The path of prayer is an adventure of the soul as it seeks God. There are many avenues to the path of prayer and each of them has its own place and merit.

The three main types of prayer are vocal prayer, meditation, and contemplation. Each of these types of prayer encompass multiple different methods and forms of prayer. There is no set cookie-cutter expression of prayer. Prayer is shaped by cultures, personalities, and temperaments, as well as the needs and movements of the Church in different ages.

Vocal prayer is needed as an audible manifestation of our hearts desire for God. Meditation is the active interior pursuit for God. Contemplation is a sharing of a union with God.

Meditation is diverse and sporadic. It follows the route of the heart and leads it to the presence of God.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: “There are as many and varied methods of meditation as there are spiritual masters.”

A diversity of meditative practices is needed if all the people of God are going to have help in approaching God. If one type of meditation doesn’t work (or stops working) for a person, they can try another. There is a treasury of options and all of them are designed to help us find and encounter God.

With such resources, it’s clear that meditation is not an option for the Christian believer. We are called to pause our lives and seek fellowship with God. We must pray, and we are summoned to do it often. If we don’t pray, then the grace of God is lost on us.

The Catechism explains: “Christians owe it to themselves to develop the desire to meditate regularly, lest they come to resemble the three first kinds of soil in the parable of the sower.”

If we don’t pray, then the grace of God can be burned by the sun, eaten by the birds, or choked by the thorns. Such symbolism illustrates to us that the grace of God can be taken from us by the anxieties of the world, the stress of our lives, or the guilt of sin.

Prayer can fan the grace of God into a flame within us. We receive the strength we need to navigate our anxieties, stress, temptations, and guilt. Through prayer, God’s grace can bless us with peace.

We should not be surprised if a favored meditative practice doesn’t work for us, or a valued practice ceases to help us, or meditation seems overwhelming to us at times. All of these experiences come and go. Our task is to dig deep, find what works for us, and stay on the path to find and relish in God’s presence.

The Catechism explains: “But a method is only a guide; the important thing is to advance, with the Holy Spirit, along the one way of prayer: Christ Jesus.”

Just as vocal prayer engages our bodily senses, so meditation engages our spiritual senses.

The Catechism teaches: “Meditation engages thought, imagination, emotion, and desire. This mobilization of faculties is necessary in order to deepen our convictions of faith, prompt the conversion of our heart, and strengthen our will to follow Christ.”

Meditation requires great effort born from love. We must walk the way of meditation to be with the God who loves us and who we love. Meditation is an all-hands-on-deck endeavor of the human soul. It demands a mobilization of our spiritual powers so we can focus our minds, direct our hearts, and lift up our souls to God.

As a help, meditation usually uses a mystery from the life of the Lord Jesus in lectio divina, or the rosary, or some other method.

The Catechism explains: “Christian prayer tries above all to meditate on the mysteries of Christ, as in lectio divina or the rosary. This form of prayerful reflection is of great value, but Christian prayer should go further: to the knowledge of the love of the Lord Jesus, to union with him.”

All forms, methods, and types of prayer, especially those of meditative prayer, has the singular goal of helping us to be with God, know of his love, and live in his presence. No form, method, or type of prayer should ever get in the way. It is aways in service to the soul encountering God and rejoicing in his presence.

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