Listen

Be quiet and listen. What do you hear? Do you hear an aircraft overhead? Vehicles in the street outside? The air conditioning? Can you hear the compressor on the refrigerator? The fan of the computer? Most of the time these sounds fade into the background but it’s amazing how acute one’s hearing gets when you sit down and attempt to pray. Especially when you attempt Contemplative Prayer.

We seek silence in which to practice Contemplative Prayer which at the same time is the fruit of our Prayer. In Contemplation, we seek to silence the noise of the world, not the sounds which enter our ears but the sounds (and especially the voices) which enter our hearts. The constant buzzing and chatter, the voices of doubt and doom that plague us, the voice of the Accuser.

The first thing to remember is that they are not unique to you. Everyone hears them, saints and sinners alike. What separates the saint from the sinner is their response to them. If you were to study the saints, you would find many different expressions of the Spiritual Life, as many different ones as there are saints. However, what you would find in common is a devotion to Contemplation.

In Contemplation, we seek that deep silence where we can be alone with God. Contemplation is the first, great step in our journey towards God with Christ. That’s because all too often, when left to our own devices, our Prayer tends toward a litany of the devices and desires of our own hearts. Either that or the devices and desires that others have taught us to want. Instead, in Contemplation, when we can silence those voices, we can sit and just be with God.

Imagine if you will, a sunny day, cooled by a gentle breeze. You sit in a field of grass under the shade of a tree. Beside you, your dog, curled up by your side. No words need be said, just of the two of you, together. You’re not worried about bills, about elections, traffic, gluten, plastic straws. You’re not really thinking about anything. You just are. You and your dog, knowing you love one other.

Now imagine that same experience but magnified by infinity because the other person is infinity itself. That is what’s possible with Contemplation. Just like the example with the dog, Contemplation can also reinvigorate and refresh us once we face the noises of this world. However, unlike that example, Contemplation can also silence those inner voices so that not only do they cease to have an effect on us but eventually, they can be silenced forever. We can carry that inner silence wherever we go, becoming an oasis of calm in a sea of noise.

It is not an easy journey. It is both hard and slow. It’s not like learning a musical instrument where practice makes perfect until you can eventually make beautiful music. Instead, it’s like golf, where despite years of practice, the game can still result in frustration and awkwardness. But like golf, those moments when you settle down, calm yourself, and connect are that much sweeter.

So, to begin with Contemplative Prayer, find yourself a quiet, comfortable spot. Don’t use music: you don’t need it. It will become a crutch and hold you back from where you want to go, which is the ability to enter into silence anywhere. Sit or kneel and begin to quiet your mind. You are seeking silence, not emptiness, you are filling yourself with the Holy Spirit, not nothingness. This is an important distinction between Contemplative Prayer and other potentially dangerous and harmful forms of meditation. Take a deep breath and as you do, say either silently or out loud, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God…” through the entirety of your breath. Then, as you let it out, say, “Have mercy on me, a sinner.” Then repeat, over and over. Enter into the rhythm of it. Don’t think, just be. Be one with the Prayer, be one with God. Be in Christ.

Thoughts will arise, voices will speak. If you can, don’t try to ignore them, they’ll just shout all the louder. Instead, acknowledge them as thoughts, as voices and try to let them drift away. It may be helpful to have a notepad with you to take down thoughts that crop up. Do that as a way of saying, “I’ll think about these things afterwards but now is a time of Silence.” Try for just two minutes at first. Trust me, it will seem much longer. Your goal will be to put together 30 minutes of Silence, but at first, stick with 2. You can work up to 5, 15, & 20 but for now, stick to 2. If that’s a struggle, use a Rosary or a Prayer Rope. At first, use one bead or knot for the inhale and the next for the exhale. Work up to using one for the complete breathing cycle. Your goal is to know Him not about Him. It’s to know your True Self, not about yourself. To know yourself as He knows you. To know Him as He is known by His Son. Know Him in Silence and you will know Peace.