The Work of Contemplation

" So shall my word be
that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that
which I purpose." Is 55,11

Dear to monastic tradition, there are four aspects to Lectio divina: Lectio (readings) Meditatio (meditation) Oratio (mental prayer) and Contemplatio (contemplation)

Lectio divina opens a privileged avenue to search and contemplate the face of Christ in Sacred Scriptures.
Having thus established communication with the Word of God, we are led to the Father by Him through the Spirit.

Tuned in to the Lord

The Word of God is made flesh in Christ, and as a written text inspired by the Spirit, the Word takes shape in the Sacred Scriptures which are the Church's greatest treasure along with the Eucharist.

Like Mary of Bethany, attentively listening to the Word issuing from the Mouth of God, we are possessed by its unfathomable wealth; we scrutinize it unfailingly, and with love, we find our nourishment therein.

Lectio prepares us for Liturgy. It reveals Who the Word of God is, and what He expects from us. Lectio is not only a school of prayer, but also a school of life. The Word deposits within us the sacred fire of Evangelization:

Assimilating the Word helps us to understand God's action within us and among His People. The Word also allows us, in the light of the Spirit, to understand that the Word and the Sacred Books as a whole are related, and also to understand the progressive actualization of God's plan for humanity. Harboured within mindful hearts, the Word of God echoes through our day-to-day lives.

To open our minds to the understanding of Scriptures, that gift of the Risen Christ, and to savour its flavour, there is ruminatio- or the contemplative complement of reflection - which necessarily requires a special effort of concentration for our thoughts, our feelings and of our memory.

In meditatio, the mystery of the Resurrection is our preferred focus for all the other mysteries of salvation.

With Christ, in the Church

In Oratio, the soul pours itself into God Whose love it knows, and Whom it wishes to love in return.

Faithfully fulfilling the mission entrusted to us by Holy Mother Church, we fervently practise oratio as did Jesus. Through His paschal sacrifice and the complete offering of His life, the Redeemer entered the celestial sanctuary where He henceforth offers eternal praise and intercession at the Father's side. All adoration and all supplication are continuously being inspired by Him to us and are forever included in His own worship. Therefore do we become acutely conscious of our Royal Priesthood, and we know that our prayer is included in that of Christ the Priest. In an attempt to replicate the disposition of His Heart, we most zealously strive to make His intentions our own.

Mirroring the Heart of God

In contemplatio God invades the soul through the channel of Holy Scriptures like a river reflecting His Divine Image. The veil which separated us from Scriptures is removed: in Christ, it has disappeared (2 Co 3,16).

Thus transformed by Christ, the soul becomes a new creature, abandons itself in confident intimacy to her God Who reveals Himself in the secret of Faith, teaches it His ways, grants it the grace of following them, and return love for love.

Dedicated above all to a contemplative life, we, daughters of prayer - so designated by Mother Catherine Aurelia,- we unceasingly renew our conviction that nothing is more fruitful for the Church than the heart-to-heart contemplation of God.

Present to the Presence, offering the chalice of salvation, that striking symbol of the love of Christ who died on Calvary and now reigns in Heaven, we beg for grace and forgiveness, both for ourselves and for all of humanity.
Having made our own the mysterious SITIO of Christ Crucified, having meditated upon it, savoured and understood it, we seek intimacy with God, withdrawn from the world, in the company of Mary Immaculate. Who, more than Mary was able to think over in her heart the mysteries of the life of Jesus ?