Book Review

Contemplating the Lord in ‘sighs too deep for words’

Reviewed by Andrew Junker, The Catholic Sun
July 19, 2007

There are many ways to pray: public or private, vocal or silent, memorized or extemporaneous. One of the more difficult, but often describe throughout the ages as more fulfilling, is contemplation.

A posthumously published book by local Carmelite Father Ernie Larkin explores this kind of prayer and promotes its use for Christians desiring a greater spiritual life.

“Contemplative Prayer for Today: Christian Meditation” focuses on a method of meditation developed by 20th century Benedictine Father John Main.

He made use of a prayer technique from the early Church called “monologistic prayer,” which is the repetition of a short phrase from Scripture, a mantra.

The most commonly used phrase in Christian Meditation is “Marantha,” meaning, “Come, Lord.”

“John Main does not tire of saying that the mantra is the prayer. It creates the silence that is emptiness and openness before God, the silence that invites the Divine Presence,” Fr. Larkin writes.

The goal is to move beyond images and words.

“If the soul is silent and receptive, the Spirit will pray there beyond images and thoughts, in sighs too deep for words,” Fr. Larkin writes.

For many years, this style of contemplation was eclipsed by what is known as “discursive meditation.” This method was popularized by St. Ignatius of Loyola’s spiritual exercises.

Fr. Larkin describes the process as a “prayer that uses the human faculties of memory, understanding and will. A ‘subject’ or scriptural passage is chosen to reflect on, a moral extracted and then applied in one’s life.”

What is most fascinating about Fr. Larkin’s book is that he manages to show that the method developed by Fr. Main has existed in, perhaps, slightly hidden forms throughout the history of the Church.

As a Carmelite, Fr. Larkin is eager to relate Christian Meditation to the practices of his order’s great saints, especially St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila.

“In theory and in practice Christian Meditation offers new ways of understanding and applying the Carmelite tradition,” Fr. Larkin writes.

“In other words Christian Meditation is not only compatible, it proceeds from the same basic philosophy and theology as the Carmelite tradition and as such can be an update and an appealing way of fulfilling the Carmelite vocation,” he writes.

In tracing a line from the early Church, through the spiritual methods of Ss. John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila up to the present practice of Christian Meditation, Fr. Larkin accomplishes a difficult, but necessary task.

He finds something that was always contained in Christian practice, while at the same time renewing it for today.

This re-imagined method can help Christians attain a vibrant spiritual life and a purity of heart. The necessity of this interior journey is made clear when Fr. Larkin quotes Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger at the end of the book.

“When it comes down to it, everyone has to undergo his own Exodus. He not only has to leave the place that nurtured him and become independent, but has to come out of his own reserved self,” he said shortly before being elected pope.

“He must leave himself behind, transcend his own limits; only then will he reach the Promised Land, so to speak,” he added.

Through this helpful book, Fr. Larkin has provided the means and encouragement needed to take the first step.

Andrew Junker is a staff writer for The Catholic Sun. Comments are welcome. Send e-mail to letters@catholicsun.org.