Day 347: Contemplative Prayer

Contemplative prayer is the prayer of the child of God, of the forgiven sinner who agrees to welcome the love by which he is loved and who wants to respond to it by loving even more. But he knows that the love he is returning is poured out by the Spirit in his heart, for everything is grace from God. Contemplative prayer is the poor and humble surrender to the loving will of the Father in ever deeper union with his beloved Son. CCC 2712

Today's reading from the Catechism is about the third expression of prayer: contemplative prayer. It has been described as the deepest and highest form of prayer. Essentially, one gazes into the face of God, totally surrendering oneself to Him in prayer. Like a child, aware of how finite we are, looking to the Infinite, our Father, who is love itself and truly cares about us. Saints like John of the Cross, Francis of Assisi, and Teresa of Avila are known for such contemplative prayer.

The Catechism Compendium summarizes what contemplative prayer is:

Contemplative prayer is a simple gaze upon God in silence and love. It is a gift of God, a moment of pure faith during which the one praying seeks Christ, surrenders himself to the loving will of the Father, and places his being under the action of the Holy Spirit. Saint Teresa of Avila defines contemplative prayer as the intimate sharing of friendship, “in which time is frequently taken to be alone with God who we know loves us.” (#571)

The Catechism Companion Vol III has some good commentary on this:

In meditative prayer, we are thinking about things such as books by saints or events in heaven. Contemplation, in contrast, involves focusing on Jesus, a gaze upon the Lord himself... We must choose to spend time with God and stick with it in spite of difficulties.  Learning the Faith is not just about information transfer, but it is about transformation and conversion. (p. 210)

Finally, Fr. Mike Schmitz was interviewed, wherein he speaks about contemplative prayer: