contemplation

contemplation, contemplative life. The Latin contemplatio, like its Greek equivalent, primarily means looking at things, either with the eyes or with the mind; in either case it can be contrasted with doing things. Gregory the Great gave a classic definition of the contemplative life as one devoted exclusively to the love of God; he also argued that we know God precisely in loving Him.

In the later Middle Ages there was a tendency to conflate the notions of meditation, prayer, and contemplation around the idea of an intense love of God, felt in the affections. This led to the notion of contemplation as a form of prayer, and so to ‘contemplative prayer’, distinguished by St Teresa of Ávila and St John of the Cross from ‘mental prayer’ or meditation. They defined it as being a supernatural state of prayer, in which the exercise of the natural powers of the mind and will is suspended.

In modern times ‘contemplative life’ is equated with the life of members of strictly enclosed religious orders, such as the Carthusians and Carmelite nuns.