571. What is contemplative prayer? (part 1)
(Comp 571) Contemplative prayer is a
simple gaze upon God in silence and love. It is a gift of God, a moment of pure
faith during which the one praying seeks Christ, surrenders himself to the
loving will of the Father, and places his being under the action of the Holy
Spirit. Saint Teresa of Avila defines contemplative prayer as the intimate
sharing of friendship, “in which time is frequently taken to be alone with God
who we know loves us.”
“In brief”
(CCC 2721) The Christian tradition comprises three major
expressions of the life of prayer: vocal prayer, meditation, and contemplative
prayer. They have in common the recollection of the heart. (CCC 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.
To deepen and explain
(CCC 2709) What is contemplative prayer? St. Teresa answers:
"Contemplative prayer [oración
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"
(St. Teresa of Jesus, The Book of Her
Life, 8, 5 in The Collected Works of
St. Teresa of Avila, tr. K. Kavanaugh, OCD, and O. Rodriguez, OCD
(Washington DC: Institute of Carmelite Studies, 1976), I, 67). Contemplative
prayer seeks him "whom my soul loves" (Song 1:7; cf. 3:14). 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. (CCC 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
ant in faith.
Reflection
(CCC 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. [IT CONTINUES]
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