Traditional Catholic Contemplation

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The_Reginator

The_Reginator

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To help me in my spiritual growth I’d like to learn more about contemplation as it has been told to us by the saints.

Let’s share some thoughts and talk about saints who have taught about Catholic contemplation.

I was inspired to start this (especially with Lent coming soon) by a post in another thread. Here’s the part that got me thinking:
Francisco de Osuna, a Franciscan Mystic who influenced Teresa of Avila, wrote that recollection (reflection) is the entryway to contemplation. NOW THAT’S TRADITIONAL CATHOLICISM.
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Fraternally,
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Br. JR, OSF
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I’d especially love some links to quotes, etc, from the Communion of Saints. Well at least what they wrote while still with us here on earth. 😉
 
The_Reginator said:
To help me in my spiritual growth I’d like to learn more about contemplation as it has been told to us by the saints.

Let’s share some thoughts and talk about saints who have taught about Catholic contemplation.

I was inspired to start this (especially with Lent coming soon) by a post in another thread. Here’s the part that got me thinking:

I’d especially love some links to quotes, etc, from the Communion of Saints. Well at least what they wrote while still with us here on earth. 😉
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I do not have a link but here is St. Clare’s advice on contemplation:

“Place your mind before the mirror of eternity! Place your soul in the brilliance of glory! And transform your entire being into the image of the Godhead Itself through contemplation."
 
"Contemplation"
This word I love and yet know nothing at all about it and would love to know everything about it!
Will be keeping a keen eye on this thread!🙂
 
I was listening to some recorded sermons given by Bishop Fellay in which he said a few things which really struck me. To put oneself in the presence of God is as simple as thinking about Him. The Bishop related how one of the Faithful complained to him that he had no imagination, that his thoughts were in black and white and he could only imagine stick figures. The Bishop replied that it didn’t matter, God would provide the colors to reward his perseverance.

What struck me about that is how easily my own mind wanders when I pray. How all of my cares and fears seem to invade the silence. And I slowly realize that for the last 5 minutes I haven’t thought of Our Lord at all. A short St. Michael prayer, “by the power of God cast into hell satan and all these demons prowling about me seeking the ruin of my soul.”

It takes a lot of effort, but if I am praying for a certain amt of time, and during that time I found that even only 5 minutes did I remain in focused and in the presence of God, then He certainly has rewarded my perseverence.
 
“Contemplative prayer [oracion mental] in my opinion is nothing less than a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be aone with him who we know loves us.”
(St Teresa of Jesus, * The Book of Her Life, 8,5.*) (CCC2709)

Peace
James
 
What struck me about that is how easily my own mind wanders when I pray. How all of my cares and fears seem to invade the silence.
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When the spiritual person cannot meditate, let him learn to be still in God, fixing his loving attention upon Him, in the calm of his understanding, although he may think himself to be doing nothing. For thus, little by little and very quickly, Divine calm and peace will be infused into his soul, together with a wondrous and sublime knowledge of God, enfolded in Divine love. And let him not meddle with forms, meditations and imaginings, or with any kind of reasoning, lest his soul be disturbed, and brought out of its contentment and peace, which can only result in its experiencing distaste and repugnance. And if, as we have said, such a person has scruples that he is doing nothing, let him note that he is doing no small thing by pacifying the soul and bringing it into calm and peace, unaccompanied by any act or desire, for it is this that Our Lord asks of us, through David, saying: Vacate, et videte quoniam ego sum Deus. As though he had said: Learn to be empty of all things (that is to say, inwardly and outwardly) and you will see that I am God. St John of the Cross Ascent of Mount Carmel II, XV

As God comes not within any image or form, neither is contained within any particular kind of intelligence, so the soul, in order to reach God,( [Lit., ‘to come within God.’] E.p.: ‘to be united with God.) must likewise come within no distinct form or kind of intelligence
St John of the Cross Ascent of Mount Carmel II, XVI

ccel.org/ccel/john_cross/ascent.v.xvi.html

WHEN you pray, keep powerful guard over your memory: in this way, instead of placing its own passions before you, it will, instead, move you to the knowledge that you stand [before God]. For the nous (intellect/spirit) is easily, naturally disarmed [and plundered] by the memory at the time of prayer. Evagrius Ponticus
 
To be in a state of real contemplation, you must always see the heavenly reality of life as a very long highway. In all the parables, metaphors, and descriptions our Lord gave of Himself, He is related to a road, path, or entryway. His is the Door, the Way, and the Path to our beloved Father. Even if it is a dark city in which one small forgotten alleyway leads, through seedy places, to the small abandoned gate of faith, the metaphor holds true.

Imagine yourself in a corrupt citadel, long-suffering under the occupying forces of an enemy. You were born into this crumbling and decadent place, but know its history extends to a golden time. All the men loyal to the true king have escaped, but you were left behind in the chaos. After many years of searching old maps to find a way out of the cursed city, you happen upon a little side street: overgrown, and yet beautiful beyond imagination. The remains of its arbors and benches speak of a once-glistening avenue or parkland. You follow it, making sure no patrols are following you.

At the end of your little forgotten path you find a tiny gate, little more than a hole in the wall. It was evidently a portal of great importance once, but the majority of it has been blocked off. Despite its desolation, the crows and beggars stay away from it, somehow fearing its quiet, homely warmth. The crumbled gate welcomes you, even though all you see beyond the high, gated walls are dark clouds. Suddenly, standing at the edge of this grotesque city, you see hands waving from within the gate for you to come, urgently! You intuit that these are double-agents, true spies of the Eternal King, come to usher escapees out through the forgotten faith. You strip off your exaggerated, colourful clothing that you’ve been forced to wear by the orgiastic black city, and put on a sack cloth and a carrying bag of simple material. They give you a walking staff, and speed you away before the guards come to stop you.

What can this city be, but the darkness of our souls? What is the road, except the tiny light of reason? The Gate is faith, and it can only be opened if we use our little intelligible faculty to reach it. Once we follow the agents of God and use our wills truly, we are invited to speed away from the evil bastion with all haste. The road beyond is lonely and unused, and there are wolves on either side if you stray too far. Far away, however, on shimmering heights, you can see the horizon gleaming with the city lights of the true castles and mansions, where the benevolent King resides. If you fix your eyes on this horizon in your mind, and vividly remember that God is our saviour wholly and entirely, nothing can inhibit your contemplation.

Only the darkness and surrounding clouds of the oppressors want to stop you contemplating. Use whatever metaphor or image you can think of: emerald meadows, sapphire skies, unblemished and pure clouds… if it helps you to truly feel, in your gut, the absolute goodness of God, it is right and just. Feel the summer breeze over your skin in God’s holy Kingdom, just as long as you remember that you are currently in winter. Only He has the keys to the warmer years, and better days. He will make us lie down in the comfortable pasture, truly, but only after we make the refugee’s journey away from the land of gnarled branches and uprooted trees covered in the soot and ash of war.

All holy saints, without exception, spoke of our war. It is the “Sin War”, to use a fanciful phrase. Combat is everything. Do you want traditional contemplation? Meditate upon the mysteries of the most holy Rosary, especially the sorrowful and glorious mysteries. These are the very center of our Lord’s earthly life: His apparent defeat, and final victory. They are grand statements and suggestions of an immense war of infinite importance. We are at the center, and the trench lines are battered by constant offensives. Hold strong!
 
The forms of the prayers are:
  • community prayer (mass, office in community, litanies, novenas, rosary in community)
  • oral prayer in solitude, when the emphasis is on the words
  • meditation, when readings, biblical events guide the mind to think about the heavenly
  • the contemplation, when one empties his mind, and let the supernatural power come in.
The contemplation is dangerous because either God or the Enemy is ready to come into the mind. One need a good confessor as guidance, and the strong habit of obedience; without that it is almost certain failure.
 
I also suggest that you find a saint that you like who has written on contemplation and then read them exclusively.

Do not run around trying to read every saint who has written on contemplation.

I believe that it would cause issues as each saint looks at contemplation from their own unique perspective and they can seem at odds with each other.
 
laszlo said:
The contemplation is dangerous because either God or the Enemy is ready to come into the mind. One need a good confessor as guidance, and the strong habit of obedience; without that it is almost certain failure.
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Ah, yes.
That is what I’ve been a little concerned about. It sounds dangerously close to eastern meditation where one empties one’s mind rather than keeping it focused. But I know that there have been many contemplative saints. I believe that there are some orders of Religious that are known as ‘contemplative’. (?)

Is there a defined (as in Church defined, by documents or saintly writings) difference between ‘meditation’ and ‘contemplation’? The two words almost seem interchangeable, but I don’t think they are …
 
TheReginator:
Francisco de Osuna, a Franciscan Mystic who influenced Teresa of Avila, wrote that recollection (reflection) is the entryway to contemplation
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This is a very lengthly book - approx. 600 pages, but an excellent one to purchase if you are serious about prayer. I recall seeing a few of Osuna’s analogies in the writings of St. Teresa, and was able to recall where she got the teaching from. Her uncle was a wise mentor who asked St. Teresa to read the book to him - thus forcing her to absorb some of the principles. And, absorb she did! Her uncle put her on the path to deep sanctity and spirituality. The title is Third Spiritual Alphabet.

St. Teresa began her teachings on prayer in a very orderly manner in Way of Perfection, taking the soul from the very beginnings of prayer all the way up to infused contemplation. We don’t just decide to ‘contemplate’ and find that it can be done with ease. It is a growth in prayer, but recollection is the beginning of it. And one needs to be readied even for recollection - this is not a beginner’s prayer either.

If any folks are looking for good material for lent, I highly recommend both books. This topic of contemplation is probably going to be difficult for those who are just becoming serious about prayer, and may be well over their heads. So I ask that those who share their wisdom here be very attuned to their audience and their readiness.

For instance, Azerty’s post #7 is for one very advanced in prayer. St. John gives three special signs for the person to discern whether or not to proceed to this step. If all three are not present, they are not to adopt that manner described in Azerty’s post. One must be careful what they post here.
 
Sirach2 said:
.This topic of contemplation is probably going to be difficult for those who are just becoming serious about prayer, and may be well over their heads.
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Ah yes.
My prayer life has been up but mostly down in the last 25 - 30 years.
I should continue to pray for a burning desire to pray. Once I become more disciplined in prayer I may be able to move on to contemplation, if that is God’s will. (I am sure that it IS God’s will, but maybe not at this stage in my life … )
 
The Reginator:
I should continue to pray for a burning desire to pray. Once I become more disciplined in prayer I may be able to move on to contemplation, if that is God’s will. (I am sure that it IS God’s will, but maybe not at this stage in my life …
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Reg, pray for a deep hunger to know and follow your Beloved, and the rest will follow. Pray for a desire to find and read holy books that fill the heart with zeal and desire, and as you read, you will naturally ponder, then lift your heart in praise and simply talk to Jesus. As you go about your day, this morning exercise will spill over at times into ‘recollection’ whereby you simply lift your heart to gaze upon Him, and at times, offer a quick ejaculatory prayer.

While in the state of recollection, God may gift you with deeper prayer, that some call contemplation - a pure gift of Himself deep within the spirit. But we travel in steps, and lovingly take the lowest place until He brings us to another development. Ch. 17 of the Way explains this quite nicely.

It is not our vocal recited prayer formulas that bring us to this simple gaze of recollection, for much of this is done by rote, sometimes not really thinking of the words we pray. * A better way is to use reading accompanied with meditation, which produces the effects of love born from intimate converse with Him. St. Francis de Sales advises us to carry a nosegay from our meditation and renew its perfume often during the day.

Had Our Lord not given you this desire already, you would not be writing. So I believe you are already on the road to love’s end. :)*
 
Sirach2 said:
Reg, pray for a deep hunger to know and follow your Beloved, and the rest will follow. Pray for a desire to find and read holy books that fill the heart with zeal and desire, and as you read, you will naturally ponder, then lift your heart in praise and simply talk to Jesus. As you go about your day, this morning exercise will spill over at times into ‘recollection’ whereby you simply lift your heart to gaze upon Him, and at times, offer a quick ejaculatory prayer.

While in the state of recollection, God may gift you with deeper prayer, that some call contemplation - a pure gift of Himself deep within the spirit. But we travel in steps, and lovingly take the lowest place until He brings us to another development. Ch. 17 of the Way explains this quite nicely.

It is not our vocal recited prayer formulas that bring us to this simple gaze of recollection, for much of this is done by rote, sometimes not really thinking of the words we pray. * A better way is to use reading accompanied with meditation, which produces the effects of love born from intimate converse with Him. St. Francis de Sales advises us to carry a nosegay from our meditation and renew its perfume often during the day.

Had Our Lord not given you this desire already, you would not be writing. So I believe you are already on the road to love’s end. :)*

Thanks for the advice!!!
Dominus vobiscum, Reg.
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Someone suggested that you choose a particular saint and I agree that this is good advice. However, If you are looking for somthing of an overview and introduction that will provide a good, orthodox, compilation of the spiritual, contemplative, mystical path in Catholicism, I cannot recommend too highly the book in my signature.
Mr Martin does an excellent job, the book is very readable and had helped me a lot.
A great introduction to the course and methods of the journey with extensive quotes from 7 or 8 different doctors of the Church including Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Francis de Sales, Therese of Liseaux, Bernard of Clervoux, Catherine of Sienna and others…

Peace
James
 
It is extremely important that you work with a spiritual director who is trained in the spiritual life. Do not assume that every priest is a spiritual director. There is a major difference between a confessor and a spiritual director. All priests are confessors; therefore, all are trained in moral theology.

Spiritual theology, Ascetical Theology, Mystical Theology, Christian Spirituality, Christian Psychology and Principles of Spiritual Direction are electives, not requirements in seminary training. They are requirements for those whose major is Spiritual Theology. These are usually men or women who go on for an advanced theological degree after the M.Div.

There are organizations that train spiritual directors so that they don’t have to sit in a classroom for an additional three years. They do this through annual workshops and other forms of education and supervision.

Friars and monks have an advantage here. The formation of friars and monks requires that they are formed in spirituality. From postulancy to solemn vows the formation program is from six to 10 years. It all depends on how long each stage is. Their disadvantage is that they are experts in the spirituality of their religious family, not globally as is a Mystical Theologian.

If you like Carmelite, Franciscan, Benedicgtine, Augustinian, or Dominican spirituality, you can use any of these men (ordained or not), because they have all been formed in their respective spirituality, which includes the life of prayer.

Just keep in mind that a confessor and a spiritual director are not the same thing. Some priests are spiritual directors, but not many. However, they are all confessors. The study of spirituality is not required for ordination; however, some courses are offered for those who want to major in it or just want some electives in the field. Many seminarians take them, because they want to go into retreat ministry or spiritual direction. Usually, those who want to do parish work will take Pastoral Counseling, because focusses more on method and less on theology. Most parish priests find that they don’t need to be theologians to hear confessions and preach. They need to know the faith, not analyze each part of it.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
 
ByzCath said:
I also suggest that you find a saint that you like who has written on contemplation and then read them exclusively.

Do not run around trying to read every saint who has written on contemplation.

I believe that it would cause issues as each saint looks at contemplation from their own unique perspective and they can seem at odds with each other.
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Br. David-
This is very good advice. When I was *“testing the waters” *in the graduate program at my local school of theology & ministry, the first class I took was *Introduction to Spiritulality *where we discussed many of the various philosophies- Fransician, Benedictine, Ignatian, Carmelite, etc. In the end it was St. Ignatius that spoke to me the loudest, and I have found his Spiritual Exercises to be a most valuable tool in my “spirituality workshop”.😉
JReducation said:
It is extremely important that you work with a spiritual director who is trained in the spiritual life. Do not assume that every priest is a spiritual director. There is a major difference between a confessor and a spiritual director. All priests are confessors; therefore, all are trained in moral theology.

Spiritual theology, Ascetical Theology, Mystical Theology, Christian Spirituality, Christian Psychology and Principles of Spiritual Direction are electives, not requirements in seminary training. They are requirements for those whose major is Spiritual Theology. These are usually men or women who go on for an advanced theological degree after the M.Div.

There are organizations that train spiritual directors so that they don’t have to sit in a classroom for an additional three years. They do this through annual workshops and other forms of education and supervision.

Friars and monks have an advantage here. The formation of friars and monks requires that they are formed in spirituality. From postulancy to solemn vows the formation program is from six to 10 years. It all depends on how long each stage is. Their disadvantage is that they are experts in the spirituality of their religious family, not globally as is a Mystical Theologian.

If you like Carmelite, Franciscan, Benedicgtine, Augustinian, or Dominican spirituality, you can use any of these men (ordained or not), because they have all been formed in their respective spirituality, which includes the life of prayer.

Just keep in mind that a confessor and a spiritual director are not the same thing. Some priests are spiritual directors, but not many. However, they are all confessors. The study of spirituality is not required for ordination; however, some courses are offered for those who want to major in it or just want some electives in the field. Many seminarians take them, because they want to go into retreat ministry or spiritual direction. Usually, those who want to do parish work will take Pastoral Counseling, because focusses more on method and less on theology. Most parish priests find that they don’t need to be theologians to hear confessions and preach. They need to know the faith, not analyze each part of it.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
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Br. JR-
More wonderful advice!! I am fortunate to have a priest who is both my confessor/spiritual director, who while not a Jesuit, is well versed in the Ignatian tradition.
I have found spiritual direction to be a very valuable asset in my spiritual development, so much so that I am discerning whether or not I should apply to a training program for Spiritulal Direction certification. 🙂
 
Oneofthewomen said:
Br. David-
This is very good advice. When I was *“testing the waters” *in the graduate program at my local school of theology & ministry, the first class I took was *Introduction to Spiritulality *where we discussed many of the various philosophies- Fransician, Benedictine, Ignatian, Carmelite, etc. In the end it was St. Ignatius that spoke to me the loudest, and I have found his Spiritual Exercises to be a most valuable tool in my “spirituality workshop”.😉
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I’m afraid that I’m biased 😃 Teresa and Francis have always moved me. In fact, when I wrote my doctoral dissertation, I did it on The Influence of Franciscan Poverty on Teresian Theology of Detachment.

The simplicity and yet profundity of the Spirituality of Detachment was always moved me. The world in which I grew up made them attractive to me. I was a young boy in the South, before desegregation. I’m caucasian, but I’m Jewish. The South was heavily anti-semitic as well as anti-black.

The came the Communist threat. I remember the Bay of Pigs and Kennedy’s threat to blow Cuba out of the water. That was followed by an era of violence: assasinations, riots of all kinds and all of those civil rights movements, some good and others not so good, but conflicts nonetheless. Of course we have today.

I have found an inner peace and quiet through poverty/detachment. Owning only one’s sins and allowing God to work on his terms makes such perfect sense to me. Living in peace and equality with all men and women is part of the life and spirit of Francis and Teresa. They both stepped out of their status to accept the lowest place. Only when man can accept the last place can he be invited to the front of the line. Those who hang on to their belief that they are right and that they have some kind of hotline to God are in serious trouble.

If there is one thing that you find through prayer of detachment is that you are out of control. God becomes all things and you become nothing. God is everything and you are only a thought in his mind. God is the wealth, power and pleasure that you have been seeking in the world. You learn to walk though the night without knowing where you’re going or feeling. You simply KNOW that you will be led by God.

The heart falls in love and the mind gives assent. As you go deeper and closer to God in prayer, your mind and your heart fuse into one. What you think and what you feel no longer matter. All that matters is WHO you know. Christ becomes your intimate companion, especially when you feel most alone. Mary becomes the mother who sits by my side and tucks me in at night.

Franciscan and Teresian spirituality are very profound and yet so simple. You open yourself up to be loved by God. Each time that you pray, you simply wait for him to speak.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
 
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