If you've ever wanted to just sit with someone, to just be in the presence of someone, then you have a good idea of what contemplative prayer is all about. Contemplative prayer is about being with God and resting in God's presence. It is about what the Westminster Shorter Catechism identifies as our chief purpose in life – to enjoy God forever!

Some have called contemplative prayer a "long loving gaze" or an inner Sabbath. It is prayer that enfolds us in the present moment experience of God. There is no other task of contemplative prayer than union with the divine. Being with God is the end itself, not the means to any other end. A good example of this is from the late Russian Orthodox archbishop Anthony Bloom who tells of an eighteenth-century priest who once asked an aged peasant what he was doing during the hours he spent sitting in the chapel. The old man replied, "I look at Him, He looks at me, and we are happy." [Anthony Bloom, Beginning to Pray (New York: Paulist Press 1970), 62.]

Contemplation involves receptivity and openness to the divine. It loves God for who God is, "I am who I am," not for what God does for us. It seeks nothing more than to be with God and to enjoy and glorify God. That's it. That's all. That's enough.

Several forms of contemplative prayer are offered in the Spirituality Center including the Jesus Prayer/Prayer of the Heart, breath prayer, centering prayer, guided prayer and prayer with music.

Jesus Prayer - The Prayer of the Heart
A prayer of the early Christian community

"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on me, a sinner."
"Lord, have mercy"

The prayer called the "Jesus Prayer" is an ancient prayer, also called the "Prayer of the Heart." It is based on the biblical prayer of the tax collector, "God be merciful to me, a sinner" (Luke 18:13) and the earliest confession of the Christian church,"Jesus is Lord". The long form is, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on me, a sinner." The short form is "Lord, have mercy" . This short form is also known as "The Kyrie Eleison," which is often sung in worship.

Henri Nouwen writes this about the Prayer of the Heart:

"This way of simple prayer, when we are faithful to it and practice it at regular times, slowly leads us to an experience of rest and opens us to God's active presence. Moreover, we can take this prayer with us into a very busy day. When, for instance, we have spent twenty minutes in the early morning sitting in the presence of God with the words "The Lord is my Shepherd" they may slowly build a little nest for themselves in our heart and stay there for the rest of our busy day. Even while we are talking, studying, gardening, or building, the prayer can continue in our heaert and keep us aware of God's ever-present guidance. The discipline is not directed toward coming to a deeper insight into what it means that God is called our Shepherd, but toward coming to the inner experience of God's shepherding action in whatever we think, say or do."
Henri Nouwen, The Way of the Heart, pp. 82-83.

The Way of the Pilgrim is a little Russian book that teaches that the Jesus Prayer can be used by anyone, not just those in a monastic lifestyle. The book, highly valued in Russian Orthodox mysticism, was written in the mid 1800's in the first person as a sort of journal of a Russian peasant.

By the grace of God I am a Christian, by my deeds a great sinner, and by calling a homeless rover of the lowest status in life. My possessions comprise but some rusk in a knapsack on my back, and the Holy Bible on my bosom. That's all.

On the twenty-four Sunday after Pentecost, I went to church to hear Mass. The first Epistle of St. Paul to the Thessalonians was read. In it we are exhorted, among other things, to pray incessantly, and these words engraved themselves upon my mind. I began to ponder whether it is possible to pray without ceasing, since people must occupy themselves with other things needed for their support.

"What am I to do?" I mused. "Where will I be able to find someone who can explain it to me? I shall go to the churches known for their famous preachers; perhaps there I shall hear something that will enlighten me." And I went.

[He heard a lot of sermons on prayer in general, but did not learn how it was to be done. So he gave up going to church and decided to look for someone who could explain the meaning of unceasing prayer After much searching he found an elderly man who gave him an answer.]

As we entered his monastic cell he said, "The constant inner prayer of Jesus is an unbroken, perpetual calling upon the Divine Name of Jesus with the lips, the mind and the heart, while picturing His lasting presence in one's imagination and imploring His grace wherever one is, in whatever one does, even while one sleeps. This prayer consists of the following words: 'Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me!' Those who use this prayer constantly are so greatly comforted that they are moved to say it at all times, for they can no longer live without it. And the prayer will keep on ringing in their hearts of its own accord. Now, do you understand what incessant prayer is?"

"Yes I do, Father. In the Name of God explain to me how to acheive the mastery of it," I said, feeling overwhelmed with joy."

..."Take a seat in solitude and silence. Bend your head, close your eyes, and breathing softly, in your imagination, look into your own heart Let your mind, or rather, your thoughts, flow from your head down to your heart, and say, while breathing, 'Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.' Whisper these words gently, or say them in your mind. Discard all other thoughts. Be serene, persevering and repeat them over and over again.

[He was urged to say the "prayer of the heart" 3,000 times a day; then 6,000 times a day; and later 12,000 times a day. Which, he said, "wearied me to a certain extent; my tongue was somewhat numbed and my jaws still. My palate, too, hurt a little!" But soon "my lips and my tongue recited the words without any effort on my part. I sent the whole day experiencing great happiness."]

I began to feel that the Prayer had, so to speak, passed to my heart. In other words I felt that my heart in its natural beating began, as it were, to utter the words of the Prayer. No longer did I say the Prayer with my lips, but listened attentively to the words formed in my heart, remembering what my now departed elder told be about this state of bliss.

Story from A Treasury of Russian Spirituality, edited by G. P Fedotov,
exerpted and cited in Space for God by Don Postema, p 44-45.

Breath Prayer
A contemporary version of the Jesus Prayer

In Hebrew the words for breath and spirit are the same word, ruach. A breath prayer, when used over time, can help us to experience what it means in Romans 8: 26-27 for "the Spirit to pray in us." It is a short prayer that can be said or thought in a single breath.

Here's a way to develop your own breath prayer:*

Imagine Jesus standing in front of you, asking you, "What do you want me to do for you?" Go deep inside yourself and allow your response to emerge from that place of profound hope and prayer. If several things emerge, try to identify the root desire beneath all the others.

Now identify a name that you normally use for God in prayer. It might be Lord, Jesus, Almighty One, Spirit of God, Most Holy God. Find your name for the divine being.

Combine your desire with your name for God in a single short phrase that flows easily in your mind. You may need to experiment with phrasing to find a comfortable rhythm.

Sit quietly and repeat the phrase gently in your mind for several minutes. Allow the prayer to take on the shape of your breathing so that the words accompany your every breath.

Take a walk, repeating your prayer while you move. Note how the prayer shapes your perceptions. Allow the prayer to accompany the rhythm of your walking and your breathing.

This prayer can be carried with you through the day. It is a good companion for solitary activities like doing chores, frustrating times like sitting in traffic jams and rhythmic exercises like running, swimming or bicycling.

Sample breath prayers include:

Holy Spirit, fill me.
Give me strength, O Christ.
Father, show me your love.
Teach me patience, gracious God.
My God and my All. (Saint Francis)
Come, Lord Jesus!

*This method is inclulded in Marjorie Thompson's book Soul Feast, Westminster John Knox Press, p. 48.

For more information on the Breath Prayer
see Ron DelBene and Herb Montgomery,
The Breath of Life, The Hunger of the Heart,
and Into the Light (Upper Room Books).

Centering Prayer
A one word prayer based on the 14th century "The Cloud of Unknowing"

This form of prayer is based on the fourteenth-century annonymously written treatise titled The Cloud of Unknowing. In this way of prayer, you select a single word that sums up for you the nature and the being of God. Single-minded focus on this prayer word in silent concentration becomes a vehicle into the mystery of divine presence and grace. This method resembles the Eastern practice of meditation with mantras, but has developed independently out of the mystical strands of Western Christianity.

See Father Thomas Keating, Open Mind, Open Heart
(Rockport, Mass.: Element, 1992).

Guided Prayer of Presence

This prayer is best done at a gentle pace with plenty of time to prepare for and experience God's presence. The instructions are written below. This prayer is condusive to a "guided" experience with another person reading or the use of a recording. Eventually, the process can be committed to memory for a self-guided prayer of presence.

Find a posture that allows you to be relaxed and alert. It helps to have your neck and spine aligned. Close your eyes and breathe deeply several times. Consciously release any muscle tension you become aware of. Breathe in peace, breathe out tension.

Relax your mind. If particular thoughts keep returning, gather them up and give them to God to hold for you during this time. You can take them back later if you want.

Turn your attention to God's presence. Let yourself be fully aware of the mystery of divine love that continually surrounds and upholds us. God is breathing life into you at each moment; take in the gift.

Let God's presence fill your consciousness, and simply rest in this presence -- just as you might with someone you love dearly and feel no need to speak to, just to be with. Let yourself be like a small child cradled in the lap of a trusted adult; or perhaps gently supported in an ocean of light; or enfolded in a peaceful warmth. Let yourself be held in God's tender embrace; rest and soak up the love that holds you.

Close your prayer by thanking God for God's presence.

Prayer with Music

A Feather on the Breath of God
Sequences and hymns by Abbess Hildegard of Bingen, Hyperion Records Ltd, London. Available through Veriditas, 1100 California Street, San Francisco, CA 94108 (415) 749-6300.
www.gracecathedral.org/labyrinth/

Alleluia/Kyrie
A meditation tape of Gregorian style chant, Robert Gass, On Wings of Song
Available from Spring Hill Music P.O. Box 800 Boulder, CO 80306, on the web at CDNow.

Gregorian Chant: The Choir of the Carmelite Priory
John McCarthy: Penguin Classics.

Holiness at Play
Volume 2, 1997, Program in Christian Spirituality, San Francisco Theological Seminary, 2 Kensington Road, San Anselmo, CA 94960 (415) 258-6500.

Joy on Earth: Recorded in Taize
Ateliers et Presses de Taize, 1999,Distributed by Auvidis, ISBN 3295750005628.

Laudate: Music of Taize
Available through Veriditas, 1100 California Street, San Francisco, CA 94108 (415) 749-6300.
www.gracecathedral.org/labyrinth/

O Great Spirit
A meditation tape of Gregorian style chant by Robert Gass, Available from Spring Hill Music P.O. Box 800 Boulder, CO 80306, on the web at CDNow.

Presence: Music for the Contemplative Journey
Volume 1, 1997, Program in Christian Spirituality, San Francisco Theological Seminary, 2 Kensington Road, San Anselmo, CA 94960 (415) 258-6500.

Sing to God: Recorded in Taize
Ateliers et Presses de Taize, 1995,Distributed by Auvidis, ISBN 3295750005567.