Preparing your PDF for download...
There was a problem with your download, please contact the server administrator.
Meditation as Spiritual Therapy
Bernard of Clairvaux’s De consideratione
Imprint: Catholic University of America Press
Christian persons today might seek spiritual development and ponder the benefit of mindfulness exercises but also maintain concerns if they perceive such exercises to originate from other religious traditions. Such persons may not be aware of a long tradition of meditation practice in Christianity that promotes personal growth.
This spiritual tradition receives a careful formulation by Christian monastic authors in the twelfth century. One such teaching on meditation is found in the treatise De consideratione written by St. Bernard of Clairvaux (d. 1153) to Pope Eugene III (d. 1153). In textual passages where St. Bernard exhibits a clear concern for the mental health of the Pope (due to numerous ongoing ecclesial, political, and military problems), St. Bernard reminds Eugene III of his original monastic vocation and the meditation exercises associated with that vocation. The advice that St. Bernard gives to Eugene III can be received today in a way that provides a structure for Christian meditation practice which is relevant for personal development, spiritual direction, and civil psychotherapy that integrates a client’s spirituality into the course of treatment. St. Bernard thus might be interpreted as a teacher of a kind of Christian mindfulness that can benefit both a person’s mental health as well as a person’s relationship with God. Meditation as Spiritual Therapy examines the historical context of Bernard’s work, his purpose for writing it, as well as the numerous Christian sources he drew upon to formulate his teaching. Bernard’s teaching on the course of meditation itself is explored in depth and in dialogue with his other treatises, letters, and sermons.
Lastly, a contemporary summary of Bernard’s teaching is provided with reflections concerning the relationship of this teaching to contemporary spiritual direction and spiritually integrated civil psychotherapy.
Matthew R. McWhorter is assistant professor at Divine Mercy University.
"McWhorter's contribution is twofold. First, the presentation of Bernard’s concept and plan for meditation shines a light on our practices in spiritual direction and psychotherapy. And it’s not 'just' Bernard that we learn from. As the text makes clear, Bernard belongs to a vibrant tradition, and these authors, some earlier than Bernard, others his contemporaries, also have something to say about meditation. As a result, we get a 'world,' not only a text. It’s as if a light were shown on us that comes from the 12th century. Second, the text addresses modern psychology with great mastery of the scholarship. And not only current scholarship, as the inclusion of earlier psychologists, such as Thomas Verner Moore, who drew upon the scholastic tradition in his understanding of 'civil psychotherapy' in his day. Meditation as Spiritual Therapy is extraordinary."
~Robert Kugelmann, University of Dallas
"Professor McWhorter successfully introduces the modern reader to a well-synthesized historical review of one of the most important spiritual works in the history of Catholicism. St. Bernard’s direction on meditation and spiritual development is timeless and timely. Without access to future psychological theories, he expertly weaves together a fully integrated understanding of the human person to point a path forward to psychological peace and spiritual growth."
~Gregory Bottaro, Director, CatholicPsych Institute
"This timely examination of a classic of medieval meditative guidance offers a Christian approach to contemporary mindfulness practice. Building on extensive scholarship into a twelfth-century work advising a new pope on ways and values of meditation, the author ends by offering practical assistance for spiritual development in the twenty-first century. The book approaches meditation not merely as a matter of psychological focus or a way to improve one’s thinking, self-understanding, and awareness of the world (though certainly those things), but also as a way of growing in humility and other Christian virtues, extending to such matters as improving the stability of one’s relationships. Seasoned practitioners of meditation as well as those taking their first measured steps on that path will find the book inviting, thoughtful, and enriching."
~Marsha Dutton, Executive Editor, Cistercian Publications
"Matthew McWhorter carefully analyzes what St. Bernard wrote about meditation in De consideratione, a book he addressed late in life to his disciple Pope Eugenius III. McWhorter brings what his analysis discovered in De consideratione into dialogue with contemporary psychotherapy and spiritual direction. The result is a cascade of good ideas about the value of meditation for psychological health and new light on the pastoral side of St. Bernard’s chimeric character."
~Hugh Feiss, OSB, Monastery of the Ascension, Idaho
"Within the pages of this book, seekers of quietude amidst the discord of modern life are invited to embark upon a pilgrimage of meditation from within the twelfth century Cistercian monastic tradition. Emerging from such a fascinating historical and literary context, McWhorter gives us the guidance of a saint to a pope regarding how to recollect a life of prayerful meditation amongst a life of service to Church and world. He then offers a practical outline for such meditation as a contemporary Catholic ‘spiritual therapy’ that might be beneficial for personal spiritual growth, spiritual direction, or spiritually integrated psychotherapy. This is a refreshing and welcome contribution to a Catholic psychology of persons."
~Keith A. Houde, Ave Maria University
Related Books
