Beginning Contemplative Prayer: Out of Chaos Into Quiet

By Kathryn J. Hermes

In this practical guide, best-selling author Kathryn J. Hermes, FSP, demonstrates how to begin a life of contemplative prayer.
You don't have to be a mystic to learn this type of prayer, just a person who is seeking a deeper communion with God. Sr. Kathryn has helped thousands of people through difficult times.
Now let her guide you in this timeless form of meditative prayer.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pauline Books and Media
• Release date: Mar 25, 2019
• ISBN: 9780819811899

Book preview

Beginning Contemplative Prayer

Out of Chaos Into Quiet

This is a very helpful introduction to prayer practical, down-to-earth, and enlightening. Sister Kathryn takes the reader on a tour of some of the great teachers of prayer in the Christian tradition and helps to make their teachings concrete and applicable to daily life in our world. She provides exercises in every chapter and a study guide that will help readers to help one another. I recommend the book highly.

William A. Barry, S.J. Author of Finding God in All Things

Sister Hermes deftly teaches the reader how to apply the old teachings of the mystics to the new reality of our lives.

Mark E. Thibodeaux, S.J. Author of Armchair Mystic: Easing into Contemplative Prayer

As a vocation director, I have found this book to be an invaluable tool to help young women in discernment cultivate and enrich their prayer. It lays before us a rich sampling of the Church’s history and wisdom regarding prayer patterns and forms. I know several deacon formation programs that also use this book. No matter where we are in our own life of prayer, Beginning Contemplative Prayer can help us to pray always and never lose heart (Lk 18:1).

Sr. Helena Raphael Burns, FSP Vocation Director, Chicago, Illinois

Sr. Kathryn Hermes’s revised edition of Beginning Contemplative Prayer invites its readers to embark on a wonderful inner journey a journey into the world of contemplative prayer. She skillfully introduces a wide variety of prayer forms through the teachings of some of the great mystics of the spiritual life.

Yet, the author makes it clear that while information is helpful, it will not of itself make of us contemplative prayers. We must begin by plunging into prayer ourselves. With this in mind, she offers numerous suggestions to help both the beginner and those who have long been faithful to prayer.

From her own life and prayer experiences, Sr. Kathryn offers suggestions about how to begin this journey into God and how to deal with distractions, confusion, fear, and other emotions that may surface. She also encourages the reader to learn from the experiences of the mystics how to live fully and consciously the present moment, for it is in the NOW that God is found. To all who are perhaps intimidated by this venture, she offers the reassurance that God is a gentle and loving God who desires only our good and who calls us into deeper and deeper intimacy.

Helene Cote, p.m. Spiritual and Retreat Director, Marie Joseph Spiritual Center, Biddeford, Maine

Sweetest Jesus and Christ, send…the gentle dew of the Holy Spirit that I may wail and cry out the aches of my heart. Saint Mechtild of Magdeburg

The Soul Afire

Beginning Contemplative Prayer

Out of Chaos Into Quiet

Kathryn J. Hermes, FSP

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hermes, Kathryn.

Beginning contemplative prayer : out of chaos into quiet / Kathryn J. Hermes.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 167).

ISBN 0-8198-1176-9 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Contemplation. I. Title.

BV5091.C7H47 2009

248.3 4 dc22

2009031492

The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Many manufacturers and sellers distinguish their products through the use of trademarks. Any trademark designations that appear in this book are used in good faith but are not authorized by, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

Cover design by Rosana Usselmann

Cover photo by Mary Emmanuel Alves, FSP

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

P and PAULINE are registered trademarks of the Daughters of St. Paul.

Copyright © 2009, Daughters of St. Paul

Published by Pauline Books & Media, 50 Saint Paul’s Avenue, Boston, MA 02130-3491

Printed in the U.S.A.

www.pauline.org

Pauline Books & Media is the publishing house of the Daughters of St. Paul, an international congregation of women religious serving the Church with the communications media.

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Contents

Preface

Introduction

Part I

Encounter: The Rhythm Begins

Chapter 1

Cultivate Stillness and Silence

Chapter 2

Live Gently on the Earth

Chapter 3

Invite God to Come Near

Chapter 4

Soak in Love

Chapter 5

Prepare to Ascend the Heights

Part II

Engagement: The Practice of Prayer

Chapter 6

Remain in God’s Presence: Lessons from Brother Lawrence

Chapter 7

Let the Spirit Direct You: Lessons from Saint Ignatius of Loyola

Chapter 8

Experience the Longing to Touch God: Lessons from Lectio Divina

Chapter 9

Simply Love Lessons from The Cloud of Unknowing

Chapter 10

Prayer toward Union: Lessons from Saint Teresa of Avila

Chapter 11

Transformation in Christ: Lessons from the Life of Blessed James Alberione

Chapter 12

Wrapped in the Heart of God: Lessons from the Life of Simone Weil

Chapter 13

The Courtesy of God: Lessons from the Life of Blessed Julian of Norwich

Part III

Commitment: The Total Gift

Chapter 14

Commit to Freedom

Chapter 15

Commit to Life in the Spirit

Chapter 16

Commit to Reconciliation

Chapter 17

Commit to Carrying Christ’s Cross

Chapter 18

Commit in the Dark Night

Part IV

Perseverance: Prelude to Transformation

Chapter 19

Keep Walking

Chapter 20

Seek Spiritual Direction

Chapter 21

Tell What You Have Seen

Appendix A

Five-week Personal Plan for Growth in Prayer

Appendix B

To Hear the Whisper of Jesus: Guide for Personal or Group Study of Beginning Contemplative Prayer

Notes

Bibliography

Preface

Stretch!

In these pages I seek to address the single most important question for the Christian today: How do I find God? When our souls are thirsty for the spiritual, how do we find the time to contemplate, and, more importantly, what do we do during that time? Does the ancient mystical tradition of the Church mean anything today in a world so quickly changing? What do we do when praying seems merely tacked on to our life? What happens when we have no time for contemplative prayer? What are the paths to inner peace when our hearts need healing? How do we hold on to a foundational experience of God’s self-revelation to us? Can we truly hear God speaking to us, calling us by name?

Saint Paul says, For to me, living is Christ… (Phil 1:21). However, what was for Paul a dynamic force for change, a powerhouse of transformation, has been in our day too often tamed and comfortably stowed away in a closet. Yes, I am Catholic, people will say. You’ll see me at Mass. I’ll comment on Church issues based on a secular newspaper article. I take my kids to CCD. Before Christmas we have an Advent wreath on the kitchen table.

At his birth the Son of God burst into history as a torrent of love to save us from sin and death, so that the whole universe would converge in the heart of the Trinitarian God that heart which we now call our home. How could all of this have been reduced to an Advent wreath and comments on religious issues?

What happened to the bold teaching of the apostle Paul? I have become Christ. I have become Christ for you, so you can see him, so you can hear him, so you can become Christ yourself. Grow! Stretch! Practice! Learn! Change! Mature!

Edges of Growth

Since the original release of Beginning Contemplative Prayer, five things have deepened within me as a person and as a writer. First, due to the help of mentors and guides, I have a greater sensitivity to the power of affectivity and imagination that have helped me move from my head to my heart often said to be the longest journey we travel in life. Second, through retreats in which directors have helped me transform my present by healing past hurts, I have learned a greater appreciation for the treasure of healing prayer. Third, I received an unexpected gift from God of being able to experience and share love in profound ways. Fourth, I have been given the immense privilege of accompanying others in the unfolding of their spiritual lives and have watched in wonder at how God, in slow motion, works so reverently in their lives. Finally, I have been reintroduced to Saint Teresa of Avila and discovered in her writings and life the vast horizons of deep intimacy with Jesus that she offers contemplative prayers.

It goes without saying that each of these edges of growth is reflected in this revised edition of Beginning Contemplative Prayer. Three new chapters have been added, and the emphasis throughout has been deepened and shifted from the surface toward the core. New material has been worked into the text, including material on healing, reconciliation, experiencing the love of God and our own loveableness, the prayer of Saint Teresa of Avila, the inflow of God and ways to remove blocks to God’s gift of himself, as well as how to deal with the inner rumblings of emotions, thoughts, and hurts during prayer.

I’ve also added endnotes as springboards for further reflection and resources for exploration in spirituality as you move from beginning contemplative prayer to proficiency. At the end of the book there is a five-week personal prayer guide and a guide for those who wish to use Beginning Contemplative Prayer in a group setting.

I want to personally thank my community, not only for bringing this book back into print, but most especially for teaching me how to pray, for communicating to me a rhythm of prayer and a desire for seeing the face of God in the face of my brothers and sisters and communicating to them the absolute certainty of his love. In particular, I want to thank Sister Germana Santos, FSP; Sister Thomas Halpin, FSP; and Sister Virginia Helen Richards, FSP. I owe a great debt of gratitude to those who have let me walk beside them for a bit of their journey, for they have been my best teachers. I am grateful also to those who have commented on the manuscript and offered valuable insight, in particular Mary Kay Denman and members of the adult spiritual formation program of her parish that met in the fall of 2008. Working with Sister Mary Lea Hill, FSP, from the editorial department, has been a grace for me as I incorporated her insights and with her help gave final form to these pages. And finally, and perhaps most importantly, I owe my love for prayer to my parents, who taught me how to pray when I was a child and who fostered my love for God and my religious vocation.

Introduction

As Catholics, we have a long-kept secret that many yearn to know. This secret is the depth and richness of our spirituality. Our religious history is charged with mysticism and passion, marked by spiritual journeys and pilgrimages, ignited by worship and prayer. Spirituality has to do with our deepest needs, anxieties, joys, hopes, and fears, our values and dreams. It is a part of our daily life and propels us to rise above the daily grind. It fuels our work, our relationships, our prayer, pushing us to live with greater meaning and intensity. Spirituality takes us as we are and connects us to God as God is. Many Catholics, thirsting for an authentic experience of God and deeper meaning in life, are unaware of this mystical tradition. Often those who minister in the Church are themselves too busy to support others in their search for spiritual direction. Great numbers of individuals look East¹ for healing and spirituality, hoping for a deeper religious experience, inner peace, and a sense of personal well-being, but that seeking betrays hearts that long for more.

The world in which we live is full of images and speed, of technology and hurry, of noise and exhaustion. We are saturated with the endless relationships maintained through e-mail, instant messaging, social networking, text messaging. Intimacy is a click away in a virtual world. Information is at our fingertips. E-mails demand immediate responses. We download our music and up-load personal videos. We join social networks online and do our banking from the comfort of our living room. The extra time we have is crowded with the growing number of pressing things that clamor for our attention. Information about more possibilities creates more potential things to do. Almost half of all adults feel they have too much to do.

The world of images stimulates and numbs us. We find our thoughts and desires shaped by what we’ve seen and heard, rather than from deep within ourselves. We feel poor. We fear being shallow. We worry whether or not our life has meaning. Yet nothing seems to stifle the urgent thirst of the spirit! Somehow we have a vague memory that Love lies at the bottom of our hearts, though we’ve lost the road to get there. We crave the silence and solitude that would return us to ourselves. We long to know that God cares about us, that we are not left