Father Hawkswell’s Feb. 26 column “The age-old idolatry of the New Age” generated many letters from readers who disagreed with his views on Christian meditation. Here is a selection.
In his column, Father Hawkswell writes that Buddhist meditation underlies “Centering Prayer and the World Community for Christian Meditation.
The centre of Christian meditation is Christ, through whom God’s love for us is revealed in the Holy Spirit, in silence. I have been associated with the WCCM for 30 years and held national and provincial/regional coordinator positions. I have meditated for over 30 years. Our community is ecumenical. The founder, John Main, was a Benedictine Monk, as is our current director, Laurence Freeman, OSB.
Main bases his teaching of Christian meditation on Scripture, that is, what Jesus and the Apostles tell us about how to pray. His second source is found in the Church’s desert tradition that leads to a specific guide: Conferences written by John Cassian in AD365-435). Cassian is known as the Desert Father who brought the desert tradition to the Latin West. He emphasized the importance of effort and discipline as well as grace. Both are necessary for “purity of heart” to enter the “Kingdom of God.”
The WCCM practice of Christian meditation consists of a daily commitment of sitting upright and attentive for 20-25 minutes in a quiet place and repeating a prayer word silently, with the intention of quieting the mind and body, learning to let go of the ego, and accepting the experience of stillness. “Be still and know that I am God.” Meditation helps us to make a space for Jesus, by letting go of thoughts and images. Main’s recommendation of a prayer word is the Aramaic “maranatha” (Come Lord Jesus). The prayer word is an aid for focus.
This practice does not replace oral prayer or the sacraments. The benefits of this practice can be subtle. The discipline of meditation may not get easier, but other prayer forms and the sacraments may take on new depth and meaning. Also, there is often an increase in love and forgiveness, both for Christ, self, and others.
Christian meditation is Christocentric, based on teachings of Jesus, Scripture, and Christian tradition, not to mention the rich history of mysticism in the Church. It is a discipline, a practice, a commitment made within a Christian community and shared teaching. It is a form of Christian prayer much needed in our present time.
C. Donald
North Vancouver
Our desert Fathers and Mothers practiced Christian meditation. A 14th-century monk gave us a spiritual guide on contemplative prayer in The Cloud of Unknowing. In the 1970s Father John Main and Father Thomas Keating introduced the meditation practice to lay Catholics. Using the word “maranatha” (Rev 22:20) or “Be still … and know that I am God” (Ps 46:10), we surrender our mind and ego to gaze at our Lord. (Ps 27:8) The Rosary was also introduced around 1214 by St. Dominic as a form of meditation, repeating the words of Luke 1:42.
Be not afraid to be intimate with our Lord. Read his word and then be active serving him in the 23 hours left of your day.
Lucette Brind
Gibsons
I felt discouraged when I read the inaccurate description of the World Community for Christian Meditation. I have been meditating with this community through my parish for the past 14 years. John Cassian and the 4th-century Desert Fathers taught this ancient form of Christian prayer, which is also found in the 14th-century spiritual classic The Cloud of Unknowing.
Catholic patrons of WCCM are Cardinal Walter Kasper, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Cardinal John Tong Hon, Cardinal Sean Brady and Vatican Foreign Minister Archbishop Paul Gallagher. Bishop Douglas Crosby of Hamilton has described it as “a beautiful form of prayer.”
Father Laurence Freeman, Benedictine Spiritual Director of the WCCM and recipient of the Order of Canada for interfaith dialogue, will lead a retreat From Anxiety to Peace at UBC July 5-7, 2024, Participants can attend in person or online. For information I encourage a visit to WCCM-canada.ca.
As Pope Francis said on April 28, 2021, “Meditation within the context of Christian prayer guides men and women to advance, with the Holy Spirit, along the one way of prayer: Christ Jesus.”
JoAnn Kelly-Cullen
West Vancouver
It is good to clarify the use of sacramentals. They are reminders of what to focus our thoughts on and are not objects of power.
About 50 years ago, especially in Europe, the Catholic Church started putting away “old fashioned” things like sacramentals and statues and prayers to the saints.
This left a huge void that New Age was eager to fill.
My friend who lives near Munich tells me that if she wants a nice picture of the Guardian Angel, she can only find it in a New Age store.
I wish people had given me Guardian Angel pictures to put in my son’s room when he was small, but no such luck.
And now we lament the rise of the New Age.
As Catholics we have always had the treasures, and we threw them away.
I pray the Rosary on public transit and sometimes see others do it.
I always wear the Miraculous Medal visibly in public places and never had a bad reaction, only positive ones.
Of course, any young, intelligent person would be suspicious if we claimed that these objects have power. And they would be right.
We’d better know what function they have in our lives.
Marianne Werner
Vancouver
I have been practising Christian meditation for 20 years. Both Centering Prayer and Christian Meditation (WCCM) – organizations and prayer methods – were reintroduced by Catholic priests Father Thomas Keating, OSB, and Father John Main, OSB. They promoted contemplative prayer (or meditation) founded on Scripture, the Desert Fathers (e.g., Evagrius of Pontus), and the Christian teachings of The Cloud of Unknowing.
There is cross-fertilization with St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila, as well as the Roman Catholic Church’s long tradition of Christian mysticism.
Christian meditation groups (WCCM) often teach Lectio Divina as an accompaniment to meditation, using readings from the Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday.
Personally, when I returned to the Catholic Church (I was raised Catholic but left as a teen) and began Christian meditation, my devotion to the Holy Mother increased, and I began praying the Rosary. I also experienced greater devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. The Mass became even more inspiring and uplifting, and I felt a greater urge to serve God and do good works for him. Christian meditation also opened up the Scriptures for me.
I have seen lapsed Catholics return to the Church after starting the practice of Christian meditation, which is Christ-centred. It’s about sitting silently in God’s presence with an open heart – very akin to adoration of the Blessed Sacrament which I have done while meditating.
It is also called “prayer of the heart.”
Any commonalities between these ministries and Buddhism are superficial.
Darrell Taylor BA, BEd, MA, CPE, CCPAC
Spiritual Care Counsellor, Meditation Facilitator
Ebner House
Yellowknife, NT