Lent: Contemplative Prayer Introduction, from Lyn Woodruff

This week's invitation to try on a Spiritual Discipline for Lent is:  

Contemplative Prayer- How to Be Caught By God!

"For the sake of our precious hearts…our sanity…for those who love and depend on us....is there a way we can give ourselves a daily gift of profound love, peace and joy that enables us to keep on giving to others?

I think there is. We can find substantial nourishment in the daily practice of contemplative prayer, a form of meditation that's uniquely Christian. Its roots arguably extend into the outlook of the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, and definitely find expression in the communal practices of small intentional communities – monasteries – beginning in the third century C.E.

There are many descriptions of contemplative prayer out there. Here's mine:

Contemplative prayer is being unconditionally present with God, recognizing God's unconditional presence with us. It's a practice of rooting our awareness in the love, joy, presence, and solidarity of the liberating God revealed in Creation and the Prophets, in Mary and Jesus of Nazareth.

There are many kinds of prayer – eloquent and unscripted, spoken and silent. Contemplative prayer is typically silent prayer.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta was once approached by veteran journalist Dan Rather, who asked her "When you pray, what do you say to God?"

Mother Teresa replied, "I listen."

"Then what is it that God says to you?" Rather asked.

"God listens."

Can you tell the difference between the stony silence of indifference, and the beautiful, knowing silence between friends?

Contemplative prayer creates space for the latter kind of silence. It's an invitation to friendship with God.

Okay, so how do I do it? 

Now that you've caught a big-picture vision of contemplative prayer; there are a number of ways to actually practice it. 

Contemplatio — Rest — "Be still and know that I am God," speaks the Lord in Psalm 46; in other verses in the Psalms we are invited to let our souls rest for God in silence and even to recognize that silence itself is praise. 

Here we "do" nothing more than breathe gently, allowing our thoughts and feelings to come and go without commentary or attachment. We can use a prayer word or verse (my favorite, again from the Psalms, is "O God, come to my assistance; O Lord, make haste to help me") as a way of focusing our mind/heart so that we are less likely to be distracted by distractions during this period of rest. This is like a "Sabbath" prayer: we seek to grow in love of God simply by resting in God's heart, the way a small child rests on her mother's lap. We let go, and let God. We praise God simply by resting in silence, trusting in God's love to hold us.

For this last stage – Rest – I'd like to bring in another voice, that of the late Fr. Basil Pennington. 

Sit comfortably with your eyes closed, relax, and quiet yourself. Be in love and faith to God.

 Choose a sacred word that best supports your sincere intention to be in God's presence and open to God's divine action within you.

 Let that word be gently present as your symbol of your sincere intention to be in God's presence and open to God's divine action within you.

Whenever you become aware of anything (thoughts, feelings, perceptions, images, associations, etc.), simply return to your sacred word, your anchor.

(Note: You will experience thoughts, feeling, perceptions, etc.. – especially the first few days, and maybe forever. Thoughts were common 'static' centuries ago when these teachings first developed, and they're all the more prevalent now. Be kind to yourself! When returning to your sacred word, acknowledge the thought(s) with love and let go. Exercising this 'spiritual muscle' of letting go is one of the most profound benefits of contemplative prayer – one that extends far beyond these prayer sessions.)

Thomas Keating calls it The Divine Therapy. Your results will be uniquely yours, of course, but so many studies have shown that a consistent contemplative prayer practice can positively impact depression, anxiety, borderline personality issues, addiction, and more. This may not happen overnight, but gradually, you might find yourself feeling closer to God and others in your life.- Mike Morrell

Be open to be caught by Him today!