Definition of Contemplation: What it is not and what it is

[fred_conty]

I certainly want to thank you both, DBT and Sirach, for your explainations, it has helped.

Have a happy daddy’s day.

 

[hazcompat]

Blessed John Ruysbroeck

When we go towards God by means of the virtues, God dwells in us; but when we go out from ourselves and from all else, then we dwell in God. So soon as we have faith, hope and charity, we have received God, and He dwells in us with His grace, and He sends us out as His faithful servants, to keep His commandments. And He calls us in again as His secret friends, so soon as we are willing to follow His counsels; and He names us openly as His sons so soon as we live in opposition to the world. But if above all things we would taste God, and feel eternal life in ourselves, we must go forth into God with our feeling, above reason; and there we must abide, onefold, empty of ourselves, and free from images, lifted up by love into the simple bareness of our intelligence. For when we go out in love beyond and above all things, and die to all observation in ignorance and in darkness, then we are wrought and transformed through the Eternal Word, Who is the Image of the Father. In this idleness of our spirit, we receive the Incomprehensible Light, which enwraps us and penetrates us, as the air is penetrated by the light of the sun. And this Light is nothing else than a fathomless staring and seeing. What we are, that we behold; and what we behold, that we are: for our thought, our life, and our being are uplifted in simplicity, and made one with the Truth which is God. And therefore in this simple staring we are one life and one spirit with God: and this I call a contemplative life. Peace

 

[franklinstower]

I have been posting on this forum quite a bit for the last few days however now that I have found this thread I have questions instead

I have been practicing prayer for the last twenty years. I have not spent less than three hours a day (formerly) in prayer for that entire time. I would really appreciate if anyone who is in the more advanced stages of contemplative prayer would contact me with a private message so that I could ask more personal questions.

And thanks to all of you for all of the wonderful information and obviously experiential knowledge that you are sharing on this forum.

 

[Pitcharan]

I posted the link so you would discover the source. I wasn’t trying to take credit or anything…:nope:

Even I thought you are Dan Burke. I don’t mind the confusion, but grateful for the info and link.
God bless you

 

[hazcompat]

Second reading
From the Journey of the Mind to God by Saint Bonaventure
Mystical wisdom is revealed by the Holy Spirit

Christ is both the way and the door. Christ is the staircase and the vehicle, like the throne of mercy over the Ark of the Covenant, and the mystery hidden from the ages. A man should turn his full attention to this throne of mercy, and should gaze at him hanging on the cross, full of faith, hope and charity, devoted, full of wonder and joy, marked by gratitude, and open to praise and jubilation. Then such a man will make with Christ a pasch, that is, a passing-over. Through the branches of the cross he will pass over the Red Sea, leaving Egypt and entering the desert. There he will taste the hidden manna, and rest with Christ in the sepulcher, as if he were dead to things outside. He will experience, as much as is possible for one who is still living, what was promised to the thief who hung beside Christ: Today you will be with me in paradise.

For this passover to be perfect, we must suspend all the operations of the mind and we must transform the peak of our affections, directing them to God alone. This is a sacred mystical experience. It cannot be comprehended by anyone unless he surrenders himself to it; nor can he surrender himself to it unless he longs for it; nor can he long for it unless the Holy Spirit, whom Christ sent into the world, should come and inflame his innermost soul. Hence the Apostle says that this mystical wisdom is revealed by the Holy Spirit.

If you ask how such things can occur, seek the answer in God’s grace, not in doctrine; in the longing of the will, not in the understanding; in the sighs of prayer, not in research; seek the bridegroom not the teacher; God and not man; darkness not daylight; and look not to the light but rather to the raging fire that carries the soul to God with intense fervor and glowing love. The fire is God, and the furnace is in Jerusalem, fired by Christ in the ardor of his loving passion. Only he understood this who said: My soul chose hanging and my bones death. Anyone who cherishes this kind of death can see God, for it is certainly true that: No man can look upon me and live.

Let us die, then, and enter into the darkness, silencing our anxieties, our passions and all the fantasies of our imagination. Let us pass over with the crucified Christ from this world to the Father, so that, when the Father has shown himself to us, we can say with Philip: It is enough. We may hear with Paul: My grace is sufficient for you; and we can rejoice with David, saying: My flesh and my heart fail me, but God is the strength of my heart and my heritage for ever. Blessed be the Lord for ever, and let all the people say: Amen. Amen!

divineoffice.org/

Peace

 

[fred_conty]

Acquired comtemplation requires that the memory and intellect be quietly silenced and simply let God be present to it without distractions.

My question is, how does a person know the difference from this and from starring at a wall, for in both cases the intellect and memory are silenced. In other words, how does one know they are not wasting time or just doing it wrong? Is it possible that an hour may go by and nothing happens? But then maybe at the start, nothing may happen?

One other question. As I understand it, right or wrong, there is a just a glowing love between God and the soul without words, and without acts of memory or acts of intellect.
This love is inspired/given by God in a restful mode of contentment of just being united.
But if this is the case, then this cannot be endured throughout the day which requires our active attention, but can only be done in prayer time? Then how is constant prayer achieved?

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[franklinstower]

Acquired comtemplation requires that the memory and intellect be quietly silenced and simply let God be present to it without distractions.

My question is, how does a person know the difference from this and from starring at a wall, for in both cases the intellect and memory are silenced. In other words, how does one know they are not wasting time or just doing it wrong? Is it possible that an hour may go by and nothing happens? But then maybe at the start, nothing may happen?

One other question. As I understand it, right or wrong, there is a just a glowing love between God and the soul without words, and without acts of memory or acts of intellect.
This love is inspired/given by God in a restful mode of contentment of just being united.
But if this is the case, then this cannot be endured throughout the day which requires our active attention, but can only be done in prayer time? Then how is constant prayer achieved?

Any help would be appreciated.

Fred, I am new to this forum but not new to contemplative prayer so I hope it is ok that I offer my two cents. Firstly there is a difference between staring at a wall and acquired contemplation on two sides. The first is that on your end of it the reason or intent of your prayer is to be united to God, or to know God, your will is involved which is not the case when staring at a wall. And then more importantly there is God who sees you willing connection with Him and so God comes down and touches your soul or works in your soul-- weather or not you feel it. But most of the time in my opinion, you do feel it although sometimes it is incredibly subtle. Not necessarily Love though because although God is Love, God is not limited to Love so I have noticed many other “energies” shining on me from God other than Love.

And on your second point I feel like regular time spent with God orients your whole mind and heart towards contemplative prayer even when you are out running around. My experience is that even though I am not all the way in deep prayer while out doing activity-- there is still some part of me that can sense and listen to Gods presence while being active, and the depth of this seems to increase over time. You might be surprised at how deeply we can dwell with God while being active. Also if you notice throughout the day there are many, many moments where there are opportunities to rest just for a moment in God so you can dip back in over and over throughout the day.

 

[hazcompat]

Saint Anselm
Proslogium

CHAPTER I.

Exhortation of the mind to the contemplation of God.—It casts aside cares, and excludes all thoughts save that of God, that it may seek Him. Man was created to see God. Man by sin lost the blessedness for which he was made, and found the misery for which he was not made. He did not keep this good when he could keep it easily. Without God it is ill with us. Our labors and attempts are in vain without God. Man cannot seek God, unless God himself teaches him; nor find him, unless he reveals himself. God created man in his image, that he might be mindful of him, think of him, and love him. The believer does not seek to understand, that he may believe, but he believes that he may understand: for unless he believed he would not understand.

UP now, slight man! flee, for a little while, thy occupations; hide thyself, for a time, from
thy disturbing thoughts. Cast aside, now, thy burdensome cares, and put away thy toilsome business. Yield room for some little time to God; and rest for a little time in him. Enter the inner chamber of thy mind; shut out all thoughts save that of God, and such as can aid thee in seeking him; close thy door and seek him. Speak now, my whole heart! speak now to God, saying, I seek thy face; thy face, Lord, will I seek (Psalms xxvii. 8). And come thou now, O Lord my God, teach my heart where and how it may seek thee, where and how it may find thee.

Lord, if thou art not here, where shall I seek thee, being absent? But if thou art every-where, why do I not see thee present? Truly thou dwellest in unapproachable light. But where is unapproachable light, or how shall I come to it? Or who shall lead me to that light
and into it, that I may see thee in it? Again, by what marks, under what form, shall I seek
thee? I have never seen thee, O Lord, my God; I do not know thy form. What, O most high
Lord, shall this man do, an exile far from thee? What shall thy servant do, anxious in his
love of thee, and cast out afar from thy face? He pants to see thee, and thy face is too far
from him. He longs to come to thee, and thy dwelling-place is inaccessible. He is eager to
find thee, and knows not thy place. He desires to seek thee, and does not know thy face.

God come to my assistance. Lord make haste to help me!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Peace

 

[fred_conty]

Franklinstower, that was helpful.

You mentioned, “God comes down and touches your soul or works in your soul-- whether or not you feel it.” This is difficult because other prayers you know something is going on, mainly your thoughts, and the recognition that God hears all prayers. So it is sort of a sure thing in other prayers that something IS going on.

But in this type of prayer, as far as I can tell, nothing is going on, so the question arises, “am I doing this right” because there really isn’t anything going on with me which is proof that I am actually in prayer.

It almost seems as tho contemplation is a prayer which is absolutely the opposite of what we have been taught that prayer really is, namely, words and application. This is what makes it difficult for me to accept; silence and do nothing.​

Hazcompat, thank you for your reply.

In Anselm’s first paragraph he seems to be saying that a person must trust God first in order for God to touch him, and not to try to understand it first because it isn’t there until God gives it.

In his second paragraph he says to lay away some time in solitude and turn off all thoughts and wait for his presence.

And then he tells God he is waiting and to come so he may see him.

That says it in a nutshell.

The first paragraph is the one that seems to make more sense, the fact that trusting in God is the first step. That he will come to those who make themselves available to him, and that unless that is present, then we are asking proof of him which destroys trusting in him.

 

[hazcompat]

CROSSING THE THRESHOLD OF HOPE
Blessed (soon to be Saint) John Paul II The Great

PRAYING: HOW AND WHY

I would like to take the liberty to ask you to share with us, at least in part, the secret of your heart. Given the conviction that within you-as within every Pope-lives the mystery which is believed in faith, the following question automatically arises: How can you bear such a weight, which, in human terms, is almost unbearable? No man on earth, not even the highest religious leaders, has a comparable responsibility. No one is placed in such a close relationship with God. Your Holiness, how does one address Jesus? How does one have a dialogue, in prayer, with Christ, who gave Peter the “keys to the Kingdom of Heaven” (which have reached you through the apostolic succession), giving him the power to “bind and loose” all?

Your question concerns prayer; you are asking the Pope how he prays. And I thank you. Perhaps it is worth starting with Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans. The apostle comes to the heart of the matter when he writes: “The Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings” (cf. Rom 8:26).

What is prayer? It is commonly held to be a conversation. In a conversation there are always an “I” and a “thou” or “you.” In this case the “Thou” is with a capital T. If at first the “I” seems to be the most important element in prayer, prayer teaches that the situation is actually different. The “Thou” is more important, because our prayer begins with God. In his Letter to the Romans, Saint Paul teaches precisely this. According to the apostle, prayer reflects all created reality; it is in a certain sense a cosmic function.

Man is the priest of all creation; he speaks in its name, but only insofar as he is guided by the Spirit. In order to understand profoundly the meaning of prayer, one should meditate for a long time on the following passage from the Letter to the Romans: “For creation awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God; for creation was made subject to futility, not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it, in hope that creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now; and not only that, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, we also groan within ourselves as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.
For in hope we were saved” (Rom 8:19-24). And here again we come across the apostle’s words: “The Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings” (cf. Rom 8:26).

In prayer, then, the true protagonist is God. The protagonist is Christ, who constantly frees creation from slavery to corruption and leads it toward liberty, for the glory of the children of God. The protagonist is the Holy Spirit, who “comes to the aid of our weakness.” We begin to pray, believing that it is our own initiative that compels us to do so. Instead, we learn that it is always God’s initiative within us, just as Saint Paul has written. This initiative restores in us our true humanity; it restores in us our unique dignity. Yes, we are brought into the higher dignity of the children of God, the children of God who are the hope of all creation.

One can and must pray in many different ways, as the Bible teaches through a multitude of examples. The Book of Psalms is irreplaceable. We must pray with “inexpressible groanings” in order to enter into rhythm with the Spirit’s own entreaties. To obtain forgiveness one must implore, becoming part of the loud cries of Christ the Redeemer (cf. Heb 5:7). Through all of this one must proclaim glory. Prayer is always an opus gloriae (a work, a labor, of glory). Man is the priest of all creation. Christ conferred upon him this dignity and vocation. Creation completes its opus gloriae both by being what it is and by its duty to become what should be.

In a certain sense science and technology also contribute to this goal. But at the same time, since they are human works, they can lead away from this goal. In our civilization in particular there is such a risk, making it difficult for our civilization to be one of life and love. Missing is precisely the opus gloriae, which is the fundamental destiny of every creature, and above all of man, who was created in order to become, in Christ, the priest, prophet, and king of all earthly creatures.

Much has been written about prayer, and further, prayer has been widely experienced in the history of humankind, especially in the history of Israel and Christianity. Man achieves the fullness of prayer not when he expresses himself, but when he lets God be most fully present in prayer. The history of mystical prayer in the East and West attests to this: Saint Francis, Saint Teresa of Avila, Saint John of the Cross, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, and, in the East, for example, Saint Serafim of Sarov and many others.

Peace

 

[franklinstower]

Fred Conty.

I can see what you mean about not being able to tell for sure that something is going on… This form of prayer takes a bit of trust at first, and by the way, in my opinion the sincerity of my mental and verbal prayer before I go into a contemplative state has a role in how effective it is for me. I don’t mean this prayer session for prayer session but just over time. It matters how willing I am to really give my whole life to God and this includes my opinion about things.

As far as weather or not it is working I will tell you that if you are at a stage of acquired contemplative prayer where you do not feel it happening, or perhaps if you are of the personality type that is less likely to feel it, then you are going to see the results of it in your daily living instead of during your prayer time. Here are some examples off of the top of my head-- they are not meant to be exhaustive.

You may notice an undercurrent of peace, or joy, or love slowly creeping into your life.

You may notice that you begin to naturally think less mentally about worldly matters and just have a less active mind in general (which disposes you to be more present to God’s
presence throughout the day).

You may notice an increase in your awareness of or the intensity of certain sins that seemed smaller or less serious before you started this kind of prayer regularly.

You may notice that you begin to form more gentle opinions of things naturally without trying to do so.

The bottom line is that you will see changes happening in you for the better without necessarily working on them mentally in any way. This can be very subtle at first but the intensity of it grows over time.

 

[fred_conty]

Hazcompat,
John Paul II was a deeply spiritual man, but what impressed me was his simplicity.
Thank you for his thoughts of the Holy Spirit helping us to pray the way we should.

Franklinstower,
In your contemplative prayer, did this just happen one day, or was there a period of time it took to arrive at it? And are some days better than others or is it more of an even mode of prayer without too much variation, or arid times?

This is something quite new to me and I’m just trying to get a handle on it. I would like to get into it if possible, but it seems so different than what I’m use to in prayer. To me it seems like contemplative prayer is so much easier with the same results that there has to be some sort of trick to it. I guess my confidence is somewhat lacking for it seems to be to good to be true. No work and much reward. Sounds a little too rich for the little effort.

 

[DBT]

To me it seems like **contemplative prayer is so much easier **with the same results that there has to be some sort of trick to it. I guess my confidence is somewhat lacking for it seems to be to good to be true. **No work **and much reward. Sounds a little too rich for the little effort.

The “pure” contemplation of St. Teresa (infused) is in fact “easy” because it is God praying in us. And, in time, contemplation in the acquired sense may even seem that way too as it becomes habitual or second nature in us. Hence one of the names given for it … the prayer of simplicity.

But let’s make no mistake about it, the underpinnings to all this is very hard work indeed as it necessitates a reordering of all aspects of our life. So it’s not so much a matter of contemplative prayer as it is contemplative living. Asceticism must go hand and hand with mysticism for the latter to be true.

Seen in this light the habitual practice of acquired contemplation is truly an interior martyrdom as we find ourselves continually denying ourselves not only in matters of sense … but spirit too (ie. our thoughts, feelings, opinions, biases, imagination etc). All so that we may remain in God’s presence rather than our own.

Here’s a timely reminder on all that from today’s Office of Readings from the Carmelite Proper for the memorial of Bl. Teresa of St Augustine and Her Companions. Note that it points to a “gradual” transformation over time in response to one of your questions. Also note that these transformations are very much the type of things Franklinstower mentioned in his post.

Without the kind of interior disposition noted below (the work of the work of contemplative living), one is not likely to ever experience the “ease” of contemplative prayer.
St. Teresa's Way of Perfection:

The life of a close friend of God is a continual Martyrdom

All this seems very hard work, this business of perfection, and so it is, for it means
warring against ourselves. But once we begin to work, God, too, works in our souls and
bestows such favors on them that the most we can do in this life seems to us very
little. And we nuns are doing everything we can, by giving up our freedom for the love
of God and entrusting it to another, and in putting up with so many trials – fasts,
silence, enclosure, service in choir – that however much we may want to indulge
ourselves we can do so only occasionally: perhaps, in all the convents I have seen, I am
the only nun guilty of self-indulgence.

Why, then, do we shrink from interior mortification, since this is the means by which every other kind of mortification may become much more meritorious and perfect, so that it can
then be practiced with greater tranquility and ease?

This, as I have said, is **acquired by gradual progress **and by never indulging our own
will and desire, even in small things, until we have succeeded in subduing the body to the spirit.

I repeat that this consists mainly or entirely in our ceasing to care about ourselves and
our own pleasures (our thoughts, preoccupations etc), for the least that anyone who is beginning to serve the Lord truly can offer Him is his life. Once he has surrendered his will
to Him, what has he to fear?

It is evident that if he is a true religious and a real man of prayer and aspires to the
enjoyment of Divine consolations, he must not [turn back or] shrink from desiring to
die and suffer martyrdom for His sake. And do you not know, sisters, that the life of a
good religious, who wishes to be among the closest friends of God, is one long
martyrdom? I say “long”, for, by comparison with decapitation, which is over very
quickly, it may well be termed so, though life itself is short and some lives are short in
the extreme. How do we know but that ours will be so short that it may end only one
hour or one moment after the time of our resolving to render our entire service to God?
This would be quite possible; and so we must not set store by anything that comes to an
end, least of all by life, since not a day of it is secure. Who, if he thought that each hour
might be his last, would not spend it in labour?

Believe me, it is safest to think that this is so; by so doing we shall learn to subdue our
wills in everything; for if, as I have said, you are very careful about your prayer, you
will soon find yourselves gradually reaching the summit of the mountain without
knowing how.

Dave

 

[franklinstower]

Hazcompat,
John Paul II was a deeply spiritual man, but what impressed me was his simplicity.
Thank you for his thoughts of the Holy Spirit helping us to pray the way we should.

Franklinstower,
In your contemplative prayer, did this just happen one day, or was there a period of time it took to arrive at it? And are some days better than others or is it more of an even mode of prayer without too much variation, or arid times?

This is something quite new to me and I’m just trying to get a handle on it. I would like to get into it if possible, but it seems so different than what I’m use to in prayer. To me it seems like contemplative prayer is so much easier with the same results that there has to be some sort of trick to it. I guess my confidence is somewhat lacking for it seems to be to good to be true. No work and much reward. Sounds a little too rich for the little effort.

It took quite a bit of time to arrive at it. I needed to be really sincere about wanting God and letting God have my life and change me. This in itself took a lot of work because I was attached to moods and opinions and some activities that were not Gods will for me and I knew it so it took willingness for god to change all of that.

Some days were better than others especially in the beginning (first couple of years). It is pretty consistent for me now and is also deepening over time.

As far as the no work part I would say its just a different kind of work. For me, to get into the deeper stages of prayer took a lot of work its just that this kind of work is initiated by God and not my own will. This kind of prayer begins to change you from the inside out but it doesn’t do it against your will, it has to cooperate with your will. You would think that this would be easy but we are dealing with God here and with Gods will for your life. I feel like contemplative prayer has allowed me to get out of the way of God in a profoundly deeper way than with verbal prayer and to be touched so much more deeply. I feel like God has led me into a place where sometimes during prayer I really do surrender my will completely to him. I have noticed a kind of purification happen in me from God that is not comfortable and that sometimes has made me want to turn back-- it sometimes has felt a bit intimidating.

Don’t think it is not work-- instead think of it as the work of allowing God to transform us from the inside out and our work is co-operating with Gods will in us. I can tell you that many people I have know have been taken aback by the depth of the changes God begins to initiate in them and in these times it takes great courage to continue.

One unconventional thing that has really helped me although I am not sure if it is orthodox or not so you may want to check with some of the other members on this forum, is that in the beginning my mind was so disturbed and in turmoil that I would have to sing the “our father” in my mind over and over for maybe twenty minutes before things would quiet down enough to just be in contemplative experience with God. My spiritual advisor is a Trappist monk and they sing this so beautifully that I would actually just recreate them singing it over and over in my mind. This really helped me and I cannot overstate how much it did.

Now it seem that any prayer like the “our father” or the rosary or just my own sincere prayer leads into that place.

 

[fred_conty]

Franklinstower, thank you for your helpful explaination.

After holy communion this morning, I didn’t say much to Jesus at all. The gospel of all things was on “learn of me for I am meek and humble of heart”. So I just tried silence and being aware of his presence. I did feel very peaceful in his company, just being there.
And it was refreshing.

But I felt a little bit not right since it seemed to me that I was lazy in his presence and should have adored and loved him. Yet there was none of that, just quiet and rest. I had mixed feelings about it. I can’t say that I didn’t like it, but I just was so unsure of what was the proper thing to do.

I thought I could have been praying for others during that time, especially the thousands of sinners who would never make it unless someone samaritanized them. I felt that maybe this and other oportunities were maybe missed at one the most important moments of the day. So I was rather at peace but at the same time thinking I may be neglecting others in their most serious need.

Have these thoughts any consideration, or should they be ignored?​

“we are many parts, we are one body.” (hymn)

 

[JimR-OCDS]

But I felt a little bit not right since it seemed to me that I was lazy in his presence and should have adored and loved him. Yet there was none of that, just quiet and rest. I had mixed feelings about it. I can’t say that I didn’t like it, but I just was so unsure of what was the proper thing to do.

)

This is one of the big no-no’s in contemplative prayer, to work anxiously in it.

Contemplative Prayer is a prayer of love, and love is not anxious, nor is it work of the mind.

Many people feel that they should be doing something. In fact, one of the guidelines before you even begin prayer is to sit for a minute, doing nothing. Many people can’t last just a minute without activity going on in their minds or bodies.

But in Quiet Prayer, this is a must.

Jim

 

[DBT]

But I felt a little bit not right since it seemed to me that I was lazy in his presence and should have adored and loved him. Yet there was none of that, just quiet and rest. I had mixed feelings about it. I can’t say that I didn’t like it, but I just was so unsure of what was the proper thing to do.

We shouldn’t force things. If we feel drawn to work our minds in prayer then we should meditate. If we are drawn to speak lovingly to Him we should do that … mental prayer, prayer of the heart etc.

We will “know” when we are drawn to pray in silence and simplicity since we won’t want (or even be able) to pray as just described. And even then we may need encouragment that this is not idleness (the trial of the passive night of sense).

St. John of the Cross speaks much on this. When I get a chance, I’ll post a link to his “3-signs” for when the time is right to enter into this way of prayer.

There are many “flavors” to acquired contemplation … one needn’t necessarily embrace this particular version of it. It is something we enter into gradually over time.

Dave

 

[franklinstower]

Franklinstower, thank you for your helpful explaination.

After holy communion this morning, I didn’t say much to Jesus at all. The gospel of all things was on “learn of me for I am meek and humble of heart”. So I just tried silence and being aware of his presence. I did feel very peaceful in his company, just being there.
And it was refreshing.

But I felt a little bit not right since it seemed to me that I was lazy in his presence and should have adored and loved him. Yet there was none of that, just quiet and rest. I had mixed feelings about it. I can’t say that I didn’t like it, but I just was so unsure of what was the proper thing to do.

I thought I could have been praying for others during that time, especially the thousands of sinners who would never make it unless someone samaritanized them. I felt that maybe this and other oportunities were maybe missed at one the most important moments of the day. So I was rather at peace but at the same time thinking I may be neglecting others in their most serious need.

Have these thoughts any consideration, or should they be ignored?

There are a couple of replies from other forums.catholic-questions.org/images/editor/smilie.gifmembers that may be helpful here. Here is my answer to it. The first commandment is to Love God the second is Love neighbor as yourself. I think this is for a really good reason. To spend time with God and receive Gods healing power is the key to being transformed into someone who is deeply useful to humanity. When you learn to rest in God and to be absorbed into Gods presence you will find that in every other area of service to humanity you are more effective, more able to be a channel of God power like the St Francis prayer speaks of. Contemplative prayer is the single most important action I take on a daily basis for serving humanity, it is the most important thing I can do for others. It just takes a while to see it.

So far as trying to feel love for God while practicing it I think this would be a mistake because then you are telling God what to do instead of letting God work in you according to His perfect wisdom which is almost always mysterious and beyond our comprehension. John of the Cross said you must come to God like a “blind beggar”, you don’t know the way and you have nothing in yourself to get there so you must just receive. Its ok to want to love God more and I think it is really helpful to pray for that to come, but then when it comes to contemplative prayer time we let that go and allow God to work in us. I like to spend enough time in prayer to do both.

Should you come to feel love during contemplative prayer without trying to make that happen and under the direction of the Holy Spirit I think you will find it is Love of a much higher quality than you are used to. To quote Paul “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in [a]any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” Contemplative prayer is receiving directly from God so that when we go out to serve it is with Gods power and not our own.

 

[hazcompat]

Yes, it is not achieved. It is received. What an immeasurably generous Loving God!

Peace

 

[DBT]

Here is the link to St. John of the Cross’ famous “3-signs.” Chapters 13-16 are key (just a few short pages to read … but much info to absorb and apply to one’s life).

catholictreasury.info/books/ascent/asc29.php

The teaching here is that during our “formal” time of prayer … when “we go alone into our room” we should pray in the manner in which we draw the most profit. Perhaps this would be meditation of some sort, maybe the rosary … or something more informal and conversational in the manner of mental prayer. Apply the “3-signs” to enter into the “loving attentiveness to God” when intuit the time is right. Perhaps in the beginning this will only be every now and then … and for just a few moments at a time. Maybe latter this will become our “normal” way to pray, God willing. Rest assured this is far from idleness (as St. John shows) … and we do far more good for our neighbor in this special alone time with the Lord than we can possibly realize.

As for all our “other times,” well this is the special domain of acquired contemplation … when we learn to keep company with Christ throughout everything we do in our day. This is something everyone can do as Brother Lawrence shows … and no two people probably do it in exactly the same way. Thus the reason it is called the “methodless method.” We talk to Christ in what ever way the Spirit moves us in each of our present moments. Sometimes it will be a free form, spontaneous flow of words … other times, perhaps, a simple aspiration to draw us back into His presence … other times nothing more than an interior gaze or smile to He whom we know is always present.

And interspersed throughout this kind of continual acquired contemplation, we can still seek brief moments of even deeper recollection … what I call “mini-retreats” of just a minute or two. St. Teresa speaks of this at some length in Chapter 28 of Way of Perfection:

ewtn.com/library/SPIRIT/WAYPERF.TXT

The recollection/acquired contemplation mentioned here of St. Teresa and Brother Lawrence is something everyone can and should do. The more simplified version of St. John of the Cross must be discerned as to when the time is right.

Hope this helps!

Dave