Contemplation

Contemplation
Ludger Schwienhorst-Schönberger is a Catholic Old Testament scholar. And he leads contemplation courses. Contemplation and the Bible - a delightful combination!

The classical forms of Christian faith practice include reading the Holy Scriptures (lectio), meditation (meditatio), prayer (oratio), action (operatio) and contemplation (contemplatio). One of the causes of the current crisis of Christianity in Western societies may be that few Christians are familiar with these elements of their own tradition. There is simply a lack of regular practice. And when it is still to be found, it is often only in a very selective and rudimentary form.
The regular reading of Holy Scripture (lectio) should be a matter of course for Christians. However, it requires a certain attitude in order to be fruitful. We must not carelessly transfer the cultural technique of (quick) reading, as we learned it in school, to the reading of Holy Scripture. If the reading of Holy Scripture is to become fruitful in a spiritual sense, we must practise it in the style of lectio divina. Lectio divina is a form of reading that is not primarily about grasping the content of a text in such a way that one can render it correctly in an exegetical examination; rather, it is about allowing oneself to be gripped by the text in such a way that a process of inner transformation and maturation is set in motion.

Object-based meditation
Simply reading or even reciting sacred texts, as is customary in some religions, does not do justice to the self-understanding of the Christian faith. This is where the next step comes in: meditation. Meditation is object related. We think about what we have read, ponder it in our hearts and try to understand it.

The best-known element of Christian piety is probably prayer, oratio. Tradition understands this to mean, above all, supplication. When, in the light of the Holy Scriptures, the true state of our soul comes before our eyes, we realise that we are in need of God’s help. And we ask for this help in prayer: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you”, Jesus encourages his disciples in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 7:7). But do we know what to ask for in the right way?

A spiritual path that does not lead to everyday life is an erroneous path. Therefore, right action (operatio) belongs to the essence of Christian faith. Probably next to prayer, this element is the best known and most pronounced feature of the Christian faith in modern societies. The social orientation is one of the great strengths of Christianity. The commandment to love one’s neighbour, formulated in the Old Testament in all clarity (Lev 19:18), is considered by many to be the brand essence of the Christian religion. Christianity and charity are often seen as one. But the strength can become a weakness if it is no longer integrated into the overall structure of the faith.

Searching for the meaning of life
If an athlete regularly practices only one exercise and trains only one muscle, but ignores all the others, he is very unlikely to be very successful and will sooner or later suffer from postural defects. If many spiritual seekers encounter the church exclusively as a social welfare organisation, this may well give it high recognition and esteem, but in the search for the meaning of life, in the search for a way out of inner need and disorientation, the seekers will turn to other providers.

The least known element of the Christian faith may be contemplation. It is unknown in the average congregation and to many involved in pastoral care. Perhaps one has heard of it, but few are likely to be familiar with it through personal practice and experience. This is surprising, since in tradition contemplation is regarded as the goal and high point of the Christian life.

What is contemplation?
Contemplation is a path of inner reflection. In contemplative practice, we direct our perception inwards. To do this, we adopt a posture in which we sit quietly and undisturbed in silence for about 20 minutes. We do not think and do not look around. Our gaze rests. We do not allow ourselves to be distracted by thoughts, images and feelings that arise in our consciousness. We let them pass. The breath can help us with this. When we notice that our thoughts are wandering, we return to the perception of the breath. We open our awareness to the hidden presence of God.

Since God cannot be an “object” of human perception, the perception that is directed towards God must be non-objective. This is what distinguishes contemplation from meditation. God is not this and he is not that, he is none of these things. Therefore, hold to nothingness and in this nothingness, you will see God, we read in Meister Eckhart’s sermon on Acts 9:8, the account of Paul’s calling, where it says: “Though his eyes were open, he [Paul] saw nothing.” To which Eckhart adds, “When he arose from the earth, he saw nothing with his eyes open, and this nothing was God.”[1]

Core of Christian spirituality
Such thoughts may sound unusual to Christian-trained ears. Yet contemplation belongs to the core of Christian spirituality. For years it has been rediscovered by many of our contemporaries, Christians and non-Christians alike. One of its great strengths is that, on the one hand, because of its openness, it opens up a way for all people, believers and non-believers alike, to experience the all-encompassing reality, but on the other hand, it also shows believing Christians a way to a deeper understanding of their faith, a way “from believing to seeing”.

What are the effects of contemplation?
From his origin, man is the image of God (Gen 1:27). But this image is shadowed. Contemplation is a way of returning to that original state where man is at peace with himself and with God. The empirical I with which we are active in the world is not the whole human being. It is embedded in a reality that we call the “true self” or also the “transcendent I”. The human being who identifies with his empirical self, with what he knows, can and wants, suffers consciously or unconsciously from a split. Many people try to overcome this split through external effort. They throw themselves into the outwardly visible world, but the longing of their soul remains unsatisfied: “Behold, Thou wast within, but I was without. Outside I sought Thee … Thou wast with me, I was not with Thee,” St. Augustine confesses, looking back on his search for the One who alone is able to give rest to his soul.[2]

The first word with which God addresses man after the Fall is a question: “Where are you?” (Gen 3:9). According to this word, it is not we who seek God, but God who seeks us. Man has fled from God; he has hidden from him (Gen 3:8). In contemplation, we try to interrupt this escape mechanism, of which we are usually unaware. We pause. It is not that we want to achieve something, but that we want to reach out and be touched. That is why we pause and remain silent. “If God is to speak truly, all powers must be silent. It is not a matter of doing, but of not doing,” says Johannes Tauler.[3] Our ordinary ego activities come to rest.

Process of transformation
Those who practise the contemplative exercise regularly once a day will notice a change in themselves after some time. We become calmer and more serene. We are present in the world differently. Our perception changes. A process of transformation begins. After some time of practice, unhealed wounds and pains usually enter our consciousness. We do not repress them, but place ourselves as we are, with our pains, with our wounds, in the healing and redeeming presence of God.

There are different phases on the contemplative path, which cannot be discussed in detail here. In any case, it is advisable to walk the path accompanied by an experienced teacher. Only those who know the path can accompany. In general, two major crises are to be expected on the path, which John of the Cross called “Dark Night of the Senses” and “Dark Night of the Spirit”. Accompanying reading can be helpful.[4]

But it can never replace practice. Anyone who wants to learn to play the piano should practise regularly. Those who only read books about playing the piano will never learn to play. Therefore, practice is fundamental. Those who have only read books on contemplation or spirituality are unsuitable as accompanists. The contemplative path is not about our ego acquiring “spiritual experiences” or a knowledge of spirituality, but about being transformed, ultimately: falling into the earth and dying, bearing abundant fruit (cf. Jn 12:24). This is the way of salvation. “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20).

In a secular age
Many people long for such a way. They feel that they are missing something, but they often do not know what it is. They think they can acquire what they lack. But at this level of wanting, the desire of their soul remains unsatisfied. Many throw themselves into pleasure or fall into resignation after numerous disappointments. Common practices of piety often do not help. Church pastors not infrequently stand helplessly by and are hardly ever asked for advice by spiritual seekers because they are not really familiar with the contemplative path of the Christian tradition because they do not walk it themselves. This is the real crisis of the church and faith.

The path of devotion
The contemplative path is first and foremost a path of purification. It is God himself who wants to purify the temple of our soul. In contemplation we adopt an attitude in which we do not resist God’s purifying action, even when it is painful. Contemplation is a path of surrender.

The human soul longs to “behold the face of God” (Ps 42). The contemplative path taps into this longing. It leads us into a joy that no longer fades. According to the testimony of the Bible, the contemplatio Dei, the “beholding of God”, is already initially possible in this life (cf. Job 42:5): “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall behold God” (Mt 5:8).
Prof. Dr. Ludger Schwienhorst-Schönberger (Universität Wien).

[1] Meister Eckhart, Predigt 71 (Ausgabe: Meister Eckhart, Werke II, hg. und kommentiert von Niklaus Largier, Frankfurt 1993, 65).
[2] Augustinus, Bekenntnisse X, 27.
[3] Johannes Tauler, Predigt 31 (Ausgabe: Johannes Tauler, Predigten Bd. I, üb. und hg. von Georg Hofmann, Einsiedeln 42007, 220f).
[4] Zwei Einführungen seien genannt: Thomas Keating, Das Gebet der Sammlung. Einführung und Begleitung des kontemplativen Gebetes, Münsterschwarzach 2010. Franz Jalics, Kontemplative Exerzitien. Eine Einführung in die kontemplative Lebenshaltung und in das Jesusgebet, Würzburg 1994 (und zahlreiche weitere Auflagen).

feinschwarz.net/kontemplation/

I read your whole post.

I don’t think you got your contemplation idea from the bible.
Maybe you did and i didn’t notice.

However, i enjoyed your post.
Thank you.

You are very welcome.

However, Contemplation is an exercise that has developed over the last two thousand years, but was probably something that all monastic traditions have in some way. The monastic Christian traditions have been said to have been influenced by Buddhism. Thomas Merton, a Trappist Monk, found considerable similarities in practice between western Christians and eastern Buddhists.

Suffice it to say my daily contemplative practice is eclectic pulling content and methods from multiple sources. It was established as a habit when I was participating with a Christian group that practiced and emphasized the importance of what they called Morning Watch which consisted mainly of praying out loud over Bible verses. It morphed to include sacred texts like the Upanishads and the Baghavad Gita. Eventually I Incorporated Buddhist mindfulness practices. It also includes communing with nature and cannabis. Not to mention discursive thought, reading philosophy and psychological texts, and writing poetry and song lyrics.