Reflections on "Meditation, the Inner Sacrament"

Father Sergio kindly provided us with this reading material, and I thought I would offer some reflections.

First, I think this is just absolutely beautiful, so beautiful that I'm awe-stricken. 

Second, this article hits on so many things, including the folly of participating in the sacraments as a matter of routine. 

Many years ago, I read a book whose title I can't fully recall. Part of it was, Rethinking the Sacraments, and the book made a point about people participating in exactly this way- as though the sacraments were merely like receiving grace from a vending machine, a completely mechanistic occurrence.

The hurdles we face regarding our emphasis on meditation is that so many people may take this to an extreme point- throwing away all ritual, all exterior happenings, all things physical for the so-called more "pure" internal experience. More or less, this is the opposite experience of relying on the sacraments from a purely mechanistic point of view. 

However, I would say they work together. They're meant to work together. One aspect that can be seen in the symbolism of the crucifix, for instance, is the uniting of Heaven and Earth, or the Inner and Outer Worlds. So, too, does our meditation and participation in the external sacraments perform this similar mystery. 

Meditation can lead one to increasingly profound understandings and experiences of the sacraments; so, too, can the sacraments lead one to increasingly deep levels of relaxation and meditation. 

Let us reflect on this and practice this Inner Sacrament.

In Christ, 

​Steve