Part 1 Chapter 9
"Impediments to Spiritual Progress"
Because Monsignor Lejeune connected knowledge that advances spiritual progress and meditation, it would be worthwhile to discuss what meditation is and is not. Several religions use this same word to describe very different activities. For some of them it is connected with emptying one's mind of thought. Individuals who regard themselves as "spiritual" but not religious use the word to describe a quieting of the mind, a relaxing technique, or a way to focus inward on their own "spirit". Still others attach the word "guided" to meditation when someone, in person or through a book or audio, inserts himself into another's imagination for the purpose of exploring thoughts or emotions, sometimes on a religious theme and sometimes not. Holy Mother Church means something quite specific when she uses the word "meditation."
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
"2705
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: the Sacred Scriptures,
particularly the Gospels, holy icons, liturgical texts of the day or season,
writings of the spiritual fathers, works of spirituality, the great book of
creation, and that of history--the page on which the "today" of God is
written.
2706
To meditate on what we read helps us to make it our own by confronting it with
ourselves. Here, another book is opened: the book of life. We pass from
thoughts to reality. To the extent that we are humble and faithful, we discover
in meditation the movements that stir the heart and we are able to discern
them. It is a question of acting truthfully in order to come into the light:
"Lord, what do you want me to do?"
2707
There are as many and varied methods of meditation as there are spiritual
masters. Christians owe it to themselves to develop the desire to meditate
regularly, lest they come to resemble the three first kinds of soil in the
parable of the sower.5 But a method is only a guide; the important
thing is to advance, with the Holy Spirit, along the one way of prayer: Christ
Jesus.
2708
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.
Christian prayer tries above all to meditate on the mysteries of Christ, as in
lectio divina or the rosary. This form of prayerful reflection is of great
value, but Christian prayer should go further: to the knowledge of the love of
the Lord Jesus, to union with him.
2723 Meditation is a prayerful quest engaging thought, imagination, emotion, and desire. Its goal is to make our own in faith the subject considered, by confronting it with the reality of our own life."
In effect, meditation is not vague or abstract. It has a deliberate subject. "I am meditating on Mary's humility in the Magnificat." "While my mouth prays these ten Hail Mary's, I am meditating on the third sorrowful mystery of the rosary." Also, because meditation is a type of prayer, we must seek the aid of the Holy Spirit in order for it to bear fruit. Although I am employing my human faculties, "thought, imagination, emotion and desire", Catholic meditation is not supposed to be about me.
With this understanding, we can see clearly how a laborer in the field, a poor servant girl, or a person working at a convenience store is capable of spiritual progress through this type of knowledge. It is equally possible for someone with factual knowledge of his religion to be stunted in his spiritual growth because he lacks this type of knowledge, which penetrates the mind and infuses the heart.
Perhaps today, there are five or ten minutes available for you to contemplate one of the beautiful truths of our faith. Monsignor Lejeune outlined a few examples.
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Additional notes:
"Through the study of books one seeks God; by meditation one finds Him." Padre Pio
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