People tend to use meditation and contemplation interchangeably. Part of the reason for this is because New Age practices have not made inroads to the Catholic psyche until modern times, and because some doctors of the Church, such as St Igantius used the word “contemplation” for meditation, which involves thought and mental processes. Contemplation is a gift for a few, while meditation or silent mental prayer is the responsibility for all.
“Meditation engages thoughts, imagination, emotion and desire“ CCC 2708
Catholics should read carefully the Vatican document on New Age issues. “Christian prayer is not an exercise in self-contemplation, stillness and self-emptying, but a dialogue of love, one which “implies an attitude of conversion, a flight from ’self’ to the ‘You’ of God”. It leads to an increasingly complete surrender to God’s will, whereby we are invited to a deep, genuine solidarity with our brothers and sisters.” (Jesus Christ the Bearer of the Water of Life)
Catholic Meditation or Occult Meditation?
LETTER TO THE BISHOPS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON SOME ASPECTS OF CHRISTIAN MEDITATION @ (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
CENTERING PRAYER
Breathe a certain way
Maintain a certain posture
Repeat a word or phrase,
Use a word or phrase to stay "focused"
Go beyond thinking or thought
Turn inward in order to find or be with God
Be in silence in order to truly pray
This is Centering Prayer.
Centering Prayer was started in 1976 at the St. Joseph's Abbey by Fr. William Meninger based on the Cloud of Unknowing. It was Cistercian monk, Father Thomas Keating during his work in interreligious dialogue who popularized it in the network called Contemplative Outreach.
"Many people assume centering prayer is compatible with Catholic tradition, but in fact the techniques of centering prayer are neither Christian nor prayer. They are at the level of human faculties and as such are an operation of man, not of God. The deception and dangers can be grave." Rev. John D Dreher
Occult cannot be made safe by Christianizing the terminology or the techniques. Centering prayer is an offering with a catch. It’s all very spiritual and mystical, but you are entering into an experience with angels of light – which is really darkness and you know who is really behind it; Satan, the father of lies. Men like Thomas Keating, Basil Pennington and Henri Nouwen are “false apostles, deceitful workers, who masquerade as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan masquerades as an angel of light. So it is not strange that his ministers also masquerade as ministers of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)
By encouraging Eastern meditative techniques blended with Catholic forms of prayer the body of Christ is becoming infected with the philosophies of men and the doctrines of demons. We should be concerned about such leaders; they are putting the body of Christ at risk.
The Danger of Centering Prayer
Centering Prayer: Catholic Meditation or Occult Meditation?
THEOSOPIC PRAYER
Theosopic Prayer is mental science; a type of mind healing with the help of invisible forces of Nature. Theosophy is Wisdom-Religion from the archaic ages.
Apparently theosophy was handed over to the first humans by some “highly intelligent spiritual entities from superior spheres”, AKA demons, and these "ascended masters" have been living on Venus for 18,000 years and will shortly return. No, I am NOT kidding!!!
The word Theosophy came from a compound Greek word: theos, a "divine being," a "god"; sophia, "wisdom". The Theosophical Society is dedicated to the oneness of all life [Pantheism] and to independent spiritual search [Gnosticism].
Objects of The Theosophical Society
"• To diffuse among men a knowledge of the laws inherent in the Universe. [wisdom based - Gnosticism, with 'highly intelligent spiritual entities (demons) from superior spheres' influenced adepts for teachers]
• To promulgate the knowledge of the essential unity of all that is, and to demonstrate that this unity is fundamental in Nature. [we are all one with nature - pantheism]
• To form an active brotherhood among men. [their version of Church]
• To study ancient and modern religion, science, and philosophy. [wisdom based - Gnosticism, the do-what-you-wantism with freedom of conscience, one religion is as good as another]
• To investigate the powers innate in man. [be a 'god']" Source
Here is what EWTN has to say on the topic:
The Founders of Modern Theosophy
Theosophy: Origin of the New Age
ZEN MEDITATION
A Zen Christian Humanist writes:
”I'm a full-time lay pastoral worker in the Philippines. I'm the head of a Catholic lay covenanted community with 70 core members which was founded by my late father in the early seventies ( 1972, to be exact). All of our members are lay people coming from all walks of life (single, married, students, professionals, businessmen, etc.) trying to live a Christian life in the world. Our community was the offshoot of the Charismatic Renewal. (go figure!) However, our community has a strong contemplative orientation since our main charism is Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The Blessed Sacrament is exposed in our community center 24 hours a day.
Although I'm Catholic and our community members are all Catholics, (you figure?) we are open to other forms of prayer and meditation from other religious traditions such as Hinduism and Buddhism. My own exposure to oriental spirituality started during the seventies, when I got hold of 2 books - Christian Yoga, written by a Benedictine monk - Fr. Dechanet, and Christian Zen, written by Fr. Johnston, a Jesuit priest.
I started to practice Zen meditation in the early eighties under a Canadian nun who is also a Zen Teacher and a disciple of the late Yamada Roshi. However, for one reason or the other, I did not continue my Zen practice. It was only recently that I resumed the Zen practice that I started many years ago. I had the opportunity to resume my Zen practice by attending a one-week Zen retreat a few months ago given by a Filipino nun who is also Zen Teacher and a disciple of the late Yamada Roshi.”
