John testified to him and cried out, saying,
“This was he of whom I said, ‘The one who is coming after
me ranks ahead of me because he existed
before me. Jo. 1:15
Often our praying is like having a wall of prayer, where we attach our petitions in the hopes they will be answered. What is beyond our wall of prayer remains hidden and the fate of our prayers unknown.
But there is another kind of prayer, where we go past the wall, as through a door, into the Light, carrying with us our prayers, to be presented in person. The prayer I am referring to is the prayer of contemplation.
But how? How does one pray in this way? Where is this door and how does one go about finding it? [ ... knock and the door will be open to you ... mt 7:7 ] It starts with desire, wanting to find this door that leads to a deeper experience of prayer. For those content with sticking a note to the wall and departing to go about their business, the door remains unknown. It's the one with a hunger in their heart, who stands and knocks, waiting with patience, who will have the door into contemplation opened to them.
Beyond this door, prayer becomes encounter, experience, on all levels of one's being. It is no longer talking to, it's talking with; I with my list of concerns, He casting light upon my mind and into my heart, so that I might see and understand how my prayer is to come to pass.
The prophetic voices of Advent that we are hearing, come from those who have prayed in this way. They entered and saw and in turn announced what they learned, so that others might be inspired to seek God in this same way. This is how John the Baptist was able to see and so to reveal the mystery of Jesus eternal existence.
The beautiful mystery of Christmas, so easily obscured by the hype that surrounds us, is that we are all given an invitation to come and see, to enter through the door, to discover God's plan for us. And from Christmas day, we have a human person, His son Jesus, who becomes our companion and friend, guiding us each day in and out through the door of prayer.
Seeing is believing. Contemplative prayer is the prayer of seeing.
For more information on the prayer of contemplation go to the pages on this site,
St. Ignatius Way of Prayer and Praying On a Passage of Scripture
But there is another kind of prayer, where we go past the wall, as through a door, into the Light, carrying with us our prayers, to be presented in person. The prayer I am referring to is the prayer of contemplation.
But how? How does one pray in this way? Where is this door and how does one go about finding it? [ ... knock and the door will be open to you ... mt 7:7 ] It starts with desire, wanting to find this door that leads to a deeper experience of prayer. For those content with sticking a note to the wall and departing to go about their business, the door remains unknown. It's the one with a hunger in their heart, who stands and knocks, waiting with patience, who will have the door into contemplation opened to them.
Beyond this door, prayer becomes encounter, experience, on all levels of one's being. It is no longer talking to, it's talking with; I with my list of concerns, He casting light upon my mind and into my heart, so that I might see and understand how my prayer is to come to pass.
The prophetic voices of Advent that we are hearing, come from those who have prayed in this way. They entered and saw and in turn announced what they learned, so that others might be inspired to seek God in this same way. This is how John the Baptist was able to see and so to reveal the mystery of Jesus eternal existence.
The beautiful mystery of Christmas, so easily obscured by the hype that surrounds us, is that we are all given an invitation to come and see, to enter through the door, to discover God's plan for us. And from Christmas day, we have a human person, His son Jesus, who becomes our companion and friend, guiding us each day in and out through the door of prayer.
Seeing is believing. Contemplative prayer is the prayer of seeing.
For more information on the prayer of contemplation go to the pages on this site,
St. Ignatius Way of Prayer and Praying On a Passage of Scripture
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| Wailing Wall of the old Temple |
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