Contemplation

one

Teresa of Avila said Mental prayer (mediation) …is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; its means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us.

Prayer is friendship with Jesus.

But that is also the problem with prayer.

·       When I have coffee or a meal or take a walk with a friend, I can see them and hear them.

·       I have a first-hand direct experience of the friend I am with.

·       With prayer I cannot see God,

·       I don’t hear his audible voice and

·       I don’t experience His presence  

I have faith that prayer really is time spent in friendship with God.

Faith is when you hold something to be true based on the testimony of God.

·       God tells us something we couldn’t have known on our own

·       and we make the decision to accept what God says as true.

I believe God is with me in prayer

·       because Jesus told us

·       I trust what he said is true.

That is why I take it on faith,

·       I spend time with Jesus in prayer,

·       even when I can’t see or hear Him as I do my other friends.

All that being true,

·       I want more.

·       I am not satisfied with prayer this way.

I hunger and thirst for more.

·       The Psalmist said, “Taste and see how good the Lord is.”

·       I want to experience you O Lord,

·       I am tired of walking through this desert.

two

That is the way the first two stages of paryer - vocal prayer  and meditation go. It feels like we are searching for Jesus from afar.

It is kind of like Zacchaeus.

Remember the short tax collector in Jericho who wanted to see Jesus.

He try’s to see Jesus from afar,

·       from the top of a sycamore tree.

·       That is like seeing Jesus with faith.

But because Zacchaeus was determined

·       and he persevered in his effort to see Jesus

·       something wonderful happened…

·       When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and spoke to him: 'Zacchaeus, come down. Hurry, because I am coming to your house today.' And he hurried down and welcomed him joyfully.

That is precisely what happens in contemplation.

·       Jesus comes to in a way that we can experience Him.

·       We really get to do as the Scriptures say,

·       We taste and see how good the Lord is.

three

Contemplation, this direct experience of God where we really taste and see just how good the Lord is for everyone. 

Teresa of Avila said: I am certain that all who do not stop on the way will drink this living water.

Psalm 36:8 describes contemplation as drinking from the river of divine delight:  They shall be inebriated with the richness of thy house and you shall give them to drink from the torrent of thy pleasure. (Ps 36:8 vulgate)

The wonderful thing about prayer is that

·       it does not get harder,

·       it actually gets easier the farther you progress.

Fulton Sheen described the growth of prayer from vocal prayer to meditation to contemplation this way:

In vocal prayer we go to God on foot. In meditation we go to God on horseback. In contemplation we go to God in a jet.

Contemplation is a simplification of prayer.

·       It is a passage from our effort to God’s action;

·       from Complex to more Simple;

·       Prayer gets easier as we go further

·       Because God takes over more and more of the work.

The essential characteristic of this gift is that it transforms prayer once dominated by human effort into prayer dominated by God’s action.

God infuses this prayer into one’s soul as a gift which requires no effort. In this kind of prayer, the soul does nothing.

It allows itself to be acted upon, rather than to act.

Our job is to maintain an attitude of simplicity, surrender and loving attentiveness to God.

four

John of the Cross says Contemplation is nothing but a hidden, peaceful and loving inflow of God. If it is given room, it will inflame the spirit with love.

So how do we make room for God?

We get ready for the gift of infused prayer by means of four things:

First, receive Jesus as often as possible in the Sacraments.

If the goal of life is union with God, then we should go and receive Jesus as often as possible in the sacraments. Jesus offers himself to us every day in the Eucharist. It is no sin if you do not and the will of God made clear in our duties and responsibilities can prevent us from going to daily Mass, but if it is possible and if the goal of our life is union with Jesus, then why wouldn’t we. Unless that is not the goal of your life. But then you wont reach contemplation either.

Second, fidelity to daily meditation. Meditation is spending time talking, listening and just being with Jesus. Jesus came to the home of Zacchaeus because Zacchaeus went in search of him. That is what we do in daily meditation. 

Third, practice a daily resolution. Every meditation must conclude with a simple, concrete resolution to put into practice something flowing from our meditation. For example, today, every time I am tempted to be worried, overwhelmed or anxious about something in the future I will stop, think of what I must do today and surrender the future to God, then just do what I need today.

Our vices and disordered attachments block God from entering our lives more fully. Daily meditation and a resolution identify those blockages and create a practical strategy to remove them with the help of God. But without the resolution we will not change.

Fourth, persevere. Just never quit these three practices.

five

The first-hand experience of God’s greatness and goodness is impossible for us to create on our own.

But, what is impossible for us is possible for God.

Not only is it possible,

·       God created you for contemplation

·       and He wants more than anything to give it to you.

So have an Expectant Faith

In response to God’s desire to give us the gift of Himself

·       we should have an expectant faith.

We should have the expectation

·       that God will work wonders in us

·       which causes us to leap out of the boat like St. Peter

·       and commit to those things that,

·       sooner or later - lead to contemplation.

The Great Teresa writes: I often thought that St. Peter didn’t lose anything when he threw himself into the sea, even though he grew frightened afterward. These first acts of determination are very important…we are not to be toads that will be satisfied with catching and eating little lizards…we have set our minds and hearts on possessing God!