Contemplative Approach Is Slow-Going. This Is OK.

The pace of the soul is quite a bit slower than the movement around us.
This slowed pace is one of the most difficult aspects of contemplative life.
On my first visit to Holy Trinity Abbey, in Huntsville, Utah, I noticed a handmade traffic sign on the road that led from the monastery gate to the church: “Slow down.”
At the moment, it seemed very poignant.
For those of us who like to cover a lot of territory in our Bible reading or our prayer time, the contemplative approach is going to seem extremely slow. There is a real push within us to get on with it. You may find yourself thinking this isn’t your style, because it takes too long.
There is not whatsoever wrong with reading large sections of the Bible. This is a good way to “stay fresh” with the Word of God.
In contemplative reading you will find yourself immersed in a single thought – sometimes a single word – that God will be working out through you. It is important that you fight the natural urge to move on and hurry up. Peaceful waters do not rush.
We are all from a culture that has taught us that moving slowly is wasting time. Be patient. Pace yourself. And remember the sign at the monastery – “Slow Down.”

What Is Our Part In Contemplation?

Since contemplation is something that happens to us by the infusing or in-pouring work of God, the question naturally arises about what our part is in this process.
Our part is to develop skills and practices and a way of being that will best form and inform our inner life to receive whatever God is pouring in. To walk as one prepared for this is to walk as a contemplative person.
Michael Casey calls this inner life condition “a patient receptivity.” (Sacred Reading, Page 8)
One of the psalms indicates that God is watched and waited upon so intently by the psalmist that it is like a servant observing the slightest indication from a master – a subtle hand movement, an inflection, a twitch of an eyebrow.
The contemplative is not lost in the mist of his own juices, but is focused on the Lord, waiting for the slightest indication that He would say something, require something of us, or move somehow in a way that involves us.
“We should note that this kind of entering within is just the opposite of introspection, for we are turning away from an egocentrism and turning toward the supreme Other.” (Dubay, Fire Within, Page 58)
This is a very important distinction, which will make more and more sense over time. The abuses of contemplation are many, even within the faith. People get alone in the quiet and dream up their own “take” on Truth. While it is appropriate to associate the practices of contemplative prayer and lectio divina as a mysticism, and the founders such as Teresa and John of the Cross as Christian “mystics,” these terms lend themselves to a great deal of misunderstanding when taken out of their immediate Christian context; their theological housing, as it were. Improperly tethered, contemplation quickly loses all domestication, becomes senseless and wild.
The chief end of a contemplative person is to learn Christ. While God is pouring in, we are to be found doing one thing – turning toward the supreme Other.
Any thoughts? May God help you to hear Him.

Change of Thinking Needed As We Approach The Topic of Contemplation

First things first … we have to reverse our thinking about how contemplation is experienced.
Quite naturally, one can assume that contemplation is an activity similar to meditation or the deep musing of Scripture.
The spiritual masters of contemplation – and here I will include St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa of Avilla, Michael Casey, Thomas Dubay and Iain Matthew (don’t worry if none are familiar to you) – upend our natural assumptions about it. They say, instead, that contemplation is something we undergo. The action is God’s.
Now, I thought the action was mine. I thought if I just concentrated hard enough, I would be contemplating – that I could somehow press God to meet me in this special union between Himself and me.
The experience of this union is the apex of prayer and Bible reading to the masters. In Teresa’s Interior Castles, this union is the innermost chamber. In John of the Cross’ The Ascent of Mount Carmel, this union is the top of the mountain.
And yet, this experience is not something we can walk up and purchase a ticket for: “One please? For contemplation. Thank you. Is the popcorn fresh?”
The action is God’s.
Thomas Dubay, who is a great summarizer of Teresa and John of the Cross, writes, “Repeatedly, Teresa insists that contemplative prayer is divinely produced. She calls this prayer even in its delicate beginnings ‘supernatural,’ meaning by this term what we now intend with the word ‘infused,’ that is, poured in by God.” (Fire Within, Page 59)
As you can see, when you read a bit about contemplative reading, you will find that the lines become blurred between reading and prayer, because contemplative reading, or lectio divina, is an ancient technique of prayer. It is familiar territory for monastics, but kind of foreign to us in the busy laity. There is no hard boundary between contemplative Bible reading and contemplative prayer. Am I praying, or am I reading? Maybe you are “preading.” Any thoughts?
That is enough for now. May the word of God dwell richly within you.

Please Come In And Set A Spell

Seekers welcome!
Look no further if you have sought a blog to share your thoughts with others on your own contemplative Bible reading, or to develop the practice, or to join others in looking at the same passage together and gleaning good thoughts from like-minded Christian believers.

Let’s start by talking about contemplation – what it is, what it isn’t, and what it does for you. Any thoughts?

Note that I will monitor all comments (to keep people from posting inappropriate material) so it might take a day to get your comment posted. Thanks. Looking forward to your thoughts. TIM