Contemplative Dimension of Religious Life

CONTEMPLATIVE DIMENSION OF RELIGIOUS LIFE parallels the 1981 document Religious and Human Promotion. It presents practical guidelines based on sound doctrinal analysis and is conveniently divided into a preliminary description (##1-3), with guidelines for institutes of active life (##4-23) plus guidelines for contemplative institutes (##24-29), and has a short conclusion (#30).

In the descriptive section, the contemplative dimension of religious life is expressed as a grace enabling one to commune with the trinitarian mystery and savor the depths of God. It refers to contemplation as that "theological response of faith, hope and charity, by which the believer opens up to the revelation of the living God and to communion with him through Christ in the Holy Spirit" and as the "unifying act of all human movement towards God" (#1). Specific means to foster contemplation are: (1) listening and meditating on the Word of God; (2) participating in the sacraments; (3) practicing liturgical and personal prayer; (4) searching for God's will in people and events; (5) consciously participating in God's salvific mission; and (6) self-giving to others for the sake of the Kingdom (#1). These facilitate "an attitude of continuous and humble adoration of God's mysterious presence in people, events, and things" and foster piety and interior peace (#1) and also witness "to the primacy of the personal relationship with God" (#2).

The guidelines for institutes of active life are divided into five sub-headings: (a) integration of activity and contemplation; (b) attention to life in the Holy Spirit; (c) community; (d) formation; and (e) local churches. Regarding integration of action and contemplation, CDRL notes that apostolic and charitable activity pertain to the nature of apostolic religious life. It adds that apostolic action is participation in the mission of Christ and the Church and must spring from love nourished in one's heart "as the most intimate sanctuary...where grace unifies the interior life and activity" (#4). "Integration between interiority and activity" is crucial, with the "first duty" for active religious as "that of being with Christ." CDRL cautions that a "constant danger for apostolic workers is to become so much involved in their work for the Lord, as to forget the Lord of all work" (#4).

Prayer is presented as "the indispensable breath of every contemplative dimension" of religious life. Open to creation and history, contemplative prayer "becomes acknowledgement, adoration and constant praise of God in the world and its history," but such prayer requires "a high level of vitality and intensity" with "well-ordered and sufficiently prolonged" periods of daily, weekly, monthly and yearly prayer experiences (#5). Apostolic activity nourishes union with God, which must be deepened by daily prayer if activities are to be expressions of evangelical religious life which never consists merely in exterior activity (#6). The document cautions superiors to be solicitous for fostering the contemplative dimension of religious life in accord with the special nature of each institute (#7).

Daily encounter with the Word of God is more effective insofar as it is "heard not only in its objective richness, but also in the historical circumstances" of our time and in light of Church teaching (#8). To support the contemplative dimension of life in God, religious need to participate in the Eucharist and be "visibly assembled in their chapel" in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament as part of their daily life (#9). CDRL urges religious to cultivate appreciation for the sacrament of reconciliation (#11) and to be aware of spiritual direction in fostering fidelity to their vocation and mission (#10). Constant inspiration and nourishment should be available from praying the Liturgy of the Hours with attention and devotion (#12). CDRL presents Mary as a model for faith, charity, and union with Christ (#13). Generous personal and communal asceticism is noted as indispensable for fostering a genuine contemplative attitude (#14). While recommending a proper balance between "renunciation and joy, between sacrifice and opening of heart, between discipline and spiritual liberty," CDRL emphasizes silence as a means of fostering "growth in the contemplative dimension [which] certainly cannot be reconciled...with indiscriminate and sometimes imprudent use of the mass-media; with an exaggerated and extroverted activism; [and] with an atmosphere of dissipation which contradicts the expectations of every religious life" (#14). Silence as a personal discipline must embrace one's whole being so the sacramental significance of daily realities are not reduced to horizontal or temporal levels (#15).

Community is a theological reality and a place for contemplation requiring a daily search for encounter with God among others (#15). Those in authority should not be absorbed "merely in administrative duties" (#16). Religious formation should primarily immerse one in the experience of God with emphasis on integration of the interior life and the active life. Religious should be formed to live their vocation in a concrete, effective way (#17). Formation must introduce members to the special nature of the institute (#18) and it must be solidly founded on its apostolic commitments in keeping with needs of the Church, rather than oriented to achieving personal goals for self-fulfillment (#19). Formation personnel must have practical insight, human experience, prayerful wisdom, liturgical awareness, cultural competence, and sufficient time and energy to attend to candidates (#20).

CDRL concludes noting that contemplation is the "real secret of renewal" in following Christ (#30).

Prepared by Sister Elizabeth McDonough, OP, JCD, STL