Be still and wait

The first requirement for meditation is stillness, stillness of body but more importantly, stillness of the heart “Be still and know that I am God.” “Be still before the Lord and wait for him.” (Psalm 37,7) The New American Bible puts it forcibly: “Leave it to the Lord.” It is a kind of letting go and letting God. Psalm 131 invites us to rest like a child in the arms of the Lord: I have stilled and quieted my soul, like a child quieted at it’s mother’s breast.

Christian contemplation does not end in the mind or the heart. It is not merely a mental exercise, but goes on to engage the whole personality and to overflow in love of others. The fruit of Rosary meditation shows in the transformation it effects. The words of St.Paul in Romans 12: 2 are pertinent: Do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

As we look to the Lord, we radiate something of his glory. It is told of Moses that on coming down from the mountain where he had conversed with God, the people could see the radiance on his face, so much so that he had to keep a veil over it. This is what St. Paul was referring to when he wrote: All we, with unveiled faces, reflecting the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Cor. 3: 18)

We too are being changed into his likeness. Meditation or contemplation is nothing more than this looking, this lingering in love with the Lord. All one has to do is to recall the scene, to picture Jesus in the inner heart, to recognise his presence, enfolding you in his love. Underpinning all fifteen secrets of the Rosary is this one all pervading secret, that as you surrender to it’s graced process you are being renewed, restored, revitalised, transformed. Do not be diverted from this lingering in love with the Lord himself, by the multiplicity of mysteries and vocal prayers. A lot of things in books and sermons on prayer, are simply the gathering of bricks and boards for the building of your house. When the labour of building is over, just sit at the fire and enjoy your home and dream along with the lover of your soul. This undestanding can bring a whole new delight and frutifulness to your Rosary.