The Pope’s Catechism: Meditation is a way to meet Jesus

Renato Martinez – Vatican

Meditation involves thought, imagination, passion and desire. This mobilization is necessary to deepen convictions of faith, stimulate conversion of the heart, and strengthen the will to follow Christ. It is preferable for Christian prayer to be applied to contemplation of the mysteries of Christ, ”Pope Francis said before the general audience on Wednesday, April 28, continuing his Christian teaching cycle devoted to prayer. In his thirty-first Christian teaching devoted to this topic, the Supreme Pontiff meditated on Meditation as a form of prayerFrom the passage in the Gospel of Saint John (14, 25-25; 16, 12-15), where Jesus announced to his disciples that when the Holy Spirit comes, “He will teach them everything and remind them of what you have told them.”

Stand before the book of Revelation

In this context, the Holy Father specified that “for a Christian,“ contemplation ”means looking for a synthesis: this means that we stand before the big page of the Apocalypse to try to make it our own, assuming it completely. A Christian, having accepted the Word of God, does not close it. Within oneself, because this word must meet “another book,” which catechism calls the “book of life.” This is what we try to do every time we contemplate the word.

In today’s world, we all need to meditate

Likewise, Pope Francis noted that the practice of meditation is not only for Christians, but that there is a meditation practice in almost all religions of the world, it is an activity that is widespread among people who do not have a religious view of life. .. “We all need to meditate, think and rediscover ourselves, it is a human dynamic. Above all, in the gluttonous Western world – the Pope stressed – meditation is required because it represents a high bridge against the daily stress and emptiness that pervades all around.” The pontiff said that meditation is a phenomenon that must be looked upon with good eyes, in fact we are not obligated to run constantly, we have an inner life that we cannot always trample upon. Therefore, meditation is a necessity for everyone.

Prayer is meeting with others

This word, contained in a Christian context, affirmed the Holy Father, and assumes a specificity that should not be abolished. The great door through which the prayer of the baptized passes – and we remember him again – is Jesus Christ. Meditation also follows this path. “A Christian, when he prays, does not aspire to complete transparency about himself, he is not looking for the deeper essence of himself. A Christian’s prayer – as he defined it – is first of all an encounter with the other with Capital O.” If the experience of prayer gives us inner peace, or Controlling ourselves, or being clear about the path we must take, these results, so to speak, are side effects of the grace of Christian prayer that is an encounter with Jesus.

There are different ways to meditate

Pope Francis also noted that the term “contemplation” throughout history has had different meanings. Even within Christianity it refers to various spiritual experiences. However, some common lines can be drawn, and this is also aided by the catechesis, which says: “The methods of meditation are as varied as spiritual teachers. […] But the method is only a guide; What is important is the progress of the Holy Spirit on the only path of prayer: Christ Jesus ». Meditation is not possible without the help of the Holy Spirit.

The meditation method is a path, not a goal

Likewise, the Holy Father indicated that some methods of Christian meditation are very subtle, and others are more explicit; Some highlight the intellectual dimension of the person, while others highlight the emotional and emotional dimension. “All of them are important and deserve to be practiced, insofar as they can help the experience of faith become a complete work of the person: the human mind does not just pray, nor does it just pray the feeling.” That is why we must always remember that the method is a path, not a goal: any way to pray, if you want to be a Christian, is part of it. Sequel to Christie Which is the core of our faith.

Meditation is a way to find Jesus

Finally, Pope Francis said that this is the grace of Christian prayer, and that Christ is not far away, but he is always in a relationship with us. “There is no aspect of his human divine personality that cannot become for us a place of salvation and happiness. Every moment of Jesus’ earthly life, through the grace of prayer, can become contemporaneous for us.” Thanks to the Holy Spirit, we are also present at different moments of Jesus’ life. There is no page of the Bible that we have no place in. Meditation, for us Christians, is a way to find Jesus. And so, just like this, to rediscover ourselves.