Roman Catholic Spiritual Direction
Browse > Home / Catechism, Contemplation, Prayer, Prayer / Catechism – Contemplative Prayer – 2711

Catechism – Contemplative Prayer – 2711

April 19, 2012 by  
Filed under Catechism, Contemplation, Prayer, Prayer

Entering into contemplative prayer is like entering into the Eucharistic liturgy: we “gather up:” the heart, recollect our whole being under the prompting of the Holy Spirit, abide in the dwelling place of the Lord which we are, awaken our faith in order to enter into the presence of him who awaits us. We let our masks fall and turn our hearts back to the Lord who loves us, so as to hand ourselves over to him as an offering to be purified and transformed.

Print Friendly

About Dan Burke

Dan is the founder of Roman Catholic Spiritual Direction and author of the award winning book, Navigating the Interior Life - Spiritual Direction and the Journey to God. Beyond his “contagious” love for Jesus and His Church, he is a grateful husband and father of four, the Executive Director of and writer for EWTN’s National Catholic Register, a regular co-host on Register Radio, a writer and speaker who provides online spiritual formation and travels to share his conversion story and the great riches that the Church provides us through authentic Catholic spirituality. Dan has been featured on EWTN’s Journey Home program and numerous radio programs. If you have an interest in having Dan come speak at your parish or Catholic event or group, contact us at rcspiritualdirection@gmail.com or call 818-646-7729.

please consider supporting our mission with a donation!

Tags: ,

  • Maria

    This reminds me of what He told me in prayer recently.

    As His dwelling place, Jesus is no less present in our hearts than He is in the Eucharist.

  • Fran C

    OK !! now I got it…Bless you and Happy Easter !!

  • Sandy

    To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul, O my God!  This is a wonderful beginning to help the soul soar to unknown heights and unity with God, our maker.  Come and rest in the Father’s loving arms.  His invitation to us.  Then let the Holy Spirit take over.  

  • http://rcspiritualdirection.com/blog Mary@42

    The Holy Spirit has certainly a lot of work to do on this old heart and soul……only He can keep them in place so she can walk the “straight and narrow” daily…..the spirit is willing but the flesh is, oh so, so weak….but even if she cannot hear His Voice when she sits before Him in the Blessed Sacrament, or when she keenly tries to hear It after Holy Communion, she knows He is there and won’t abandon her, wretched and broken though she is……He certainly loves her with a total, unconditional Love as only God can love…..you see, He died such a horrible death for her……His Resurrection is her Hope

    • Maria

      I wish I had your strong faith and humility. Reading your comments always inspires me to grow closer to Him.

    • Marymoll42

      Maria, I am truly a very simple, ordinary old Grandmother. But my life and Faith,  is simply an unwarranted Gift from God.    Having been born and brought up by very staunch Catholic Parents – my father having been a Teacher, a Catechist, a Lay Leader in the Church, a Counsellor of Families, children and youth, continuously until he was at a ripe old age of 100 years in 1998, mentored by the Consolata Fathers  and Sisters 
      from age Three, and the Loreto Sisters, I was unworthly blessed in that  God gave a chance to understand His Merciful Love for us all. Now at 73 years old and on my last 4th quarter of life, He  has called me to serve Him as an Eucharistic Apostle of the Divine Mercy where we take the Message of His Mercy to the Parishes in Archdioceses and Dioceses in our country Kenya. 

      This year, we were blessed to celebrate the Feast of the Divine Mercy at the Holy Family Minor Basilica and the Caital City, Nairobi, the Seat of His Eminence, John Cardinal Njue, the Archbishop of Nairobi Archdiocese and the Head of the Catholic Church in Kenya. All the Eight Priests who minister to us at the Divine Mercy Spiritual Centre were in attendance, first for Confessions two hours before the Holy Mass.  The Celebrant was the Auxiliary Bishop David Kamau, who is the Spiritual Director of the Kenyan Chapter of the Eucharistic Aposstles of the Divine Mercy.  The huge Basilica was fully packed and the Solemn Blessing of the Divine Mercy Image and the Veneration by more than One Thousand Faithful after the Holy Communion was awesome.

      Maria, my undeserved religious grounding – simply a Gift from a Loving God – taught me that Jesus came to die for sinners and He is for ever running after them, no matter how long it takes. When I review my entire life, I just feel overwhelmed at how God kept chasing this miserable sinner – whom He loves unconditionally, totally, Divinely as only God can love – through the stony hills, bushes full of thorns, slippery hills and valleys until I could run no more.  So at last I gave up running away from Him and just threw myself at His Arms and told Him:  ”Jesus, I give up, take over this my miserable life and do whatever you want with it”. Maria, always hold fast the sure knowledge that no matter how grieviously your sins are, no matter what a wretched, miserale and broken sinner you are – and believe me, Maria this old lady is – He is always waiting for you to run to Him with a genuinely repentant, broken heart and contrite Soul to make you whole again.  All He asks you is to trust Him.  His Message of Divine Mercy is simply based on His call to us to repeat often, all day, “Jesus, I Trust in You”. This is what He told Saint Faustina,  as recorded in Her Diary – Divine Mercy in My Soul :  ”I never reject a contrite heart (Diary No.1485)….Sooner would heaven and earth turn into nothingness that would My Mercy not embrace a trusting soul (Diary No.1777).  These words, Maria, are very consoling and makes one very, very humble and thankful to our Loving Saviour who assures us of His forgiveness – Seventy Times Seven per Day!!!!!!!!

  • Kar@24

    Alleluia!

  • Marian

    “Come into my heart, come in Lord make me anew, break down the barriers and desires not of you, take all that I am Lord, I give my life to you, for I am nothing without you.”

  • Deanna

    Having just returned home from a hospital stay that could have been my last…I thank God daily for His care and appreciation that everything that happens is truly God’s will.  We will grow if we can find a way to walk in that truth.  Thanks be to God.

  • Rowenalitorja

    Contemplation unites our mind and will with God in a supreme act of love.By placing ourselves to God, we can begin to focus less on our pain and more on our attentiveness to God. In contemplation God continues to transform us into healed state of peace, even though we may not recognize it.Spiritual light may be absent in contemplation because there is no need  for it. When christian are in the presence of God, “night will be no more, nor they will need light from lamp or sun, for the Lord shall give them light.

  • Monica

    I really like that quote. It says it so beautifully.

  • Pingback: Catechism – Contemplative Prayer – 2711 | Catholic Canada

  • Roman Catholic Spiritual DirectionRoman Catholic Spiritual DirectionRoman Catholic Spiritual DirectionRoman Catholic Spiritual Direction