I have recently embarked on a journey along with my friends to commit to twenty minutes of contemplative prayer every day. Now, twenty minutes doesn’t seem too difficult, right? It seems like twenty minutes of anything should be quite easy, whether it be in making a meal or running a short errand. However, when it comes to contemplative prayer, I have found attaining these twenty minutes quite difficult, especially when considered qualitatively, not quantitatively. The reason for this has given me cause for reflection.
Contemplative prayer, which I regard as silent prayer, I would define as, “Intentionally opening your mind to Christ and letting your own thoughts go quiet.”
Silence. It is interesting how simultaneously attractive, but yet difficult to attain silence is. Religious and secular alike, everyone seeks out the peace found in silence. The newest generation, so invested in their morning meditation or yoga, are seeking out the peace found in contemplative prayer without realizing. Even though many seek it, true attainment is quite difficult.
Now if you know me personally, you may think that I would have no issue attaining “silence”, as I am a reserved person —definitely not a talker. However, it is not outer noise which keeps us from fruitful contemplative prayer, but inner noise. Today our minds are constantly stimulated — and constantly is not an exaggeration. The average person spends several hours, if not most of their day, on a screen. Every street we drive on is full of bright and flashing signs. In our commutes we listen to the radio, music or an engaging podcast. When we do not give our minds a minute’s rest from stimulation or provoked thought during an entire day, how are we to expect fruitful contemplative prayer?
Our minds are starved of the silence and reflection that they require. One might imagine back to a time where minds were not deprived of this necessity. Think about the farmer tilling his field, the hunter perched in the woods, or the fisherman gazing out over a sea — all these with silence built into their day. Then, for these men, the bliss of coming back to a vibrant home eager to share their day and thoughts in conversation with their families. But these are only practical fruits. What of the connection with contemplative prayer?
Without the mind experiencing silence, meaning “inner silence”, throughout the course of a day, our minds are rabid for that time of reflection when we sit down for times of contemplative prayer. We cannot expect to have fruitful contemplative prayer when our minds are on overdrive (think — a computer fan when opening a huge file). Our minds are desperately seeking to process an entire day of what all the rest of history would view as over-stimulation, not just stimulation. We can only then settle into fruitful contemplative prayer after we have allowed our minds to run their course.
In the culmination of my reflections on this topic I have concluded the following. We should all seek to build silence and reflection into our day, so that when we do sit down to commune with Christ, we have prepared our minds for Him. A good way of considering this as a necessity and not nicety is by reflecting on how we prepare to receive Him in Holy Eucharist. We prepare our physical bodies by not drinking or eating an hour before Communion so as to prepare ourselves for Him to enter. In the same way, we should make sure that our minds are ready for Christ’s entrance when we intentionally seek contemplative prayer.
“Silence is necessary, and even absolutely necessary. If silence is lacking, then grace is lacking.” - St. Maximilian Kolbe