How to meditate – two methods
Our series on St Louis de Montfort's Total Consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary draws on St Ignatius' Spiritual Exercises. Here is a guide to help navigate St Ignatius' method – with a simpler one:
Our series on St Louis de Montfort’s Total Consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary draws on St Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises. Here is a guide to help navigate St Ignatius’ method – along with a simpler one:
Introduction
Many converts read their way into the Church through matters of philosophy and doctrine, and few cradle Catholics have been taught to meditate. As such, the topic of meditation and mental prayer can seem very mysterious and even daunting.
Someone who opens the Spiritual Exercises for the first time might be bewildered by St Ignatius’ use of terms. What are preludes? Where do I find the preparatory prayer? Why does this meditation tell me to use a colloquy from a previous meditation, which in turn sends me back to another previous one?
This article – intended as a supplement to our series on St Louis de Montfort’s preparation for Total Consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary (beginning Friday 21 November) – is going to break down the basics of St Ignatius’ method, as well as suggest another method that some might find simpler to use.
Remote Preparation
Many spiritual masters say that it is best to meditate first thing in the morning, to have decided the subject of our meditation the night before, and to have it as the last thing we think of before sleep and the first thing we think of as we rise.
While this is surely very sound advice in itself, life in the world – especially family life – can make this very difficult to follow consistently.
On a retreat, the meditations are chosen for you, and the retreat master will normally deliver a conference explaining the points, giving the retreatants material to help their reflections. In our series on St Louis de Montfort’s Total Consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary, we provide Fr Aloysius Ambruzzi’s conferences on each exercise to supply this need.
When we are on our own, we have to choose the subject of our meditation – whether it be through picking up a book of daily meditations and turning to the relevant date or where we left off, or simply deciding for ourselves.
Preparation
The first stage of the meditation is to put yourself in the presence of God.
Set a timer for your meditation, silence your telephone and other distractions, and put yourself in a position conducive to prayer (St Ignatius mentions kneeling, sitting, standing, or even lying facedown).
One could say a prayer like the following:
Most holy and adorable Trinity, one God in three Persons, I believe that you are here present; I adore you with the deepest humility, and render to you, with my whole heart, the homage which is due to your sovereign majesty.
In this preparation for the consecration to the Blessed Virgin, it would be fitting to bring Our Lady to mind, and to place ourselves before her, seeking her assistance in our prayer.
The next step is the preparatory prayer:
O my God and Sovereign Lord, I beg of thee the grace that all my intentions, actions and operations may be directed during this meditation solely to the praise and service of thy divine majesty.
The next steps are the preludes.
The first is a way of setting the scene, theme or tone of the meditation. Do not get too hung up on trying imagine scenes if this is difficult for you. Fr Ambruzzi offers us the following for the meditation on the principle and foundation.
The first Prelude is to hear God say, on completing the work of material creation, “Let us make man to our image and likeness.”
The second prelude is what we want from the meditation. This may be to know, love and serve Christ better, contrition for our sins, light and knowledge, and so on. Fr Ambruzzi offers us the following:
The second Prelude is to ask for light that I may truly know my origin, the object of my life here and my eternal end hereafter, and for grace that I may direct all my thoughts, words, and actions to this end.
We can turn this second prelude into a prayer by referring to the preparatory prayer. For example:
O my God and Sovereign Lord, I beg of thee the grace of [light that I may know my origin, the object of my life and my eternity, etc.]
Meditation
The Exercises and books of meditation often offer a series of points upon which we can reflect. St Ignatius’ usual method uses language that might not be immediately obvious to us today: for example, he says to apply:
Our memory – by which he particularly means recalling the points of the meditation. Fr Ambruzzi suggests considering the subject of the meditation with the questions Who? What? Where? Why? How? When?
Our understanding – by which he means reflecting on the truths upon which we are meditating. Fr Ambruzzi suggests considering: What is the truth here? What practical conclusion or resolution should I draw from it? How have I observed or lived up to this truth in the past, and what must I do in the future?
Our will – by which he means acts of love, contrition, forming good resolutions, etc.
At other times, when relevant, he has us consider:
The persons relevant to the meditation – e.g., Our Lord, Our Lady, Zaccheus, Judas, etc.)
The words which these persons say
The actions which they do.
One can ask oneself the questions above here as well – and try to make a practical resolution suitable to our state in life.
At still other times – such as for meditations on the Passion, or the post-resurrection appearances, St Ignatius has further points for considerations.
For meditations on the Passion, he would have us consider also the following three points:
Fourth Point. The fourth, to consider that which Christ our Lord is suffering in His Humanity, or wants to suffer, according to the passage which is being contemplated, and here to commence with much vehemence and to force myself to grieve, be sad and weep, and so to labor through the other points which follow.
Fifth Point. The fifth, to consider how the Divinity hides Itself, that is, how It could destroy Its enemies and does not do it, and how It leaves the most sacred Humanity to suffer so very cruelly.
Sixth Point. The sixth, to consider how He suffers all this for my sins, etc.; and what I ought to do and suffer for Him.
For meditations on the Resurrection and post-Resurrection appearances, he offers two further points:
Fourth Point. The fourth, to consider how the Divinity, which seemed to hide Itself in the Passion, now appears and shows Itself so marvellously in the most holy Resurrection by Its true and most holy effects.
Fifth Point. The fifth is to consider the office of consoling which Christ our Lord bears, and to compare how friends are accustomed to console friends.
Colloquy
The points of the meditation are intended to lead us to the colloquy, by which he means speaking to Our Lord, the other persons of the Holy Trinity, Our Lady, or any other of the saints.
The End
St Ignatius’ method typically ends with a vocal prayer such as the Our Father or the Anima Christi.
Following this, he tells us, we should examine how well we have prayed, and how well we have followed our chosen method.
St Francis de Sales also suggests the idea of “a spiritual bouquet” or “nosegay” – something from the meditation which we can write down and call to mind throughout the day:
“When walking in a beautiful garden most people are wont to gather a few flowers as they go, which they keep, and enjoy their scent during the day. So, when the mind explores some mystery in meditation, it is well to pick out one or more points that have specially arrested the attention, and are most likely to be helpful to you through the day, and this should be done at once before quitting the subject of your meditation.”
(Introduction to the Devout Life, Book II, Chapter 7)
Deviating from the method is not a sin, and can sometimes be good or even necessary – that is not what he has in mind. But a brief review of the prayer can be helpful for noticing when and where we were distracted, which points particularly stood out for us, and for considering how we can improve in the habit of prayer.
Another method
Some people find all this too complicated, and especially confuse themselves by focusing on non-essentials like imagining a scene, rather than the heart of the meditation and of prayer itself – which St Teresa describes as:
“Prayer, in my opinion, is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us” (Life, 8:5).
Another method for the meditation and colloquy, inspired by the recommendations of Dominican Fr Henry Wilberforce OP, which some might find simpler – because it provides a natural flow through related acts, rather than requiring us to navigate between distinct “powers.” It is as follows:
Meditation (Wilberforce)
Once the mind has chosen the point upon which to meditate and prepared oneself (see the remote and proximate preparations above), one moves through the following acts of the intellect and will, resting one or the other as seems appropriate, and talking to God throughout:
Faith – One professes belief in the relevant truths of the meditation; e.g., that God did indeed make us, or that Christ did indeed heal the leper, or that sin is worthy of Hell, etc.
Humility – One considers the great chasm between the grandeur and goodness (or otherwise) contained in these truths, and our own lowliness, weakness and unworthiness.
Confidence/Hope – One protests that, in spite of our unworthiness, we know that God’s power, goodness and promises mean that we will overcome the obstacle, attain the good, and so on.
Thanksgiving – This confidence and hope naturally turns to thanksgiving for God’s goodness, specifically for the points at hand (his grace or mercy in relation to the relevant points), as well as in general (e.g., whatever comes to mind – him having made us, given us this or that good, etc.)
Contrition – The goodness for which we thank God once again throws our own unworthiness into relief. Not only are we weak and incapable, but we have also sinned against the good God who raises us to the supernatural level, protects us, etc.
Love – Contrition turns to acts of charity, the crown of the meditation. It is often useful to reflect on what changes or resolutions this meditation prompts us to make, but it would be wrong to get bogged down with this if it distracts us from meditating on and contemplating God’s goodness.
After one has moved through these points, resting where appropriate, one can move to the next point. This advantage of this method is that it naturally flows along, incorporating colloquies throughout the meditation.
The extra points on the Passion and the Resurrection, and the important “Triple Colloquies” which appear in the Exercises (and which we will address in the series itself), are all easily incorporated into this method as well.
One could also end the meditation in the same way as described in reference to St Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises (vocal prayer and examination of the time in meditation).
Conclusion
The second method is somewhat similar to Fr Garrigou-Lagrange OP’s suggestion for beginners. After a preparation and abasement of oneself, he advises them to progress from making acts of faith in some divine truth, to acts of hope and then charity. Fr Wilberforce’s method essentially introduces a few extra acts or stages in order to facilitate that progression.
However, the most important thing is not to get stressed or distracted by method – and if one can simply sit lovingly in the presence of God (and Our Lady), then that is fine too.
In fact, it is more than fine. What St Francis de Sales says of this in reference to vocal prayer applies also to meditation, which is not identical with mental prayer:
“If, while saying vocal prayers, your heart feels drawn to mental prayer, do not resist it, but calmly let your mind fall into that channel, without troubling because you have not finished your appointed vocal prayers.
“The mental prayer you have substituted for them is more acceptable to God, and more profitable to your soul. I should make an exception of the Church’s Offices, if you are bound to say those by your vocation—in such a case these are your duty.” (Introduction to the Devout Life, 2.1.8).
This is because discursive meditation is not the end, but the means by which we are supposed to progress to true, simple and then infused mental prayer. Garrigou-Lagrange cites Bossuet to illustrate this point:
“Meditation is very good in its time and very useful at the beginning of the spiritual life; but we should not stop there, since the soul, by its fidelity in mortifying and recollecting itself, ordinarily receives a purer and more intimate prayer, which may be called the prayer of simplicity.
“This prayer consists in a simple view, a gaze on God, on Jesus Christ, or on one of His mysteries. Therefore, leaving reasoning behind, the soul makes use of a sweet contemplation which holds it peaceful, attentive, and susceptible to the divine operations and impressions which the Holy Ghost communicates to it. It does little and receives much… and, as it draws nearer to the source of all light, grace, and virtue, it is also proportionately expanded.” (Three Ages of the Interior Life, Vol. I, Ch. 35)
Beginners should not worry if this does not happen immediately, or even soon. Meditation is itself a good and fruitful practice.
Nonetheless, it can be difficult. We have previously published an overview of Dom Eugene Boylan’s book Difficulties in Mental Prayer which readers might also find useful:
Postscript: A practical note
St Francis de Sales also says the following in the same place as cited above:
“If it should happen that your morning goes by without the usual meditation, either owing to a pressure of business, or from any other cause, (which interruptions you should try to prevent as far as possible,) try to repair the loss in the afternoon, but not immediately after a meal, or you will perhaps be drowsy, which is bad both for your meditation and your health. But if you are unable all day to make up for the omission, you must remedy it as far as may be by ejaculatory prayer, and by reading some spiritual book, together with an act of penitence for the neglect, together with a steadfast resolution to do better the next day.”
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