We have looked at part of the beginning of meditation and now go a little farther into the prayer itself.
Remember that we first start with deep humility and adoration.
a) Take a position that preserves your interior reverence. For example, if you find It difficult to kneel, maybe sitting
will be the best position for you.
b) A prayer of preparation that involves adoration, sorrow, offering of self and petition to God to help us meditate well.
Prelude 1 - Representation of place to help our imagination e.g. Passion of Christ on Calvary; Incarnation with Mary and
Joseph in the stable
1) Purpose of first prelude is to fix our imagination to a definite object. If we stray we can return to that object and
recall what we are doing.
2) Suggestions: If historical fact, you are there. events actively take place before your eyes.
3) On invisible subjects or objects, e.g. virtues - try imagining a virtuous person etc. This may not always be
successful. Try imaging the virtue in the life of the Blessed Virgin etc. St. Ignatius used images of the known
saints.
4) Meditation on words of Christ or dogma of Church - take your place with the disciples as Jesus talks to them.
listen to Him.
Prelude 2
1) Pay for a special grace you wish to receive from this meditation, not said in the preparation prayer, maybe it will
be an enlightenment of the intellect or movement of the will to do something special that the meditation might
encourage you to do.
© Louis Schlangen 2013
Remember that we first start with deep humility and adoration.
a) Take a position that preserves your interior reverence. For example, if you find It difficult to kneel, maybe sitting
will be the best position for you.
b) A prayer of preparation that involves adoration, sorrow, offering of self and petition to God to help us meditate well.
Prelude 1 - Representation of place to help our imagination e.g. Passion of Christ on Calvary; Incarnation with Mary and
Joseph in the stable
1) Purpose of first prelude is to fix our imagination to a definite object. If we stray we can return to that object and
recall what we are doing.
2) Suggestions: If historical fact, you are there. events actively take place before your eyes.
3) On invisible subjects or objects, e.g. virtues - try imagining a virtuous person etc. This may not always be
successful. Try imaging the virtue in the life of the Blessed Virgin etc. St. Ignatius used images of the known
saints.
4) Meditation on words of Christ or dogma of Church - take your place with the disciples as Jesus talks to them.
listen to Him.
Prelude 2
1) Pay for a special grace you wish to receive from this meditation, not said in the preparation prayer, maybe it will
be an enlightenment of the intellect or movement of the will to do something special that the meditation might
encourage you to do.
© Louis Schlangen 2013