Christian Meditation Groups: How many?

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)

OW MANY?

Don’t measure the group’s success by the number of participants. The size of the

group is really not important. Two or three faithful meditators make a good

meditation group. As C. S. Lewis once said to a clergy conference he was

addressing, ‘the Lord said feed my sheep don’t count them’. Nonetheless the

tendency to judge success by numbers is deeply engrained in us. Just catch

yourself when you start doing it. Normally a group experiences a reduction in

numbers after an initial influx of enthusiasm. Expect this and focus on those

remaining. This is the vital point where a community of faith begins to form.

Some of those who drifted away may have been greatly enriched by their brief

encounter with the group. Some may be meditating on their own. Others may

come back when, in a year or two, they see that the group is still meeting and

its example of steady fidelity inspires them to start again.

The discovery we make in meditation is that the repetition is not mechanical but

creative. Just as the practice itself, starting and leading a group is a creative

work. So don’t judge it materialistically. The kind of growth that concerns us in

meditation groups is spiritual not numerical. With growth in depth there follows

in time an expansion in numbers, if not in your particular group, then in the

creation of other groups meeting at different times and places. A small

meditation group in each parish, for example, would be a quantitative goal worth

pursuing. From time to time, of course, you can cast the net on the waters again

and publicize a new introductory series of groups or revamp the standing notice

you have on a poster or in a bulletin. But, remember, even if the group stays

small it will find strength from belonging to the wider national and global

community.

W hat do we do when we get there?

A PEARL OF GREAT PRICE

SHARING THE GIFT OF CHRISTIAN MEDITATION BY STARTING A GROUP

THE WORLD COMMUNITY FOR CHRISTIAN MEDITATION