Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Email | TuneIn | RSS
An excerpt from the section entitled
“Introduction to Meditation” from Christian Meditation by Hans Urs von Balthasar
The silence required of the Christian is not fundamentally and primarily of human making. Rather, believers must realize that they already possess within themselves and at the same time in God the quiet, hidden “chamber” into which they are to enter (Mt 6:6) and in which they are with the Father. This is perhaps analogous to how the unsuspecting “little ones” have “angels in heaven who always see my heavenly Father’s face” (Mt 18:10). Our earthly cares and preoccupations are always on the lighter side of the scale, while the, other, which sinks and is just as much ours—our being in God—possesses an “unimaginable weight” in comparison (2 Cor 4:17). We need not first pave for ourselves an approach to God on our own; already and always “our life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col 3:3). Accordingly, preparation for meditation does not first necessitate lengthy psychological adjustments but only a brief realization in faith of where our true center and emphasis permanently are. We seem to be far from God, but he is near us. We need not work our way up to him. Instead, our situation is like that described in the parable: “From a distance the father already saw him coming and was moved with pity. Running up to him, he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him” (Lk 15:20).
Balthasar, Hans Urs von. Christian Meditation. Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.
