September 28, 2004 Contemplative in the Heart of the World

by Fr. Joe Klee
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I was telling Jen before we got started that the last time I was here (At the Grandview Cafe), I was at my high school reunion. It's a nice place.

As you have seen by posters and the internet that this talk is "Contemplatives it the heart of the world".

This came from a desire or objective from Mother Teresa and her sisters. I spent a better part of 10 years with mother Teresa's order. I was in Mexico, Rome and Calcutta as part of the priestly branch of the Missionaries of Charity; the Missionaries of Charity Fathers. The priests adopted the charisms of Mother Teresa. We wanted to incorporate as much of her teachings as we could. And so we would frequently have readings from transcripts of talks that she would give. We would eat in silence as one of the seminarians would read a talk by Mother Teresa.

One thing that is important to remember about her is that we need a strong prayer life. Most people think of Mother Teresa's work but it's important to know about her prayer life. Since she's been gone since 1998, I think people have lost what she was really about, she was a champion of the poor, a social worker, so to speak, but underlying all that was a very deep prayer life. She was deeply spiritual. People think if you're strong in your prayer life, you can't do too much in works, but Mother Teresa was striving to do more, all she could. She had this objective of both spiritual life and good works; being active.

So she coined this phrase of being "contemplatives in the heart of the world". Someone can be deep in contemplative prayer but also out in the world and she used to tell her sisters how important it was to have a good prayer life. She said she could hire social workers, that wasn't a problem, but that's not what she wanted, she wanted women that are truly in love with Jesus and then go out and work with the poor.

The sisters' days begin long before going out to work with the poor; they would have a holy hour before the blessed sacrament each morning, And then they would go out and do the wonderful work that they are known for. Mother Teresa said we must pray the work. Do it all in a prayerful context. Some people think you cannot have it both ways but she was a great example of one who could.

And so many people will say they're too busy to pray and feel they can't also pray when they have a career. Mother Teresa is saying that we can do both and she did both.


So, Mother Teresa took her name not from the more famous St. Teresa of Avila, but she took her name from the Little Flower, when she first founded her order more than 50 years before was an obscure nun that has passed away in the latter part of the 19th century. In the latter part of the 20th century her popularity exploded, (st. Theresé), there's even a movie coming out on her. So, the "Other Teresa" St. Teresa of Avila was a real spiritual powerhouse, she lived in the 16th century. She has given us much in the way of contemplative prayer.

Now as for what is a contemplative, obviously, it is someone who engages in contemplation. It is important to make a distinction between the three related aspects of mental activity. Those aspects are cogitation, meditation and contemplation.

Richard of St. Victor who was a 12th century Scottish monk and theologian said, cognition is the consideration of the many things from which a person intends to gather one truth. It also involves imagination. It's kind of a vague way in which a person is ultimately trying to gather a Truth but he's looking at many things trying to hone in on the aspect of Truth.

St. Bernard, another saint, sees meditation as a process of reason from certain principals that lead to the consideration of some Truth. So here you see reason brought in going from cogitation to meditation that would lead to some consideration of some Truth.

Then the third aspect, contemplation. First Aristotle defined it as a simple act of gazing on the Truth. Once again, Richard of St. Victor said contemplation is the soul's clear and free dwelling upon an object of it's gaze.

So really there is an ascending order to these three aspects of mental activity, cogitation, meditation and contemplation where contemplation being the most intense of these mental activities.

A professor I had in theology, said it's like a table lamp plugged into an outlet. Contemplation is tapped into the electrical power grid which is like tapping into the Divine light. We can draw from that intense power.


However, I don't have to tell you that the world isn't conducive to mental activity. And what goes hand in hand with a world with lots of activity is noise or agitation that gets into the soul. There are different types of prayer, silence is necessary for all of them. It's indispensable for a prayer life. Mother Teresa would say of her prayer life, "In the silence of the heart, God speaks". So without prayer, you can't develop a prayer life.

Not only is silence becoming rare, as if people are almost afraid of it. Children are indoctrinated into this world noise. Present day sesame street programs have all his imagery. There is no sense of stillness. Children are becoming over stimulated. It really militates against stillness and quietness. So even from a young age people are deprived of silence and stillness.

To talk about computers and internet, faster processors to get web pages, faster, and we find ourselves impatient if we can't get on the internet quickly. All these things fight against stillness. Especially contemplation.

A priest friend of mine noted that people getting in their cars would go from the ignition to the radio. It this non-silence. Cell phones are another thing that militates against the silence.

Even in the liturgical context; in mass. There is a fear, like the disk jockeys have on the radio. They can't have dead air on the radio. Even in liturgical circles where people are almost afraid of silence. If there is silence, say after communion at mass choir must sing a song or something. It as if people think something has gone wrong if there is too much silence.

There is a scripture account in the Old Testament that really touches on this idea of Mother Teresa's message about in the silence of the heart, God speaks. From the first book of Kings. It talks about Elijah. In that account of 1 kings 19:11-13:

And he said, "Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD." And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

It is a very telling way that God comes to us. He doesn't come mightily, he comes in the quiet.


Therefore, if we are serious about wanting to encounter God. We need to develop, we need to incorporate into our lives periods of silence. Our prayer life will carry over into the rest of our lives. We'll see a gradual sense of peace. We'll see a stillness that will permeate into the rest of our lives.

We will see the value in the wisdom of the beatitudes. Blessed are the meek, and such. People who are serious will find a growing in meekness. Purity of heart, our intentions will be pure; all these fruits of prayer. Peace making, a person will find themselves less willing to start arguments or anything that disturbs peace. We will find ourselves also persecuted. We'll get resistance. These are the qualities of the beatitudes.

As we deepen our prayer life we'll see an increasing inner peace. We can go into a hectic world and still have this peace.

So as we grow in contemplation, we desire and experience a growth of the transcendent in our lives. Bishop Fulton sheen who had a TV program in the 60's and he's also up for canonization. He had a theme that he would incorporated into his talks, he would talk on the cross. The vertical and horizontal of the cross, this was part of his theology. We have the horizontal of the cross, which is representative of the world, the horizon, that which is level and of this world. God came down to the world, but as well there is the vertical part, that is the part that points us towards heaven, we have to have both and that's what comes together in the cross. That is how we must balance our lives in the world, the horizontal, and with God, the vertical.


And Bishop Sheen was a big promoter of one of the more powerful spiritual exercises of the holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament. Bishop sheen would rave about the value in order to grow in spiritual life.

Fr. Thomas Merton who was a bit of a controversial figure in the 50's and 60's but a deeply spiritual man; a trappist monk. In his book "New seeds of contemplation"; a real classic in the area contemplative prayer. He said, "If we want to initiate prayer, it's best of all done in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament." He was a true devotee to our Lord in teh Blessed Sacrament and he knew it would be tremendous way to grow in union.

As I said the branch I was with in the Missionaries of Charity, had two holy hours.

At times we'll say we don't have time to pray. We will do well to heed Jesus' words in the garden of Gethsemane, where he said, "Could you not watch one hour with me?" (Mk 14:37) Hence the idea of a holy hour and that shows us not to say no to our Lord that we don't have time but spend time in prayerful union. And you have heard the old saying, "If you're too busy to pray, you're really too busy." Prayer is indispensable to spiritual life.


With contemplation, there is this effort to shut out a certain part of the world to focus on Christ. The goal is that of infused contemplation. This is a very deep form of contemplative prayer.

I told you a fair amount of Mother Teresa and her religious order. But the other Teresa, the spiritual powerhouse who has been recognized as the real authority on contemplative prayer is St. Teresa of Avila. Her most famous work is the "Interior Castle".

A little background on St. Teresa is that she was a 16th century Spanish mystical nun of the Carmelite order. She was proclaimed a doctor of the Church in 1970 by Pope Paul VI. And the reason why is that she had such analytical abilities in probing the mystery of God working in the soul. She had many practical, down to earth, examples for people who couldn't understand. She was a contemporary of St. John of the Cross. Also a Spaniard saint.

So, most famous work of hers is the "Interior Castle". It was based on the analogy of a medieval castle. This castle had a circular floor plan. First you had the outer room, then you gradually move closer to the center. And finally the goal is the inner sanctum where God dwells. She called them the interior Mansions. She identified 7 Mansions. As they move closer and closer to the center of the castle you become more in union with God.

So, the first mansion, is the very beginning of prayer life. When someone would first come into the world, they enter into the castle, the windows still look out onto the world. This is the first stage of development.

She speaks in her book about the characteristics of the first Mansion. She said,

You must note that the light which comes from the palace occupied by the King hardly reaches these first Mansions at all; for, although they are not dark and black as when the soul is in the state of sin, they are to some extent darkened, so that they cannot see (I mean by anyone who is in them); and this not because of anything that is wrong with the room but rather (I hardly know how to explain myself) because there are so many bad things--snakes and vipers and poisonous creatures--which have come in with the soul that they prevent it from seeing the light. It is as if one were to enter a place flooded by sunlight with his eyes so full of dust that he could hardly open them. The room itself is light enough, but he cannot enjoy the light because he is prevented from doing so by these wild beasts and animals, which force him to close his eyes to everything but themselves. This seems to me to be the condition of the soul which, though not in a bad state, is so completely absorbed in the things of the world and so deeply immersed, as I have said, in possessions or honours or business, that, although as a matter of fact it would like to gaze at the castle and enjoy it's beauty, it is prevented from doing so, and seems quite unable to free itself from all these impediments. (Page 40-41)

So in this first mansion, the soul is on a fence, if you will,, looking out the window to the things of the world. But still it's on it's way.

She goes onto speak of the second Mansions. Moving inward. The person realizes that they have to stop habitual sin and they have the need to make a break of this. She speaks of the the importance of perseverance. This stage pertains to those who practice pray and know how important it is to stay out of the outer rooms. Second stage is moving in the right direction but there are still attachments so we must persevere. So reading an excerpt of this,

Let us now come to consider who the souls are that enter the second Mansions and what they do there. ... This chapter has to do with those who have already begun to practice prayer and who realize the importance of not remaining in the first Mansions, but who often are not yet resolute enough to leave those Mansions, and will not avoid occasions of sin, which is a very perilous condition. But it is a very great mercy that they should contrive to escape from the snakes and other poisonous creatures, if only for short periods and should realize that it is good to flee from them. In some ways, these souls have a much harder time than those in the first Mansions; but they are in less peril, for they seem now to understand their position and there is great hope that they will get farther into the castle still. I say they have a harder time because the souls in the first Mansions are, as it were, not only dumb, but can hear nothing, and so it is not such a trial to them to be unable to speak; the others, who can hear and not speak, would find the trial much harder to bear. But that is no reason for envying those who do not hear, for after all it is a great thing to be able to understand what is said to one. (Page 46-47)

She goes onto the other Mansions, the third and fourth Mansions. More growth in union with God, and finally at the fifth mansion, she talks of the prayer of quiet. She gives the analogy of a betrothal. She speaks of the complete silence of the soul and the suspension of human faculties. It's the prayer of union, an intense union with God and the Trinity. We see concrete manifestations of this, levitation, like padre Pio. Another example is the stigmata.

The Lord joins the soul to itself by making it blind and deaf, like St. Paul on the road to Damascus. By taking away the perception there is a great delight in the soul that finds it nearer to God. There is this numbness.

Padre Pio would sometimes elevate the host for hours being so intense with God, but people in the church would see that they were in for a 3 hour mass. He was enraptured with the Lord.

Just in closing parts of what St. Teresa says about the 7th Mansions, "But in this Mansion everything is different. Our good God now desires to remove the scales from the eyes of the soul, so that it may see and understand something of the favour which He is granting it, although He is doing this in a strange manner." (Page 209) This idea of the suspension of the faculties is felt and God starts to reveal himself. She continues,

This Presence is not of course always realized so fully--I mean so clearly--as it is when it first comes, or on certain other occasions when God grants the soul this consolation; if it were, it would be impossible for the soul to think of anything else, or even to live among men. (Page 210-211)

This is getting into the theme of this talk, contemplatives in teh heart of the world. St. Teresa is saying that even in this highest union with God, we still can work in the world. She continues,

But although the light which accompanies it may not be so clear, the soul is always aware that it is experiencing this companionship. We might compare the soul to a person who is with others in a very bright room; and then suppose that the shutters are closed so that the people are all in darkness. The light by which they can be seen has been taken away, and, until it comes back, we shall be unable to see them., yet we are none the less aware that they are there. (Page 211)

Once again, this is why St. Teresa was made a doctor because she could explain lofty concepts with easy terms.


So, just to wrap up here, there is this tension to seek union with God while still having our feet here on earth. I'm reminded of an example of some seminarians that were a little spacey. I had to realize that they were probably well on their way to a greater union with God; truly holy young men. In the world's eyes they may have been seen as "not with it" but they were giving over more of their being to God.

Again, as I said before, the idea of a prayer life as it goes will permeate into one's life. There is a term used in the modern day to "compartmentalize" things; your life is put into places. But that is an insidious thing when it comes to prayer. It should permeate though our entire life. So we would see our whole life revolving around our prayer life.

I was talking to a priest in Colorado about a primetime TV show. He said, "I'm not watching too much TV because my holy hours would be ruined the next morning from the images in my mind." He began changing his habits based on his prayer life. I was touched by that. Of course, if one really gets into deep prayer, it cannot be something suppressed from one's life.

Thomas Merton in, "New Seeds of Contemplation" speaks of how with a deeper attachment to our Lord there will be other changes in our life, things that we are attached to will fall way. Fr. Merton, realized that an inordinate dependency to things would hinder our prayer life.

This was the idea of Blessed Mother Teresa. We can have a solid prayer life and serve those in need. She emphasized this time and again. She would ask people, "How do you think we do all this in Calcutta? This would take more than human effort, it takes a supernatural element." And we need a certain amount of perseverance, (from the second Mansions).

Thank you very much.


Question: How much would this TV thing, do you think it's like a balance where you think it's possible to keep some TV or would you say to throw it out? What are your thoughts on that?

A friend of mine in grade school, he and his wife got married they said they wouldn't have a TV in their home. They gave in after 10 years, they got one when they had a child. I thought it was a wonderful example to protect one's spiritual life. They knew there were negative effects of TV. You want to be discreet like the Internet.

The Josephinum made a decision of providing the Internet to the seminarians. There were some pretty big debates because they knew what was out there but they knew there were many good websites too. But there is also horrible stuff, it's like walking through a mine field. EWTN is good, just put some limits, hard numbers, avoid shows that have strong stimuli.

Over stimulation is a bad thing, young Catholics are drawn to other faiths because they have inviting ministries, music ministries, power emotions etc. Churches realize if they're going to compete with these things they have to provide equally strong ways to get the attention of the young people. Sometimes we become addicted to that though. Keep the idea of stillness.

Question: So obviously cutting out perception seems to be a theme. Once you've done that, found your quiet space, what do you do from there, do you read, prayer books, etc?

That's a good question. How do we start? The book I alluded to by Thomas Merton. Mere stillness is not all that it takes. You can go into the chapel and find yourself dozing off. Just being still isn't the end-all.

He mentions good tips; many ways that you can use. Holy cards is one, Spiritual reading is another. If you win the marathon in the Olympics, you have to train. By the same token you have to spend some time in silent prayer. Sometimes it's wherever you choose to have it. Sometimes you have immediate feedback, other times it take months.

Question: Can you talk about body posture?

All these questions really touch on Fr. Merton's book. Sometimes if we get too comfortable we can doze off, that's my problem. That's why we have hardwood benches. Sometimes it takes experimentation.

People will begin on their knees, they pour their heart out the Lord. Then they slip back to a seating posture and continue their hour, sometimes people are prostrate on the floor.

In the Missionaries of Charity, there is a custom when you walk into a chapel, it's an open floor with a carpet, no chairs. Christianity in India mainly did that and Mother Teresa picked it up.

I guess it takes a certain experimentation whatever works for you.

Question: Fr. Obviously you were called, what does God's voice sound like, or better yet, how do you know you were called to be a priest.

I thought i would mention this in the talk if I had time, once again in Thomas Merton's book he talks of someone would communicate their experiences to others, it would really get to a point where you're babbling, it transcends words or language. You cannot communicate this to someone in the medium of language. This union with God transcends a language and to try to communicate this to others is difficult.

That is why St. Teresa of Avila was made a Doctor of the Church because she was able to put this down in basic, down to earth terms.

I'm reminded of a story, we were finishing our annual retreat, this priest said him and his brother were typical boys and one time they went into their parents bedroom and his mom had a makeup table. They got this bottle of french perfume that cost like $200 and they took this stuff. They ran out of the room and they forget to put the cap on the bottle, she found the empty bottle and they were in a lot of trouble.

He used this analogy that if you don't leave the cap on the bottle you lose the contemplation. God may speak to us in a special way but it may be difficult to share with others and if you do, it will get lost.

As for myself, personally, I really, when I visited the other house of Missionaries of Charity Fathers, it was in shock. I had been working at the soup kitchen as a volunteer, and another guy volunteered said he was going to visit her order of priests. "When you get back tell me about it", I said. I said I'm going to take two weeks to visit too, it was shocking for me. I went into this remote part of Tijuana in the seminary and they had the bare essentials. It was like a shanty town

What I couldn't get over was the joy of the people, they were happy and running around. the mothers were smiling and happy too. They would spend money on us they didn't have, it was humbling. Whatever it is, these people are happy, what more do you need?

When Mother Teresa came to visit us, she said she had never seen more poverty anywhere else in the world.

Sometimes when God speaks to us, it's really hard to communicate. "How do I explain this to others, I can't even explain this to myself."

Thank you very much.