While contemplative practice may be a recent discovery for many of us in Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular, it has deep roots in scripture and the Catholic Tradition. God exhorts us through the psalmist to “be still and know that I am God” (Ps 46:11). Jesus himself instructs his followers to “go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret” (Mt 6:6). The author of the Letter to the Hebrews beckons us to “enter into [God’s] rest” (5:11).

Within Catholic orthodoxy, St. Teresa of Avila speaks of “enclos[ing] within the little paradise of the soul [the One] who created heaven and earth…” St. Francis de Sales, whose feast day we celebrated last week, directs us, “Recall yourself sometimes to the interior solitude of your heart… removed from all creatures…” And let us not forget that the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “Contemplative prayer is the simplest expression of the mystery of prayer. It is a gift, a grace… Contemplative prayer is a communion in which the Holy Trinity conforms man, the image of God, ‘to [God’s] likeness" (CCC 2713).

The MMOC Contemplative Core Team recognizes the contemplative thread in our tradition, which is why we strive to “offer theological and spiritual support that reflects a healthy and integrated understanding of the Catholic contemplative dimension of the Gospel” (from the CCT Statement of Purpose).