The contemplative life (whether secular or religious) is nothing else than the way of the Cross. And one of the greatest crosses many contemplatives bear in their life is the rejection of those who live solely by the ways of the “world,” be they family, friends or fellow parishioners.
Comtemplatives seek to live in this world but not be of this world. Thus, one of the principal building blocks of a contemplative life is freeing oneself, as much as is possible in one’s state of life, from worldly attachements and clingings. Sadly, this excercise seems to threaten others who don’t understand what the contemplative seeks . . . namely union with God.
St. Teresa and St. John speak volumes on this very subject . . .
Dave.
Hi Dave, good to run into you again.
I agree with you almost 100% here, but might go a little further by saying that I think that we are all called to the contemplative life–to live in the world but not be of it. I do fear though that the Church often fails in stressing this, rather seeming to emphasize how to try to adapt to being in the world.
There is a vast difference in my opinion. Contemplation, as you note, seeks union with God, in which we will hopefully come to know the mind of God as we seek to do His will. Adapting, on the other hand, leads one to believe that it is on our own efforts that we will manage to “please God” and that “doing the right things” will bring us to salvation.
To me, for most of us it has to be a combination of contemplation and action, with the actions flowing from the contemplation. Of course we don’t get to choose when God will become so totally present to us as that is His gift, given as to our needs and ability to be present to Him. But I truly believe that we are all called to do our best to put ourselves into the position of being able to hear the still small voice.
Of course in saying all of this, I also have to acknowledge that there are some that are truly called to be the “prayer warriors”, whose *primary *purpose is the contemplative life of prayer, rather than being out on the “front lines” of pursuing social justice issues. While I think they are a relatively small group, their calling is very important and should be clear to them, and certainly not disparaged in any way.
And I totally agree with you about people who feel threatened by those who have been blessed to experience that presence. You can sense the difference at this very site, and often can sense those who have truly “experienced” God rather than just knowing about God. There is a sense of peace, and of knowing that God will make things right in spite of my own stumbling, that permeates those who have experienced God, while there seems to be a sense of fear, coupled with a belief that we must individually set out to correct everyone else, that often seems to indicate that someone hasn’t been blessed with that yet. It doesn’t make one better than the other, as it is God’s choice when and to whom He bestows the gift.
At times it makes for difficult discussion as there seems to just be completely different foundations for the discussion. Having seen that veil part enough times though, it does cause me to do my best to help people seek ways to make themselves present and quiet before God rather than trying so hard to adapt to the noise. It is hard sometimes when you get looked at like you have an extra nose because someone just doesn’t have a frame of reference to understand. But I have to believe that over time the peace in my life will allow someone to acknowledge that it has to be coming from somewhere and get to a point of truly trying to find where.
Father, help each of us to remember that our purpose in life is to find our way back to You. Let each of us reflect that joy and peace that will be a beacon to those who have not yet been able to experience that peace first hand.
Peace,
