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What is Contemplative Prayer?

In the quiet, still silence, I await my God.   there seems to be some misgivings about the idea of “contemplative prayer” (also referred to as Christian Meditation) and in some of the descriptions I've read, I would agree that it can seem iffy. Contemplation, or sometimes known as Lectio Divina, is in its most basic form, the idea and practice of waiting on the Lord. Often in silence or while you ponder on scripture or when you seek an answer or just to rest in his presence and have your strength renewed. there are some people who think that this means “emptying your mind” and doing something akin to occultism, and ope...

Lent: Day 16 - Justin Martyr: First Apology, Chaps. 48-59

...bolism of the cross, never made any of their false gods die from crucifixion; and people like Plato who alluded to a divine entity being placed “crosswise” at the centre of the universe didn't understand it either and was in fact borrowing from Moses who wrote these things long before any of the Greek or Roman gods and prophets came along. there is a lot of doctrine and theology contained in these chapters, a lot which is still very relevant for apologetics today, some which might serve as a starting point. I’d recommend everyone take some time to read these, and the preceding, chapters carefully....

Lent: Day 7 - Ignatius to the Trallians

...against [the cross of] the Lord?”. We don't see much of this heresy around today, though it has its forms here and there (such as within Islam), but it's not such a great threat to the Faith anymore. Even so, remembering the fact that Jesus was indeed “revealed in flesh, vindicated in spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, [and] taken up in glory” (1 Tim 3:16) is the cornerstone of our faith. Anything less is not the Gospel, and that is what Ignatius was emphasising to this church. I'm going to close by quoting Ignatius’ “history of Christ” just because I really like the way it summarises the Gospel:...

Lent: Day 8 - Ignatius to the Romans

...fire and the cross; let the crowds of wild beasts; let tearings, breakings, and dislocations of bones; let cutting off of members; let shatterings of the whole body; and let all the dreadful torments of the devil come upon me: only let me attain to Jesus Christ. I began this letter wowed, but leave it feeling a bit stunned. It kind of puts things into perspective, in that we in the West really have it quite easy these days as Christians. the challenges we face today are vastly different from these early Christians (and, indeed, believers in other parts of the world today), but the freedom we have is something which I don't think we always appreciate as much...

Lent: Day 17 - Justin Martyr: First Apology: Chaps. 60-68

...bolism of the cross from the writings of Moses, which he “borrowed in like manner”, he inadvertently recognises the Trinity. Plato does this by saying that the “power next to the first God” which was placed crosswise is second, and then speaks of a third, the Spirit of God, because he read that he “moved over the waters” from Moses (Gen 1:2). But despite this, Justin closes his argument by reiterating his previous point that because Moses predates all the Greek thinkers and writers, what Christians preach, no matter how similar sounding it is to certain Greek fables and myths, is imitation. It is not, then, that we hold the same opinions as ot...

Lent Day 24: Athanasius: Life of Anthony: Chaps. 31-40

...ves [with the cross] … and pray, and you shall see them vanish.” “But if they shamelessly stand their ground”, Anything warns, then fear them not and don’t think that they may be good spirits. “For the presence either of the good or evil by the help of God can easily be distinguished” – the evil comes with much fear and distraction on our minds so that we are not focussed right on God. Whereas good spirits from the Lord, come “so quietly and gently that immediately joy, gladness and courage arise in the soul” since the Lord our God is ours, and their, joy and the “thoughts of the soul remain unruffled and undisturbed”. Just as we see...