Help with Contemplative Prayer!

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switalabe

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Hi!

I need help with Contemplative Prayer!

Contemplation means “looking at God” right? But how can I look at God if my eyes are closed? And how can I look at God if He is in heaven & I am here?

Thanks!
B
 
Contemplative Prayer require a solid foundation, like re-building yourself based on *The Imitation of Christ. * It’s all spiritual, and one need not rely on any of the 5 senses. Your mind has “eyes,” which go far beyond normal sight.
 
I usually do it eyes open. Look at a crucifix to start. Helps me. 🙂
 
For one thiing, “contemplative prayer” must be defined. And there is no strong consensus it seems to me among Catholics on this.

I prefer the definition and teaching that “contemplative prayer” is a gift and a special grace from God. It is a higher form of prayer and not something we attain by our own effort. God gives it to whom he wills.

Mental prayer is something we can all do, and is very fruitful.

In my views, I tend to follow the classic ideas on prayer set down by Theresa of Avila in her treatises on the spiritual life, like Interior Castle and Way of Perfection.

Others define it differently and don’t mean the same thing, I think, as how the phrase was classically used.
 
switalabe said:
Hi!

I need help with Contemplative Prayer!

Contemplation means “looking at God” right? But how can I look at God if my eyes are closed? And how can I look at God if He is in heaven & I am here?

Thanks!
B
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You might want to do a search on “contemplative” or “contemplation” and start there. There are a number of threads on this subject.

If your just starting out, it is much like looking at a beautiful sunset in the evening sky. The mind is fixated and spell bound, drinking in the swirl of colors and designs, the mind breathless and wordless.
In a way this is what a person does in contemplating God…breathless, loving, beauty…fixated and wordless. In the company of God waiting for his loving breeze to pass over your soul. Like in the dead still of the quiet of night…in a welcoming loving mindframe. In the presense of a friend where no words need to be spoken, but only the enjoyment of each other’s company.

And it is for anyone and everyone because this type of prayer does bring us near to God. If you wish to try it, start after receiving Jesus in Holy Communion. That is the best. But it can be done anytime there is time by sitting quietly and resting in him. Start now if your interested and don’t put it off. If you are interested the Holy Spirit is probably pushing you in that direction.

May God bless and keep you. May God’s face shine on you. May God be kind to you and give you peace.
 
JamalChristophr said:
For one thiing, “contemplative prayer” must be defined. And there is no strong consensus it seems to me among Catholics on this.

I prefer the definition and teaching that “contemplative prayer” is a gift and a special grace from God. It is a higher form of prayer and not something we attain by our own effort. God gives it to whom he wills.

Mental prayer is something we can all do, and is very fruitful.

In my views, I tend to follow the classic ideas on prayer set down by Theresa of Avila in her treatises on the spiritual life, like Interior Castle and Way of Perfection.

Others define it differently and don’t mean the same thing, I think, as how the phrase was classically used.
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Some also maintain that it is possible to cooperate with grace in such a way as to be more inclined to receive this gift of pure prayer.

Either way, there are two ways we can go about this. We can pray using images, and kataphatic is the word for that, such as using a crucifix for our focus (as Luigi points out) or imagining some Biblical scene with Our Lord. Or we can attempt to pray - to just be in the presence of the unseen God - without using images, and apophatic is the word for that. Most people are more inclined toward kataphatic ways of prayer. Which way of prayer does the OP need help with?
 
switalabe said:
Hi!

I need help with Contemplative Prayer!

Contemplation means “looking at God” right? But how can I look at God if my eyes are closed? And how can I look at God if He is in heaven & I am here?

Thanks!
B
Click to expand...
Some advice I once received about prayer in general:
  • Don’t get caught up in methods and rubrics
  • Have confidence
  • Pray with the entire body (i.e.- get a good night sleep so you don’t take a nap during prayer time)
  • Follow the Grace - where you experience the Holy Spirit, stay there!
  • Be free
  • Listen
  • Have patience
 
Yes, I just think a distinction needs to be made between the various meanings of the phrase.

The Eastern Catholics use Icons a lot in their prayer, and that is prayer of contemplation, I think. Though I don’t know a lot about it.
 
JamalChristophr said:
Yes, I just think a distinction needs to be made between the various meanings of the phrase.

The Eastern Catholics use Icons a lot in their prayer and that is prayer of contemplation, I think. Though I don’t know a lot about it.
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And then there’s Jesuit spirituality which uses “Contemplation” as a type of prayer, and “contemplation” as a step in Lectio Divina and Meditation methods of prayer. It means something completely different in each case. :confused:
 
CatholicHockey7 said:
And then there’s Jesuit spirituality which uses “Contemplation” as a type of prayer, and “contemplation” as a step in Lectio Divina and Meditation methods of prayer. It means something completely different in each case. :confused:
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Very true!

The Jesuit way, I think, could be very fruitful, I’m sure the Pope would recommend it! I heard he even had the laity do an exercise in prayer of contemplation during one of his homilies recently.
 
JamalChristophr said:
Very true!

The Jesuit way, I think, could be very fruitful, I’m sure the Pope would recommend it! I heard he even had the laity do an exercise in prayer of contemplation during one of his homilies recently.
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I tried to find my notes from a lecture last summer, but I could only find the detailed steps for Lectio Divina. Not very helpful when I’m trying to help with Contemplative prayer…lol
 
And silent prayer before the Eucharist in adoration is a prayer of contemplation, too. Perhaps one of the most fruitful ones.
 
We can find many wonderful images of contemplation in the Psalms where there are numerous expressions like “From the heavens God gazes upon His people.” For at the end of the day that’s what contemplation is: a mutual looking at each other in silent wonder and awe.

St. John of the Cross uses this imagery of “looking” in the latter stanza’s of Spiritual Canticle to describe how the persons of the Trinity communicate with each other. It’s also how God speaks to the individual soul.

There is a type of “looking” that theologians describe as infused … that is, a gift from God. There is also the “looking” of the Cure of Ars that is called acquired … meaning something within our ability to do.

Dave 🙂
 
I have also found the work of the Augustinian Friar Fr. Martin Laird to be most helpful where contemplative prayer is concerned. His books, *Into the Silent Land *and A Sunlit Absence, are worth a look, and here is a video where he addresses this way of prayer. You can skip to 7:23 to get right to his presentation:

youtube.com/watch?v=9TEXUTyP4rI

Hope this helps.
 
First stop IMO is the CCC. It speaks a great deal on contemplative prayer, more than vocal and meditative combined, in “Expressions of Prayer” CCC 2700-2724. Note in 2708 it points out Christian prayer “should” include this form of prayer.

Sample paragraphs:

2709 What is contemplative prayer? St. Teresa answers: "Contemplative prayer [oracion mental] in my opinion is nothing else than a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us."6 Contemplative prayer seeks him "whom my soul loves."7 It is Jesus, and in him, the Father. We seek him, because to desire him is always the beginning of love, and we seek him in that pure faith which causes us to be born of him and to live in him. In this inner prayer we can still meditate, but our attention is fixed on the Lord himself.

2710 The choice of the time and duration of the prayer arises from a determined will, revealing the secrets of the heart. One does not undertake contemplative prayer only when one has the time: one makes time for the Lord, with the firm determination not to give up, no matter what trials and dryness one may encounter. One cannot always meditate, but one can always enter into inner prayer, independently of the conditions of health, work, or emotional state. The heart is the place of this quest and encounter, in poverty and in faith.

2711 Entering into contemplative prayer is like entering into the Eucharistic liturgy: we “gather up” the heart, recollect our whole being under the prompting of the Holy Spirit, abide in the dwelling place of the Lord which we are, awaken our faith in order to enter into the presence of him who awaits us. We let our masks fall and turn our hearts back to the Lord who loves us, so as to hand ourselves over to him as an offering to be purified and transformed.

2713 Contemplative prayer is the simplest expression of the mystery of prayer. It is a gift, a grace; it can be accepted only in humility and poverty. Contemplative prayer is a covenant relationship established by God within our hearts.9 Contemplative prayer is a communion in which the Holy Trinity conforms man, the image of God, “to his likeness.”

2715 Contemplation is a gaze of faith, fixed on Jesus. “I look at him and he looks at me”: this is what a certain peasant of Ars in the time of his holy curé used to say while praying before the tabernacle. This focus on Jesus is a renunciation of self. His gaze purifies our heart; the light of the countenance of Jesus illumines the eyes of our heart and teaches us to see everything in the light of his truth and his compassion for all men. Contemplation also turns its gaze on the mysteries of the life of Christ. Thus it learns the “interior knowledge of our Lord,” the more to love him and follow him.11

2717 Contemplative prayer is silence, the "symbol of the world to come"12 or "silent love."13 Words in this kind of prayer are not speeches; they are like kindling that feeds the fire of love. In this silence, unbearable to the “outer” man, the Father speaks to us his incarnate Word, who suffered, died, and rose; in this silence the Spirit of adoption enables us to share in the prayer of Jesus.

2718 Contemplative prayer is a union with the prayer of Christ insofar as it makes us participate in his mystery. The mystery of Christ is celebrated by the Church in the Eucharist, and the Holy Spirit makes it come alive in contemplative prayer so that our charity will manifest it in our acts.

Second, if you want an easy-to-read book on all forms of prayer, here’s one currently being used for intro prayer classes at the seminary my son attended. Written by a Jesuit and with imprimatur and nihil obstat, it has a Look Inside at amazon:

Armchair Mystic: Easing Into Contemplative PrayerApr 1, 2001
by Mark E. Thibodeaux S.J.

There are some good ideas about contemplative prayer from the others in this thread, but beware the topic of “contemplative prayer” sometimes seems to bring much “noise” as compared with “information.”
 
switalabe said:
And how can I look at God if He is in heaven & I am here?
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God is unimaginably closer than that. If you can’t find Him, it’s because you’re over-shooting. If this was basketball and the net was contemplation, you’d have to actually swallow the ball to make the shot.
 
May I recommend New Seeds of Contemplation, by Father Thomas Merton? 🙂
 
I can’t remember if anyone posted these yet, but I recommend anything from Fr. Timothy Gallagher. Especially take a look at “An Ignatian Introduction to Prayer” and “Meditation and Contemplation”
 
Mystical_Seeker said:
Second, if you want an easy-to-read book on all forms of prayer, here’s one currently being used for intro prayer classes at the seminary my son attended. Written by a Jesuit and with imprimatur and nihil obstat, it has a Look Inside at amazon:

Armchair Mystic: Easing Into Contemplative PrayerApr 1, 2001
by Mark E. Thibodeaux S.J.
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Excellent book! I’m only on Chapter 3, easy reading, packed with real life examples.

I’ve been told- mental prayer: the intellect is engaged, contemplative prayer: the intellect is not engaged.
 
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