Contemplative practice and its fruits certainly edify the soul, but this edification and the ever-growing realization of our absolute communion with God come not through any sort of filling up, but rather a stark and beautiful surrender to poverty. This surrender to poverty is especially pronounced in practices like Centering Prayer. Letting go of thoughts and expectations can feel like a welcome release at times, but there are certainly other times where letting go, even of out most cherished thoughts and notions, even of our most heartfelt supplications, even of our expectations for prayer to bring us a felt sense of peace or comfort are like a bungee jump: we have to trust that our divine “rope” will hold us, even though it feels like we’re free-falling and untethered. Such freely chosen poverty asks much of us – the reason we have to “practice” contemplation is because we never fully succeed in letting everything go for the sake of God alone (to be so utterly free would indeed make us sinless!). Rather, each return to prayer builds trust, as we leap further and further into poverty of spirit, and find that the rope always holds. The surrender that initially gives the illusion of running against our most basic human desires of security, control, and belonging ends up leading to the most profound sense of security and belonging we have ever known. As for control, we no longer need it, as we are safely grafter on to God.