Contemplative Prayer
Contemplative Prayer History
The first fact that should be mentioned is that Contemplative Prayer is not a new invention. This form of spirituality is one of the oldest forms known; both talked about and practiced by the early “Desert Fathers”. These “Father’s 
of the Church”, as they are also called, lived in the 3rd century AD (that’s the year 200 for all of you who missed chronology class). They became known as “Father’s of the Church” through their extremely influential involvement with building the foundation of the Church, which we see today, in the 4th and 5th centuries. One of the earliest known instances of Contemplative Prayer comes from St. John Cassian when he describes a practice he learned from Isaac.
These individuals, modern day monks if you will, practiced solitude, humility, patience, mysticism, and above all… love. With a profound belief in God’s faithfulness these early church leaders spoke of prayer as “the knowledge of God impregnated with love.” Their experience presented that truly knowing God would have the effect of infusing love within he who held the knowledge. They practiced a form of spirituality that was not consumed with a seeking of God, but rather consumed with an actual experience of Him. These “Desert Fathers” saw prayer as the fundamental relationship between God and man, to which man need not chase after but rather surrender and experience… A knowing of God through simply being in His presence.
The original institution of Contemplative Prayer focused fully on the Divine union. Not a struggle to find an answer but rather an attempt to spend time with He who is The Answer. The early “Church Fathers” believed contemplative prayer to be first and foremost a transformative experience.
Although Contemplative Prayer has been around sense the beginning of the Church, a shift from mystical spirituality to scholasticism developed within monasteries during the medieval period. Contemplative Prayer began to lose its fervor, taking a back seat to new advances in the histories and sciences of the time. However, there is an example that Contemplative Prayer never was completely forgotten or phased out in the medieval period. A book entitled “The Cloud of Unknowing” presents a collection of writings from a monk to his “student”, all in regards to what exactly a contemplative life looks like.
Lately there has been a strong surge to regain the contemplative tradition. Individuals such as Thomas Keating and Thomas Merton (Roman Catholic Cistercian and Trappist monks respectively) have lead the charge with what has been called “Centering Prayer”. However, this newfound home for Contemplative Prayer under the name “Centering Prayer” has been met with much controversy. Most of the controversy, to my knowledge, seems to misunderstand what Contemplative Prayer actually is and judge it based on misconceptions.
In closing, Contemplative Prayer is among the oldest and fundamental practices of the Christian Church. While today it is practiced under the name “Centering Prayer” it still holds to its ancient heritage. Lately, in response to efforts to revitalize Contemplative Prayer within the Christian Church, Contemplative Prayer has encountered staunch opposition mostly due to misconceptions of what it truly is.
I hope you enjoyed this short history of Contemplative Prayer, here are a couple links that may interest you. There’s also many links embedded within my posts for you to check out. For you naysayers out there, I plan to post links for and discuss some of the more negative views of Contemplative Prayer in future writings.
Centering Prayer Bulletin (Fr. Thomas Keating)
See Ya,
Chase Brumfield