The Present Concept of Spirituality and the Idea of Meditation (lectio divina) Being a Reflection of the Philokalia Movement in Christian Practice

The idea of meditation is a multivocal expression in current discourse. First, there is a need to proceed from the context of semantics. The fact is that the usual level of usage of this term covers several levels of understanding: meditation as a mental prayer in the Christian tradition; the method of internalization with Eastern, non-Christian spiritual movements; the reflection of excerpts of holy Islamic texts; or a philosophical treatise, a literary essay or a psychotherapy technique including popularizing approaches to the usage of this term (meditative music or meditation with a picture). That is why the term meditation is part of broader elements in religious life and, being a phenomenon of human culture and religiousness, has common features. At the same time, however, the term Christian meditation has principal and unmistakable specifics. The biblical basis of early monastic practice, expressed in the terms meditari - meditatio, determines the use of criterion as to what meditation is from the Christian and theological point. The starting point for understanding the relationship between the Scripture reading and the oldest forms of meditation is monastic religiousness, when the reading of Scripture became a certain kind of sacrament and an important guideline for searching one's conscience. In meditation Christ gives himself to us as nourishment.