Resources Booklet

Contents
MEDITATION, WELLBEING & CATHOLIC IDENTITY

The language of meditation............................................................. 2

Some quotes relating to meditation................................................ 3
Meditation practice: general............................................................ 4
Meditation for students: practice and preparation......................... 5
Leading Meditation: Time Process.................................................. 6
TIME Process.................................................................................... 7
Scaffolding for Silent Meditation..................................................... 8
Meditation in the Whole School...................................................... 9
Resources.......................................................................................... 10
Readings........................................................................................... 11

THE LANGUAGE OF MEDITATION

GUIDED/REFLECTIVE MEDITATION:

Using the imagination; reflection; thinking

deeply; relaxation/movement of the body

SILENT MEDITATION:

Being present in silence, simplicity

and stillness through the practice of
attentiveness with a non-judgemental
attitude.
SOME QUOTES RELATING TO MEDITATION 3

MINDFULNESS: Silence is letting what there is,

MEDITATION, WELLBEING & CATHOLIC IDENTITY

be what it is, and in that sense is
Mindfulness is the awareness that profoundly to do with God. When
emerges through paying attention we experience moments where there
on purpose, in the present moment, is nothing we can say or do that
and non-judgementally to things as would not intrude on the integrity
they are. -JON KABAT-ZINN and beauty of what is before us, that
is a silence that takes us into God.
IN CHRISTIAN TRADITION:
-ROWAN WILLIAMS

Prayer is the laying aside of

Each person as he or she is at rest
thoughts. -EVAGRIUS PONTICUS, 399 CE
is worthwhile – they don’t become
We pray in our inner room whenever worthwhile by all they do when not
we withdraw our hearts completely at rest. It’s from that point that God
from the tumult and the noise of our will move in them, create afresh,
thoughts and our worries, and when change. -ROWAN WILLIAMS
secretly and intimately we offer our
Meditation is the discovery of our
prayers...
own inner freedom.
by repeating a single verse.
-KALLISTOS WARE
-CONFERENCES OF JOHN CASSIAN, 420 CE

Meditation is to allow God’s

Use this little word and pray not
mysterious and silent presence
in many words but in a little word
within us to become more and more
of one syllable. Fix this word fast to
not only a reality, but the reality in
your heart so that it is always there
our lives; to let it become that reality
come what may. With this word, you
which gives meaning, shape and
will leave all thoughts.
purpose to everything we do, to
-THE CLOUD OF UNKNOWING,
14TH CENTURY
everything we are. -JOHN MAIN

CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVES: What we take in by contemplation

we must pour out in love.
Silence is not an absence of sound -MEISTER ECKHART
but is the object of a positive
sensation, more positive than that
of sound. -SIMONE WEIL

It starts not from thinking and self-

awareness but from being...
-THOMAS MERTON
 4 MEDITATION PRACTICE: GENERAL

PRACTICE: BEING PRESENT

MEDITATION, WELLBEING & CATHOLIC IDENTITY

IN SILENCE POSSIBLE WORDS OR PHRASES:

Be comfortable in posture: sitting upright Peace

and closing eyes lightly.
Calm
Choose a practice and continue it
Centre
throughout the meditation. Silence
Awareness
• Noticing your breath lightly, and/or Stillness
• Repeating a word or phrase silently Simplicity
with no rush or force. Presence
Listen
During the Practice: Be
• Whenever you notice a movement
Being
away from a sense of being present*,
(through excessive thinking* or
Let it be
drowsiness), return to your practice Be still
with no rush or force. This can seem Yes
like beginning over and over again.
• A stronger sense of awareness/ CHRISTIAN MANTRAS:
presence/silence may develop, and (OR A WORD OR PHRASE
there may be no need to continue OF YOUR CHOICE)
repeating the practice. If you notice
that you are reflecting on the Faith
experience – return to the practice. Jesus
Mercy
* Being Present: an interplay of Peace
attentiveness and open receptivity. It is
Peace be with you
about willingness rather than wilfulness.
Be Still and Know that I am
* Thoughts: may include feelings, thinking, God
images, memories, sensory impressions Maranatha
Lord Jesus have mercy on me
Amen
MEDITATION FOR STUDENTS: 5
PRACTICE AND PREPARATION

MEDITATION PRACTICE PREPARING FOR MEDITATION

MEDITATION, WELLBEING & CATHOLIC IDENTITY

FOR STUDENTS
Breathing:
Non-judgmental, moment-to-moment 1. Sit comfortably (on a chair or the floor)
awareness of the moment and close your eyes lightly. Pause.
2. Listen to the sounds outside the room.
Prepare for Practice: Pause for 15 seconds.
• Sit upright and comfortably, close your 3. Listen to the sounds inside the room.
eyes lightly Pause for 15 seconds.
4. Become aware of your breathing.
Choose a Practice and continue that Pause for 15 seconds.
practice throughout the meditation: 5. Now follow your breath as it comes
• Awareness of your breath, OR in and goes out, listen to it.
• Repeating a word or phrase 6. Notice the gentle rise and fall of your
chest as you breathe.
Repeat your practice silently and with no rush Pause for 30 seconds.
or force; to be centred; or as prayer
Relaxation:
During the Practice: 1. Sit comfortably (on a chair or the floor)
• Whenever you notice your thoughts* and close your eyes lightly. Pause.
return to the word and/or breath again 2. Beginning with your feet, slowly/
• Accept your thoughts as they are - gradually move through each section
let them go like clouds in the sky of the body step by step – tensing and
drifting past relaxing as you go, e.g. ‘Be aware of your
feet on the floor, tense/tighten them and
*Thoughts may include thinking, feelings, hold (pause), now let them relax’. Pause.
images, memories. 3. Be particularly aware of the spine,
shoulders, neck, and face.

Including students who find silence and

stillness challenging:
• Spending time choosing the word or
phrase
• Gazing at the candle flame, or looking
down at hands
• Awareness of breathing
• Use of beads/stress balls
• Combining with other forms of prayer/
meditation
• Use of a labyrinth

www.lessons4living.com/Finger%20Labyrinth.PDF
 6 LEADING MEDITATION: TIME PROCESS
MEDITATION, WELLBEING & CATHOLIC IDENTITY

TRANSITION

How do we move into

a more contemplative
mode?

INTENTION
ENGAGEMENT
SCAFFOLD
FOR LEADING What is the purpose
What does it mean
MEDITATION and meaning of the
for daily life?
practice?

MEDITATION

Is everyone clear about

how to participate?
TIME PROCESS (Not necessarily in sequential order) 7

It is best to commit to practicing 3. Meditation:

MEDITATION, WELLBEING & CATHOLIC IDENTITY

consistently (at least once per week) for Allow time for silence and stillness.
a short amount of time (a few minutes) The following activities may be helpful
rather than occasionally for a longer time. for this:

1. Transition: • Giving clear and simple instructions

Allow time for students to move from on the method of meditation, the
the busyness of their daily activities amount of time for the meditation
into a more contemplative space. [Junior (F-4): 3-5 minutes, Middle
The following activities may be helpful (5-9): 5-10 minutes, Senior (10-12): up
for this: to 15 minutes] - use a bell to measure this
• Suggesting ways to include students
• Set the environment – you may wish who find silence and stillness
to dim the lights, set a prayer focus, challenging e.g. gazing at the candle
light a candle, use music. flame, awareness of breathing, use of
• A short relaxation exercise. beads or labyrinth, combining with
• A time to focus on posture, other forms of prayer/meditation
encouraging students to sit upright • Conclude the silence with a short
and relaxed. prayer: The Our Father or Glory Be.

2. Intention: 4. Engagement:
Allow time to be mindful of intention. Allow time to engage with the world.
Contemplative prayer is an expression The following activities may be helpful
of our faith in, and desire for, union for this:
with God. The word or breath (in the
context of prayer) is an expression of our • Encouraging expression through
intention, of our faith in God’s presence. journaling, art - how do you move back
The following activities may be helpful into daily life with a deeper awareness
for this: of the sacred?
• Emphasising that meditation leads
• Suggesting that meditation provides to compassion and other fruits and
an opportunity: to be silent and make providing time for students to reflect
space; and to be present silently with on how this relates to their own lives.
God who is present with us.
• Suggesting that meditation provides
a time to centre and calm ourselves
which is helpful for stressful times
e.g. study, exams, relationships,
preparing to play sport etc.
• Exploring Scripture and meditation.
 8
SUGGESTED The Lost Sheep: Lk 15:3–6
SCRIPTURE The Good Shepherd: Jn 10:11–15
PASSAGES Jesus at Prayer: Mk 1:35, Lk 5: 16, Lk 6:12
Prayer: Mt 6:6-7, Lk 11:5–13
MEDITATION, WELLBEING & CATHOLIC IDENTITY

Do Not Worry: Mt 6:25-34

Jesus Stills a Storm: Mk 4:35–41
Three Parables: Mt 13: 44-50
Parable of Growing Seed & Mustard Seed: Mk 4:26–32
Jesus Blesses Little Children: Mk 10:13–16
Jesus Thanks his Father: Mt 11:25–30
The Man with a Withered Hand: Mt 3:1–6
Feeding the 5000: Mt 14:13–21

SCAFFOLDING FOR SILENT MEDITATION

Timing: Word:
• Working together to build up the time • Saying the word without rush or force
of silence gradually – it is ok to have other thoughts going
on – just stay with the word/breath as
Posture: well.
• Developing the skills of being both • Spending reflection time choosing
“upright” (firm) and “comfortable” a word or phrase – and drawing/
(relaxed) to enable stillness. painting the word and/or including the
• Encourage closing the eyes, or looking students’ words/phrases as part of the
down at the palm of the hands/gazing prayer table
at a candle
Distractions
Breath: • Working together to continue
• Practice the experience of breathing – developing ways to deal with
‘loud and soft’ distractions – having suggestions
• Hold the stomach as it moves in and around the room (e.g. “I let
out distractions go out the window”, “I
• Have different points of focus for the focus on my body on the chair/floor”)
breath – e.g. at the nostrils or at the • Combining with other forms of prayer/
stomach meditation
• Lie down and balance a paper boat on • Use of beads/stress ball or the
the stomach as it rises and falls with labyrinth – these are to be used with
the waves of the breath caution with the aim of letting them go
over time
 9

MEDITATION, WELLBEING & CATHOLIC IDENTITY

MEDITATION IN THE WHOLE SCHOOL

• Develop a consistent practice/culture

of meditation across the school – keep
it simple with clear messages – short
and consistent is better than long and
occasional
• It is a journey that takes time –
work with your entire community
– considering different ways of
developing meditation in your context
• Support each other – share learning
and resources
• Include the theory and practice of
meditation
• Connect meditation to the curriculum
• Meditation also forms part of the
whole Catholic School experience
• Use the students as leaders
10 RESOURCES
MEDITATION, WELLBEING & CATHOLIC IDENTITY

DVD: ASG Student Social and Emotional Health

• Time for the Sacred: Meditating in Report: www.asg.com.au/socialemotional
the Christian Tradition. (CEOM DVD, (81 schools , 4 years, 11,526 students across
2009) all levels)
• 50% reported not learning how to
Websites: cope with stress
• www.resourcemelb.catholic.edu.au • 40% reported difficulty calming down
RESource – in the Worship section – • 40% said they worry too much
“Christian Meditation” • 30% said they are very nervous
• www.contemplativeoutreach.org • 20% at some point felt very hopeless
Centering Prayer resources and depressed for a week and had
• www.wccm.org stopped regular activities
Christian Mediation resources
• www.cominghome.org.au Books:
Christian meditation for children and • Open Mind, Open Heart by Thomas
young people Keating – Centering Prayer
• www.mindfuleducation.org • Word Into Silence by John Main –
Mindfulness in education Christian Meditation
• Christian Meditation: Your Daily Practice
by Laurence Freeman – a great place
to begin
• Mindfulness for Life by Stephen
McKenzie and Craig Hassed
• Hurry Up and Meditate by David
Michie
READINGS 11

MEDITATION, WELLBEING & CATHOLIC IDENTITY

READING 1: THE CHRISTIAN of the divinely inspired texts that revealed
CONTEMPLATIVE TRADITION levels of meaning that the Spirit, by
strengthening one’s faith through the gifts
Extracts from Intimacy with God of wisdom and understanding, enabled
by Thomas Keating the Christian gradually to perceive. The
manifold gifts of the Spirit were believed to
One of the enduring legacies of the Second come into full exercise through the regular
Vatican Council was its call to return to practice of prayer and the growth of faith
the gospels and to biblical theology as the into contemplation with its progressive
primary sources of Catholic spirituality. stages of development. ...
The Word of God is the insertion of God
into the human family and the insertion of St Gregory the Great at the end of the sixth
the human family into God in the person century ... described contemplation as “the
of Jesus Christ. The Father, the Son, and knowledge of God that is impregnated
the Holy Spirit are together, in one nature, with love.” For Gregory, contemplation
both the Ultimate Mystery and the Ultimate was both the fruit of reflecting on the
Reality. Their interior relationship of total word of God in Scripture and a precious
giving and receiving is the divine life that gift of God. He called it “resting in God.”
Christ was sent to share with us. In this “resting” the mind and heart are
not so much seeking God as beginning to
The Fathers of the Church in their homilies experience, “to taste,” what they have been
frequently explained the Scriptures from seeking. This state is not the suspension of
a contemplative perspective, or, as it all activity, but the reduction of many acts
was called in those days, “in the spiritual and reflections to a single act or thought to
sense.” The spiritual sense was understood sustain one’s consent to God’s presence
to contain much more than an allegorical and action at the depths of one’s being
interpretation of a particular text. It was during the time of prayer.
rather an insight into the inherent nature
12

The understanding of contemplation The practice of contemplative prayer is

MEDITATION, WELLBEING & CATHOLIC IDENTITY

as the knowledge of God based on the not an effort to make the mind a blank but
intimate experience of God’s presence to move beyond discursive thinking and
remained throughout the Middle Ages. affective prayer to the level of communing
Ascetical disciplines (such as fasting, vigils, with God, which is a more intimate kind
prolonged solitude, periods of silence, of exchange.
ascetical obedience, simplicity of lifestyle)
and more spiritual disciplines (such as In human relationships, as mutual love
discursive meditation, affective prayer, deepens, there comes a time when the two
veneration of icons, psalmody, chanting, friends convey their sentiments without
the rosary) always included contemplation words. They can sit in silence sharing an
as part of their Christ-centred goal. experience or simply enjoying each other’s
presence without saying anything. Holding
Lectio Divina is the most traditional way hands or a single word from time to time
of cultivating contemplative prayer. A can maintain this deep communication.
mainstay of Christian monastic practice
from the earliest days, it consists in —
listening to the texts of the Bible as if one
were in conversation with God and God
were suggesting the topics for discussion.
Those who follow the method of Lectio
Divina are cultivating the capacity to listen
to the word of God at ever deepening
levels of attention. Spontaneous prayer
is the normal response to their growing
relationship with Christ, and the gift of
contemplation is God’s normal response
to them.

The reflective part, the pondering on the

words of the sacred text in Lectio Divina,
is called meditation, discursive meditation.
The spontaneous movement of the will
in response to these reflections is called
oratio, affective prayer. As these reflections
and particular acts of will simplify, one
tends to resting in God or contemplation.

These three acts – discursive meditation,

affective prayer, and contemplation –
might all take place during the same
period of prayer. They are interwoven.
One may listen to the Lord as if sharing a
privileged interview and respond with one’s
reflections, with acts of will, or with silence
– with the rapt attention of contemplation.
 13

READING 2: is no technique, no rules: “Where the Spirit

MEDITATION, WELLBEING & CATHOLIC IDENTITY

WHAT IS PRAYER & is, there is liberty” (2 Corinthians 3:17).
HOW DO WE PRAY?
The Holy Spirit in the modern Church,
Extract from Christian Meditation: Your Daily especially since the Vatican Council in
Practice by Laurence Freeman the early 1960’s, has been teaching us to
recover this other dimension of our prayer…
A very old definition of prayer described This means that we must move beyond
it as “the raising of the heart and mind the level of mental prayer: talking to God,
to God.” What is the “mind, “what is thinking about God, asking God for our
the “heart”? The mind is what thinks - needs. We must go to the depths, to where
it questions, plans, worries, fantasizes. the spirit of Jesus himself is praying in our
The heart is what knows – it loves. hearts, in the deep silence of his union with
The mind is the organ of knowledge, our Father in the Holy Spirit.
the heart…the organ of love. Mental
consciousness must eventually give way Contemplative prayer is not the privilege
and open up to the fuller way of knowing of monks and nuns or special mystical
which is heart consciousness. Love is types. It is a dimension of prayer to which
complete knowledge. we are called. It is not about extraordinary
experiences or altered states of
Most of our training in prayer, however, consciousness. It is what Thomas Aquinas
is limited to the mind. We were taught as called the “simple enjoyment of the truth.”
children to say our prayers, to ask God for William Blake spoke of the need to “cleanse
what we or others need. But this is only the doors of perception” so that we can see
half of the mystery of prayer. The other half everything as it truly is: infinite. This is all
is the prayer of the heart where we are not about the contemplative consciousness as
thinking of God or talking to him or asking lived in ordinary life. Meditation leads us
for anything. We are simply being with to this and it is part of the whole mystery
God who is in us in the Holy Spirit whom of prayer in the life of any person who is
Jesus has given us. The Holy Spirit is the seeking fullness of being.
love, the relationship of love that flows
between Father and Son. It is this Spirit How do we pray?
Jesus has breathed into every human heart.
Meditation, then, is the prayer of the heart St. Paul said that we do not know how to
uniting us with the human consciousness pray, but the Spirit prays within us (Romans
of Jesus in the Spirit. 8:26). This is the key to understanding
the real meaning of Christian prayer. It
We do not even know how to pray but suggests that we learn to pray not by trying
the Spirit himself prays within Us. to pray but by giving up, or letting go, of
(Romans 8:26) our trying. And instead, learning to be.
This opens access to the deeper prayer of
For mental prayer - praying in words or the heart where we can find the “love of
using thoughts about Cod - we can make God flooding our inmost heart through the
rules. There are many “methods of mental Holy Spirit he has given us” (Romans 6:5).
prayer,” but for the prayer of the heart there This is pure experience, beyond thought,
dogma and imagination. The important
 14

question is how can we open our whole openness to the mutual knowing and inter-
MEDITATION, WELLBEING & CATHOLIC IDENTITY

self to this pure experience of love’ in our being which is love.

“inmost being”? First, let’s look at the
three essential elements of contemplation 2. Stillness:
again. These answer the question “how” do
we pray - we pray by becoming silent, still One of the psalms says “Be still and know
and simple. that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). Stillness
does not mean a state of inertia or death.
1. Silence: To know God is to be fully alive. Stillness
is the balance of all the many forces and
We need silence for our psychological energies that make up a person - physical,
health as well as for our spiritual growth. mental and spiritual. As with silence,
With television, personal stereos and stillness has both an exterior and an
the traffic noise in modem cities, silence interior dimension. Stillness has nothing to
is becoming more and more difficult to do with the holding in, the blocking or the
experience. But the real silence is interior. repression of movement or action. It is the
In fact, even if we are in a very noisy place, fulfilment of all movement and action.
we can be silent if we are concentrated, In prayer we need to come to physical
which means at one with our own centre. stillness. This is the first step of the inner
We learn to be silence by paying attention. journey to God at the centre of our being.
Attention brings the centre of our being Physical stillness helps us to realize that
to full consciousness. It brings us from our bodies are sacred - “temples of the
the past and the future into the present Holy Spirit” (I Corinthians 6:19). In fact,
which is gentle and restful. There is 110 simply learning to sit still is a great step
reasons why we cannot be silent in a forward on any spiritual path. For many it
busy street, in a traffic jam, or waiting in is the first lesson in going beyond desire –
a supermarket line. Learning to be silent the urge to scratch or fidget. Our physical
at the times of meditation teaches us to restlessness reflects not only bodily stress
“pray” at all times. It teaches us also to use and tension, but also mental anxiety and
every delay or frustration in daily life as an distractedness. Physical stillness has a
opportunity, indeed a gift, to go deeper, to direct effect upon the silence of our mind,
learn to listen, to wait in our new-found and so helps immensely to bring body
silence. Silence is truthful. It is healing. It mind and spirit into harmony. But the next
pacifies our inner turmoil. It is the cure for dimension of stillness is interior. To come
destructive anger, anxiety and bitterness. to a stillness of mind is the great challenge
In silence we learn the universal language of prayer. How can we deal with the
of the Spirit. God speaks the creative word constant activity of the mind?
out of a boundless silence which pervades
all we think and do. Silence in prayer, as 3. Simplicity
between two people, is a sign of trust and
acceptance. Without the capacity to be Christian prayer is awakening to the reality
silent, we are unable to listen to another that we are at home now in the kingdom
person. In its essence, silence is nothing of God. Jesus told us that the kingdom of
less than worship in spirit and truth. So, it God is within us and also that we must
is not just the absence of noise. Silence is a become like children, if we are to enter this
whole attitude of being, of relating, and an kingdom. “The kingdom is not a place but
 15

an experience” (John Main). Being simple return to it whenever you get distracted. Be

MEDITATION, WELLBEING & CATHOLIC IDENTITY

is not easy. We are constantly analysing simple. Be faithful.
ourselves, our feelings, our motives - or
other people’s - and our constant self- Aramaic is the language Jesus spoke, the
consciousness makes us very complex same language as the word “abba,” which
and confused. But God is simple - love he constantly used in referring to God.
is simple. Meditation is simple. Being Maranatha is the oldest Christian prayer.
simple means being ourselves. It means It means “Come Lord, “or “The Lord
passing beyond self-consciousness, self- comes.” St. Paul ends the First Letter to
analysis and self-rejection. Meditation is a the Corinthians, and St. John, the Book
universal spiritual practice which guides us of Revelation, with this phrase which
into this state of prayer, into the prayer of expresses the deep and simple faith of
Christ. It brings us to silence, stillness and the early church. The meaning and sound
simplicity by a means that is itself silent, of the word are both important. But as
still and simple. you say the word, do not think about the
meaning. The mantra leads us deeper
The means is the repetition of a single than thought, to pure being. It leads us by
sacred word faithfully and lovingly during faith. We say the mantra in faith and love.
the time of meditation. Today we call Listening to the mantra as we say it is the
the sacred word a mantra. This is a very ever-deepening work of a journey of faith.
ancient Christian way of prayer which has
been recovered for modern Christians by Four rules help you to persevere:
the Benedictine monk John Main (1926- • don’t have any demands or
1982). John Main recovered this way of expectations
bringing the mind to rest in the heart • don’t evaluate your meditation
through the teaching of the first Christian • integrate it into your daily life, with
monks, the Desert Fathers, especially morning and evening practice
John Cassian (4th century A.D.) It is in the • live its consequence, day by day.
same tradition as the Cloud of Unknowing
written in England in the 14th century —

John Main taught that to meditate you:

i. sit still with your back straight
ii. close your eyes
iii. repeat your mantra interiorly, and
continuously.

Choose a quiet time and place every

morning and evening and meditate for
about 20-30 minutes each time. An ideal
mantra is the ancient Aramaic phrase
maranatha. Say it as four syllables of equal
length, clearly and continuously: MA-RA-
NA-THA. Say it without haste and without
expecting anything to happen. Listen to
the mantra with your whole being. Gently
The School of Prayer is a program of the Archbishop’s Office for Evangelisation.
It offers formation in the Catholic tradition of prayer, with a special focus on
Lectio Divina and meditation. The School supports the formation of prayer
leaders in parish, educational and healthcare settings, offering input and
resources that promote prayer suited to contemporary needs. The work of the
School of Prayer is driven by the Forum, whose members represent parishes,
schools, hospitals, and spirituality centres around Melbourne.
For information on the School of Prayer, visit www.cam.org.au/evangelisation
or contact the Archbishop’s Office for Evangelisation on 9926 5761.