Body Meditation

Call to Prayer: Tonight I would like to invite you to enter deeply into your own body. Too often we think of prayer as a way to escape our bodies and the moment, rather than an opportunity to come to know ourselves as loved by God as we are at any time.

Meditation: If people are wearing shoes and socks encourage them to take them off for this exercise. The leader can and should participate in this meditation as well.

Leader:

Find a comfortable sitting position…relax…sit quietly…simply being with yourself…inhale…hold that breath…exhale…inhale…exhale…continue…(allow for a moment of centering quiet)…without moving, and in the same quiet state focus all of you attention on the big toe of your right foot. Sense the presence of that toe as you never have before. Its contentment with simply being there…at the end of your foot. In your heart say a prayer of thanks to God. (moment of silence). Now, focus all of your attention on your entire right foot. Note its peacefulness and tranquility –its lack of anxiety or fear, again say a prayer of thanks to God (moment of silence).

Now, allow its partner, the left foot, into the reflection, pay attention to its quietness…say a prayer of thanks to God for having created it (moment of silence)…Now move up from your feet to the solitude of your shins, thanking God for both of them (moment of silence)…move on now to you torso how peaceful and content it is, thank God for having created it (moment of silence)…Now focus on your chest, thanking God for its presence (moment of silence)…Move to your arms (moment of silence)…Focus on your hands and their stillness, their calm, thank God for having created them and each finger (moment of silence)…Contemplate your neck, its tranquil solitude, thank God for creating it (moment of silence)…Contemplate your head…as you do so pull away to consider your body as a unified whole…at rest and at peace…Go back into your body, very slowly travel through to the various body parts, observing the stillness which pervades everywhere. (allow time for this)

Now, come back out and rest in the quietness of your entire body, all the while thanking God for this body and this moment…[1]

(after a moment of silence begin to read the scripture passage, it is a good idea to have it opened and ready before you begin the meditation to avoid the distraction of fumbling with the pages)

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 3: 16-18. (read the passage very slowly and deliberately)

Leader: (read slowly) Become aware of your breathing again. Think of St. Paul’s message. What was on his mind and heart that day? How did he feel about the people he was addressing? Why did he say these particular things to these particular people this particular day? What was his purpose? What was his message? (moment of silence)

(re-read the scripture passage)

Leader: (read slowly) Focus on the audience, the other people in this passage, whose names we do not know… Why are they there? What are their thoughts? What are they seeking? What are their feelings, their prejudices, their fears, their hopes? How do their feelings change as they hear Paul’s message? (allow a moment of silence)

(re-read the scripture)

Leader: (read slowly): Now imagine St. Paul facing you and saying to you these words…How do you feel about St. Paul? Why is he approaching you in this way? What is he really trying to say to you? How would your life change if you allowed this message to take root in your heart? How willing are you to make those changes? (a moment of silence)

Say a prayer within your heart asking God to transform you into the person the scriptures call each of us to be. (A moment of silence)[2]

Discussion:

1. What does the term ‘contemplation’ mean to you?
2. What is the relationship between contemplation and action?
3. In what ways do you see yourself as an image of God?

Closing Prayer:

Glorious Lord Christ:

The divine influence secretly diffused and active

In the depths of matter,

And the dazzling centre

Where all the innumerable fibres of the manifold meet;

Power as implacable as the world and as warm as life;

You whose forehead is of the whiteness of snow,

Whose eyes are of fire,

And whose feet are brighter than molten gold;

You whose hands imprison the stars;

You who are the first and the last,

The living and the dead and the risen again;

You who gather into your exuberant unity

Every mode of existence;

It is you to whom my being cries out

With a desire as vast as the universe:

“In truth you are my Lord and my God.”

--Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ

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[1] Modified from Mark E. Thibodeaux, SJ. Armchair Mystic: Easing into Contemplative Prayer. Cincinnati: St. Anthony Messenger, 2001, 42-3.

[2] Modified from Mark E. Thibodeaux, SJ. Armchair Mystic: Easing into Contemplative Prayer. Cincinnati: St. Anthony Messenger, 2001, 82-3.