On Contemplative Prayer

 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church presents a section on contemplative prayer in paragraphs 2709-2724.  St. Pope John Paul II also wrote an Apostolic Letter entitled Novo Millenio Ineunte which focused in large part on Christian contemplation.  It is recommended that this section in the Catechism, along with Section II of Novo Millenio Ineunte (“A Face to Contemplate”), be read in conjunction with this reflection.

Christian meditation often focuses on an idea - “or point” - about God as its object.  This is a helpful practice which often lends itself to providing a sort of springboard in one’s mind by which God may speak more deeply to the soul about that or a related point, thus revealing His word to the soul through such practice.  Prayerful reflection on Sacred Scripture - or what is called lectio divina - involves provision of the points of meditation to oneself as the very content of Sacred Scripture itself.  One does well to constantly seek and heed the guidance of the Holy Spirit with such practice, and so grow in the Spirit’s gift of understanding with regards to Sacred Scripture.  Through frequent practice of such meditation on Sacred Scripture, along with other study of scriptural exegesis in light of the teachings of the Church, one prepares one’s heart and mind as “good soil” by which one “hears the word and understands it” so as to bear much “fruit” in one’s life (Matthew 13:23).

In contemplative prayer, one does not so much focus on an idea about God as one does on God Himself.  St. Theresa of Jesus described contemplative prayer as “a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us” (as cited in CCC 2709).  Thus David sings in the 63rd Psalm,

O God, thou art my God, I seek thee,

my soul thirsts for thee;

my flesh faints for thee,

as in a dry weary land where no water is.

So I have looked upon thee in the sanctuary,

beholding thy power and glory.  (v. 1-2)

One directs one’s mind, heart, and whole being to behold God Himself, thus entering into a mutual exchange of life and love which sustains our souls and actualizes greater communion with God.  So the 63rd Psalm continues,

Because thy steadfast love is better than life,

my lips will praise thee.

So I will bless thee as long as I live;

I will lift up my hands and call on thy name.

My soul is feasted as with marrow and fat,

and my mouth praises thee with joyful lips.  (v. 3-5)

Upon entering into this communion between God and oneself, one gives oneself over to God’s power in Christ by which God sustains all creation in Himself.  “All things were created through him and for him.  He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:16-17).  So the 63rd Psalm continues,

My soul clings to thee;

thy right hand upholds thee.  (v. 8)

The essence of contemplative prayer thus shifts from what one is doing during contemplative prayer, to one’s being with and in God.  St. Pope John Paul II made this distinction immediately before the outset of the section on Christian contemplation in Novo Millenio Ineunte:

It is important however that what we propose, with the help of God, should be profoundly rooted in contemplation and prayer. Ours is a time of continual movement which often leads to restlessness, with the risk of "doing for the sake of doing". We must resist this temptation by trying "to be" before trying "to do".  (15)

As we learn about and practice contemplative prayer, let us seek and heed the guidance of the Holy Spirit while allowing our prayer to be informed by Divine Revelation, as revealed in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition.

As Christian prayer has been influenced by other forms of meditation, the magisterium of the Church has sought to remind us that our starting point for Christian contemplation is Christ, especially in his humanity.  Christ himself reminded us, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me”, and “He who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:6, 9).  St. John Paul II described Christian contemplation as a matter of contemplating the face of Christ, for “he is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15, cf. Novo Millenio Ineunte, Section II).  It is through our union with Christ in his humanity that we experience God in contemplative prayer through Christ’s divinity, since in Christ “the fullness of divinity dwells” (Colossians 2:9).

Pope John Paul II has pointed out to the whole Church the example and the doctrine of St. Teresa of Avila who in her life had to reject the temptation of certain methods which proposed a leaving aside of the humanity of Christ in favor of a vague self-immersion in the abyss of the divinity. In a homily given on November 1st, 1982, he said that the call of Teresa of Jesus advocating a prayer completely centered on Christ "is valid, even in our day, against some methods of prayer which are not inspired by the Gospel and which in practice tend to set Christ aside in preference for a mental void which makes no sense in Christianity. Any method of prayer is valid insofar as it is inspired by Christ and leads to Christ who is the Way, the Truth and the Life (cf. Jn 14:6)." See: Homilia Abulae habita in honorem Sanctae Teresiae: AAS 75 (1983), 256-257.  (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Orationis Formas: Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on Some Aspects of Christian Meditation, 12)

Contemplative prayer is also not to be confused with such practices as “Centering Prayer” or yoga.  For more information on this point, please see the document by the Pontifical Councils for Culture and Interreligious Dialogue entitled Jesus Christ Bearer of the Water of Life, sections 2.3.4 and 3.4.

Finally, it is important to remember that contemplative prayer is above all a grace: a gift from God.  Such gifts from God “are inspired by the one and same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills” (1 Corinthians 12:11).  Just as Jesus resisted Satan’s temptation to throw himself from the parapet of the temple so that God may save him (see Matthew 4:5-7, Luke 4:9-12), so we must avoid “putting God in a box”, so to speak, by attempting to “make contemplative prayer happen” as if it were a matter of mastering some sort of technique.

The essential element in Christian faith, however, is God's descent towards his creatures, particularly towards the humblest, those who are weakest and least gifted according to the values of the “world”. There are spiritual techniques which it is useful to learn, but God is able to by-pass them or do without them. A Christian's “method of getting closer to God is not based on any technique in the strict sense of the word. That would contradict the spirit of childhood called for by the Gospel. The heart of genuine Christian mysticism is not technique: it is always a gift of God; and the one who benefits from it knows himself to be unworthy”.  (Jesus Christ Bearer of the Water of Life 3.4, citing Orationis Formas 23, cf. St. Teresa of Jesus, Castillo Interior IV, 1, 2)

Keeping in mind our Lord’s words “How much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13), let us ask the Holy Spirit for the gift of contemplative prayer and hope for the reception of this gift with humble openness.  “For God alone my soul waits in silence” (Psalm 62:1).