To “pray contemplatively” is more about the disposition we bring to prayer than it is about the particular method, style, or process we use in our prayer. The key is that, whatever form our practice takes, we engage it from a place of surrender and self-emptying. For instance, time spent reading scripture has an inherent capacity for opening the heart to contemplation… or not. It depends. When we read, is our primary concern getting through so many chapters and so many verses in a certain amount of time, on having a perfect mental grasp of the literary structure, or are we reading slowly, purposefully, trying to let our heart space be filled by what we read? A faith conversation (or any conversation, for that matter) can also be a contemplative activity, if we allow it to be. To converse contemplatively would mean to be fully given and available to the other, open and receptive to what is being shared, as opposed to being argumentative, or having our focus on what we will say next.

In recognition of the multiple paths to contemplation, the Contemplative Core Team at MMOC is committed to “Promot[ing], conduct[ing], and in general oversee[ing] contemplative program activities to include workshops, retreats/immersion experiences, the Contemplative Corner, Prayer Gatherings, Contemplative Dialogues, etc.,” per the Core Team’s Statement of Purpose.