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Contemplative Prayer Changed My Life
My life changed completely in 2018 when I was immersed in Contemplative Prayer for the first time. I had been begging the Lord for something to share with others. Through His grace I went through training to become a facilitator for the Lord, Teach Me to Pray series. It is based on the prayer methods and exercises developed by St. Ignatius of Loyola. God made it blatantly clear He wanted me to become a facilitator and I began the series with no experience whatsoever. (That’s a story for another day… 😉)
My first contemplative moment can be found here. It happened out of nowhere while praying through the series with my first group. It truly is life-changing, and a precious gift from God.
What Is Meditative Prayer?
In order to understand what Contemplative Prayer is, we must first understand what Meditative Prayer is. They are often used interchangeably, but through experience, I have learned that they are completely different.
Meditative Prayer in the Catechism:
Meditation is above all a quest. The mind seeks to understand the why and how of Christian Life, in order to adhere and respond to what the Lord is asking.
Meditation engages thought, imagination, emotion, and desire. This mobilization of faculties is necessary in order to deepen our convictions of faith, prompt the conversion of heart, and strengthen our will to follow Christ.
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2705, 2708
Meditative Prayer is active prayer. It is actively putting yourself into a scene from scripture and “watching” as it plays out. This is done by using your imagination, understanding, and willing heart with the involvement of the five senses.
For Example:
While meditating upon the Wedding at Cana (John 2:1-12) we would call to our imagination the scene put before us in scripture.
What do we see: Lots of people, wedding decorations, dancing, the bride and groom, flowers, etc…
What do you feel: sunshine, cool breeze, the warmth that radiates from Jesus, etc
What do you smell: food, wine, perfume, herbs, etc…
What do you hear: music, people laughing, conversation chatter, etc…
What do you taste: dinner, wine, dessert, etc…
Meditation continues from there, possibly putting yourself into the scene. Maybe as yourself? Maybe as a party guest? Maybe as the bride or groom? Maybe as a servant?
Who do you talk too? Jesus? Mary? One of the disciples?
What does the Lord want me to learn here?
Meditation takes a great deal of effort and focus on our part. It can be practiced as if it is a skill to be strengthened. As far as degrees of prayer, it is one of the first. It is used to ponder eternal truths and apply them to our own lives.
What is Contemplative Prayer?
“How can I explain to you,” she said to me, “what I feel in those moments? It is all Heaven that pours itself into my poor soul. First one wonders, then is overwhelmed; the mind becomes confused and remains, as it were, stupefied. The heart beats strongly, oh so strongly, and one knows not what to do! One enjoys and suffers at the same time, and would not like to turn back. And when the prayer is over, if you were to know how one remains! I don’t know if you have ever experienced it. My God, how good Thou art to me!”
From the Life of St. Gemma Galgani by Venerable Fr. Germanus, C.P. p. 212
Sitting in silence in the presence of the Almighty God in meditative prayer opens us up for the gift of contemplative prayer.
To summarize the Catechism contemplative prayer is described as:
Contemplative prayer seeks Him, “whom my soul loves.” We seek Him because to desire Him is always the beginning of love. In this inner prayer, we can still meditate, but our attention is focused on the Lord Himself.
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 the 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 is the poor and humble surrender to the loving will of the Father in ever deeper union with His beloved Son.
It is a gift of grace. A communion in which the Holy Trinity conforms man, the image of God, “to His likeness.”
It is a gaze of faith. This focus on Jesus is renunciation of self. His gaze purifies our heart and teaches us to see everything in the light of His truth.
It is hearing the word of God as it applies to our lives.
It is a silent prayer of the heart, that stokes the fire of love for Him.
It achieves real union with the prayer of Christ to the extent that it makes us share in His mystery.
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2709-2724
Contemplative prayer is a gift from God, it is not something that can be created of our selves the way that meditative prayer can. He blesses the person when and where He sees fit.
There are different forms of contemplative prayer, even different schools of thought on the subject, but I won’t go into full detail of those here.
The one I have experience with is Ignatian Contemplation.
Ignatian Contemplation
“For it is not knowing much, but realizing and relishing things interiorly, that contents and satisfies the soul.”
-St. Ignatius of Loyola
Saint Ignatius of Loyola’s form of contemplation means to be present through your imagination to an event in the life of Christ. It is facilitated through the use of the imagination, thoughts, and memories in order to allow the Lord to speak to us.
It allows the Holy Spirit to reveal a mystery found in the gospels that applies to your life now. The Lord communicates with you in a way that is personal, intimate, and real.
Saint Ignatius provides a method of meditation that elicits the gift of contemplation by allowing us to open our hearts to trust in God. It is an opportunity to meet the Lord face to face, in the exact place that we are, and receive wisdom concerning our personal lives.
We personally encounter Him.
Ignatius’ Prayer Method
I am, by no means, an expert. But here are the steps I follow for Saint Ignatius’ Prayer Method.
- Find/create a quiet comfortable place to pray. Find a place where you can sit silently in the presence of God. This can be at home, your bedroom perhaps. I love sitting on my deck early in the morning for meditation. You could aslo mediate at your local Church. I find before the Blessed Sacrament in adoration to be the most conducive to meditative prayer.
- Opening Prayer– Start with an opening prayer. I usually use this prayer: Come Holy Spirit.
- Quiet Yourself– Take some time to prepare yourself for your prayer time. Get comfortable. Quiet your mind, heart, and soul. Let go of your to-do list and focus on bringing yourself into the presence of the Almighty God. Create an atmosphere of deep reverence towards Him.
- Read Scripture- Read through your selected scripture reading. Using the Gospel of the Day is a good place to start. Read slowly the first time through to gain understanding intellectually. Read through again pausing on words that catch your eye/heart for any reason. Focus on those words.
- Imagine– Imagine the scene you have chosen from scripture and enter into it.
- Ask for Wisdom- Beg the Lord for interior knowledge of the scripture. The grace found in the heart as it applies to ourselves.
- Speak- Have a conversation with someone in the scene. This could be Jesus, Mary, one of the apostles, etc.
- Closing Prayer- End with a prayer. I usually express my gratitude to Him and end with the Our Father.
I highly recommend you give meditative prayer a try, and beg the Lord to bless you with the gift of contemplative prayer. It allows you to encounter Him in your own personal life. It provides the opportunity for you to get to know the Lord more deeply, become more formed into His image, and discern His will for your life.
Thrive in Jesus, my Friends!
Do you practice meditative prayer? Have you been blessed with the gift of Contemplative prayer? Have any questions about either one? Do you have any insight into these forms of prayer? Leave me a comment if you like!
Check out these posts to learn more about Ignatian Spirituality!