What is meditation…
What is meditation? It means to “remember” what God is done and not to forget all his gifts to us… a way in which our mind makes contact with the heart of God.
–Pope Benedict XVI (1927-
Prayer is…
Prayer, according to its quality, is communion and union of man with God, by its action it upholds the world. It is reconciliation with God. It is the mother, but also the daughter, of tears. It is the atonement of sins, a bridge over temptations, a wall against affliction, a crushing of conflicts, a work of Angels, the food of the Incoporeal, future gladness, boundless work, source of virtues, cause of grace, invisible progress, food of the soul, illumination of the mind, an axe against despair. a proof of hope, a cure for sorrow, the wealth of monks, the treasure of hesychasts, the reduction of anger, the mirror of progress, the demonstration of stature, an indication of one’s condition, a revelation of future things, a sign of glory. For one who truly prayers, prayer is the court, the judgment hall and the tribunal of the Lord before the judgement to come.
–Saint John Climacus (c. 525-606)
Prayer is a bath…
[P]rayer is a bath, an open place, a bed of pleasure wherein the soul rests and finds refreshment in God.
–Saint Peter of Alcantara (1499-1562)
Prayer is the life…
Prayer is the life of the new heart. It ought to animate us at every moment. But we tend to forget him who is our life and our all. This is why the Fathers of the spiritual life in the Deuteronomic and prophetic traditions insist that prayer is a remembrance of God often awakened by the memory of the heart.
–Catechism of the Catholic Church #2697
The wonder of prayer…
The wonder of prayer is revealed beside the well where we come seeking water: there, Christ comes to meet every human being. It is he who first seeks us and asks us for a drink. Jesus thirsts; his asking arises from the depths of God’s desire for us. Whether we realize it or not, prayer is the encounter of God’s thirst with ours. God thirsts that we may thirst for him.
–Catechism of the Catholic Church #256
Prayer is the…
Prayer is the place of refuge for every worry, a foundation for cheerfulness, a source of constant happiness, a protection against sadness.
–Saint John Chrysostom (347-407)
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