Contemplation is supernatural prayer, initiated and sustained by God, as contrasted to natural prayer such as vocal prayer or meditation, initiated and sustained by us, under the influence of grace. In Contemplation, God's Action predominates over our own, although we fully, and meritoriously cooperate with His action. It is passive prayer, meaning that it is received by our intellect, intuitively, in a manner similar to the receipt of vision by the eye. It is accompanied, normally, by an awareness of the divine activity, or Love in our soul accompanied by delight.

Contemplation is essentially the actuation of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit so as to perfect the infused virtues, theological and moral, leading to the perfection of charity and sanctity. The definition of contemplation, compared to the broader definition of mysticism, emphasizes, the actuation of those Gifts of the Holy Spirit involving Wisdom, Knowledge, and Understanding, as compared to other Gifts within the broad mystical act such as the Gifts of counsel, or fortitude. The actuation of the Gifts by the Holy Spirit inclines us to "let go" of the activity of our intellect in a receptive surrender of "infused passivity or unknowing." As supernatural prayer, contemplation may be apophatic(without images) or cataphatic(with images).

It is important to keep in mind that contemplative prayer does put us in real contact with God, even though our experience of Him may be indirect through the effects He produces in our soul. And this contact may produce delight, or it may produce the dark night of dry absence connected with spiritual purification from finite attachments. In this life, our contact with God through contemplative prayer, although at times magnificent beyond description, is still filtered through the veil of Faith. It does not rise to the level of grandeur and certainty of direct vision,as the direct experience of God's essence in the Beatific Vision. At times, as in the prayer of full union, it is an awesome contact with divinity that cannot be denied. It is a world-changing and life transforming experience of supernatural reality. As Abbe Poulain tells us in the following, our contact with God through contemplation is very real, although not the direct vision we shall have in the next life:

"By experimental knowledge(as of God) it is understood "that which comes from the object itself" and makes it known not only as possible but as existing, and in such and such conditions. This is the case with mystical union: God is therein perceived as well as conceived. Hence, in mystical union, "we have experimental knowledge of God and of His presence," but it does not at all follow that this knowledge is of the same nature as the Beatific Vision."(Aug. Poulain, "Contemplation," Catholic Encyclopedia)

St John of the Cross:

"Naturally, it is impossible to love without first understanding what is loved, but, supernaturally, God can easily infuse and increase love without the infusion or increase of particular knowledge. This is the experience of many spiritual persons; they frequently feel they are burning in love of God, with no more particular knowledge than before. They understand little but love a great deal, or understand a great deal but love little. As a matter of fact those spiritual persons whose understanding of God is not very advanced usually make progress according to their wills, while infused faith suffices for their knowledge. By means of this faith God infuses charity in them and augments this charity and its act, which means greater love, although, as we said, their knowledge is not increased."(St John of the Cross, Spiritual Canticle, stanza 26)

For through contemplation, substantial knowledge of God, or of His attributes, which comprise the Triune Spirit of His Unified Being, may be communicated to the intellect of the soul in an obscure manner, as is appropriate to faith, without the clarity of concepts, images or form. For the human intellect is limited, and is not capable of embracing the Spirit of the Infinite God within the finite forms with which it understands created reality. So the obscurely received, overwhelming knowledge from the light of God's Being impresses the understanding(passive, intuitive intellect) in an altogether ineffable manner, with intimations of Glory, but like bright sunlight which overwhelms the eyes and darkens our vision of the Sun. And as God touches the soul with His Being in such contemplative prayer, the Grandeur, Power, Goodness and Beauty of His Spiritual Being, communicated by this touch and quasi-experimental knowledge, generates powerful Love within the soul. And although the knowledge received by the understanding is dark, the Love which is generated thereby is normally clearly perceived, possessing traces of His Infinite Power, Grandeur and Beauty. And it is this Love, this supernatural charity, and not the knowledge, which unites the soul with God now and for eternity. For faith in the Being of God is not enough. It is faith informed by Love which is our salvation, and the bond of our perfection.

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit exist in latency during natural prayer and are placed "in act" by God during supernatural prayer. The essential effect of the actuation of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit is to provide a supernatural modality to the exercise of the infused virtues or transformation in Christ. In other words the actuation of the Gifts means God moves the virtues, such as Charity, to action, particularly by the Gift of Wisdom, at a superntural level of intensity. This contemplative level of spirituality, to which all are called, is the pivotal level in which the burden of advancement to the heroic exercise of the virtues takes wings like the eagle, and is, compared to the strenuous nature of human effort, easy and light. For our real advancement in Love of Neighbor and virtue only seriously begins when God undertakes the task Himself, during contemplative prayer. We lay down the oars of our effort and cooperate by preparing our vessel's spiritual rigging, and then the Divine Wind of the Holy Spirit fills the sails of our vessel as it begins to advance in Charity under supernatural power.

"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)

Without this divine actuation of the Gifts, the exercise of all the infused virtues is at the natural level, by our own will assisted by grace. For these infused virtues, supernatural in essence, are nonetheless natural in operation, or under the control of our will.

"Mystical states are called... passive, to show that the soul receives something and is conscious of receiving it. The exact term would be passivo-active, since our activity responds to this reception just as it does in the exercise of our bodily senses. By way of distinction ordinary prayer is called active."(AUG. POULAIN, "Contemplation," Catholic Encyclopedia, Transcribed by Christine J. Murray)

Apophatic Contemplation is the transforming contact in Charity between our spirit and the Being(Spirit) of God in a mental state of imageless receptivity, in the purity of faith. It is a state of spiritual surrender to the Beloved, in the Beatific Life of the Trinity, through the Person of the Word and the actuation of the gifts of His Holy Spirit, i.e., wisdom and understanidng. It is the "unknowing" prayer of St John of the Cross in which we are more passive than active, and we experience an "awareness," of the Divine Presence obscurely in the intellect, along with an enkindling of delightful Love in the will. This prayer is the heart of the Via Negativa, or the Way of Denial. The awareness accompanying this prayer is normally delightful except during the purgative phases of the Nights of Sense and Spirit when it becomes temporarily bitter. The contemplative life involves an ongoing fluctuation between purgation and blissful delight until after the perfection of the Transforming Union. There is no intellectual component in terms of forms, images, principles, reasoning, etc. during the apophatic prayer, itself.

Cataphatic Contemplation, on the other hand, is infused contemplative prayer taking place in the presence of images and minimal intellectual activity in the consciousness. It is a less intense transforming contact in Charity than apophatic contemplation, between our spirit and the Spirit of God, because there is a certain amount of intellectual activity, and affectivity of the will, connected with the image impeding the fullness of divine transformative action in the total purity of faith.

In the beginning of the spiritual walk, there is an emphasis on the via positiva during prayer, and outside of prayer, through participation in liturgical, vocal, scriptural, and meditative prayer practices. Through this process, one is gradually weaned from secular attachments and images, in favor of orientation to spirituality through religious symbols, pictures and images. Once contemplation has begun during our prayer time, Almighty God provides an infused passivity which results in an inclination to silence of the faculties "during contemplative prayer time." During this period, which usually coincides with the Night of the Senses, one's attachment to discursive meditation and all creatures and natural forms of prayer is purified by the Holy Spirit as part of the inflow of the spiritual fire of apophatic contemplation. During this period one begins to emphasize, detachment, stillness, infused passivity, the via negativa and apophatic contemplative practices during prayer. Outside of prayer, there is a powerful movement away from cretures in favor of detachment and pure prayer leading to union with God, Alone. One becmes well aware of the limited good in all creation compared to Almighty God. However, one continues to make use of the faculties in vocal prayer, simplified meditation, and reading during this period as part of a well-rounded spirituality.

As one continues to progress through advanced stages of prayer, the Via Negativa and Apophatic contemplation, more and more become the centerpiece of one's spirituality and prayer practice, and the via positiva becomes secondary. Sometimes, during this advanced stage, God's Spirit provides us with supernatural, contmeplative understanding, in the way of "cataphatic contemplation," and we possess a powerful new appreciation for creation, including its elevation and resurrection in the Sacred Humanity, and in the harmony,inter-dependence, oneness, and beauty of all creation. Finally, after the transforming union, one, another Christ, finds a new love for creation as part of one's transformation and participation in the Divine Perspective. It's a time when the saints write such things as "Brother Sun and Sister Moon." One loves all creation for God, because one sees God's transcendent attributes reflected therein. At this stage, the via positiva takes on a new relevance in light of the Incarnational union between God and Creature, Moreover, at this stage one makes use of both the Via Negativa and the Via Positiva, delighting in God and creatures through both forms of prayer. Contemplation at this stage, is almost always present at some level, on an ongoing basis, and is apophatic during pure prayer, and cataphatic in connection with the images and concepts concerning religion and created reality. (see Ernest O. Larkin, "The Role of Creatures in the Spiritual Life," Resources)

Father Jordan Aumann tells us:

"It should be noted that the intensity of the mystical experience will depend on the intensity with which the gift has been actúated. When mystical acts occur in the ascetical state, the gifts will usually be actuated with less intensity because the imperfect disposition of the subject will not permit more. The gift produces an experience of the divine, but it is so weak that the soul scarcely notices it. If it is a question of one of the intellectual gifts, there will be a transitory act of infused contemplation, but in a very incipient degree that is almost imperceptible.(Fr Jordan Aumann, O.P., "Spiritual Theology," Ch. 6, Mystical Experience)

Cataphatic contemplation may happen during natural prayer, assisted by grace, which has become simplified into a loving gaze(acquired natural contemplation) This loving gaze becomes supernatural prayer when God chooses to elevate our vision to supernatural participation in His vision of the created realities or principles involved through actuation of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is part of the Via Affirmativa, or Way of Light.

DEFINITIONS

Apophatic prayer-knowledge of God(dark, obscure, confused)gained through denial. This denial extends to all created realities, for God is infinitely other than all of them. It is coming to God through the Via Negativa, or the Way of Darkness and Denial. Through apophatic prayer we make contact with God's Spirit and know "that He exists," and that His Spirit brings us Joy, but it doesn't tell us anything about what He is in His essence in a clear manner. Apophatic contemplation is the, God elicited, supernatural contemplation in which man's spirit is predominantly passive. God's Spirit is the Agent that determines when this prayer starts and ends. One only undertakes such contemplation when the signs are manifest that meditation is no longer appropriate,and that one is now being called to it by God. From Greek 'apophasis" meaning 'denial,' or 'apo' meaning 'other than' and 'phanai' meaning 'speak. Again, "Apophatic" comes from the Greek word "apophatikos," meaning negative, derived from "apophemi," to say no, to deny. Another definition says that apophatic is "not in accord with language."

Cataphatic prayer-knowledge of God obtained through affirmation, or by viewing traces He has left in the created world. It is coming to God by analogy through the use of language. Cataphatic encompasses all those practices of religion that depend on human language, icons, liturgy, visible signs, sacraments, and created media to bring us closer to God. The Via Affirmativa, the Way of Light, or the Way to God through the Visible Humanity of Jesus Christ. Cataphatic" comes from the Greek word meaning affirmative "kataphatikos," from kataphasko, to make a positive statement, to affirm. Another definition says cataphatic is "according to language."

Cataphatic Contemplation is "par excellence" participation in the Father's Vision of the Divine Glory streaming forth from the Visage and Shared Glory of the Incarnate Son, Jesus Christ, through actuation of all the Gifts, but with greater action directed to the the Gifts of Understanding and Knowledge. It may lead beyond the cataphatic level to "complete surrender" of our faculties in the total receptivity of "infused unknowing," supernatural prayer. It will thereby become more intensely transformative of our will and faculties as we voluntarily cooperate, and participate with a fuller receptivity to God's Action through "apophatic contemplation," for as St John of the Cross has explained:

"You do well, then, O soul, in seeking Him always in His secret place; for you greatly magnify God, and draw near to Him, esteeming Him as far beyond and above all you can reach. Rest, therefore, neither wholly nor in part, on what your faculties can embrace; never seek to satisfy yourself with what you comprehend of God, but rather with what you comprehend not; and never rest on the love of, and delight in, that which you can understand and feel, but rather on that which is beyond your understanding and feeling: this is, as I have said, to seek Him by faith."(St John of the Cross, "Spiritual Canticle," Stanza l.)

In apophatic contemplation, we "let go" of all contents of our consciousness and, thereby, in a state of passive receptivity, in freedom of "will," meritoriously cooperate with the inclination of grace. Although this form of prayer is designated as more passive than active, it is never totally passive as in "Quietism." For our soul is fully engaged in initial and ongoing acts of surrender, and in periodic "vital loving responses" to the Divine Presence and Action God initiates throughout this prayer.

... General Contemplative Principles extracted from Deitrich von Hildebrand, "Transformation in Christ"

"Our loving absorption in God, foreshadowing the beatific vision we are to be granted in Heaven, is the most perfect contemplation. In moments of reposing in God and experiencing His all-pervasive presence, of our loving adoration of God, we achieve in statu viae something like an anticipation of our status in eternity. Every created being, however, though in very different ways according to its metaphysical rank and value, can become a point of departure for religious contemplation.

"Thus, all perfect contemplation implies an indirect reference to God. Unless it helps us to establish a contact with God, the contemplative attitude cannot attain a complete unfolding of its specific character. This does not mean that God must be its formal object; that all true contemplation must be religious contemplation proper. The contemplation we have now discussed is directed to some created entity as its formal object. Yet, even here, a reference to God is necessarily implied.

"And, secondly, no thing discloses its own deepest meaning and unique value until it is seen in conspectu Dei: "And in Thy light we shall see light" (Ps. 35:10). Finally, it is only through our contact with God that the depths of our own being will be fully actualized and that we awaken to our full selfhood, thus becoming able to realize our contemplative attention to the given object with complete consciousness and receptiveness.

"Only the intuitive penetration of the essence of a thing and the conscious dwelling in a truth already established,(cataphatic) are truly contemplative attitudes. Secondly, contemplation embraces not only cognition but also the conscious state of being affected by a value; dwelling in the bliss derived from the light of beauty and goodness. The enjoyment of value, the absorption in beauty - these are attitudes purely contemplative in nature. Many of our emotional acts have a contemplative character. Responses of joy, love, and adoration are typical embodiments of contemplation.

"God alone can be an object of loving adoration. A unique form of subordination is implied therein - the only possible case of an absolute subordination, different from all relative surrender in kind and not merely in degree. There is further implied, however, an unconditional delivery of self. "Into Thy hands I commend my spirit" (Ps. 30:6). In religious contemplation alone ... is it possible for us to fling ourselves, so to speak, into the object of our contemplation with our entire being. Here alone can the consciousness be given us that not merely our love but our entire being is received; that we rest encompassed by our absolute Lord from whose hands we have issued forth, in whom our being rests, and who in holy Baptism has communicated to us a new supernatural life.

Dietrich Von Hildebrand posits the following parameters to contemplation, apophatic and cataphatic:

l. "We contemplate ends, not means. Means are used rather than contemplated as they have no significant value, in themselves, which would make them an object of contemplation. Most of our activities and the objects we encounter in ordinary life do not fall into the category of significant value needed for contemplation.(particularly secular images that distract us from recollection)

2. "The object we contemplate must have great dignity and importance. which by virtue of its own substance may appreciably enrich our souls. Whenever we approach an object in the mode of contemplation, it is not only that we esteem it as such in a formal sense; materially, too - that is, on the ground of its specific content and quality - it must belong to the class of such entities as are able to affect our heart and mind by virtue of their own intrinsic significance.

3. "A contemplative attitude dwells on the present, rather than the future. The active life, in contrast to the contemplative, is always future oriented, concerned about something yet to be accomplished, or to be done. And such transitory ends to be accomplished do not receive the attention required to make them objects of contemplation. The contemplative attitude, on the other hand - such as the contemplation of an object of great beauty and the pure, restful joy it yields - is free from that dynamic tension towards the future; in contemplation, the thematic quality of the object's inner goodness unfolds in unalloyed purity.p 4."Fourthly, our attention to the object - unlike the linear direction towards a purpose - can unfold in its full breadth without being altered by our concern with means; it is undivided attention.

5. "Further, contemplation implies an inward penetration of the object, a communing therewith in awareness of everything it means, as though the object turned its full face to us.

6. "Contemplation, in contrast to action, implies receptivity."

7. "Contemplation represents spiritual activity in the most eminent sense of the word; only it is an immanent (in contraposition to a transitive) activity. An activity which in some way intervenes in the events happening outside its subject, all work in the broadest sense of the term, we call transitive. In contrast, an act of loving adoration, for example, is a purely immanent form of spiritual activity. Here, the actualization of the mind and the intense realization of a mental attitude take place within the person himself, devoid of any operation beyond the range of his own being.

8."Contemplation is distinguished from action not only by the fact of its being immanent instead of transitive, but (as we have seen) apart from other aspects by the fact of its being unrelated to any purposeful, teleological coordination of behavior.

9."To begin with, nothing purely instrumental in character is eligible for becoming an object of contemplation. Its metaphysical content is too poor, and lacks the dignity of great value(e.g., a bicycle) They cannot deeply affect us, nor elicit the attitude of attention based on a response to value in which our total personality is present would clearly be out of proportion here.

10. "Contemplation proper demands, as its object, either a deep general truth or an entity of high rank and value. We may visualize, in contemplation, the contingency of all created beings or the essence of the spiritual person(like Cataphatic Contemplation of the Virgin Mary); we may be absorbed in the contemplation of the virtue of purity or of charity. The beauty of a work of art, too, may become an object for contemplation whenever we drink in that beauty, free from all preoccupations, and let our souls be elevated by its magic. Again, we may penetrate contemplatively the soul of a beloved person (or a saint), becoming aware of its full splendor and, remote from all pragmatic concerns, in the devotion of love surrendering ourselves to its presence.

ll. "In relation to a person, a form of contemplation is possible in which the fact that the contemplated object is also endowed with subjectivity is itself experienced in a certain definite manner. We might describe this, if such a technical term be allowed, as I-thou contemplation. It is sharply distinct from all contemplation directed to a non-personal object which, correspondingly, might be termed it-contemplation. The fact, however, that what we are contemplating is a personal being, does not of necessity qualify our contemplation as I-thou contemplation. (This requires the further condition that a mutual relationship of loving awareness should underlie our contemplation of the beloved person.)

"This raises contemplation to a new and higher degree of reality. The fact that the person we are contemplating by virtue of his love for us actually enters our own personality and pervades our own soul, confers a new dimension on the aspect of communing inherent in contemplation.

"Most important of all, our loving approach is caught up, as it were; our response is directed to an object which is- itself responsive to our love, our awareness of this aspect, again, coloring our very experience of the object in question. Thus, the object not merely happens to be a person but formally confronts us qua person, which renders possible a far greater intensity of contact. In this case alone will the fact that our object is of a personal nature manifest itself fully in our mode of approaching it. Thus, in I-thou contemplation the contemplative attitude acquires new, specific features of metaphysical perfection; a greater actualization of the receptive aspect of contemplation and - something entirely new - the counter-response of the object, with the enhanced personalization of the contemplative relationship which results therefrom.

"Once again, the fact, however, that what we are contemplating is a personal being, does not of necessity qualify our contemplation as I-thou contemplation. The thou-contemplation which may be present in such a case will, in a certain sense, be less perfect than our solitary contemplation, uncomplicated by the element of mutuality, of a person to whom we are devoted; the latter type of contemplation is likely to be of a more restful, a more static character, more timeless and more purely contemplative in quality.

"But on the other hand, in the type we call I-thou contemplation the dialogic character of the relationship and the enrichment we receive from the contemplated person (who, in this case, actively reciprocates our love) acquire a new and higher degree of reality. The fact that the person we are contemplating by virtue of his love for us actually enters our own personality and pervades our own soul, confers a new dimension on the aspect of communing inherent in contemplation.

"On the one hand, contemplation may mean a halt at a real moment in the flow of time, a "now" in which we are fully present and concentrated on a concrete object likewise present to us. Here, the normally latent - or, superactual - depth of our personal essence undergoes an actualization. When in the mutual spiritual interpenetration we drink, as it were, the being of the beloved,(Jesus Christ-Cataphatic)the rest of the world fades away around us. Dismissing all preoccupation about aims, I am then only directed towards the beloved, entirely immersed in his being and I nevertheless do not withdraw from the framework of temporal actuality but experience a more condensed, a fully valid actuality. I realize a unique and express now; I am aware - if the phrase be permissible - of a particularly momentous moment. The world of true and ultimate reality, the world of what soars above all transient aims and objects - a world to which I am only related, as a rule, in a superactual manner enters my life, here, in the form of such a contemplative presence; it actualizes itself in the real stream of my life.

"It is quite different with those more frequent instances of the contemplative attitude when I visualize and experience a great truth, a high value, or even the essence of a beloved person, from an extra-temporal level of vision. Then I withdraw, as far as the center of my consciousness is concerned, from my actual life, emerging towards the world of genuine and ultimate things which I now see ordered in the perspective of eternity, located as it were in their topos uranios ("celestial place").

"I do not, in this case, realize an express moment which is only raised above the rest of life by virtue of its specific quality of inward wealth and depth; rather I ascend, so to speak, a high peak soaring above my actual life and beyond the level of time experience. From that point of vision I perceive all things in their remoteness and their timeless being, independent of their real presence, penetrating their essence entirely at rest, in a specifically contemplative mode of consciousness. In this form of the contemplative attitude the aspects of tranquillity and timelessness, of a pure and undisturbed intellectual devotion to the inward logos of the object, are particularly preeminent.

"In order that contemplation may bring out its full meaning and attain its perfection, another feature must be present. The object must affect us not only with its isolated specific content, it must elevate us into the world of valid and ultimate reality. We must, in contemplation, meet that world as such, so as to acquire suddenly a comprehensive new attitude towards all things.

"Who of us does not know the supreme moments when a great truth, a glorious beauty of art or Of nature, or the soul of a beloved person manifests itself to our soul with a lightning-like splendor, gracing our eyes with a vision of ultimate reality and prompting us to exclaim, "0 Lord, how admirable is Thy name in the whole earth!" (Ps. 8:10)?

"So long as we are merely contemplating an object as such, not following it up to its abode in the coelum empyreum and not being led by it into the presence of the "Father of all lights," we may at most actualize certain formal features of the contemplative attitude; we will not rise in triumphant freedom and sweep above the neutral, pragmatic process of life

12."On the other hand, there is also (as has already been hinted) a metaphysical perfection specific to what we called it-contemplation, an exclusive privilege of this form insofar as we confine ourselves to objects of contemplation belonging to the realm of created things.(cataphatic) In it-contemplation, which presents the object strictly qua object (even though it be a person), a broader, a more serene, a more purely contemplative attitude of spiritual immersion is realized than is possible in I-thou contemplation.(Dietrich von Hildebrand, "Transformation in Christ")

Mystical Prayer can take different forms depending upon which Gifts are actuated at a particular time. It has been shown that the Gifts whose activity is emphasized by the Holy Spirit during the Dark Nights of Sense and Spirit greatly exercise fortitude and perseverance. These then are different in emphasis, than those actuated during periods of contemplative warmth and light(wisdom, understanding, knowledge). In like manner, the Gifts can be actuated while one is busy with the affairs of the Apostolate. A soul like Mother Teresa might be raised to Contemplation while she was holding and talking to a dying person in the slums of Calcutta. A St Francis of Asissi might be raised to Contemplation while rebuilding a Church, or walking in nature and singing the praises of Sun, water, and animals. For the transformation of the soul in Charity ever moves forward during the apostolate, while at natural prayer, while involved with secular or lay activites and images connected with duty, or embraced for the purpose of serving God, and, of course, during Contemplation. Charity transforms at different levels of intensity, depending on the nature of the activity, and the purity and cooperation of one's will with the Love of God.

As a result of the Incarnation, created things of sufficient rank and value assist us to collect and raise our faculties above distracting secular images, toward the exemplar of those images, the Person of the Word. For through the Incarnational Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, all of creation has been redeemed from futility, and may participate in the light and love streaming from the Visage of the God-Man.

Both imageless and imaged prayer are necessary to the balanced prayer life. For it cannot be stressed too often, that the voluntary failure to keep the Humanity of Jesus, and the truths of the Faith, before one at all times in the spiritual life, is to endanger the whole edifice of prayer, and to lose the path leading to the summit of Contemplation and the life of the spirit. And the development of one's contemplative spirituality is not hindered, but rather is advanced, by the use of such images, as they become instruments for the increase of Charity, and powerful vehicles of transformation when God chooses to activate the Gifts. And this is true for those at the highest levels of contemplation.

Here's what St Teresa has to say about contemplative souls advanced in the prayer of union in the sixth mansions:

"You will also think that anyone who enjoys such sublime favours will not engage in meditation on the most sacred Humanity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, because by that time he will be wholly proficient in love. This is a thing of which I have written at length elsewhere,and, although I have been contradicted about it and told that I do not understand it, because these are paths along which Our Lord leads us, and that, when we have got over the first stages, we shall do better to occupy ourselves with matters concerningthe Godhead and to flee from corporeal things, they will certainly not make me admit that this is a good way. I may be wrong and we may all be meaning the same thing; but it was clear to me that the devil was trying to deceive me in this way, and I have had to learn my lesson. So, although I have often spoken about this, I propose to speak to you about it again, so that you may walk very warily. And observe that I am going so far as to advise you not to believe anyone who tells you otherwise."(Interior Castle; Jesus and Contemplation, Sixth Mansion, Chapter VII(Resources-St Teresa of Avila)

And as St Thomas Acquinas tells us, as a result of the Incarnation:

"The honor given to an image reaches to the prototype," i.e. the exemplar. But the exemplar itself--namely, Christ--is to be adored with the adoration of "latria"; therefore also His image. ... because in the New Testament God was made man, He can be adored in His corporeal image." (Summa Thologica, III, 25)

"The actuation of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, in a Divine mode, which is "Mystical" or "Contemplative Prayer," gradually raises the virtue of "Charity" to heroism, through the actuation of all the Gifts on the infused virtues, but especially through the activation of the Gift of Wisdom. It is a gradual process because the souls habits of "attachment" to self-love and worldly possessions diminishes the intensity of the actuation of the Gifts.(Fr. Jordan Aumann, Spiritual Theology, "Wisdom")

"The soul that has reached these heights can give itself to all types of work, even the most absorbing, but in the center of the soul it experiences the divine company of the Three. Martha and Mary have been joined in an ineffable manner, so that the prodigious activity of Martha in no way compromises the peace and tranquillity of Mary, who remains at the feet of the divine Master. (Ibid)

"It(Wisdom) gives to all the virtues their ultimate perfection and makes them truly divine. Perfected by the gift of wisdom, charity extends the divine influence to all the other virtues, because charity is the form of all the virtues. The whole supernatural organism experiences the divine influence of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. All the Christian virtues acquire a godlike modality that admits of countless shades and manifestations. Having died definitively to self, being perfect in every type of virtue, the soul has arrived at the summit of the mount of sanctity, where it reads the inscription written by St. John of the Cross: "Here on this mountain dwell only the honor and glory of God." (Fr Jordan Aumann, Spiritual Theology, "Wisdom")

"Finally, the same conclusion is reached if we consider that the Christian life, as lived by the individual, is both contemplative and active. There are virtues to perfect the individual in contemplative and active pursuits, and there are gifts of the Holy Spirit that can raise the contemplative and active operations to the mystical level. But we know from experience that contemplative pursuits are not only distinct from those of the active life but are also sometimes incompatible with them. So also, although the gifts, like the virtues, are in one sense interrelated, the operation of one gift, such as the gift of fortitude or piety, may impede the simultaneous operation of another gift, such as wisdom or understanding. Therefore, infused contemplation is not necessarily an element of each mystical activity. (Fr Jordan Aumann, "Spiritual Theology" Christian Perfection and Mystical Experience)

"The mystical state is the manifest predominance of the activity of the gifts, operating in a divine manner, over the simple exercise of the infused virtues, operating in a human manner."(Ibid)

Fr. John Arintero avers:

"All souls in the state of grace, possessing as they do the gifts of the Holy Spirit, ... already possess the seeds and rudiments of the mystical life and can develop and manifest them little by little .... Therefore the true ascetic, even the lowliest Christian, who takes seriously the unum necessarium which is the work of sanctification, ... will frequently work under the divine impulses, although he may not clearly advert to it .... So the soul which as yet proceeds along the ascetical way sometimes produces truly mystical acts..."(Fr John Arintero, "Mystical Questions, pp.502,663)

Fr Aumann states:

"For the moment it suffices to say that the life of any individual Christian will be predominantly either contemplative or active, and if he reaches the degree of perfection in which the gifts become operative, he will be characterized by the mystical acts of the contemplative or the active life. Thus, the saints, who were canonized not only for their perfection in charity but also for the heroic degree of other virtues, provide a beautiful variety of the ways in which the gifts of the Holy Spirit operate in the Christian life. (Fr Jordan Aumann, Spiritual Theology)

In other words, a soul at these heights, or even in the highest perfection, has the "habitual" gift of contemplative union with the Spirit of God in the "substance" of the soul, or deepest center. The faculties of intellect, will, and memory are not necessarily "caught up" in this union, and are free to operate in their normal state, under the influence of the grace of contemplative union, i.e., the predominant activity of the Gifts over natural activity. This might be the case in a soul like St. John of the Cross, or St Catherine of Siena, or a Teresa of Avila when such souls are involved in communication divine truth to others through speech or writing. In this state, contemplation is no longer dark, but becomes "cataphatic" and the Way of Affirmation. This is called habitual union. However, when the Divine Spirit unites the above faculties to it, as well as the substance of the soul, it is called "acutal union." In actual union, the faculties are so absorbed in the Divine Union at the supernatural level, that they are, normally, incapable of exercising natural functions, until the actual union passes and habitual union returns. Therefore, in this life, we say that actual union is a transitive gift of limited duration compared to habitual union which may be a, more or less, ongoing contemplative state.

As a final comment, Fr Aumann sheds light on the theological basis which supports the concept of "cataphatic contemplation." through actuation of the Gifts of Wisdom and Understanding:

"The Gift of Wisdom... "makes saints live the mysteries of faith in an entirely divine manner. Introduced by charity into the intimacy of the divine Persons, the divinized soul, under the impulse of the Spirit of love, contemplates all things from this center. God is present to the soul in all his divine attributes and in all his great mysteries. In the measure in which it is possible for a simple creature, the gaze of the soul resembles the vision God has of himself and of the entire universe. It is a godlike type of contemplation experienced in the light of the Deity, and in it the soul experiences ineffable sweetness.(Fr Jordan Aumann, "Spiritual Theology," The Gift of Wisdom)

CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER(by Fr. Jordan Aumann, O.P., Spiritual Theology)

"The word contemplation signifies knowledge accompanied by delight, and the object of the knowledge is usually of such a type that it arouses admiration and captivates the soul. Since contemplation is an operation of the cognitive powers, there is such a thing as a purely natural and acquired contemplation in the natural order.

"But contemplation is a distinctive type of knowledge. It is an experimental knowledge in the sense that it calls into play the affective powers of the individual. Contemplation is, therefore, an operation in which one experiences the happy blending of the cognitive and the affective powers in an activity providing great delight. The knowledge involved is not discursive but intuitive; the movement of love is not toward the possession of the object loved but one of surrender to the object loved. Perhaps the best example of natural contemplation is found in the aesthetic experience of the beautiful.

"Supernatural or infused contemplation has been defined by various formulas, but the essential note that all definitions have in common is that supernatural contemplation is an experimental knowledge of God. Moreover, as a supernatural activity, infused contemplation requires the operation of faculties that are likewise supernatural, both in their substance and in their mode of operation. Consequently when we speak of contemplation as a grade of mystical prayer, we restrict the word to signify the loving knowledge of God that is experienced through the operation of the gifts of wisdom and understanding, presupposing, of course, faith informed by charity. St. Teresa calls this prayer infused recollection.

"For the sake of clarity and conciseness, we can summarize the theology of infused contemplation in the following statements, some of which apply likewise to the higher grades of mystical prayer and the mystical experience in general:

1. "Infused contemplation is not a charism or "gratia gratis data" but a grade of prayer made possible by the operation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, given to all souls with sanctifying grace. Charisms or gratiae gratis datae are given for the good of others and do not sanctify the one who receives them, nor do they prove the sanctity of one who receives them. Infused contemplation, on the other hand, is ordained to the spiritual good of the one who receives it, and it is also meritorious and sanctifying. And since all souls in grace possess the gifts of the Holy Spirit, their operation in mystical contemplation does not constitute a charism, gratia gratis data, or an extraordinary phenomenon of the spiritual life.

2. "Infused contemplation necessarily requires sanctifying grace. Infused contemplation is never given without the operation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and these are inseparable from grace. Moreover, contemplation is one of the effects of an intense love of God, which presupposes sanctifying grace and the virtue of charity.

3. "Contemplation requires the impulse of actual grace. The reason for this is that contemplation is a supernatural act, and therefore it requires a previous movement of actual grace to reduce the supernatural powers from potency to act.

4. "The infused virtues of the affective order are not the immediate, formal, and eliciting principles of the act of contemplation, although they may serve as antecedent dispositions or consequent effects. The affective moral virtues remotely prepare for contemplation by controlling the lower appetites; the virtue of charity has a direct influence on the act of contemplation by uniting the soul with God and then producing in the will the joy that is the delight of contemplation.

5. "The immediate eliciting principles of contemplation are the gifts of wisdom and understanding perfecting the act of faith informed by charity. Since the faculty in which contemplation takes place is the speculative intellect, the power by which contemplation is produced must be one that perfects the speculative intellect. Therefore, contemplation requires the operation of the virtue of faith and the gifts of wisdom and understanding.

"One and the same action, however, cannot proceed in exactly the same way from specifically distinct habits. Faith provides the substance of the act of contemplation by formally. establishing contact with God as First Truth, but without giving a vision of the truth because the knowledge of faith is obscure.

"The virtue of charity plays its part in contemplation as a proximate disposition whereby the object of faith is made present to the subject in a connatural manner. It is, therefore, indispensable that faith be informed by charity.

"The intellectual gifts of the Holy Spirit provide the supernatural mode by which contemplation becomes an experimental knowledge.

"The gift of understanding provides the formal mystical knowledge by making the object present as something known. The gift of wisdom perfects the virtue of faith by giving a knowledge of God that is not discursive but intuitive; it perfects the virtue of charity by giving a savory experience of God and supernatural mysteries.

"Having considered the nature of contemplation from a theological point of view, we shall now describe the characteristics by which infused contemplation can be recognized and distinguished from other manifestations of the spiritual life.

1. "An experience of the presence of God. Many authors of mystical theology place great emphasis on this characteristic and consider it the essential note of infused contemplation. God gives to the soul an experimental, intellectual knowledge of his presence. This characteristic is essential for mystical contemplation but not for mystical experience in general because the soul may lack the experience of the presence of God when it is undergoing the passive purification of the soul, which St. John of the Cross describes as a "purgative" contemplation.(14)

2. "The invasion of the soul by the supernatural. The soul feels in an unmistakable manner that it is permeated with something it cannot describe with precision, but feels clearly is something supernatural. It is, in fact, an effect of the operation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which inundate the soul with supernatural life.

3. "Impossibility of producing the mystical experience by one's efforts. The soul is fully aware of the fact that the experience it is enjoying has not been produced by its own efforts and that it will not last a second longer than is desired by the Holy Spirit, who causes it. The soul is a passive subject of a sublime experience it could not produce of itself. The reason is that contemplation is' produced through the operation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and individual souls are unable by their own efforts to activate the gifts. The gifts are directly under the control of the Holy Spirit 'and they operate when he desires and only so long as he desires.

"God works in the soul according to his own good pleasure. Sometimes the mystical experience begins, is intensified, and then gradually diminishes until it disappears entirely, and this is what happens most frequently. But at other times the mystical experience may appear and disappear suddenly. And since this is God's activity, it would be most imprudent for a spiritual director to command a particular soul to discontinue mystical prayer in order to return to ordinary prayer.

4. "In contemplation the soul is more passive than active. We have already stated that the soul cannot contemplate whenever it wishes, but only when the Holy Spirit desires and in the measure and degree he desires. Under the action of the gifts, the soul reacts in a vital manner and cooperates with all its efforts in the divine movement, but it is an activity that is received, so to speak. This is the famous patiens divina that is experienced by all mystics. St. Thomas says that in the operations of the gifts of the Holy Spirit the human soul does not act as mover, but rather as the thing moved.(15)

5. "The experimental knowledge of God enjoyed during contemplation is not clear and distinct but obscure and confused. St. John of the Cross explains this characteristic of infused contemplation in The Ascent of Mount Carmel. The theological reason for this confused and obscure knowledge is that the contemplative light of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is cast upon the act of faith to illumine it extrinsically and subjectively, but not intrinsically and objectively, since faith is of things not seen. Only the light of glory (lumen gloriae) will give us a clear and distinct contemplation of God and his mysteries, and this occurs in the beatific vision. In this life, however, so long as we live by faith, the knowledge of the contemplative must necessarily be obscure and confused.

"Nevertheless, it is possible that certain extraordinary phenomena that are clear and distinct may occur during the mystical experience. There are certain gratiae gratis datae, such as visions and locutions, that present new infused species but are the result of a special divine action that is gratuitous and extraordinary. The extraordinary phenomena are not the normal activity of infused contemplation.

6. "Infused contemplation gives full security and assurance to the soul that it is under the action of God. According to the testimony of mystics, so long as the contemplative activity continues, the soul cannot have the slightest doubt that God is acting upon it. Once the prayer is finished, the soul may doubt the experience, but during the mystical prayer it is impossible for the soul to have any doubts. It is true that this assurance admits of different degrees, just as there are different degrees of mystical prayer. The reason for this assurance and confidence is that the Holy Spirit gives the soul a certitude so firm that it would sooner doubt its own existence than the divine reality it is experiencing. As St. Paul says: "The Spirit himself gives witness with our spirit that we are children of God" (Rom. 8:16).

7. "Infused contemplation gives the soul moral certitude that it is in the state of grace. This is a natural consequence of the previous characteristics, but it is necessary to understand it properly in order to avoid erroneous notions. It is of faith and so defined by the Council of Trent that, without a special revelation from God, we cannot be certain that we belong to the number of the predestined, that we will not sin again, that we will be converted again after sin, or that we will receive the gift of final perseverance. Neither can we know with certainty whether we are in the state of grace.(16)

"Those who enjoy mystical contemplation have a moral certitude of being in the state of grace, and this certitude is far superior to that possessed by ordinary Christians in the ascetical state. Mystical contemplation is produced by the operation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and these gifts necessarily presuppose the state of grace. But we repeat that this certitude is not absolute and infallible because this is never, given in this life except by a special divine revelation.

8. "The mystical experience is indescribable. The mystics are unable to express clearly what they experience in their mystical activities. It is only by means of examples, comparisons and metaphors, or circumlocution that they are able to give some notion of what transpires during these operations. Unless a person has had the same experience, the descriptions given by mystics may seem to be exaggerated or open to misinterpretation. The reason is that the activity of the gifts transcends the discursive power of human reason. Mystical experiences are intuitive, and as such they can be experienced, but they cannot be expressed in human language.

9. "The mystical union admits of variations and fluctuations. St. Teresa states that the mystical union may last for a long time, or it may sometimes be of short duration, according to the desires of God, who communicates this experience.(17) Sometimes the mystical experience is so brief that it seems to be nothing more than a divine touch, and as a rule it does not remain in the same degree of intensity for a long time. During the period of intensification the soul yearns for the crisis that is to come, but as soon as that point is reached, the experience immediately begins to diminish.

10. "Mystical experience frequently causes reactions in the body. Sometimes the intense spiritual delight experienced by the soul causes startling phenomena in the sensitive order. St. John of the Cross teaches, however, that this occurs only in beginners in the mystical life and that they should ignore these reactions and continue the practice of prayer. When contemplation is very intense, the organism may be changed visibly. The eyes become clouded and dull; respiration is weak and intermittent, with an occasional deep breathing as if trying to absorb the necessary quantity of air; the limbs are partly paralyzed; the heat of the body decreases, especially in the extremities. All these phenomena have been manifested time and again in mystical souls, and St. Teresa speaks of them in her works.(18)

The reason for the phenomena that accompany the mystical experience is that the human organism can react in only a certain number of ways, and when the spirit is absorbed in an intense activity, the body is necessarily affected. On the other hand, if we give ourselves completely and energetically to corporal things, the faculties of the soul are weakened for spiritual things. For that reason St. Paul warns that the carnal person cannot understand spiritual things (1 Cor. 2:14).

11. "Mystical prayer often produces, a suspension or binding of the faculties. Mystical contemplation may be so intense that it results in an ecstatic trance. When this occurs, it is inevitable that there should be a suspension of the sense faculties. Even if the contemplative activity does not produce this effect, however, it is frequently difficult and even impossible for the mystic to give attention to any other prayers or activities because of the absorption in God. Mystical activity tends to exclude everything that is alien to it, especially the operations that proceed from the effort of the subject. The practical advice to be followed during mystical activity is simply to submit to the action of God within the soul and to let ourselves be carried by the divine impulses. Only in the case of prayers or external works that are obligatory should we make every effort to fulfill our duties.

12. "Infused contemplation causes a great impulse for the practice of virtue. This is one of the surest signs of true contemplation. The soul that does not leave its prayer with a great impulse toward solid virtue can be sure that it has not enjoyed truly contemplative prayer.(19) One of the marvelous facts of mystical experience is that a contemplative soul sometimes finds that it instantaneously possesses a degree of perfection in a certain virtue it has not been able to attain over a long period of time in spite of its efforts.

Yet it is necessary to avoid exaggeration in this matter. In the early stages of contemplative prayer, the transformation is not so profound that the soul is freed from its defects. For that reason spiritual directors would be greatly mistaken if they were to judge a person to be deluded if, after having experienced mystical contemplation, he or she is still subject to certain defects. Such defects are often caused more by weakness than by one's deliberate will. Mystical contemplation greatly aids the sanctification of a soul, but it does not instantaneously or necessarily produce a saint.