WHAT IS THE CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER?

St. Teresa the great mystic says: "Contemplative prayer in my opinion is nothing else than a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who know loves us." Contemplative prayer is the poor and humble surrender to the loving will of the Father in ever deeper union with his beloved Son. In this inner prayer we can still meditate, but our attention  is fixed on the Lord himself. "I look at him and he looks at me": this is what St. John Vianney used to say while praying before the tabernacle. Contemplative prayer is is the pre-eminently intense time of prayer. In it the Father strengthens our inner being with power through his Spirit that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith and we may be rooted in love. In contemplation, the Holy trinity conforms man to his likeness.We come to know God in an ever more living and intimate manner which results in a closer and more fruitful union with him. 

[See CCC 2700-2724 ]