What is Contemplative Prayer?
A Christian Form of Meditation
While Eastern religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism are well known for the richness of their meditation tradition, it is not so well known that Christianity, too, has its own tradition of meditative practices.
An important Christian practice is contemplative prayer, which was taught by Christian mystics such as Meister Eckhart and St. John of the Cross.
What Is Contemplation?
The word contemplation comes from Latin contemplari – to contemplate. It is composed of the prefix con and the word templum, which can together be translated as within the sacred space.
In the Christian tradition, the term meditatio was traditionally used for what is now called contemplation. Meditatio meant reflecting on a sacred verse, image or idea, using the mind’s ability for reasoning and imagination. Contemplatio, however, signified the stilling of and rising beyond the mind, involving little or no mental processes.
Contemplative Prayer is the Christian Form of Meditation
Contemplative prayer may be called the Christian equivalent of Eastern meditation techniques from the Yoga tradition or Buddhism. Although called contemplative, it is what would be defined today as meditation – a practice which seeks to expand one’s awareness beyond the workings of the mind and may ultimately lead to the experience and realization of the Divine within.
Three Types of Christian Prayer
The Christian tradition distinguishes three different kinds of prayer.
- Spoken prayer such as thanksgiving, lamentation, intercession and adoration.
- Quiet reflection, for example on the word of God, religious images, symbols and ideas.
- The non-conceptual, silent contemplative prayer. This method goes even beyond the activity of the mind and works primarily with silence and pure attention.
These three types of prayer can also be summed up as vocal, mental and spiritual prayer. Contemplative prayer belongs to the third category. Since God is beyond thoughts, words and concepts, Contemplative prayer aims to develop spiritual awareness beyond mind and thoughts.
The Aim of Contemplative Prayer is Union with God
Contemplative prayer helps to calm the mind and cultivate inner silence. It seeks to reach a non-conceptual, loving awareness of the Divine. Its ultimate aim is the unio mystica, the divine union in which the human soul gets merged in the Godhead.
This union cannot be achieved through personal effort, but rather through emptying the mind of all mental processes. While the feeling of personal effort may in fact be a hindrance, a high degree of discipline and perseverance will be necessary in order for that union to happen.
Related Reading
You might also be interested in a related article on how to practice contemplative prayer.
Prayer Means Going within
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