the meaning of man: There are those who say that man has no meaning, that life is completely absurd.
They say that man is a contradiction — that he contradicts his very nature and purpose. This is the atheistic existentialist definition of man. Some say that man is a pleasure seeking animal, that his only purpose in life is for its enjoyment — eat, drink, and be merry. Others hold that the meaning of man is to know and be known -- to be well liked.
Again there are those who say that possession is the key word in the meaning of man. In other words man should get all he can while the grabbing is good. And there are those good intentioned people who say that the purpose of man is to make a service of themselves to others. Although, this is by far the best these people have come up with, it is however sad to say not enough.
But it is a beginning. I said that it was not enough because they forget the dignity of the persons whom they are helping. The person and his dignity is what is important, and yet it is precisely this fact that is often times over looked. Christ said what will it be? And so I must take care of myself. It is I, I must remember, who is created in the image and likeness of God.
You have given him rule over the works of your hands, putting all things under his feet. And so the true expression of man is precisely that he is only somewhat less than angelic. This, then, is my meaning and worth. Although man is only less than Angelic a closer examination of his manifestations will place him only a little higher than demonic.
The Consideration of the Misery of Man. Imitation of Christ , Chapter Think of the time that we put in on an automobile. What happened to the designer, manufacturer, the salesman, the driver who was probably killed in that same automobile? What happened to those people and more importantly where is their soul?
The soul of a human person? And yet how much time we place on things. This is the tragedy of man as seen from the outside. And yet from the inside gushes forth a dignity worth more than the whole universe. In my colloquy I pray to put on the mind of Christ to see that I am made for only one purpose — for Him; for my salvation. Let me look into myself to see if I hold values which Christ holds, or do I place more on things.
Do I value things more than persons, knowledge, and love; or body over soul, time over eternity, that what is passing to what is permanent? For what is man? First, a child, soft-boned, unable to support itself on its rubbery legs, befouled with its excrement, that howls and laughs by turns; a sleeper, eater, guzzler, howler, laughter, idiot, and a chew of its toe; a little tender thing all blubbered with its spit, a reacher into fires, a beloved fool. After that, a boy, hoarse and loud before his companions, but afraid of the dark; will beat the weaker and avoid the stronger; worships strength and savagery, loves tales of war and murder, and violence done to others; joins gangs and hates to be alone; makes heroes out of soldiers, sailors, prizefighters, football players, cowboys, gunmen, and detectives; would rather die than not out-try and out-dare his companions, wants to beat them and always to win, shows his muscle and demands that it be felt, boasts of his victories and will never own defeat.
He sees the world now as a pair of legs and breasts; he knows hate, love, and jealousy; he is cowardly and foolish, he cannot endure to be alone; he lives in a crowd, thinks with the crowd, is afraid to be marked off from his fellows by an eccentricity. He joins clubs and is afraid of ridicule; he is bored and unhappy and wretched most of the time. There is a great cavity in him, he is dull. He gets children, buys and sells small packets of everlasting earth, intrigues against his rivals, is exultant when he cheats them.
He wastes his little three score years and ten in spendthrift and inglorious living; from his cradle to his grave he scarcely sees the sun or moon of stars; he is unconscious of the immortal sea and earth; he talks of the future and he wastes it as it comes. If he is lucky, he saves money. At the end his fat purse buys him flunkeys to carry him where his shanks no longer can; he consumes rich food and golden wine that his wretched stomach has no hunger for; his weary and lifeless eyes look out upon the scenery of strange lands for which in youth his heart was panting.
He makes histories of the universe, he directs the destiny of nations, but he does not know his own history, and he cannot direct his own destiny with dignity or wisdom for ten consecutive minutes. This is man, who swears he will live only for beauty, for art, for the spirit, but will live only for fashion, and will change his faith and his convictions as soon as fashion changes.
This is man, the great warrior with the flaccid gut, the great romantic with the barren loins, the eternal knave devouring the eternal fool, the most glorious of all the animals, who uses his brain for the most part to make himself a stench in the nostrils of the Bull, the Fox, the Dog, the Tiger, and the Goat.
Yes, this is man, and it is impossible to say the worst of him, for the record of this obscene existence, his baseness, lust, cruelty, and treachery, is illimitable. His life is also full of toil, tumult, and suffering. His days are mainly composed of a million idiot repetitions — in goings and comings along hot streets, in sweatings and freezings, in the senseless accumulation of fruitless tasks, in decaying and being patched, in grinding out his life so that he may buy bad food, in eating food so that he may grind his life out in distressful defecations.
This is man, who, if he can remember ten golden moments of joy and happiness out of all his years, ten moments unmarked by care, unseamed by aches or itches, has power to lift himself with his expiring breath and say: This is man, and one wonders why he wants to live at all. A third of his life is lost and deadened under sleep; another third is given to a sterile labor; a sixth is spent in all his goings and his comings, in the moil and shuffle of the streets, in thrusting, shoving, pawing.
How much of him is left, then for a vision of the tragic stars? How much of him is left to look upon the everlasting earth? How much of him is left for glory and the making of great songs? A few snatched moments only from the barren glut and suck of living. Here, then, is man, this moth of time, this dupe of brevity and numbered hours, this travesty of waste and sterile breath. What Ignatius is telling us in this quotation is that Man is in a sense the center of all creation — that all other things are subordinate to him; but serve to draw man to the Creator. I now visualize the Father speaking to me of His Son, Jesus.
For in him were created all things in the heavens and on the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether Thrones, or Dominations, or Principalities, of Powers. All things have been created through and unto him and he is before all creatures, and in him all things hold together. I ask, therefore, for the grace to realize our union and growth in Christ, our God. I pray to make use of the loving things which he has given to me. In other words, I ask for a sense of responsibility to see things as a son.
And so I pray to respond as a Son. The Difference between Persons and Things. In other words, only the dignity of a Person can come into a Union with Christ. We are , therefore, made for the permanence of this union — for possession. It is during this courtship that I pass on to the second sense of Union — that being 2 its consummation. In other words, the courtship now passes into all eternity. This is, death, the passage from time to eternity. How contradictory man really is. At one moment we speak of him as Thomas Wolf, i. The Use of Things. But when we speak of things we do not necessarily mean those apart from me rather for example consider those which are a part of me, indeed a very important part, namely, my own bodily senses.
Bodily senses are but corridors to Life — to unite me to Christ. They are like tree branches which reach out for more life and growth — they bring food and nourishment to the tree. Sight — The power to see is but a channel to life. Sight is also a pleasure. In other words, we like to see sun sets, beautiful persons, etc.
Yet on the other hand, our sight can be a perversion. We can use it to kill — to separate me from God and from other men. Magazines, books, pictures, etc. This can be seen every day and is not just fantasy. And so not only does this separation occur but it also entails the loss of freedom. In other words, we develop our own prisons. But it too can enslave us. Drink is but one example of this unrelenting slavery.
Daily Meditations
Although it was intended to be a source of life it becomes for many the source of their own enslavement; their own death. Hearing — This too is meant to be a source of Life. Listen to the joy and happiness the sound of a grand chorus can bring. And yet consider how hearing, too is the source of death of enslavement.
Consider for example, dirty stories, gossip, undue criticism, etc. Sex — This is the most culminating means to unification by means of creation, and yet consider how misused it is. Consider the very instrument of Life and how it is turned into the instrument — the deadly instrument of death. Its primary existence is to give to procreate life, yet it most tragically results in death, in enslavement. Consider for example, broken homes, abortions, prostitution, etc. Consider how enslaved a prostitute really becomes, how lonely and how destitute she must be, how rejected, how dead. The Intellect — The greatest gift that man and for the fact I possess is that of my mind, my own intellect.
In other words, I have the gift of the power to know and to love. While these are the most treasured and powerful of all our being, consider how deadly they may become. It is the intellect which commits that first sin of pride. Finally, consider all of our gifts and abilities and how we misuse them.
How we turn from the source of life to the bloodstream of death and enslavement. In our colloquy we beg God for the ability to use his creation as a Son would; as Christ did. Let us make our whole meditation on the words of St. Paul in his letter to the Romans 7: This meditation is still on what St. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
What Paul is saying is that our whole being, body and soul should be with Christ in word, action, and deed, and thought. In our second prelude we ask and pray for the grace of detachment. It is only logical that the more things rule and dominate me the more passive and dominated I become. Furthermore man seems to pervert that which is actually good in itself, as was seen in the previous meditation. An order that frees and liberates. Consequently, as far as we are concerned, we should not prefer health to sickness, riches to poverty, honor to dishonor, a long life to a short life.
The same holds for all other things. How, we ask ourselves, do we fail to be indifferent? Is it the way our child acts? Is it where myself becomes the norm? In other words, is indifference the norm of my action? It is good because I want it, or I want it because it is good? To sum up this negative aspect of indifference we can say that a lack of indifference can be manifested when the things in themselves become for us the norm.
If a painter liked the color red to such an extent that everything he painted, he did so with that color. A positive meaning of indifference is a singlemindedness in regards to things. This is to say, by being single minded is to direct and use things only in so far as they have a goal in mind. They are the means and not the end.
Indifference means a detachment only where there is attachment. Ignatian Indifference involves a process of mortification. Ignatian Indifference means to seek first the kingdom of God and all other things will be given accordingly. To use them as the master desires. Indifference means a grateful use of things; it is an expression of gratitude.
Ignatian indifference means to use things as a Son. I must act as a Son would; an adopted Son of God. In our colloquy we beseech Blessed Virgin Mary to veil us with a disposition of indifference as St. Ignatius intended and as Christ pre-ordained. We ask the Father in the name of Christ to grant us true indifference with regard to his creation: In the previous meditations i.
They were based on what Ignatius calls the First Principle and Foundation. I look around me, at the things of the world; and I look at myself and ask: The meaning of Man. In other words, we must go to the source of man; the creator of man. It is here where the true dignity of man is really brought to an understanding. It is here where man takes on a meaning. Man is not the depraved animal which Thomas Wolf portrays, although there are some men who act as such.
Man, Things, and God. In this meditation we will be reflecting on what Ignatius calls the First Exercise. It is concerned with the Triple Sin. I said my whole composite being, body and soul.
What is contemplative prayer?
The Pathology of Love. In other words love becomes full of disease; a cancer; disordered and sick; and filled with hate. When we meditate on the pathology of love it is to see just how sick we really are; and then again to hope to attain or regain our health in the Love of Christ. And so Christ is the medicinal cure of our pathology of love. Jesus loved Lazarus very much and desired to express his love for his dead friend. Thus Jesus gave him his love. Let us pray that Christ instill such love for us. And so we must look at ourselves as we really are.
Although I am alive; I may be deceiving myself and really be dead — dead to Christ. Yet we say that we are alive and that God is dead. My Soul is a Prisoner. Ignatius it is sin which enslaves us within our bodies. Through Sin Man is an abortion and it is sin which corrupts the body.
Consider the many people in hospitals, old age homes, and even our own Infirmary? Sin affects my memory, remembering only the dead and unpleasant things of our life and the lives of others. The good that one does is interred with his bones but the bad lives on forever.
Sin also affects my understanding; my actions towards others, especially when they do not what we require of them. Finally consider how sin affects the body; how it makes us enslaved; how dead we really become!
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In essence sin makes us an exile from the family of the communion of Saints. And so to be alive without the grace of God is to be like a brute beast. The expulsion of the Devils in Gerasa certainly indicates what spiritual and corporeal harm sin can do. I pray with true contrition to know the meaning of sin in my own life; and to realize how Christ liberates me as he liberated the man in Gerasa. Here it is our desire to visualize the tremendous existential effect that sin really has. We also try to visualize how the effect of sin can literally change the whole created structure.
I pray therefore, to have the grace to respond to His love always. Ignatius, I consider the one sin of the angels with the many sins I have committed.
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I will consider that they went to hell for one sin, and the number of times I have deserved to be condemned forever because of my numerous sins. In other words, sin is an aversion from God and a conversion to something less than God. And so the source of sin is spiritual. Ignatius says that Pride is really the root of all sin. It is pride because in it we make ourselves the center of all things, rather than attributing God as the Center. Since pride is immaterial and is of the spirit it is the sin of pure intention; malice. An angel is a person, unlimited by a body.
And so in the order of being it is plausible that there be a spiritual person — in other words, an un-incarnate person. It is important at this point to take warning: So we must take heed and fight this because it is spreading like cancer. If not checked in time they will deny the spiritual existence of God and really proclaim his death.
Angels are not something in outer space, rather they are in this world; they are related to us as we ae related to a lesser society known as animals. But an angel is completely a person; thus being so the angelic sin is really a sin of pure malice. Consider that their sin was really directed against Christ.
For in him were created all things in the heavens and on the earth, things, visible and things, invisible, whether Thrones, or Dominations, or Principalities, or Powers. All things have been created through and unto him, and he is before all creatures, and in him all things hold together. Again, he is the head of his body, the Church; he, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things, he may have the first place.
For it has pleased God the Father that in him all his fullness should dwell, and that through him he should reconcile himself to all things, whether on the earth or in the heavens, making peace through the blood of his cross. It is in this passage in which Peter is showing and describing the design of God.
But Hell was not created by God, rather we create hell because without God is Hell. And so the Angels created their own hell. The sin of the angels is an emptying of god. And so immediately their world was changed into a Hell. For from God I came forth and have come; for neither I come of myself but he sent me. Why do you not understand my speech? Because you cannot listen to my word. The father from whom you are is the devil, and the desires of your father it is your will to do.
He was a murderer from the beginning, and has not stood in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie he speaks from his very nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I speak the truth you do not believe me. Which of you can convict me of sin? If I speak the truth, why do you not believe me? He who is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear is that you are not of God.
It is death which reduces man to dust, but it is sin which reduces him to hell; and even spirits are capable of being reduced thusly. I pray not that I may understand sin as I never did before. Sin is actually the cause of death; it brings about the reduction of man to dust. I also must consider my own potential to do intended malice. Finally, I pray to Christ to give me his judgment on sin.
I pray to Mary: When we are baptized we become adopted sons of God and so our knowledge of God is in a sense adopted. And so too it is with prayer. It is precisely at this point where my prayer becomes sacrificial. Sometimes it will be with Christ in the desert, sometimes in groups; but no matter how it is enacted all prayer is rooted in the Our Father — which is the true expression of our sonship with Him.
As in knowledge there are different degrees of prayer also: The Discursive prayer is the type in which we are getting acquainted with the person to whom we are addressing our self. It is the getting to know you type of prayer. The Affective prayer is the type where there flows an expression of common desires. After we get acquainted with a person we begin to express our common interests and desires.
So too in prayer. Prayer of Quiet is a resting type of expression. It is deeply affective and penetrates the hidden thoughts of our hearts. This tension must always be attended to if our intentions are to remain strong.
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The intention, therefore is always constant. The Spiritual Exercises paragraphs Let us try to visualize in this meditation how the whole composite being becomes dead as the result of sin. Consider how we really resist Love as our First Parents did. I will ask God, our Lord for the grace to see my own sinfulness.
Spiritual Exercises, paragraph 51, ff. Spiritual Exercises, paragraph 52, ff. In other words, most people today do not believe in the existence of Hell. Yet let us also ponder how lucky we really are in that we just escaped from the reaches of the flames. Consider how many people have died in the act of sin.
I said consider this point: I should bend my knees and bow my head in thanksgiving for the fact that I am not in Hell today — I should really consider myself as an escapee. Spiritual Exercises, paragraph I shall also reflect upon myself and ask: As I behold Christ in this plight, nailed to the cross, I shall ponder upon what presents itself to my mind.
The Meaning of Sin in the Scripture. I will consider my soul as a prisoner in this corruptible body, and my whole composite being as an exile here on earth, cast out to live among brute beasts. My whole composite being, body and soul. I will ask for shame and confusion, because I see how many have been lost on account of a single mortal sin, and how many times I have deserved eternal damnation, because of the many grievous sins that I have committed.
Old Testament Notion of Sin. The more I called them, the farther they went from me, sacrificing to the Baals and burning incense to idols. Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, who took them in my arms; I drew with them human cords, with bands of love; I fostered them like one who raises an infant to his cheeks; yet, though I stooped to feed my child, they did not know that I was their healer. Again the notion of the bridegroom who is seeking his adulterous bride, Israel. The prophets see sin as an attempt to throw the world back into chaos.
Two evils have my people done: Sin In the New Testament. In this the children of God and the children of the devil are made known.
In my colloquy I place myself beneath the Cross upon which hangs the Savior. I pray for true shame and confusion, that I a sinner am responsible for what His love cost. This will be the same as in I pray for true sorrow, for true tears, and true repentance for my sins. I want to realize how much I lost and Who I lost. The Seriousness of My Sins. Even if I consider sin in itself I can see how detestable it really is — just in themselves they are a step toward eternal damnation.
What is my true dignity? I reflect that so often we seek our glory in what we refuse to be. I must accept myself. And so I am going to consider the God whom I have sinned against. Is He some kind of Tyrant? Is he a dictator? I must consider my ingratitude especially when I use created, God given things, to turn against Him. The Contradiction — Sin. Why does Creation tolerate me when I go against its growth? Why do we hinder — digress instead of progress? As I kneel and realize my sense of loss I must also give thanks and adoration to Christ Crucified.
For it is only through Him that my loss is replenished. In this meditation I will ask God to grant me a true disposition, knowledge, and a sense of sorry in reconsidering the Triple Sin. Secondly, I am walking with God in the Garden of Eden when he is looking for Adam after his sin was committed. Once again I ask God for true tears of sorrow. I ask to be truly confused and shamed. The Sin of Adam. My own sins — an examination of conscience. In this question of penance attention should first be drawn to the Spiritual Exercises, paragraph 82ff. Basically penance means interior sorrow.
It is not the same thing as regret. In other words I can only do penance for something that involves responsibility. External Penance, on the other hand, is an expression of internal sorrow. It is sacrificial — a giving up. In other words, Penance is a restoration of which the first object is to make a repair — reparation. We give up in order to make up. But in order to be moved to penance I must first recognize and admit that I am a Sinner. For if I am not a sinner then I am not even redeemed. There are three modes of Penance: The Second object of Penance is an expression of desire — that of petition.
By performing a certain penance I am at the same time requesting something or some grace from God. Thirdly, our penance becomes a way of ordering our disorderly inclinations. In this way Penance becomes a healing process. Fourthly, our Penance becomes a way of expression my Union with Christ as Sacrifice. In other words, as Lam of God who take away the sins of the world — my sins. And so Penance is really an indication of my own Christian Personality — a redeemed Christian who is a sinner.
This meditation is found in the Spiritual Exercises, paragraph Here I seek to gain a vision of my own sins and to develop a sense of utter abhorrence for them. Here I pray for the light of faith — a faith which enlightens me and enkindles my soul with deep sorrow. I also pray for restoration to the order of creation. A consideration of the Powers of Light.
Superficial light is the kind of light which only illumins the surface — only manifesting the scab of sin. The light of reason is the kind of light which serves to explain the whyness of the sin — the scab. It is understanding which necessarily has to point to a remedy. It foresees restoration; healing. The Light of Faith is the inner depths of reality — it is as it were the third dimension of reality. It is here where I begin to develop a real genuine abhorrence for my sins. It is here where the healing process begins to permeate the whole sore. And so I am now converted from my avertedness from God.
I now try to realize the repercussions of my sins and how they affected the lives of others. Here we may consider not only those sins which we committed but also those of omission. Paul is calling attention to sinning venially. Paul is probably referring to an element of disorder which is related to venial sin, namely, our attitude. What is my attitude? And so it is when my actions manifest my attitude that I really become culpable to sin. I will use the three colloquies as given in the Spiritual Exercises, paragraph I see Christ hanging on the Cross for me!
Jesus, please wash me with the blood which is spilling out for me; draining the Life out of you, My Sacred Vessel. An explanatory sheet was handed out. I see Jesus, a disfigurement of all that is human, and yet containing within himself the whole of humanity — the whole of creation.
What more can I do but pray quietly. Sanctification is the concentration of Life; And so what I am saying is that it is my earnest desire to be filled with the ebbing Life of Jesus. He gave his life that I may possess Life — his Life. Flesh saves flesh by the impregnation of the Holy Spirit. With this realization I beg Jesus for a deep reverence for flesh. It is not an instrument of pleasure, but rather one of sanctification.
Consider the high regard Christ had for the flesh — to the extent that he called it a temple wherein dwells the Holy Spirit. I am reminded of the words: This is why God has placed us in a community, given us his word, and called us to his side through the Spirit.
That is why we need to daily fellowship with him in prayer and scriptural meditation. He gives us new and fresh grace for the battle. The habit of meeting with him daily to strengthen the bond of our friendship is like daily renewing marriage vows and commitments; it reminds us to whom we belong and gives us encouragement to live faithfully in the relationship.
So we see that daily, uninterrupted communion with the Lord deepens our friendship with the Savior. We also see that it is in those times of talking alone with him that he begins to impact us in terms of a holy life. We begin to take in his values and virtues and to discard those that are not worthy of him.
Over time a character is formed in us. As the old saying goes:. Sow a thought, reap an act. Sow an act, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny. But there is a third reason we seek to fellowship daily with the Lord in quiet-time. It is so that we can get on our hearts what is on his heart , namely, his church and the salvation of lost sinners e.
It is when we are with him that we are impacted by his mind on the issue. Again, there has never been a movement of God that is not in one way or another connected to prayer and the saints communing with their Lord. Remember that Jesus called the disciples to be with him so that by being with him he might make them fishers of men. The inevitable result of being with Jesus, as the pattern in the life of the disciples illustrates, is a desire and commitment to serve Him both by serving his people and by carrying the gospel to the world.
A great modern day example of this is the life of Dawson Trotman, founder of the christian organization called the Navigators. Through this one man God has touched not only my life, but also the lives of thousands of others throughout the world. But the work was born out of extended times of prayer and a daily habit of meeting with the Savior.
Sunday, August 25—At 6 a. Thursday, August 29—…Then a prayer meeting on the hill—alone with God. Because of this I must begin the day with but a few minutes of prayer. Spent three or four hours with Henry and Walt in a quiet rendezvous in the hills with God. God has never yet failed to bless such a season to the quickening of the inward man, and striking some needed blows to the carnal man. While waiting upon the Lord and reading His Word, He speaks to me very definitely. I was reading II Sam. I was strangely aware that God was nigh unto me.
David enquired [sic] many times of the Lord. I am and was then peculiarly and especially aware of mine own insufficiency and dependence upon the Lord. Chapter 7, wherein David was promised what God should verily do, burst with special significance before me. While reading the second time Hebrews 6: O, but that through Chapter 7, also Isaiah I am as sure as that Carey the missionary knew. I trust God, His Word, not myself nor my feelings. We might stop and learn a lesson. It was out of their close personal communion with God that their love for him grew, their likeness to him developed, and their heart for his work blossomed.
This is why we daily draw aside to seek friendship with the Lord. In the space that remains I would like to suggest a few thoughts for developing a consistent quiet-time. As you go about this process remember that it will not be easy nor without a fight. That you can be sure of. There are four things to think about. First, a consistent time. Second, a consistent place. Third, a consistent plan. It is important in the process of developing a regular and meaningful quiet-time, where you can be alone and away from distractions, to nail down a specific time each day. For those of you who have a set schedule every day this is usually not too difficult.
I find the best time is early in the morning, before I go to work. This may work for many guys who are working outside the home. Some of you may find the evening a better time. The important thing is that you have a block of time 15 minutes? Guard this time and ask the Lord to keep it free for prayer and meditation on scripture.
Obviously we are not saying that you cannot have a quiet-time at any other time, but it is important in developing a good holy habit to pave the way by seeking consistency. Another important factor is a consistent place, preferably not in front of the T.
Again, think of a place where you will have no distractions or at least as close to none as possible and where you will have freedom to pray out loud. Again, we can have a quiet-time anywhere e. One of the reasons Jesus went up into the hills at night to pray was because there were no crowds there and he could focus on the Father without interruption. Whatever place we decide on, it should be similarly chosen. It should be a portion long enough to provide some context to the story or teaching, but short enough so that much time can be spent in meditating on what has been read. It is here that we ask the Lord not only what the text means, but also what it now means for me.
I recommend a Psalm, a paragraph or two in Paul, or an episode in the narrative literature such as the gospels or OT. You will also want to take along a pen and journal to record your thoughts and to list things to pray about. The best way to envision your quiet-time is not as another thing to do—on top of the already overwhelming list of things to do—but as an opportunity to deepen a bond of love with the ultimate Friend.
We should look forward to it like we did Christmas morning as youngsters. Guests were over, mom and dad were sitting in the living room talking with friends, lights were twinkling on the tree, presents underneath, and the sound of laughter all around; excitement filled the air like a rich perfume. No kid can wait for Christmas morning. My prayer is that God would fill our hearts with that sense of excitement and expectation as we come to fellowship with him each day. Come to each quiet-time with that expectation and see if the Lord does not reward your seeking him.
I leave you with a passage of scripture:. Word, , Zondervan, , Handing Off the Baton 2 Timothy 4: Walking the Romans Road. Others consider a focused life of prayer or the spiritual consolations at the beginning of a more serious prayer life as contemplation. Still others are unable to engage in more intellectual forms of prayer and think of the prayer they are capable of experiencing as contemplation, while some lean toward a negation of all thought and feeling and call that contemplation. But then there are those who experience the contemplation of the mystics, such as those penned by St.
John of the Cross. Contemplative prayer, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church outlines by quoting St. This definition gets at the heart of what prayer is in its essence: In each of the three traditional Christian forms of prayer — vocal, meditative, and contemplative — this relationship is the source of the prayer. Meditation is above all a quest. The mind seeks to understand the why and how of the Christian life, in order to adhere and respond to what the Lord is asking.
The required attentiveness is difficult to sustain. We are usually helped by books, and Christians do not want for them: Meditation engages thought, imagination, emotion, and desire. This mobilization of faculties is necessary in order to deepen our convictions of faith, prompt the conversion of our heart, and strengthen our will to follow Christ CCC , It is union with God in the depths of our souls, where he purifies our vision so that we can pierce reality:. Contemplation is a gaze of faith, fixed on Jesus. This focus on Jesus is a renunciation of self.
His gaze purifies our heart; the light of the countenance of Jesus illumines the eyes of our heart and teaches us to see everything in the light of his truth and his compassion for all men. Contemplation also turns its gaze on the mysteries of the life of Christ. Thus it learns the "interior knowledge of our Lord," the more to love him and follow him. If prayer is a relationship with Jesus, then the three main forms of prayer are different ways of living out that relationship: This kind of prayer is a gift and not something we can make happen in the same that we can open our mouths and give voice to a prayer.
Teresa of Avila described prayer, especially contemplative prayer, she did not offer complex discourses but resorted to analogies to describe what is difficult to put into words. She wrote of the process of filling a bucket of water: Contemplation she likened to the direct filling from the source, a pure gift The Interior Castle. This is infused contemplation,.