Contemplative practice should not be seen as a substitute or replacement for other prayer practices and disciplines of faith. Rather, contemplative practices along with these other practices work together to reinforce, strengthen, and shed new light on each other. While it is a gross misconception to suggest that contemplation is only intended for monastics, professed religious, clergy, and other religious “professionals,” it is true that these lifestyles dedicated to the pursuit of God, and the disciplines that arose from them, such as prolonged silence, chanting, fasting, and active service, were all intended to create an environment that leads naturally to contemplation, and where contemplation would, in turn, draw the deeper meaning from these practices.
The same can be said for the religious and spiritual practices of the average person. Mass, for instance, is structured to cultivate the contemplative dispositions of alert attention and receptivity toward God. The familiar rhythms of the liturgy help us to set aside the machinations of our distracted minds and bring us into our “inner rooms.” We listen attentively to the Word of God spoken to us, and the bringing of our gifts to the altar symbolizes the surrender of our lives to Divine Presence and Action. Finally, we actually participate in communion with God, and the falling into and living of this communion is the realization of all contemplative practice.