Catholic Meditation

Why do we meditate? A look at the teachings of the saints and the Pope helps us begin to answer this question.

Meditation Makes Us More Like Christ

“If you habitually meditate upon God, your whole soul will be filled with him, you will learn his expression, and learn to frame your actions after his example.”

Saint Francis de Sales

Meditation Brings Us Closer to God

“Never let the thought of Jesus leave your mind but meditate constantly on the mysteries of the cross and the anguish of his mother as she stood beneath the cross.”

Saint Clare of Assisi

“He wants to be my peace so that nothing can distract me or draw me out of the invincible fortress of holy recollection. It is there that He will give me access to the Father and will keep me as still and as peaceful in His presence as if my soul were already in eternity.

Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity

Meditation is Food for the Soul

“But the name of Jesus is more than a light, it is also food. Do you not feel increase of strength as often as you remember it? What other name can so enrich a man who meditates?”

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

Meditation Eases Our Worries

“We become a temple of God when our continuous meditation on him is not constantly interrupted by ordinary worries, and the spirit is not disturbed by unexpected emotions.”

Saint Basil the Great

Meditation Builds Will

“Meditation consists in calling to mind some dogmatic or moral truth, and reflecting on or discussing this truth according to each one’s capacity, so as to move the will and produce in us amendment.”

Saint Ignatius of Loyola

Meditation Builds Perserverence

“Meditation gives birth to perseverance, and perseverance ends in perception, and what is accomplished with perception cannot easily be rooted out.”

Saint John Climacus

Meditation Teaches Us to Love

“Let the truth be in your hearts, as it will be if you practice meditation, and you will see clearly what love we are bound to have for our neighbors.”

Saint Teresa of Avila

Meditation is Never Time Wasted

“If the heart wanders or is distracted, bring it back to the point quite gently and replace it tenderly in its Master’s presence. And even if you did nothing during the whole of your hour but bring your heart back and place it again in our Lord’s presence, though it went away every time you brought it back, your hour will be very well employed.”

Saint Francis de Sales

Meditation is Fellowship with the Lord

“Another good way to grow in friendship with Christ is by listening to his word. The Lord speaks to us in the depths of our conscience, he speaks to us through Sacred Scripture, he speaks to us in prayer. Learn to stay before him in silence, to read and meditate on the Bible, especially the Gospels, to converse with him every day in order to feel his presence of friendship and love.”

Pope Francis