The group practice called “sacramental meditation” relies on sacred objects and spontaneous imagination to prepare its participants for spiritual experience. The meditation object is likened to an icon. The practice is compared with Loyola's “spiritual exercises” and the therapeutic technique of “active imagination”. Fowler's theory of faith development is used to show the forms of symbolic awareness that occur during a meditation. The theory, the method, and the effects of sacramental meditation are reviewed.
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