Aspects of Christian meditation was the topic of a 15 October 1989 document of the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible ...

. The document is titled "Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on some aspects of Christian meditation" and is formally known by its incipit, ''Orationis formas''. The document issues warnings on differences, and potential incompatibilities, between

Christian meditation Christian meditation is a form of prayer in which a structured attempt is made to become aware of and reflect upon the revelations of God. The word meditation comes from the Latin word ''meditārī'', which has a range of meanings including to r ...

and the styles of

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...

used in eastern religions such as

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

. The document warns of fundamental errors in combining Christian and non-Christian styles of meditation. Referring to the constitution ''

Dei verbum ''Dei verbum'', the Second Vatican Council's Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on 18 November 1965, following approval by the assembled bishops by a vote of 2,344 to 6. It is one of the principal documen ...

'' the document emphasizes that all Christian prayer and meditation should "proceed to converge on Christ" and be guided by the gift of the Holy Spirit. It reaffirmed that the Church recommends the reading of the Scripture prior to and as a source of Christian prayer and meditation. Similar warnings were issued in 2003 in '' A Christian reflection on the New Age'' which characterized

New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...

activities as essentially incompatible with Christian teachings and values.

Warnings

This document of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith stresses the differences between Christian and eastern meditative approaches. It warns of the dangers of attempting to mix Christian meditation with eastern approaches since that could be both confusing and misleading, and may result in the loss of the essential

Christocentric Christocentric is a doctrinal term within Christianity, describing theological positions that focus on Jesus Christ, the second person of the Christian Trinity, in relation to the Godhead/ God the Father (theocentric) or the Holy Spirit ( pneumo ...

nature of Christian meditation. The letter warns that "euphoric states" obtained through Eastern meditation should not be confused with prayer or assumed to be signs of the presence of God, a state that should always result in loving service to others. Without these truths, the letter said,

, which should be a ''flight from the self'', can degenerate into a form of self-absorption. The letter warns against concentration on the self, rather than on Christ, and states that:

Christian prayer, ..., the communion of redeemed creatures with the intimate life of the Persons of the Trinity, based on Baptism and the Eucharist, source and summit of the life of the Church, implies an attitude of conversion, a flight from "self" to the "You" of God. Thus Christian prayer is at the same time always authentically personal and communitarian. It flees from impersonal techniques or from concentrating on oneself, which can create a kind of rut.

The letter also warns that concentration on the physical aspects of meditation "can degenerate into a cult of the body" and that equating bodily states with mysticism "could also lead to psychic disturbance and, at times, to moral deviations."

Structure

The document has seven sections:

Papal references

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

later referred to the document in addresses at a general audience in 1999 and to a particular group in 2003, using it as an example of how Christians need to focus their prayers. He referred to it also when saying, in the letter with which he marked the closing of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, that, by opening our heart to the love of God, prayer also opens it to the love of our brothers and sisters, and makes us capable of shaping history according to God's plan.

Related announcements

In 2003, the Vatican issued further warnings regarding

practices including meditation.''New Age Beliefs Aren't Christian, Vatican Finds''
February 8, 2003,

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

Monsignor Michael Fitzgerald stated at the Vatican conference on ''A Christian Reflection on the New Age'' that the "Church avoids any concept that is close to those of the New Age". Cardinal

Paul Poupard Paul Joseph Jean Poupard (born 30 August 1930) is a French prelate of the Catholic Church who has been a Cardinal since 1985. He held positions in the Roman Curia for more than 25 years, serving as President of the Pontifical Council for Cult ...

, head of the

Pontifical Council for Culture The Pontifical Council for Culture ( la, Pontificium Consilium de Cultura) was a dicastery of the Roman Curia charged with fostering the relationship of the Catholic Church with different cultures. It was erected by Pope John Paul II on 20 May ...

, said that the "New Age is a misleading answer to the oldest hopes of man".Vatican website
According to the review of the document in ''

The Tablet ''The Tablet'' is a Catholic international weekly review published in London. Brendan Walsh, previously literary editor and then acting editor, was appointed editor in July 2017. History ''The Tablet'' was launched in 1840 by a Quaker convert ...

'' "there is never any doubt in the document that New Age is incompatible with and hostile to the core beliefs of Christianity".

February 8, 200
''Vatican grapples with New Age beliefs''
/ref>

References

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External links