Father Hawkswell’s February 26th column “Ancient idolatry in the new age‘ received many letters from readers who disagreed with his views on Christian meditation. Here you have a choice.
Father Hawkswell wrote in his column that Buddhist meditation is at its core “centered on a world community of prayer and Christian meditation.”
The center of Christian meditation is Christ, through whom God’s love for us is silently revealed by the Holy Spirit. I have been with his WCCM for 30 years and have held national and state/regional coordinator positions. I have been meditating for over 30 years. Our community is ecumenical. Founder John Mayne was a Benedictine monk, as was current director Lawrence Freeman of OSB.
The main teaching of Christian meditation is based on the Bible, what Jesus and the apostles taught us about how to pray. His second source of information is in the desert traditions of the church, which lead to certain guides. It is a synod written by John Cassian from 365 AD to his 435 AD. Cassian is known as the Father of the Desert, who brought desert traditions to the Latin West. He emphasized the importance of effort, discipline, and grace. Both are necessary for “purity of heart” to enter the “kingdom of God.”
WCCM’s Christian meditation practice is a daily practice of sitting upright in a quiet place for 20 to 25 minutes and silently repeating a prayer, with the goal of quieting the mind and body and learning to let go of the ego. It consists of initiatives. And embrace the experience of silence. “Be still and know that I am God.” Meditation helps you make space for Jesus by letting go of thoughts and images. The prayer word Mayne recommends is the Aramaic word “maranatha” (Come, Lord Jesus). Words of prayer help improve concentration.
This practice is not a substitute for oral prayer or the sacraments. The benefits of this practice can be subtle. The discipline of meditation may not become so easy, but other forms of prayer and sacraments may take on new depth and meaning. It also often increases our love and forgiveness for Christ, ourselves, and others.
Christian meditation is Christian-centered and is based on the teachings of Jesus, the Bible, and Christian tradition, not to mention the rich history of mysticism in the church. It is a discipline, a practice, a promise, and a shared teaching within a Christian community. It is a form of Christian prayer that is much needed in modern times.
C.Donald
north vancouver
Our desert fathers and mothers practiced Christian meditation. A 14th century monk gave us a spiritual guide to meditative prayer in The Cloud of the Unknown. In the 1970s, Father John Mayne and Father Thomas Keating introduced the practice of meditation to Catholics. By using the words “maranatha” (Revelation 22:20) or “Be still and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10), we surrender our hearts and egos to the Lord. I look at it. (Ps. 27:8) The Rosary was also introduced around 1214 by St. Dominic as a form of meditation that repeats the words of Luke 1:42.
Don’t be afraid to be intimate with our Lord. Read His Word and actively serve Him for the remaining 23 hours.
Lucette Brind
gibson’s
I was disappointed when I read inaccurate descriptions of the Christian Meditation World Community. I have been meditating with this community through my parish for the past 14 years. John Cassian and his 4th century Desert Fathers taught this ancient form of Christian prayer. This can also be seen in the 14th century spiritual classic, The Clouds of the Unknown.
WCCM’s Catholic patrons are Cardinal Walter Kasper, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Cardinal John Tonhon, Cardinal Sean Brady, and Vatican Minister of Foreign Affairs Archbishop Paul Gallagher. Bishop Douglas Crosby of Hamilton described it as a “beautiful form of prayer.”
Father Lawrence Freeman, Benedictine Primate of WCCM and recipient of the Order of Canada for Interreligious Dialogue, will lead the From Anxiety to Peace retreat at UBC from July 5-7, 2024. Participants can participate in person or online. For more information, we recommend visiting WCCM-canada.ca.
As Pope Francis said on April 28, 2021, “Contemplation in Christian prayer allows men and women, together with the Holy Spirit, to move forward along the only path of prayer, Christ Jesus. I will guide you.”
Joan Kelly Cullen
west vancouver
It is good to clarify the use of the sacraments. They are reminders of what we should focus our thoughts on, not objects of power.
About 50 years ago, especially in Europe, the Catholic Church began putting away “outdated” things like sacraments, statues, and prayers to saints.
This created a huge vacuum that the New Age scrambled to fill.
A friend who lives near Munich says that if you want a nice picture of a guardian angel, you can only find it at New Age stores.
I wish people had given me pictures of guardian angels to hang in my son’s room when he was little, but I didn’t have that kind of luck.
And now we lament the rise of the New Age.
As Catholics, we have always had treasures, but we have thrown them away.
I pray the rosary on public transport and sometimes I see other people doing it.
I always visibly wear my Miraculous Medal in public and I have never had a bad reaction, only a positive one.
Of course, if we claimed that these objects had powers, any young and intelligent person would doubt them. And they would be right.
We should know what role they play in our lives.
Marianne Werner
Vancouver
I have been practicing Christian meditation for 20 years. The organization and prayer method of Centering Prayer and Christian Meditation (WCCM) was reintroduced by Catholic priests Father Thomas Keating (OSB) and Father John Mayne (OSB). They encouraged contemplative prayer (or meditation) based on the Bible, the Desert Fathers (such as Evagrius of Pontus), and Christian teachings. unknown cloud.
There is a cross-pollination with St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila, and the long tradition of Christian mysticism in the Roman Catholic Church.
Christian Meditation Groups (WCCM) often teach Lectio Divina as a meditation accompaniment, using the Lectionary readings for the following Sunday.
Personally, when I returned to the Catholic Church (I was raised Catholic but left in my teens) and began practicing Christian meditation, my devotion to Our Lady increased and I prayed the Rosary. started. I also experienced an increased devotion to the Eucharist. The Mass was even more moving and uplifting, and I felt a strong urge to serve God and do good deeds for Him. Christian meditation also opened me up to the Bible.
I have seen fallen Catholics return to the church after beginning a Christ-centered practice of Christian meditation. It’s about sitting quietly before God with an open heart, very similar to the Eucharistic adoration I did during meditation.
It is also called “prayer of the heart.”
The similarities between these ministries and Buddhism are superficial.
Darrell Taylor BA, Bed, MA, CPE, CCPAC
Spiritual care counselor, meditation facilitator
Ebner House
Yellowknife, Northern Territory
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