Contemplative Life

John of the Cross and the contemplative life

What is the contemplative life? What does it entail? What is its purpose? Let’s start our study of St. John of the Cross’s spirituality with these questions. Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen writes in Union with God According to St. John of the Cross: [The contemplative life] is the form of Christian life that …

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Are you living a contemplative life?

Are you a contemplative? Some people, faced with this question, would answer an enthusiastic, “Yes!” Perhaps they are saints, at a high stage of union with God. Or perhaps they practice Eastern (as in Hindu or Buddhist) forms of meditation that they equate with contemplation. Some would call themselves contemplative because they are thoughtful and …

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