Meditation, or mental prayer, is a personal and intimate conversation with God.  

How Long? 

The length of your meditation should depend not on how you feel, but on a personal commitment you have made. If you are not used to meditating, setting aside 10 minutes every day can be a good start.  

When? 

Choose the time of day when you are at your best for this personal encounter with God: either in the calm of the morning, or the quiet of the evening, or in the middle of the day when you can sneak away from the noise and activity around you. Most spiritual masters recommend that this personal encounter with God take place early in the day, so that it can help orient the rest of the day's activities. 

Where? 

The place can vary: you can do your meditation before or after Mass, in the quiet of your own room, in a chapel, or even outside - the important thing is to choose a time and place that will be free from distractions, in which you can focus on God, and listen to him. 

What if it doesn't work?  

At times you will have difficulties praying: distractions, tiredness, "nothing happening". These will come whether or not you are experienced in Christian meditation. The most important thing is to decide that you are going to give this time to Christ in spite of whatever difficulties you encounter. Plan time for your meditation into your schedule, and promise Christ that you will be faithful. Then, even if you have to struggle with distraction or tiredness, God will be working. Sometimes our heartfelt effort pleases him more than an easy victory. 

How? 

Meditation, also known as mental prayer, is a personal and intimate conversation with Christ. It is the most effective means to open oneself to the grace of God. It refines the soul, gives light to the mind, strength to the will, glory to God, and life to the Church. It should help you identify more fully with the purpose of your life: God's will. It is a renewal from God that will touch your standards, desires, motivations, and decisions. 

Put your whole self (intelligence, will, imagination, feelings, problems, weaknesses, interests, and longings...) into your prayer; God wants his grace to redeem every part of you, so hold nothing back from him.  

In order to battle distractions in prayer, it helps to structure the time of meditation. A good method to follow in this respect is that of St Theresa of Avila. It can be called the "Five R" Method: Ready, Read, Reflect, Respond, Resolve. 

1)   Ready. In your own words, briefly and simply:    

a.   Remind yourself that you are in the presence of God, that he is actually dwelling within your heart. Renew your faith in him, your trust in him, your love for him.  

b.   Thank him for all his gifts to you, gifts of life, health, faith... 

c.   Renew your sorrow for your sins, for the times you have failed him in the past.  

d.   Humbly ask him for what you need, for the light, the strength, or whatever particular grace you are seeking in this meditation, whether it be humility, faith, charity, fortitude? (This is called the "petition", or asking for the "fruit" of your meditation.) 

2)   Read 

a.   Open to the passage for the meditation, either a passage from the Bible, from another spiritual book, or even a favorite prayer or religious picture. Read (or look) it over slowly, attentively, putting yourself into the scene. Sometimes it helps to read the passage out loud. 

b.   It sometimes helps to re-read the passage again from the beginning as you begin the step of reflecting. 

3)   Reflect 

a.   Try to understand the meaning of the passage, or of the phrases that struck you most. What is going on here? Who is involved? What are their interests? What does this tell me about Christ, about the world, about the Church?? 

b.   Then try to understand the meaning of the passage for your own life. What does it mean for me? How does it apply to my life, my commitments, my relationships, my daily experience? What is Christ telling me in this passage? Why did this phrase strike me?? 

4)   Respond 

a.   Talk to Christ about the points of your reflection. Silently adore his beauty and goodness, praise him for his love as revealed in the passage, thank him for what he has done for you, ask him for the help you need to follow him better, ask him for more light to know him better? 

b.   This is the heart of the meditation: everything else is just a warm up, a means to help you enter into a real conversation with Christ. Speak to him from the depths of your heart, even if it is only simple words of petition, gratitude, or need. He thirsts for our hearts. It is this heart-to-heart conversation that opens us up to God's transforming grace. 

5)   Resolve 

a.   At the end of your prayer, thank God for the time he has spent with you, briefly reflect on how well you did your part: did you fight against distractions and tiredness? Did you choose a good time and place? Did you activate your faith and try to open your heart to God's grace? Were you sincere in your reflections and response? Thank God for the insights you received, ask pardon for your shortcomings, and resolve to keep trying to improve your habits of prayer. 

b.   Then look ahead to see how you can live out in a practical way what you have prayed about. Try to make a concrete resolution, something you can verify at the end of the day: e.g. I will control my sarcasm and tendency to criticize during conversations in the dorm; I will stop by the chapel on campus and make a brief visit to the Blessed Sacrament after my 11:00am class; I will visit that friend who is sick and in bed?  

c.   Finish by praying an Our Father or a Glory Be, or another prayer that you find particularly helpful, confident that God will never be outdone in generosity, and once again entrusting yourself to his fatherly care. 

As you start the meditation, call on the Holy Spirit in faith, remembering that he is the "the soul's sweet guest" without whom nothing solid or lasting can be attained in your effort to become holy and to spread the faith. A commonly used prayer to the Holy Spirit follows. 

INVOCATION TO THE HOLY SPIRIT 

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. 

Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And you will renew the face of the earth. 

Lord, by the light of the Holy Spirit you have taught the hearts of your faithful. In the same Spirit help us to relish what is right and always rejoice in his consolation. We ask this through Christ our Lord. 

Amen.