Exploring Contemplation with St. John of the Cross (part 7)

If you feel as though you have reached a plateau in your prayer life, or after many years of active prayer, you feel as though you are suddenly stuck, it may be the Lord is calling you to a deeper encounter with Him. The spiritual life is not static, it moves through different phases. And, like any relationship, if it is going to continue to grow, there must be changes in the way we approach prayer. There eventually comes a time in our prayer life when the Lord takes a more active role, and He needs us to begin to detach ourselves from our usual way of finding Him in prayer. This is a process of the Lord moving from our more comfortable and active practice of meditation, to a more destabilizing but interior practice of contemplation. Our primary response must be surrender and receptivity. In this next phase of the journey to God, we must be willing to allow Him to draw us toward Himself, into a place of quiet serenity. This conversation outlines both the prerequisites for this movement and the disposition the soul must develop in order to continue to make progress. Books: “Saint John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation” by Fr. Donald Haggerty; Ignatius Press. “The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross” by John of the Cross; ICS Publications.

You can listen to Exploring Contemplation with St. John of the Cross (part 7) online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Exploring Contemplation with St. John of the Cross (part 7) is an episode from Carmelite Conversations by Carmelite Conversations.

This episode is 49:20 long.

This episode was published on Mar 3, 2024.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Carmelite Conversations when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.