The Liturgy and Contemplative Prayer
Aėlred Sillem
Life of the Spirit November 1, 1956 DOI: 10.1017/s0269359300005851 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that the apparent conflict between liturgical prayer and contemplative prayer should not be resolved by personal temperament or attraction, but by attending primarily to the Church's living voice and secondarily to the writings of spiritual masters. |
Abstract
It is sometimes felt that the inward tendency and logic of liturgical prayer, and those of contemplative prayer, are conflicting, so that these two types of prayer will always attract different temperaments and define different vocations. And indeed, there is an evident divergence between the tendency of contemplative prayer towards simplicity, as the soul is drawn away from multiplicity of concepts and images towards a dry and wordless absorption in God, and the surface multiplicity of the liturgy with its complexities of ceremonial and chant, its elabore ate and absorbing symbolism, its richness of doctrinal content and conceptual teaching. Yet in such a field, personal attraction cannot be the deciding element; it is primarily from the life and living voice of the Church, and only secondarily from the writings of the saints and the masters of the spiritual life, that we must learn the laws of the interior life.