Recall that true contemplation is a grace and comes from God alone – it is not our role to bring contemplation about. Our role in contemplation is to be ready to receive. We should not think of this disposition of receptivity as a passive mode. Rather, it is an active sort of preparation to receive the gifts that God wants to give. We have stated before in this space that it may be more appropriate to view the contemplative disposition as one of welcoming. We can recognize the difference: our contemplative practices are not simply a matter putting an empty bowl outside and hoping to fill it with rain (although, interestingly, we know that if we are patient and leave the bowl outside long enough, it will eventually catch rain). Rather, the welcoming approach to God’s gifts is an anticipation of something we know to be imminent. We can liken the welcoming disposition to the typical response to the impending arrival of a new baby. Far from sitting back and waiting, we reorganize our living space and our behaviors, readying them to be more in line with the new life that we fully expect to soon occupy the space. Likewise, contemplative practices ready our heart to welcome the God that we know dwells within.