In statements that Pope Francis made in April 2021 (see bibliography), he stated that meditation concerned all people and was necessary for them, even those who did not profess particular interest in any type of religiosity. Is this true?
The truth is that the practice of meditation is becoming more and more widespread. In a world that boasts immediacy, noise and crowds, momentary solitude is an exquisite candy of peace that fewer and fewer people resist. However, in most cases it is Eastern type meditation, whether Buddhist or Hindu. What, then, about Christian meditation?
In this article we will examine whether meditation really exists in Christianity and what its basic differences are from Eastern type meditation.
The answer is resounding: yes, it exists. And it has existed for millennia, especially since the first anchorites retired to live a contemplative life, dedicated exclusively to God.
Obviously, if we pose the question from an Eastern perspective, we will come face to face with doubt. Because, indeed, Christian meditation, although it exists, is very different from the meditation practiced by Eastern religions, as we will see below. Not just the procedure; The ultimate intention is also intended to be diverse, since one aims at introspection and withdrawal into oneself, while the other is an active search for divinity. Let’s see it.
What is meditation?
First of all, we should consider defining exactly what meditation is. The word in particular comes from Latin meditatio, and in this etymology we clearly see the diverse origin with respect to Eastern meditation. Because meditatio refers to a reflectiona kind of study on an idea, which directly admits a strictly active function in the meditating subject.
In fact, It was Origen of Alexandria (185-254), ascetic and scholar of early Christianity, who outlined the theme of meditatio as one more step to access the understanding of God This gave rise, already in the Middle Ages, to the lectio Divinawhich was made up, specifically, of four parts:
As we see, the word “meditation” is directly linked to the Christian style of meditation, not the Eastern one. Therefore, the fact that the term is currently used to refer to both Christian and Buddhist meditation does not mean that both practices are the same.
The history of Christian meditation
Meditation as an approach to divinity was already very present in the Bible, for example, when Jesus retires to meditate and speak alone with God. But it was from the 3rd century onwards, with the rise of anchoriteism, when the meditation established by Origen reached its peak.
It is the time of the anchorites, who retire alone to secluded places to live a contemplative life, far from the world. In the eastern part of the Roman Empire, anchoriteism led to the figure of the hermit, who retired into the desert to live an existence of mortification and deprivation, so that nothing would deprive him of dialogue with God. Some of these first hermits were Saint Anthony the Abbot and Paul the Hermit, and also the so-called “mothers of the desert”, devout women who retired like their male companions, as is the case of María Egipcíaca.
Little by little, these first hermits met sporadically to pray, although they later returned to their meditations. That was the germ of what would later become cenobitism, or the origin of the monasteries that proliferated in the Middle Ages. A community of monks or nuns lived in the monasteries, but the fact of having abandoned the solitude of the early times did not change the essence of monasticism at all: escape from the world and seek union with God.
In the Middle Ages the lectio Divina outlined by Origen was finally established in the four steps that we have mentioned above, as a path of communion with God through dialogue and reflection. Therefore, for the believer, the Christian sacred texts are not mere texts, but have a profound message towards which meditation is directed.
What are the differences between Christian and Eastern meditation?
So what exactly differentiates meditation between the Christian religion and that of Eastern religions? We have already outlined it throughout the article: while the first is something active and expansive (it aims to go from the faithful to God, and vice versa), the second is introspective (it goes from the subject to the same subject).
In Christian meditation, the intention is not to quiet the mind and body and contemplate thoughts without interacting with them It is quite the opposite; the meditatio It is a tool to move towards God. Therefore, the thoughts that point to the passage must be spurred in order to access the deep meaning of the text. For Christians, this path is guided by the Holy Spirit, who is sent by God to enlighten them and make them see the truth of revelation.
There is also another difference. Eastern meditation looks “inward,” in part, because it “unifies” the subject with God. That is, creator and created merge and everything becomes the same vital energy. In general, in Eastern meditation there is no distinction between these concepts, while in Christian meditation there is, since in all meditation there is the faithful, on the one hand, and God, on the other, who “dialogue” each other. In other words, they never stop being two, although cohesive.
But, as always, things have nuances. Because, precisely, in the beginning, Hindu meditation was also a mechanism to “access” the cosmos and understand it and, in a similar way to meditatio, it was based on sacred texts. On the other hand, The influence that Eastern religions had on the formation of the first Christianity cannot be denied and, especially, in the first anchorites. Let us remember that Hindu ascetics also practiced fasting and prayer in solitude.
What can we conclude in this regard, and in view of everything stated? To answer the question with which we titled the article, we will say that yes, meditation does indeed exist in Christianity. However, and although they have common links, it is not the same meditation that the Eastern tradition proposes, since its objective is very different, as are its methods.
I’m Emily Williams Jones, a psychologist specializing in mental health with a focus on cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and mindfulness. With a Ph.D. in psychology, my career has spanned research, clinical practice and private counseling. I’m dedicated to helping individuals overcome anxiety, depression and trauma by offering a personalized, evidence-based approach that combines the latest research with compassionate care.
