Christian Meditation Groups - A Discipline of Faith made Easier

A PEARL OF GREAT PRICE
Laurence Freeman, OSB

Again the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for
fine pearls; when he finds one of great value he goes and
sells everything he owns and buys it. (Matthew 13:45)

DISCIPLINE OF FAITH MADE EASIER

John Main also saw the quality of our relationships as the true measure of

progress in meditation. He knew that progress was in the end an accomplishment

of grace. But again, we must do our part. We must respond to the call of grace

not with a mere technique, but with a discipline of faith. For John Main, as for

the centuries-old Christian tradition he spoke from, a freely chosen discipline is

the path to freedom not bondage. Spiritual discipline is a valuable necessity in

the work of being free from the tyranny of egotism, compulsiveness, delusion

and self-centeredness.

He was therefore always very clear that meditation is a way of faith and very

practical about how and when it must be practiced. The minimal commitment to

individual meditation twice a day and group meditation once a week is only the

external aspect of the discipline John Main taught. He knew that most people

begin the discipline of meditation half-heartedly or with a tremendous zeal that

inevitably, like infatuation, dissipates. We begin, then stop and then begin

again, often many times. It takes time, maybe years, for some people to

incorporate the basic discipline of meditation in their daily lives.

That is just why a meditation group is so valuable. Not many people are so good

at self-discipline entirely on their own. It takes time and continual

encouragement to build a good habit. Through the support and example of

others, we strengthen our insight that meditation is simple, but not easy; life-

giving, not life-denying; and most of all, a way of love. For all these reasons

John Main encouraged people who wanted to learn to meditate and to keep on

meditating to cultivate the gifts of community that grow among those who share

the journey of prayer. Hence the formation and persistence of more than a

thousand groups of three or six or 20, meeting weekly in homes, offices,

hospitals, hospices, prisons, colleges, schools, shopping malls, and even the

United Nations Building.

S haring the gift

UNA PERLA DE GRAN VALOR

SHARING THE GIFT OF CHRISTIAN MEDITATION BY STARTING A GROUP

THE WORLD COMMUNITY FOR CHRISTIAN MEDITATION