Mary and contemplative life

# Prayer and Contemplation

# In Spiritual Life, Prayer and Contemplation Are IndispensableIn spiritual life, prayer and contemplation are as essential as lungs, so to speak, in physiological life: prayer refers more to the lips, to listening, to speech. And contemplation, which concerns mainly the eyes and thus gazing, is also necessary. To be men of prayer, to become burning bushes, requires both prayer and contemplation. Prayer without contemplation risks becoming a cerebral or mechanical prayer, falling into the danger Jesus warns against, that of wasting words like the pagans (Mt 6:7).Therefore, only contemplation allows us to practice prayer with interiority, whether through reading, meditation, or even pronouncing words. On the other hand, Christian contemplation needs prayer, words, and listening: contemplation that is merely looking, mere concentration, risks becoming narcissism and false mysticism—the silence and peace of the desert do not refer to the silence that makes God’s Word audible, allowing us to listen to the Spirit who suggests God’s paths and enables us to encounter the Lord who comes.Contemplation in Portuguese translates the Greek term Θεωρια (theoria). However, while contemplation derives from the Latin contemplari, theoria originates from the Greek θεωρειν (theorein). Thus, two meanings of contemplation emerge: vision and temple, which, despite their difference, converge on a central meaning: gazing is always part of us, situated in a particular place that becomes our viewpoint. Everything we see and know is also organized around a center. This is the temple that expresses the organizing action of our lived reality centered on God.In Christian faith, this organizing activity’s center is the Cross, the throne of the sacrificed Lamb, the heart of the Church and liturgical action, from which the gift of the Spirit flows: the Cross and Pentecost, expressing and re-enacting Christ’s death and resurrection, dynamize the centrality of faith in liturgy, an action of both concentration and decentralization of the Church’s life. And on the path of faith, each Christian’s life also participates in this ebb and flow of church life.But the work of concentration and decentralization is impossible without a solid center. This center is the presence of God’s Spirit within us, the kingship of Jesus who reigns in our hearts since his Cross. Thus, to be contemplatives of the living God, inhabited by Him, listening should be attentive to the Word, which has become a parable in our time. And gazing should become piercing (cf. Nm 24:3-5 “He spoke the parable, and said, ‘Listen, Balac, son of Beor, listen, man with understanding! Say what you have heard from God, what you see from the Most High. He who falls, and has his eyes opened—how beautiful are your tents, O Jacob, your dwellings, O Israel!’”), capable of seeing the Image consubstantial with the Father (2Cor 4:4 “In whom the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God”), present in every visible icon to the eyes of the flesh.## The Incarnation of God’s WordWe can perform prayer and contemplation with Mary from the event of the Incarnation of the Word of God, which is acceptable only if we recognize that there is no contradiction. How could God, who is pure spirit, have been incarnated? How could the immaterial become material, as Saint John Damascene expressed it?We read in the Prologue of the Gospel of John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (Jn 1:1). A somewhat unusual translation, deliberately so, to highlight the similarity of attitude between God’s Word and the word directed by God to his prophets (cf. Is 38:4; Jer 1:2, 4, 11, 13; Ez 6:1, 7:1). The Greek phrase πρὸς τὸν θεόν (= towards God) indicates the constitutive orientation of God’s Word. And this orientation continues to be present in him even after the Incarnation, giving life to every word and gesture of his: everything comes from God and is oriented toward God.In this Word of God, who is God, is contained, even before creation, the creative design, called with a biblical term divine wisdom. Thus, we begin to understand that being contemplative means being wise, not according to worldly mentality, but according to “the mind of Christ” (1 Cor 2:16). This celestial wisdom consists in discovering God’s plan in human things and events, in seeing everything with God’s eyes, for everything is like a word of God, who became flesh from the unique Word and who leads us to understanding.Still, we read: “God, who spoke many times and in various ways to our fathers in ancient times, has spoken to us most recently through the Son. This Son, who is the radiance of his glory and the exact expression of his nature, is the image of God invisible, the firstborn of all creation” (Heb 1:1-3; Col 1:15).Therefore, the unique Word of God, the Word who became flesh in Mary’s womb, is the entire expression of God and also the entire expression of creation: he concentrates the meaning of all of God’s words, both those that create and those that give meaning to creation. There is a profound consequence for faith life: when we read the Sacred Scriptures, we encounter words. But these words, now that the Word became flesh, are realized, fulfilled, concentrated in the unique Word who “made his dwelling among us” (Jn 1:14).Jesus therefore holds the key to revealing the meaning of every word that comes from the mouth of the patriarchs and prophets. Thus, all that we read in Scripture is a word that comes from his mouth; it is his broken bread for us who adhere to him. Now, with the gesture of Incarnation, the Word of God becomes matter, assuming human voice and face, to be heard in our ears and seen in our eyes: he draws near to man by making himself a parabolic Word (that is, a parable) and reveals himself to man by becoming a visible Image (that is, an Icon: an image that allows us to think about what is invisible through what it shows). With this, all Scripture becomes parabolic, because the Word that was entirely directed to God, upon his Incarnation, also turned completely towards man, placing himself beside man and thus becoming a parable.Now we need to recognize this Word that lives next to us and constantly addresses us. It seems that the Word is by our side to make with us the path of life. And we can understand it by accepting to walk with him, and only after making the decision to adhere to him, can we achieve an understanding of him through a relationship with him. The parabolic dimension encompasses all of God’s revelation, not just that which takes place through words, but also that which occurs through gestures and events.Everything happens as the disciples of Emmaus heard the explanation of the Scriptures and recognized Jesus in the act of breaking bread. Therefore, there are two operations of the Incarnate Word: the Word becomes a parable (a word always spoken beside man). From Substantial Image of the Father, it becomes an Icon (a historical image that shows him in every event of human existence). And then it radiates into many words and parables, into many images and gestures (common and extraordinary), so that we can find the path that leads us to him.On this path towards the Incarnate Word, Jesus Christ, Mary is our mother and teacher, allowing us to use our ears and eyes to move from words to the Word and from images to the unique image of the invisible God. Therefore: “Blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear” (Mt 13:16). This reference to eyes and ears expresses an anthropological law: man opens up to reality through the two windows, hearing and seeing.In philosophical tradition, hearing and seeing are considered the senses par excellence. And this means that they are the bodily openings of the spirit that allow man to enter into relation with the reality surrounding him. Now, revealing and leading us to the Lord, Mary and the Church respect this structure of ours. Therefore, alongside the tradition of Scripture, in the Church developed a tradition of sacred images, which make present the Word and the Image of God.Thus, listening can be expanded through contemplation: a deep understanding of revelation cannot neglect sacred iconography. At this point, one understands Mary’s role in prayer and contemplation of God’s Word. Mary, indeed, is always with Jesus; she is entirely related to Jesus: as the Word is entirely turned towards the Father, Mary is entirely turned towards the Son. From this stems her exemplaryness in terms of salvation. In accordance with this function, Mary shows us how to listen to the Word through words, how to see the consubstantial Image of the Father by looking at faith icons (historical configurations of salvific events), and how to become a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit, that is, a bush of praise to God the Father in Christ Jesus.No creature is so inclined towards truth as Mary, who is prayer, absolute orientation to Christ. Therefore, Mary also shows us how we should be inclined towards truth, how to orient ourselves to Christ and be prayer and contemplation. For this, three passages that Mary helps us make are necessary: from parable to Word through the listening of God’s words, from Icon to consubstantial Image of the Father by looking at faith icons (historical configurations of salvific events), from contemplative orientation to contemplation of the living God who walks with us and by our side.> Hearing Mary is the key to understanding the Word, while sight is the key to seeing the Invisible: through her listening and looking, we can illuminate our lives with the fire of the Holy Spirit and become those burning presences. The Father seeks, as Jesus revealed to the Samaritan woman: “But the hour is coming, and now is, when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. For the Father seeks such as these to worship Him” (John 4:23).To deepen reflection on Mary and contemplative life, consult Pope John Paul II’s encyclical *Redemptoris Mater*, which presents Mary as a model of contemplative faith and inner pilgrimage.**Deepen your studies:** explore Mariology, Marian theology, Marian apparitions, and Post-Graduate Studies in Mariology.