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I recently got to watch my wife teach silent meditation to children in the most difficult circumstances imaginable: a room full of middle schoolers at a party.
[To learn about the Catholic understanding of mediation, read here.]
My wife, April, invited her confirmation students to a party at one of the busiest times of the year. I would never in a million years have done that, and in fact I suggested politely that we not do that. But as usually happens, April proved me wrong. The party was a hit, and one parent was particularly impressed after overhearing April’s “Prayer Challenge” as the party ended.
I love that she calls it a “Prayer Challenge,” because young people love to prove themselves. Her method takes two months, but slowly builds to 15 minutes of meditation. Here is how it works.
Catechism of the Catholic Church
2706 To meditate on what we read helps us to make it our own by confronting it with ourselves. Here, another book is opened: the book of life. We pass from thoughts to reality. To the extent that we are humble and faithful, we discover in meditation the movements that stir the heart and we are able to discern them. It is a question of acting truthfully in order to come into the light: "Lord, what do you want me to do?"
2707 There are as many and varied methods of meditation as there are spiritual masters. Christians owe it to themselves to develop the desire to meditate regularly, lest they come to resemble the three first kinds of soil in the parable of the sower.5 But a method is only a guide; the important thing is to advance, with the Holy Spirit, along the one way of prayer: Christ Jesus.
2708 Meditation engages thought, imagination, emotion, and desire. This mobilization of faculties is necessary in order to deepen our convictions of faith, prompt the conversion of our heart, and strengthen our will to follow Christ. Christian prayer tries above all to meditate on the mysteries of Christ, as in lectio divina or the rosary. This form of prayerful reflection is of great value, but Christian prayer should go further: to the knowledge of the love of the Lord Jesus, to union with him.
Week 1: The Prayer Challenge starts with 2 minutes of silence daily.
Silence is all the students do for the first week of the Prayer Challenge: They pick a daily time, remind themselves that God is present, and stay quiet, without looking at screens or reading material, for two minutes.
I don’t know if that sounds easy, but it certainly isn’t. Many students have to start with just a minute, or less, and that’s fine.
Week 2: Add 1 minute of faith, hope, and charity, bringing the total time to 3 minutes.
After that the students add one minute only each day. In that minute they tell Jesus simply, in their own words, that they believe in him, hope in him, and love him.
You can model it for them:
“I believe in you, God. I believe what the Creed says about you. You are God the Father, who created everything I know and love. You are the Son of God, Jesus, who came at the first Christmas to save the world, died for me on the cross, then rose on the first Easter. I believe in the Holy Spirit who gave us the Bible and the Church. Please, Lord, give me more faith.
“I hope in you, God. I trust that you can change my life, and that you want to. I trust that you are trying to reach me and that you can reach me, especially in the sacraments. I trust that you forgive me when I confess and try to change. I trust in your promise that I can be happy with you now and in heaven. Please, Lord, give me more hope.
“I love you, Lord. I love you above all things. I love you with all my mind, all my heart, all my soul, and all my strength. I love my neighbor as I love myself. I love you not just with words, but with my actions, by doing your will. Please, Lord, give me more love.”
Weeks 3-4: Add four minutes of the A.B.C.S. of prayer, for a total of 7 minutes.
This one gets two weeks of practice. The ABCS of prayer go like this:
A is for Adoration. Picture Jesus in the manger, on the cross, or even sitting across from you, and tell him, “I adore you, Jesus.” (It can also help to say the Glory Be prayer, or “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name” from the Lord’s Prayer.)
B is for Blessings. Review the many ways God has blessed you and thank God for them. Be specific about what you received yesterday and today: Your food, shelter, and clothing; your family, friends and faith; the beauty, truth and goodness in your life; your home, time to spend with him, your education and opportunities.
C is for Contrition. Now, think of the ways you used those blessings. Did you use them for God and others? Did you use some of them against God and others? Did you use them just to please yourself? Did you use them for sin? Tell God you are sorry for each instance.
S is for Supplication (or Say what you ask God to Supply). Ask God for the grace to do better, but also ask for him to bless the sick and the suffering, the disadvantaged, and those without faith. Ask him to bless your teachers, priests, bishops, political leaders and family members. Ask him above all for what you most need in the spiritual life.
Week 5: Add two more minutes of spiritual reading, for a total of 9 minutes.
In the next two minutes, they will simply read a brief passage from the Gospels, or from a spiritual book (we love books of quotations from saints for beginners — the Sermon in a Sentence series or books of quotations from St. Teresa of Kolkata, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, St. John Paul II, St. Francis de Sales, etc.).
Week 6: Next, reflect and listen for five minutes, bringing the total to 14 minutes.
For this, my wife encourages students to see themselves in the Gospel passage, imagining being there with Jesus, or see their life in the saint quote.
Ask God a question, and be silent and listen: What does this mean for me? What question in my life does this answer? How does it affect my daily life?
Week 7: Then, all that is left to add is react, respond, resolve to bring the total to 15 minutes.
The final step in the Prayer Challenge is to let your prayer change your life. Walk away with a concrete resolution, something you can do at a particular time and place, and know it’s done.
That’s it. That’s the Prayer Challenge.
It takes a few weeks to learn, a few minutes to do, and a lifetime to perfect.
