If the enemy can confuse us about the manner in which we communicate with our Lord, he can do much damage to our faith.
Unfortunately, in our time it seems that for every one good book on the topic of prayer, there are ten that contain various kinds of psuedo-mysticism that sound good and at times yield positive temporal outcomes, but are lacking with respect to authentic mystical tradition. How can we know whether an author’s teaching will lead us to God . . . or deception?
Lost Without Distinctions
With respect to whether or not you can trust a particular modern author, the first and most common sign that they are someone to avoid is that they ignore the distinctions provided by the Church between the different kinds of prayer. This disregard is a signal that the author is not at all concerned with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit as provided through hundreds of years of spiritual wisdom in the Church. It doesn’t matter whether we call this arrogance, ignorance, or sloppiness. Whichever it may be, the options are not good.
The Church lists three distinct forms of prayer in the Catechism (part four, chapter three) each with their own definition and related teachings. These are vocal prayer, meditation, and contemplation.
In the realm of false teachings about prayer, meditation and contemplation are usually spoken of as one in the same thing. This is most often done by using key terms interchangeably (though they are not in fact synonymous). When authors use these terms interchangeably, “contemplation” generally becomes the predominant term for prayer. However, any distinctions between them are ignored or explained away. This approach may have been excusable in the past prior to the current clarity of the Church, now it is a sure path to confusion and a sign that you have likely uncovered unreliable teaching.
Spiritual Naturalism
The second danger sign is a perspective that is rooted in a form of spiritual naturalism. This orientation is the outgrowth of well-intended persons using purely human and self-focused means (e.g. psychology, non-Christian meditation techniques or teachings, etc.) to overcome common challenges in prayer. The confusing twist here is that these ideas are usually wrapped in spiritual terms in a way that often masks their purely human trappings.
For example, when attempting to deal with distractions in prayer, with some proponents of centering prayer, the pilgrim is instructed to focus on a “sacred word” or a mantra instead of receiving guidance on how to focus on and engage with the Lord Himself. Though these purely human methods can help to minimize distracting thoughts, if improperly oriented this positive gain is not in the direction of the Lord, but of earth or self. In the end, this practice does nothing, in and of itself, to draw one deeper into union with Christ in prayer. That said, properly understood and used these methods can provide fertile ground for focus on the Lord, but often the end is silence of the mind and centering in self rather than engaging with God.
An example of a properly oriented use of the repetition of a word or phrase is in the “Jesus Prayer” beloved in the East. Note that the use of the repetition of “Jesus” (to simplify the discussion) can be either Christ-centered or selfcentered. If we are saying “Jesus” with loving attention to Jesus Himself, then we are on the right track. If we are saying “Jesus” as a means of focusing our mind we may be moving into problematic territory. The first approach is personal engagement, the second can move the pilgrim away from Christ rather than toward Him.
As you can see, the problem with a focus on method is not necessarily in the method itself, but in a shallow focus on method in a way that diverts our attention from the understanding that prayer is, in its essence, a communion between persons, not a spiritualized mental or psychological exercise.
Ignorance of the Progressive Nature of Prayer
The third error commonly found in most modern pseudo-mysticism is the absence of any acknowledgement or understanding of the progressive nature of prayer and communion with the Lord. In this case the unsuspecting disciple is taught a prayer method absent appropriate relational boundaries that define loving relationship between persons.
To illustrate this, how would you feel about a man who was openly and serially unfaithful to his wife all the while cavalierly pursuing intimacy with her as a kind of right or reasonable expectation? Similarly these blind teachers will lead a pilgrim to a method of “contemplation” without any concern for the state of their soul with respect to their relationship with the one with whom they are seeking intimacy.
Here’s a scenario that plays out every day in these groups that sell this spiritual poison (usually at around $100 per workshop). A Catholic who sincerely desires to deepen their relationship with God approaches. They are welcomed in with hushed-holy tones and loving smiles and directed to a very nice prayermethod and coached to practice this method with the promise of “contemplation.” However, there is no concern expressed for whether or not this sincere pilgrim is actually in a state that makes it possible to even begin this prayer relationship. For instance, if this sincere pilgrim is living in mortal sin, he or she is de-facto incapable of fostering that relationship without first engaging in a repentance that begins with the Sacrament of Reconciliation. To return to our spousal analogy, the unfaithful spouse must turn from their sinful ways and seek forgiveness and restoration. Upon this foundation of a restored relationship, holy intimacy can then begin to slowly develop as faithfulness to the relationship is more fully realized.
A classic and specific example of this heinous practice comes through the use of the advice from the book The Cloud of Unknowing. The unknown author of the book properly and very forcefully admonishes the reader that without serious preparation for their advice through diligent ascesis that the reader cannot and should not seek to trod the path revealed. What does this mean?
The repentance that I previously asserted as necessary is merely a foundation of behavior that reflects what it looks like to have a loving relationship between persons. Turning from sin and toward holiness is a long and challenging process known as “ascesis.” The pilgrim can expect a deepening level of intimacy with the Lord to the degree that their life faithfully reflects a covenant of love between persons. An expectation of intimacy without this ongoing attention to a loving and honoring relationship is an egregiously sinful narcissism that will result in nothing more than self-worship of spiritualized emotions and delusion.
Suffice it to say that developing intimacy with God (or any person) is not achieved instantaneously or even in a short time of concerted effort. Just as a child must learn to hold up its head, then roll, then crawl, then walk, and then run, our spiritual life develops in phases that are similarly predictable and understandable.
The key to remember is that depth of prayer comes through stages of development that cannot be bypassed through naturalistic methods.
Depersonalization
The final and most dangerous aspect of modern popular teaching on prayer is depersonalization. The danger here lies in an essential denial of two central doctrines of Christianity: first, the Incarnation (Christ really did come in the flesh) and second, the distinction between Creator and creature (e.g. I am not God and He is not me).
The truth of the Incarnation of Christ leads us to the absolutely foundational and essential understanding that God is person and we can commune with Him as such. To put this in practical terms, this is similar to saying “My wife is a person, and I am a person, and therefore we can commune most fully as persons.” Now, if I were to treat my wife as a non-person—an ethereal cosmic being, communication would break down in short order.
We can envision two contrasting scenarios that illustrate this point.
In the non-person prayer orientation, the husband claims to love his wife and yet stares past her in a self-entranced muttering, all the while she stands ignored. It doesn’t matter that he intends or wants to love her, his method or approach is self-centered rather than other-centered and focused on his wife. This disposition is one that gives and receives very little love, if any at all.
But,
in a person-oriented understanding of prayer the adoring husband kneels before his spouse and recites poetry rooted in an exalted language of love and adoration. As he offers his love, all his attention is focused on her. She receives his love as it is clearly for her alone. This is true intimacy, even if only the beginning of a more complete intimacy of the marital embrace.
God is not a distant idea or cosmic force to be communed with in some dazed stupor or blank mind created by a mantra-centered method. These distant ephemeral and spiritual sounding descriptions of God and their related ideas are acid to the soul. They radically misrepresent who God is and how He has chosen to reveal Himself to us. They radically misrepresent what it means to be in a personal relationship with God.
As a rule, if God is in any way depersonalized, then His Incarnational essence and personhood can easily be morphed into either some kind of cosmic force to be harnessed, or, even worse, He is everything, and thus I am He (pantheism). In the end, the gurus of this false gospel seek to lead the naive practitioner to the center of their being where they then discover who they really are. I become God because there is no substantive distinction between us—the great triumph of this false prayer is this demonically inspired “realization.” The end of this kind of worship is idolatrous and rooted in hell and will in no way lead us to heaven.
How Can I Protect Myself?
The key to avoiding these errors is to be aware of them but not to focus on them. Instead, we need to immerse ourselves in the truth. How? Begin with spiritual reading and meditation on the Catechism and the Compendium of the Catechism on the topic of prayer. These treatments, far from dry, are the most valuable teaching on the topic in all of the Church aside from the words of Christ Himself. You might also find solid guardrails to protect your developing conscience in this area by reading a letter from Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) entitled, A Letter to the Bishops of the World on Some Aspects of Christian Meditation.
Second, the spiritual doctors of the Church like Saints Francis de Sales, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Catherine of Sienna, and others will lead you down the right path.
Finally, we should close with a profound example of an authentic relationship with God: a look into a heart that truly understands what it means to commune with the Blessed Trinity. In Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity’s prayer (see below), we find a living and beautiful dismantling of all of the errors found in dangerous prayer practices.
O my God, Trinity whom I adore, let me entirely forget myself that I may abide in you, still and peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity; let nothing disturb my peace nor separate me from you, O my unchanging God, but that each moment may take me further into the depths of your mystery! Pacify my soul! Make it your heaven, your beloved home and place of your repose; let me never leave you there alone, but may I be ever attentive, ever alert in my faith, ever adoring and all given up to your creative action.
O my beloved Christ, crucified for love, would that I might be for you a spouse of your heart! I would anoint you with glory, I would love you – even unto death! Yet I sense my frailty and ask you to adorn me with yourself; identify my soul with all the movements of your soul, submerge me, overwhelm me, substitute yourself in me that my life may become but a reflection of your life. Come into me as Adorer, Redeemer and Saviour.
O Eternal Word, Word of my God, would that I might spend my life listening to you, would that I might be fully receptive to learn all from you; in all darkness, all loneliness, all weakness, may I ever keep my eyes fixed on you and abide under your great light; O my Beloved Star, fascinate me so that I may never be able to leave your radiance.
O Consuming Fire, Spirit of Love, descend into my soul and make all in me as an incarnation of the Word, that I may be to him a super-added humanity wherein he renews his mystery; and you O Father, bestow yourself and bend down to your little creature, seeing in her only your beloved Son in whom you are well pleased.
O my `Three’, my All, my Beatitude, infinite Solitude, Immensity in whom I lose myself, I give myself to you as a prey to be consumed; enclose yourself in me that I may be absorbed in you so as to contemplate in your light the abyss of your greatness!
—Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity
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