Dallineation

I've been diving deep into historical and theological study but neglecting my spiritual life. I've been reading from the scriptures every day, but spiritual practices like prayer and meditation have kind of taken a back seat. I'm going to try to change that.

Prayer has been hard for me. It's been hard to feel like anything is getting through. I'm probably praying for the wrong things. Praying the way I've been taught all my life has always been hard for me, anyway. Hard to remain focused and intentional. Hard to develop and maintain a habit of personal prayer.

Spiritual meditation is something I've always wanted to try, too. Years ago I discovered the Nonviolence Radio podcast produced by the Metta Center for Nonviolence and I learned a little about meditation through their website and through another website they referred to called the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation. One of the things that has attracted me to Catholicism is their spiritual meditation practices. At least it's meditation from an LDS perspective because we don't have any set meditation practices, whereas Catholicism has a rich liturgy and prayer tradition.

From my perspective, praying the Rosary can be a form of spiritual meditation. I haven't really tried saying any Catholic prayers yet. I guess it feels awkward and a little scary. LDS doctrine is clear about avoiding “vain repetitions” in prayers, though we still kinda use them all the time. There's only so many ways you can pray over a meal, haha.

But I think, going back to my own difficulty with prayer, it's about being intentional. And I think one can be intentional praying the Rosary if one's thoughts and heart are focused on Jesus Christ and holy things. So that wouldn't be vain repetition, would it?

Set prayers are also not common in LDS practice, except for specific ordinances. So I wrestled with that early on in my study of Catholicism. But what I came to realize is that a set prayer is just a hymn without music. And we LDS love our hymns. Thinking about it that way makes set prayers a lot less foreign a concept to me. Especially with the understanding that we can still express to God whatever is in our heart through prayer, too.

I think whatever your faith – or no faith at all – taking time to be still, to center yourself, to clear and refocus your thoughts on what is truly important can be hugely beneficial. It's worth a try.

Discuss...

#100DaysToOffload (No. 133) #faith #Lent #Christianity #meditation