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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. [1] The word meditation comes from the Latin word meditārī, which has a range of meanings including to reflect on, to study, and to practice.
The history and origins of Christian meditation have been intertwined with that of monastic life, both in the East and the West.By the 4th century, groups of Christians, who came to be called the Desert Fathers, had sought God in the deserts of Palestine and Egypt, and began to become an early model of monastic Christian life.
In Christian teachings, this form of meditative prayer leads to an increased knowledge of Christ. [ 28 ] Unlike meditative practices in Eastern Christianity – for instance, hesychasm , where the Jesus Prayer is repeated many times – Lectio Divina uses different Scripture passages at different times.
The English meditation is derived from Old French meditacioun, in turn from Latin meditatio from a verb meditari, meaning "to think, contemplate, devise, ponder". [11] [12] In the Catholic tradition, the use of the term meditatio as part of a formal, stepwise process of meditation goes back to at least the 12th-century monk Guigo II, [12] [13] before which the Greek word theoria was used for ...
Meditation is an activity of one's spirit by reading or otherwise, while contemplation is a spontaneous activity of that spirit. In meditation, man's imaginative and thinking power exert some effort. Contemplation then follows to relieve man of all effort. Contemplation is the soul's inward vision and the heart's simple repose in God. [73]
Centering Prayer is a method designed to facilitate the development of contemplative prayer by preparing our faculties to receive this gift. It presents ancient Christian wisdom teachings in an updated form.
Among the Carmelites, there was no regulation for mental prayer until Teresa of Avila (1515–1582) introduced it, practicing it for two hours daily. According to Jordan Aumann, Teresa of Ávila distinguishes nine grades of prayer: (1) vocal prayer, (2) mental prayer or prayer of meditation, (3) affective prayer, (4) prayer of simplicity, or acquired contemplation or recollection, (5) infused ...
Affective meditation is a Christian spiritual practice originating in Medieval Europe [1] [2] by which a pilgrim, worshipper, or other follower of Christ seeks to imagine the sights, sounds, tastes, smells, movement, and tactility of specific scenes from canonical Gospels and their characters, with particular emphasis on empathising with the compassion and suffering of Jesus and the joys and ...