Reflecting on the importance of contemplative prayer, Pope Francis explains in this catechesis that contemplation is not just action, but a way of being that allows us to see reality from a different perspective, “to contemplate is not a way of doing, but a way of being. To be contemplative.”
He emphasizes that contemplative prayer is rooted in a loving relationship with God and can transform our hearts and our view of the world. The Catechism describes this using a testimony from St. John Vianney:
“Contemplation is a gaze of faith, fixed on Jesus. ‘I look at him and he looks at me’: this is what a certain peasant of Ars in the time of his holy curé used to say while praying before the tabernacle…. The light of the countenance of Jesus illumines the eyes of our heart and teaches us to see everything in the light of his truth and his compassion for all men” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2715).
Christ himself is the model for all contemplative prayer. Amid the activity of his public ministry he always found time for a prayer that expressed his union with the Father, as Pope Francis notes: “His life never lacked the time, space, silence, the loving communion.” Jesus could maintain this, even when he encountered trials, because “His secret was his relationship with his heavenly Father.”
Jesus’ Transfiguration, celebrated on August 6, is a further illustration of how contemplative prayer can provide divine light and strength even in difficult times. Jesus prepared the disciples for his coming passion and death by enabling them to contemplate his divine glory. Jesus goes up the mountain to encounter his Father, and “the light of the Father’s love fills the Son’s heart and transfigures his entire Person.”
Pope Francis clarifies that there is no opposition between contemplation and action in Christian life, stating that both are part of following Jesus on the way of love. And he concludes by emphasizing that even hidden and silent act of love born from contemplative prayer “is the greatest miracle” and “one act of pure love is more useful to the Church than all the other works put together.” (St. John of the Cross)
You are invited to meditate on Mk 9:2-10, The Transfiguration
Contemplative prayer is an act of the heart by which we fix our gaze in faith upon Jesus, quietly pondering his word and his saving mysteries. This in turn enables us to see others in the light of that truth and compassion which Jesus brings to all. Through our prayer, may we persevere in union with him on the path of love where contemplation and charity become one.
Read Pope Francis Catechesis on prayer: 32. Contemplative Prayer