Our way of seeing reality changes in this [contemplative prayer] process.

The statement above is an excerpt from the definition of contemplative prayer given by Contemplative Outreach – St. Louis. It points to one of the most fundamental goals and outcomes of an earnest spiritual journey: new vision. We must recognize that scripture passages such as Psalm 146:8, which states that “the Lord gives sight to the blind,” are indicating this renewed spiritual vision as much or more than a physical restoration of sight.

Dominican mystic Meister Eckhart describes this new kind of seeing succinctly: “The eye with which I see God is the same eye with which God sees me: my eye and God’s eye are one eye…” That’s right, in contemplation, we come to see with the very eyes of the Godself, the eyes that “looked at everything [God] had made, and found it very good” (Gn 1:31), the same eyes that, “looking at [the man seeking Jesus’ counsel], loved him “(Mk 10:21). To see with such love, with a gaze that recognizes the divine imprint on all that is, becomes possible when we can embrace and surrender to our union with the One doing the seeing. Such surrender is what contemplative practice is all about!

Learn more about Contemplative Outreach – St. Louis at centeringprayerstl.org.