What are the three pieces of meditation?

St. Theresa of Avila mentioned that without a book written for spiritual reading on her lap, she found meditation almost impossible. The following is based on and inspired by her instruction to her nuns on how to practice meditation.

Read. What to read? Read a book written for spiritual meditation. Obvious examples are the Gospels and the Psalms. Spiritual meditation material is any book written for the purpose of bringing the soul into communion with God; to sit still with our being enjoying His Being. “My being with His Being sitting and being together.” Examples of spiritual reading: Fr. Francis Fernandez, In Conversation with God; Fr. Jacques Philippe, Searching for and Maintaining Peace (actually, all of his books are excellent!); Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, Divine Intimacy; St. Josemaria Escriva, The Way; St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life; St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Story of a Soul.

Reflect. Read until something strikes you. Then, stop and put the book down and reflect on what you just read. Why did this passage or word strike you? What is the Holy Spirit saying to you? Cease being in a hurry. Let yourself be still and peaceful, soaking in this point for as long as possible. Allow any internal and spontaneous conversation from the depths of your soul to bubble up.

Resolution. Resolve to apply the grace from this meditation to change you. This means to put into practice something concrete revealed to you by the Holy Spirit that He wants you to change. Another method is to take something from your prayer, a phrase or word that struck you, and repeat it throughout the day. This will focus your mind on prayer, which will focus your thoughts and heart on God-like actions.

Problems. What happens if I find nothing that strikes me? Then read just a paragraph, stop, then re-read the paragraph slowly. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you receive His insights. It may be helpful to have a pencil near you to circle any word or phrase that offers you any divine information or insight. After circling a point or two, now you have something on which to reflect.

Tip: Meditation is often called Mental Prayer because it involves our imagination. Traditional devotions like the Rosary and the Stations of the Cross are meditation because they engage our imagination, which places our mind with the Lord, which opens the faculties of the soul to be with Him in spirit.

Use technology to help you set aside time to pray and to remember your resolution. Use timers, notes, reminders, etc. on phone or electronic calendars to sound, thus giving you helpful reminders.

As you progress in meditation, however, your prayer will involve your affections more and more, which is why the spiritual masters talk about affective prayer.