Methods of Personal Prayer in the Medieval Church

Methods of Personal plea in the knightly Church by Mark Malyj CH223, Medieval Church Prof. Clair Davis Westminster Theological Seminary March 28, 1996 Introduction The medieval church building period was a time of dynamic developments in the rules of private prayer. The early church had already addressed the appropriate situation of prayer, including posture, the direction toward which Christians should pray, and the hours of prayer. everywhere the next one thousand years, the Roman Catholic church built upon this tradition. Elaborate methods and techniques of prayer were certain. Some had a decisive mystical dimension, such as the methods of pure prayer, the Jesus prayer, and separate techniques of meditation and reflectivity. Later on more complex techniques were developed: the rosary, the ladders and chiropsalterium of the Modern Devotion school, and the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius. The thesis of this paper is that personal prayer became increasingly less relevant to most Christians as the diversity in prayer technique developed, and especially as the object of prayer shifted from Scripture to quasi-Scriptural and other concerns. The object of prayer, meditation, and contemplation shifted to Mary, the Sacred Heart, the passion of Christ, the saints, and self-examination.

Personal prayer became either a very subjective experience, or a ritualistic one. The resulting impotence of prayer was one of many reasons why the Roman Catholic church became weak and corrupt. The Reformation re-established Scripture as the uncreated aid to personal prayer. We will consider the development of method in personal prayer, starting with the ancient church period, then the transition to monasticism in the medieval period, the development of the rosary, glimmers of reform in the Devotio Moderna school, and the final achievement of the medieval period - the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius. Methods of Prayer in the Ancient Church Period Before the Medieval... If you want to repair a full essay, order it on our website: Ordercustompaper.com

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