When the Church approaches contemplative prayer, she is led to give multiple and different definitions in her attempt to explain what it is. The multiple definitions are needed since no one definition can contain the mystery of contemplation, namely, of what it means to dwell in the mystical presence and passionate love of God.

If only one definition was given for contemplation, it would be an offense to the richness and glory of such a great mystery.

Even with all of the different definitions, however, silence itself eventually takes over and proves itself the best definition of so great a reality as abiding in the presence and love of God.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains: “Contemplative prayer is silence, the ‘symbol of the world to come’ or ‘silent love.’”

Sadly, silence has become awkward in our society. It oftentimes denotes passive aggression, anger, or dismissiveness. In the spiritual life, however, silence is the highest form of language.

Silence is the language of love. It stands before love and admits its inability to express what is before it. Silence is consumed by reverence and awe and so cannot speak.

Silence is not punitive in the spiritual life. It is not empty or disinterested. Silence is full of meaning and expression. Silence compels love to go deeper. The Catechism explains: “Words in this kind of prayer [silence] are not speeches; they are like kindling that feeds the fire of love.”

Our fallen nature is not inclined to silence. We want to name things, explain things, and ultimately control things. If this drive is not tempered, then we lose silence and end up only talking to ourselves about ourselves.

The Catechism teaches: “In this silence, unbearable to the ‘outer’ man, the Father speaks to us his incarnate Word, who suffered, died, and rose; in this silence the Spirit of adoption enables us to share in the prayer of Jesus.”

In the silence of our hearts, we encounter the living God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. By nurturing silence, we make room for the Word of God. By calming our minds, we create space for the Spirit. The struggle to gain and hold silence, therefore, is the struggle to be with God.

In silence, our unspoken prayers are united with the Word and become his own prayer before the Father. In silence, the Spirit comes and dwells within us. He prays in us and through us.

In this way, contemplative prayer is eucharistic. It is a prayer that reflects our union with God in the sacred liturgy. The Catechism explains: “Contemplative prayer is a union with the prayer of Christ insofar as it makes us participate in his mystery. The mystery of Christ is celebrated by the Church in the Eucharist, and the Holy Spirit makes it come alive in contemplative prayer so that our charity will manifest it in our acts.”

In connecting contemplative prayer with the Eucharistic Sacrifice, the Church is stressing how important and central contemplative prayer is to the Christian way of life. Our union with God should not be limited to divine worship. The graces of the Eucharistic Sacrifice are meant to assist and guide us to a continual union with God that certainly includes heights and power of contemplative prayer.

If we are willing to temper our fallenness and walk through silence and the periodic dark nights of the spiritual life, then we will remain in a union with God throughout our days. The Catechism plainly tells us: “Contemplative prayer is a communion of love bearing life for the multitude, to the extent that it consents to abide in the night of faith.”

Contemplative prayer will revitalize and regenerate the soul that lives in its graces. The task is not easy, but more than worth it. The Lord Jesus is our light and hope. He has shown us the way to union with the Father. The Catechism describes the Lord’s journey: “The Paschal night of the Resurrection passes through the night of the agony and the tomb – the three intense moments of the Hour of Jesus which his Spirit (and not “the flesh [which] is weak”) brings to life in prayer.”

Spiritual discipline, silence, a calming of our spirits, dark nights, and interior agonies are all a part of the purgative way of contemplative prayer. Our task is to fight and do our best. The Catechism soberly reminds us: “We must be willing to ‘keep watch with (him) one hour.’”

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