Contemplative life: why and how am I also called to it?

The word contemplative is often associated with great mystics, such as Saint Teresa of Avila or Saint John of the Cross - or to those cloistered religious whose lives may seem far removed from our own. But if contemplative orders enable those who choose to enter to live this vocation to the full, we are all invited to contemplation whatever our state of life. The contemplative life is not opposed to an active life, or to family life; it simply gives them another dimension. How can we live out this relationship with God and adopt a contemplative attitude in our everyday lives? Discover practical tips for nourishing your inner life and opening yourself up to contemplation.

What is a contemplative person?

In common parlance, the adjective contemplative tends to describe an introspective, quiet personality, sometimes considered a little dreamy. But for Christians, contemplative practice is open to everyone, whatever their character or temperament, although of course some will feel more called to it than others.

Not necessarily a consecrated person

In the Catholic tradition, certain religious orders are called contemplative orders, such as the Carthusians, the Carmelites and the Poor Clares. They are distinguished from other orders that respond to different vocations or charisms, such as mendicant orders (like the Franciscans), educational orders (like the Marists) or preaching orders (like the Dominicans).

Far from illustrating a division or segmentation in the way we serve God, these religious show us the richness and beauty of this relationship between us and the Lord.

Contemplative religious are therefore big brothers and sisters who show us the way to a spirituality from which we can all draw inspiration.

Sainte Thérèse de Lisieux transmits to us the "little way": she shows us that each of us, even the smallest, can experience the great wonder of love that is contemplation.
"Lord, my soul has fallen in love with your beauty,

I want to lavish you with my perfumes and my flowers
 Throwing them for you on the wing of the breeze
 I'd like to set hearts on fire! ..." (Praying with St Therese' Poems)

Not a passive person

In the Middle Ages, the active life (vita activa) was easily contrasted with the contemplative life(vita contemplativa). The temptation was to think that contemplation was spiritually preferable to action, based in particular on an interpretation of the Gospel of Martha and Mary. 

This opposition between contemplative and active life can lead some people to think that they are not cut out for contemplation. Can I be contemplative if I like to act, if I'm overflowing with energy and like to be useful? 
Yes, Pope Francis answers that "contemplation and action are two inseparable dimensions".

As Christians, we are all invited to contemplate Christ and all called to serve him.

What is a contemplative lifestyle?

What does a more contemplative attitude mean in concrete terms?

Looking to God

The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us about contemplation:

"Contemplation is the gaze of faith, fixed on Jesus. "Je l'avise et Il m'avise", said the peasant of Ars in prayer before the Tabernacle in the days of his saintly curé (cf. F. Trochu, Le curé d'Ars Saint Jean Marie Vianney, p. 223-224). This attention to Him is a renunciation of the "I". His gaze purifies the heart. The light of Jesus' gaze illuminates the eyes of our heart, teaching us to see everything in the light of his truth and compassion for all mankind. Contemplation also focuses our gaze on the mysteries of Christ's life. In this way, it teaches us "the inner knowledge of the Lord" to love Him and follow Him more closely (cf. S. Ignatius, ex. spir. 104)."

We are invited to refocus, not on ourselves, but on God. The Church defines contemplation as "deep meditation in which the soul is concentrated, absorbed in God. The contemplative dimension is the opening of the deep heart, which proceeds from love and tends towards Love".

A place for inner life

Looking at God, present in us, invites us to develop our inner life, to distance ourselves a little from the world and its hustle and bustle, to listen to what is pulsating within us and around us.

Contemplation brings us back to here and now. It's choosing to simply be, to let go for a moment of doing and seeming. It's coming back to the source. It's not our actions that define who we are, but it's by knowing who we really are, deeply (and we discover this better day by day by contemplating Christ) that our actions then take on their full meaning.

"The inner life, indispensable to every life of faith, whether we are bishops, priests, lay people, religious, this inner life received at baptism, needs space, peace, silence, to grow, develop and bear fruit. "( Mgr Georges Colomb, Bishop of the Diocese of La Rochelle)

A heart of gratitude and wonder

Contemplation also means looking for signs of God's presence in our lives and encounters. It means discovering traces of his beauty, his greatness, his mercy, of his love, in the people we meet, in his creation and knowing how to marvel at them.

Contemplation lifts the dull veil of our worries, fears and judgments, which tends to obscure our view of the world around us, preventing us from seeing what is really there.

How can we lead a contemplative life in our hyper-active society?

"We could all be contemplatives. But we have to know that, and give ourselves the means to discover what our inner host is doing on a daily and permanent basis. That's what the contemplative life is all about: being more and more aware of, and in loving relationship with, the One who lives within us" (Jean-Claude Lavigne, Dominican friar, in the program Mille questions à la foi).

Contemplative prayer: contemplating God within oneself

Saint Teresa of Avila, saint and doctor of the Church - and a great contemplative - teaches us silent prayer, also known as oraison. This meditative is both simple and demanding, but it is a way of entering into the inner self and nurturing a loving relationship with God. In her book, The Castle Within, she guides us in this meditative process and shows us its great benefits.

In her work, she invites us on an inner journey to visit the 7 dwellings of the soul.

Meditating on the Word of God: contemplating God in the Bible

Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:6-7)

Read and meditate on a passage from the Bible every day is a beautiful way to contemplate the Lord. The lectio divina, a form of prayerful Bible reading, is made up of 4 stages, one of which is contemplatio.

Self-denial: contemplating God around me

The Desert Fathers are meditation experts. These monks, who set off into the desert to better live out their relationship with God, have much to teach us. Particularly in the self-denial necessary to better welcome and contemplate God's work. Here are a few examples that might help:
- strip ourselves of our speech, to listen better: What if today, I only spoke if someone asked me a question?  
 -  strip ourselves of our restlessness, to better welcome what is. What if today, I took the time to sit for 1 minute in silence, each time I moved from one activity to another?
 - rid ourselves of our preconceptions, to better feel gratitude. What if today, I took 10 minutes to contemplate my street, my garden, the courtyard of my building, looking at them as if for the first time, with a look of love and curiosity?

What are the benefits of contemplation? The fruits of the contemplative life

A purified view of the world and of people

To contemplate is to look at the world and our fellow human beings with love. It's looking with God's eyes and sharpening our ability to discern the beauty around us. It's being able to marvel at the treasures we all have within us, at the ever-renewed beauty of nature. It's a way of looking at things that makes us grow and liberates those who receive it.

A profound joy and peace that radiates

Contemplation opens us up to a simpler life, to a certain letting go. We rediscover our freedom to be. God is a source of profound joy and peace. If the image of contemplatives is often associated with a certain gentleness, even candor, it is indeed their practice that leads them to this happy repose of the soul.

A sanctifying soul (through graces or trials)

It's possible to receive certain contemplative graces, which for some even go as far as ecstasies, but this isn't always the case, and it's not serious. Sometimes these are trying experiences; some of the great saints have even experienced what they call " nights of faith", when deep doubts appear. But it's with confidence and abandon that we must be able to live through all this, because all these experiences make us grow and are opportunities to move ever closer to God. This is what saint John of the Cross tells us in his poem Nuit Obscure, at the end of which he found God:
"O nuit qui m'avez guidée! 
 O nuit plus aimable que l'aurore! 
 O nuit qui ont uni 
 L'aimé avec sa bien-aimée 
 Qui a été transformée en lui! "