On Contemplative Prayer

by Sister Kathleen Pruitt, CSJP

Contemplative prayer is essentially a prayer of silence. There are many helpful methods suggested by many writers for ways to enter into this prayer of silence. When all is said and done, the goal is simple: to bring mind and body to stillness so that the divine seed resting in the center of our very being can come to fullness in the silence of our waiting emptiness. As we allow ourselves to BE in the silence, returning gently and firmly to the place of solitude and silence when distractions would pull us away, the mysterious work of spiritual transformation slowly but surely takes place. Transformation, simply stated, is to be moved from where we are to where we might not otherwise go ... to a place we do not know. This is subtle, imperceptible, but so real that, without knowing it, we are different. Contemplative prayer is the growing of the God-given capacity for Communion with God. When you pray, go to your room ... close the door.... pray to God in solitude and silence.