What's the difference between contemplation and contemplative prayer?

  • Thread starter Thread starter jredden92
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
J

jredden92

Guest
I read the CCC section on contemplative prayer and it says it’s an error to conceive of contemplative prayer as “an effort of concentration to reach a mental void” which is honesly what I’ve always thought it was. So if it’s not that then what is it?
 
Last edited:
🍿

I would be interested in this discussion as well.
 
Last edited:
Father Benedict Groeschel covers the topic well;

 
Last edited:
jredden92 said:
I read the CCC section on contemplative prayer and it says it’s an error to conceive of contemplative prayer as “an effort of concentration to reach a mental void” which is honesly what I’ve always thought it was. So if it’s not that then what is it?
Click to expand...
Catechism of the Catholic Church
2724 Contemplative prayer is the simple expression of the mystery of prayer. It is a gaze of faith fixed on Jesus, an attentiveness to the Word of God, a silent love. It achieves real union with the prayer of Christ to the extent that it makes us share in his mystery.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Contemplaive Prayer is what St Teresa of Avila described as “mental prayer.”

St John of the Cross described it as “interior prayer.”

The Catechism at New Advent which is from 1917, calls it “Prayer of Quiet.”

Today it’s called, “Centering Prayer,” or just “Quiet Prayer.” as the former brings up controversy for some.

Regardless of what you call “Contemplative Prayer,” it is not, “Contemplation.” Contemplation is a gift from God, which is infused or acquired, but it’s the gift given to those who open themselves to God and Contemplative Prayer is often the method many find as the most helpful. However, being Contemplation is a gift from God, He provides it according to his desire to the soul who is open to Him, regardless of the method of prayer they use.

Contemplative Prayer for myself is a deeper level of prayer where the soul is moved closer toward union with God through the experience of His transforming grace which is given through love.

“God can not be grasped, except through love.” From the Cloud of Unknowing.
 
Last edited:
jredden92 said:
I read the CCC section on contemplative prayer and it says it’s an error to conceive of contemplative prayer as “an effort of concentration to reach a mental void” which is honesly what I’ve always thought it was. So if it’s not that then what is it?
Click to expand...
I would personally say that contemplative prayer is definitely not in order to reach a “mental void,” but a “spiritual union,” or as close as one may to uniting one’s spirit with God in prayer.
I would also posit that many different people get there many different ways.
Lectio Divina comes to mind here as the 1st means I ever heard of…
 
Last edited:
Contemplative prayer is a gift from God. We can practice but we cannot truly enter into the Contemplative state or prayer ourselves, that is up to God.

The vocal and meditative prayers come first. Practice those well.

There is no mental void in the Catholic way of doing things. It is very different to Eastern religions like buddhism.

When we are meditating, we are meditating on an aspect of faith, like Jesus being Baptised by John
 
Last edited:
Could it be said that it’s about removing everything from your mind that you know God isn’t like thoughts and images?
 
Last edited:
I have a link on my profile page called " Contemplative Homschool"…
It’s not a child homeschool it is for those interested in Contemplative prayer and St
Theresa Avila.
HTH
Katie
🦋
 
Last edited:
I don’t know if you can define it as much as you can experience it. Just follow Jesus’ example and withdraw from the crowds to pray in silence.
 
Last edited:
Correct me if i’m wrong but i think of contemplation as removing every thought and image from your mind that you know God isn’t. Thought the CCC says this is an erroneous conception because it says it’s an error to think of it as “an effort of concentration to reach a mental void” I am confused by this.
 
jredden92 said:
Correct me if i’m wrong but i think of contemplation as removing every thought and image from your mind that you know God isn’t.
Click to expand...
The CCC states it this way:
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 . . .
Click to expand...
So no, it is not emptying the mind, but simply gazing on Jesus, without having the need to speak or think, but just loving Him. This is usually an outgrowth of the prayer of simplicity that develops further on in one’s prayer life. The need to meditate is replaced with just a simple ejaculation throughout one’s day. Some would call it “recollection” where we “remember” Jesus, and simply love Him, with or without small darts of our love. When this is habitual, it is called a contemplative life.

Please note that this is not something usually experienced by beginners in a prayer life.
 
Last edited:
I am no expert, but I have spent a good amount of time exploring these topics and stumbling though their application in my own spiritual life. Below are my experiences with the subject. Take what you will from them.

Contemplation is a special and receptive state of the soul, granted solely by God, in which the Divine Indwelling is preeminent in the soul’s perception of both the self and the world.

Contemplative prayer is man’s act of presenting his soul to Christ in prayer and uniting it with his will.

Now the question is what these concepts actually mean in our lives. Here are some points I have discovered in my own spiritual journey.
  1. The state of contemplation is a freely given gift. When given, it usually follows contemplative prayer but contemplative prayer is not required for God to bestow a state of contemplation upon an individual.
  2. States of contemplation are not necessarily permanent. For many, states of contemplation are only noticed when they come on suddenly and then fade. The stark change in the soul’s perception of both themselves and the world is generally noticeable and shocking. The majority of those who have received states of contemplation do not realize that they are truly contemplatives. Their view of the world is so totally focused on God that it is natural to see him in everything, even ourselves. Mother Theresa was once asked “How do I know if I am a contemplative or not?” She answered, “When it takes you an hour to pray the Our Father unintentionally.”
  3. Contemplative prayer is sometimes confused with the reduction of the self so that only Christ lives in us. This is false. It is not the reduction of the self but rather the conformity of the self to Christ. It is the exaltation and perfection of the self by approaching the entirety of the human person, body and soul, through the lens of Christ present in the divine indwelling. The false act of personal reduction sees contemplative prayer resulting in the optimal definition of the soul as ‘only Jesus, not me’. The more proper concept of contemplative prayer seeks to conform the soul to the concept of “Jesus and I together, but Jesus first”.
God Bless,
Ben
 
Last edited:
Well said !

I would add that #3 is union or the spiritual marriage with Christ.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top