Posted on by Kurt Bodling

Meister Eckhart’s apophatic way

"The ‘way’ Eckhart proposes, so far as he does so at all, follows the apophatic route of classical Christian contemplation favoured in the Order of Preachers during his formative years and as taught by his close contemporary St Gregory of Palamas in the East and practitioners of the via negativa in the West such as Richard of St Victor. What Eckhart in fact teaches is that the silent repose of contemplation, the polar opposite of ecstatic rapture, is the ‘place of rest’ where one encounters the divine Presence in the ground of the soul.

“The elements of spirituality Eckhart would have learned as a young friar are reflected in this passage from the Summa Theologiae of St Thomas Aquinas, which Eckhart would have known well: ‘Contemplation is the soul’s clear and free dwelling on the object of its gaze; meditation is the survey of the mind while occupied in searching for the truth; and cogitation is the mind’s glance, which is prone to wander.”

Woods, Richard. Meister Eckhart: Master of Mystics. New York: Continuum, 2011, p. 100

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the start of contemplation

“When the work of thought leads to an intuition of love and religious awe, then we have ‘active contemplation’.”

Merton, Thomas. The Inner Experience: Notes on Contemplation. Edited and with an Introduction by William H. Shannon. NY: HarperOne, 2003. (NOTE: originally written in 1959), p. 60

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silence comes in time

“If we walk toward God, there comes a moment when speech is useless and uninteresting because [of all things] contemplation alone has any importance. And so, more than any other reality, monastic life enables souls to contemplate God. The silence of the monasteries provides the best earthly setting for the person who wants to ascend toward the One who awaits him.” Thought 124.

Sarah, Robert Cardinal with Nicolas Diat. The Power of Silence Against the Dictatorship of Noise. Translated by Michael J. Miller. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2017, p. 72

Comment: On the other hand, Merton wrote about how noisy monasteries are and, therefore, unsuited to contemplation.

Posted on by Kurt Bodling

temptation and contemplation

"The urge to seek a path of spiritual light can be a subtle temptation to sin. It certainly is sin if it means a frank rejection of the burden of our age, an escape into unreality and spiritual illusion, so as not to share the misery of other men.

“The contemplative life today must be a life of deep sorrow and contrition, but a pure sorrow, a healing and life-giving repentance such as we find in some of the characters of Dostoyevsky.”

Merton, Thomas. The Inner Experience: Notes on Contemplation. Edited and with an Introduction by William H. Shannon. NY: HarperOne, 2003. (NOTE: written by Merton in 1959), p. 121

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poverty and contemplation

“It is true, however, that a certain degree of economic security is morally necessary to provide a minimum of stability without which a life of prayer can hardly be learned. But ‘a certain degree of economic security’ does not mean comfort, the satisfaction of every bodily and psychological need, and a high standard of living. The contemplative needs to be properly fed, clothed and housed. But he also needs to share something of the hardships of the poor.”

Merton, Thomas. New Seeds of Contemplation. Introduction by Sue Monk Kidd. New York: New Directions Books, 2007, ©1961, p. 251

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on reading about contemplation

“If, then, you are intent on ‘becoming a contemplative’ you will probably waste your time and do yourself considerable harm by reading this book. But if in some sense you are already a contemplative (whether you know it or not makes little difference), you will perhaps not only read the book with a kind of obscure awareness that it is meant for you, but you may even find yourself having to read the thing whether it fits in with your plans or not. In that event, just read it. Do not watch for results, for they will already have been produced long before you will be capable of seeing them. And pray for me, because from now on we are, in some strange way, good friends.”

Merton, Thomas. The Inner Experience: Notes on Contemplation. Edited and with an Introduction by William H. Shannon. NY: HarperOne, 2003 (NOTE: Merton wrote this in 1959!), pp. 2-3

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mysticism’s purpose

“The purpose of contemplative and mystical spirituality is to foster greater intimacy with and devotion to God, which in itself is a universal goal of all religious and spiritual traditions that are God-centered (Buddhism does not require belief in God, so in a sense it’s a philosophy). Mystical, contemplative spirituality invites us deep into the wisdom of a path without insisting that it is the only path. This is true for contemplative Christians as well as for contemplatives of other traditions.”

McColman, Carl. The New Big Book of Christian Mysticism: an Essential Guide to Contemplative Spirituality. Minneapolis: Broadleaf Books, 2023, pp. 297-298

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preparing for contemplation

"Since contemplation is the union of our mind and will with God in an act of pure love that brings us into obscure contact with Him as He really is, the way to contemplation is to develop and perfect our mind and will and our whole soul. Infused contemplation begins when the direct intervention of God raises this whole process of development above the level of our nature: and then He perfects our faculties by seeming to defeat all their activity in the suffering and darkness of His infused light and love.

“But before this begins, we ordinarily have to labor to prepare ourselves in our own way and with the help of His grace, by deepening our knowledge and love of God in meditation and active forms of prayer, as well as by setting our wills free from attachment to created things.”

Merton, Thomas. New Seeds of Contemplation. Introduction by Sue Monk Kidd. New York: New Directions Books, 2007, ©1961, p. 214

Comment: I am pretty sure I know some folks who would read this and shout in their most accusatory voice, “Semi-Pelagianism! Beware!!” But I believe that Merton is not here talking about salvation and conversion. He is, rather, describing the later growth in the faith that should come to Christians as they mature. At that point the human will and effort are certainly involved.

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a contemplative start

“The most important thing in initiating a contemplative attitude toward life is being still and open. I see it as involving various levels of relaxation and silence, the kinds of not-doing that are so essential to the contemplative life.”

Bruteau, Beatrice. Radical Optimism: Practical Spirituality in an Uncertain World. Boulder, CO: Sentient Publications, 2002, page 27

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stillness empowers us

“At the Hermitage we use an axiom that remains true: if you really want to do ministry well, then be content with stillness. It is only in the power of finding the Spirit in stillness that our ministry can really have the power of the Spirit in it at all. Plus, we recognize that behind every successful active ministry, there is usually a group of contemplative people praying in stillness for its success.”

Talbot, John Michael. The Universal Monk: The Way of the New Monastics. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2011, pp. 67-68.