Oct 6

“Contemplation is nothing else but a secret, peaceful, and loving infusion of God, which if admitted, will set the soul on fire with the Spirit of love.”

-St. John of the Cross

Today’s Reflection:

According to Susan Brinkmann, OCDS, …”Authentic Christian prayer is ‘the raising of one's mind and heart to God’ (CCC 2590). It is essentially a dialogue with God and its object is to bring us to a deeper love of God and neighbor.

Naturally, this requires an ascetical struggle to purify ourselves of our inherent selfishness because, as Jesus said, only the pure of heart shall see God. The closer we want to get to Him, the purer we must become.

This is why, as our commitment to the Gospel deepens, so does our prayer life progress through four distinct stages of prayer. These stages begin with vocal prayer and advance into mental prayer and meditation, followed by acquired and then infused contemplation which culminates in transforming union with God.

Because infused contemplation is a pure gift from God and cannot be achieved by any particular prayer technique, the only way to prepare ourselves to receive this gift, should God decide to give it, is to practice the kind of self-denial that occurs naturally as one deepens their commitment to the Gospel and love for God.

How can you practice greater self-denial and deepen your commitment to living out the Gospels and your love for God daily?