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14-September-2008 12:50:27 - mation Christian mation is mation in a Christian context. The word mation has come to have two different meanings: 1 continued, intent, focused thought; and 2 a state of quiet, intentionally unfocused, contentless awareness. This double meaning has contributed to misunderstanding and disagreement about the nature, role, and even the appropriateness of Christian mation. Traditionally, the word mation matio had the first meaning, and another word, contemplation contemplatio was used for the second. These words, however, have nearly the reverse meanings in Eastern spiritual traditions, contributing to the confusion. As the present article reflects this dual meaning, the reader is advised to keep the issue in mind. Contents 1 History 1.1 Scriptural basis 1.2 Lectio Divina 1.3 The Cloud of Unknowing 14th century 1.4 St. Ignatius of Loyola 1491-1556 1.5 St. Teresa of Avila 1515-1582 1.6 Madame Guyon 1648-1717 1.7 The 20th Century 2 Theology of Christian mation 3 Christian mation: many strands 3.1 Catholic traditions 3.2 Orthodox traditions 3.3 Protestant traditions 3.4 Ecumenical traditions 4 Criticism 5 Notes 6 See also 7 External links History Scriptural basis Christian mation is often associated with prayer or scripture study. It is rooted in the Bible, which directs its readers to mate. In Joshua 1:8, God commands his people to mate on his word day and night to instill obedience. The psalmist says that his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he mates day and night Psalm 1:2. The Bible mentions mate or mation twenty times. In the Old Testament, there are two Hebrew words for mation: hÄ?gâ Hebrew: הגה‎, which means to sigh or murmur, but also to mate, and sîḥâ Hebrew: שיחה‎, which means to muse, or rehearse in one's mind. Lectio Divina Formal Christian mation began with the early Christian monastic practice of reading the Bible slowly. Monks would carefully consider the deeper meaning of each verse as they read it. This slow and thoughtful reading of Scripture, and the ensuing pondering of its meaning, was their mation. This spiritual practice is called divine reading or sacred reading, or lectio divina. Sometimes the monks found themselves spontaneously praying as a result of their mation on Scripture, and their prayer would in turn lead on to a simple, loving focus on God. This wordless love for God they called contemplation. The progression from Bible reading, to mation, to prayer, to loving regard for God, was first formally described by Guigo II, a Carthusian monk and prior of Grande Chartreuse in the 12th century. Guigo named the four steps of this ladder of prayer with the Latin terms lectio, matio, oratio, and contemplatio. The Cloud of Unknowing 14th century The Cloud of Unknowing, an anonymous treatise written in England in the 14th century, is a concise and practical primer on contemplative prayer. The author's premise is that, to experience God, one must strive for a darkness about your mind, or as it were, a cloud of unknowing. To do this, one must fix one's heart on God, forgetting all else. St. Ignatius of Loyola 1491-1556 The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola contain numerous mative exercises. For example, the practitioner is encouraged to visualize and mate upon scenes from the life of Christ. His Contemplation to Attain Love of God, is, in a sense, a method that combines intellectual mation and more affective emotional contemplation. St. Teresa of Avila 1515-1582 St. Teresa of Avila practiced contemplative prayer for periods of one hour at a time, twice a day. In her Life she recounts that she found this very difficult for the first several years. She had no one to teach her, and taught herself from the instructions given in a book, The Third Spiritual Alphabet by Francisco de Osuna. Her starting point was the practice of recollection. Recollection means an effort of the will to keep the senses and the intellect in check and not allow them to stray. One restricts the attention to a single subject, principally the love of God. It is called recollection because the soul collects together all the faculties and enters within itself to be with God, she says in The way of perfection. Because St Teresa found it difficult to concentrate, she would use devices such as short readings from an inspiring book, a scene of natural beauty or a religious statue or picture to remind her of her intended focus. In due course, the mind becomes effortlessly still. The initial practice St Teresa viewed as the voluntary effort of the individual, while the subsequent stillness and joy she saw as gifts from God. Her best-known book on mation and prayer is The Interior Castle. Madame Guyon 1648-1717 Jeanne-Marie Bouvier de la Motte-Guyon 1648-1717 was a French mystic and writer. As a 19-year-old, she was greatly influenced by an encounter with a Franciscan priest who had just emerged from a five-year retreat. She asked him why she was having such difficulties with prayer, and he replied: It is, Madame, because you seek without what you have within. Accustom yourself to seek God in your heart, and there you will find Him. In her mid-thirties, Madame Guyon wrote her Moyen court et très facile de faire oraison, which in English is titled A short and very easy method of prayer1. Note that the book Experiencing the depths of Jesus Christ, which poses as a translation, is in fact an interpretive revision. The mysticism of Madame Guyon is generally considered a form of quietism, which is very strongly discouraged, even to the point of being considered heresy, by the Roman Catholic Church. The 20th Century Two contemporary forms of Christian mation emerged during the twentieth century. Fr. John Main, O.S.B. 1926-1982 was a Benedictine monk and priest who presented a way of Christian mation which utilizes the practice of a prayer-phrase or mantra. In his method, one recites a prayer-phrase as a means of placing everything aside. In this way, instead of talking to God, one is just being with God, allowing God's presence to fill his heart, thus transforming his inner being. Fr. Main's teachings drew on parallels he saw between the spiritual practice taught by Desert Father John Cassian and the mative practice he had been taught by the Swami Satyananda in Kuala Lumpur.1 His work is continued by Fr. Laurence Freeman, O.S.B. Fr. William Meninger, O.C.S.O., Fr. Thomas Keating, O.C.S.O., and Fr. Basil Pennington, O.C.S.O., were the leading proponents of the Centering Prayer method. Here a sacred word is used to express only the intention to be in God's presence, placing everything else aside. As with Fr. Main's method, the goal is for one to just be with God, allowing God's presence and action to fill his inner being. The forms of prayer described above are part of the apophatic tradition and are quite distinct from, for example, the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Theology of Christian mation In Hinduism, mation as a component of Yoga is one path to attain enlightenment, union with or company of God. Christians agree that mation is an effective technique to quiet and clear the mind, as preparation for God's inspiration. But mation is not an alternative to Christ as a means to salvation or theosis, but only a method of spiritual discipline like prayer and fasting.2 For Christians, mation can be considered a form of worship, centered in love. Christian mation: many strands Catholic traditions Centering Prayer Ignatius of Loyola Thomas Merton Bede Griffiths John Main Gregorian Chant Prayer beads Rosary, Jesus Prayer Divine Mercy Sacred Heart of Jesus Orthodox traditions Jesus Prayer Hesychasts Apophatic theology Protestant traditions Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship - 'Soaking Prayer' and 'Soaking Music' Quakers, including Richard Foster Unity Church Emerging Church Johannes Kelpius Ecumenical traditions Taizé Community Criticism Some Christians believe that contemplative mation is dangerous, warning of its similarity to mysticism and New Age practices: There is a difference between reading the Word and understanding its meaning versus a method of focusing on a single word to gain a mystical experience. ...Why is it necessary to do this at all? For two thousand years, since Christ's ascension, His followers have been able to gain assurance of God's presence in their lives through the knowledge that He has risen and now dwells in their hearts. ...By using this practice, we are turning the Bible into a mystical device for personal revelations rather than a source of knowledge.3 Mation is the basic activity that underlies all metaphysics and is the primary source of spiritual direction for the New Age person. We need only observe the emphasis which is placed on mation to see the importance of it in New Age thought.4 Notes ^ John Main's Monastic Adventure. Fr. Laurence Freeman, O.S.B.. Retrieved on 16 November 2006. ^ Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline 1978, ISBN 0-06-062839-1 ^ Lectio Divina - Sacred Divination ^ Ray Yungen, For Many Shall Come in My Name 1991, 2007 ion: ISBN 0-97215129-X web reference See also Contemplative prayer World Community for Christian Mation Christian anarchism Christian mysticism Inner light Saint John of the Cross The Cloud of Unknowing Listening Prayer Centering Prayer John Cassian Holy Spirit Jesus Trinity Henri Nouwen Taizé Community Sacred Space Christian Mation Music Active Mation External links Find more about Christian mation on 's sister projects: Dictionary definitions Textbooks Quotations Source texts Images and media News stories Learning resources The Voice In The Stillness - overview of Christian mation techniques Mating on the Scriptures by Charles Spurgeon. The Rosary Contemplative Prayer Critique The Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila online CCEL The Contemplation to Attain Love of St. Ignatius of Loyola Antonio Cardinal Bacci: Mations For Each Day The World Community for Christian Mation UK-based organization that carries on the work of John Main OSB The Be Still and Know Christian Mation Technique St. John of the Cross - Collected Works Poetry of John of the Cross Contemplative spirituality in the tradition of the medieval hermits who settled on Mount Carmel. How to Mate on Scripture by the Advanced Training Institute Journeys In Between A blog featuring evangelical approaches to mation Articles relating to Christian Mation Retrieved from http://en..org/wiki/Christian_mation Categories: Christian prayer | Christian mysticism | Mation Views Article Discussion this page History Personal tools Log in / create account Navigation Main page Contents Featured content Current events Random article Search Go Search Interaction Community portal Recent changes Contact Donate to Help Toolbox What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Printable version Permanent link Cite this page Languages Svenska This page was last modified on 11 September 2008, at 08:36
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