Contemplation

Brief review: in the 'stages' of prayer we begin with verbal (thanking, praising, asking, repenting) prayer, or talking with God. Most of us will spend most of our lives here. The next stage is active meditation, where we think/ponder deeply about the meaning of things or where we try to imagine details of a biblical story (the sun's heat, the sound of foot shuffling, the color and texture of clothes and hair, the lined face, the exhuberant voice at the healing, the crowd reaction, etc.). Meditation can be like a movie in our head, taking us deeply into the story. Meditation is open to anyone and the primary source material is Scripture. The type of prayer corresponds to the degree of unity one has with God. It begins with purgation (cleansing) of desire, continues through enlightenment (having the mind of Christ) and ends with contemplation and union. Contemplation is a technical word here, it is not a synonym for meditation. It means wordless, imageless prayer. It means total submission and passiveness.

Mystical union with God is something rarely achieved. On occassion, a person may receive a brief moment, but for most of us it is not the case. Our experience of God is "mediate" which means some thought or image plays a part. Words and pictures are part of our normal communication with one another. Perhaps this is why we say things like "I see what you are saying." When we move to immediate experience there is only God. Because God is larger than our words and images this stage is word-less and image-less. There is only God.

Those who have had such experiences are unable to convey the experience. They use analogies (it was like...) and do so in awed tones. While there are moments for many of us where we brush up against such an event, most of the time we use word and image in our prayer.

A word of warning: the prayer of silence is best done by those who have practiced spiritual disciplines for a long while. Until one is purified of the flesh one is ill prepared to enter the world of the spirit. Much of the contemporary embrace of "spirituality" over "religion" is the mis-assumption that the spirit world is purer. Nothing could be further from the truth. There are angels and demons, there is the Holy Spirit and there are evil spirits, there is spiritual light and there is spiritual darkness. Enterring such a realm under prepared is akin to setting out on a journey across the desert without knowledge of the watering holes. Mirages cannot be differentiated from the real thing. A person can be seduced and led more deeply into selfishness (i.e. spirituality as self fulfillment) and delusion. Obviously, a spiritual director is helpful here, to help one disceern the hand of God. A person deep in prayer is no less at risk. The Evil One came to Jesus while He was on a forty day fast (and retreat!). Why would we thnk we would be immune.

Those who have practiced prayer for some time and have learned more deeply the life of a disciple may find themselves drawn to contemplation. They find that there is little value in their words and images. The strength, peace and joy of there prayer life seems to dry up. God "feels" less accessible (and the cause is not a return to a life of greater sin). In such a state, the practioner sits with God and stills mind and heart. The soul is literally handed over to God and the control the pray-er exercises is silenced. No thought. No word. No insight. No image. No pondering. No thinking. Nothing. Nothingness which is Everything.

I cannot say more because I have already said more than I know. My own brushes with such prayer have been brief and few. I have tried to be silent for lengths of time. I have little to share. I can say that the contemplation of God (in total silence) is described as the darkness of faith. The paradox of dark light or a silent voice convey some of the mystery of contemplation. Paul says, "We shall see Him as He is..." And He is beyond our imagination and language. Once we have complete union with Him we will be divinized. We will share fully in the life of Christ. We shall be children of God. Such unimaginable depth!

If my meandering thoughts the past few weeks on prayer has wetted your interest, I would advise the study of St. John of the Cross. He is a 16th Century Spanish monk who coined the expression, "The Dark Night of the Soul" in one of his books. He is a poet, a theologian and a holy man. He suffered greatly for the faith. He shares insight into the stages of spirituality. There are many others, but he is my favorite. Now I must go pray and prepare to worship.