Contemplation is not about anything we do. It is a heightened awareness of and resting in, abiding in, our union with God that only God can give. Recall the words of Jesus: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28). Contemplation is God’s to give where God wants, when God wants, as God wants, through whatever means God chooses. Our contemplative practices are about readying and making ourselves available to receive what God gives. We practice making interior space and redirecting our attention away from thoughts so that we are prepared to welcome the gifts that God so frequently and so readily gives, yet contemplation itself is prayer with God fully in control – we come along for the adventure (and it is an adventure!). It is the surrender to the Divine lead that differentiates contemplation from vocal prayer, in which the person praying assumes control of the prayer, and meditation, in which the prayer is a give and take, a dialogue, between Lover and beloved. Ultimately, it is the fact that control of prayer belongs to God that distinguishes contemplation, more than a particular process or technique.
Please join Deacon Bob Smerek and the MMOC Contemplative Core Team for “Contemplative Conversations – An Evening of Reflection and Dialogue on Contemplative Practice” on September 23 at 6:30 pm in classrooms 1 & 2 (location was previously published incorrectly as church). Contact us at [email protected] or 314-578-0062 for more information!
Submitted by Andy Dapron