I. Correlation between action and contemplation up to the nineteenth century

The word “contemplation” as such is not found in Scripture. When theologians search the Scriptures for what is generally understood as contemplation, they usually speak of knowledge of God - especially the spiritual knowledge of the believer. In this case, the notion of contemplation approaches that of beholding, prophesying or experiencing a particular revelation [1].

Nevertheless, as this term is understood today, a number of correlative meanings can be found in biblical expressions like “coming”, “listening”, “loving”, “seeing”, “here I am” [2]. In Scripture, we find examples of contemplation without any word to designate it. For instance, Luke is perhaps recounting Mary’s contemplation of the mystery of the Incarnation when he mentions in the midst of all the activity surrounding the birth of Christ: “[his mother] treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:18). In the context of pressing activity, Mark is probably indicating the contemplation of Jesus when he notes: “In the morning long before dawn, he got up and left the house to find a solitary place where he could pray” (Mark 1:35).

In Greek, the word for contemplation is theoria. Its basic meaning suggests viewing with wonderment and delight a show such as a parade or religious ceremony. By extension then, it can apply to meditation, reflection or philosophic discourse. The Latin term contemplatio comes from temple which originally designated a place used by augurs to read omens. Consequently, in verb form, it denotes focusing attentively either with one’s eyes or with one’s spirit. In both languages, contemplation takes on a mystical tone when it designates to see God with the eyes of the heart.

In the patristic era [3], the School of Alexandria, it seems, was the first to correlate action and contemplation in the context of the spiritual life. In both Clement (+215) and Origen (+254), however, we find a certain hierarchy between the two notions - the one being inferior and a stepping stone to the other. Origen is the first to use Martha and Mary as well as Peter and John as types of the active and the contemplative life.

St. Augustine (+430) proposed three different ways of understanding the active and the contemplative life: 1) We live the active life here on earth, whereas we are destined to experience the contemplative life in eternity. In that sense, there is a radical division between the two. 2) The Bishop of Hippo also sees them as two aspects, functions or forces within every Christian life. Those forces can come into conflict insofar as certain actions may be incompatible with contemplation at a given moment. Nevertheless, there is usually something of both operating simultaneously within the entirety of human existence. In this context, he speaks of the objective superiority of contemplation over action. 3) Subjectively, however, and in terms of habitual modes of living, Augustine presents three authentic Christian lifestyles: a) the leisurely contemplation or study of truth; b) the active involvement in the management of human affairs; and c) a combination of the two, a certain mixed life.

St. Gregory the Great (+604) builds on the insights of Augustine with this nuance: the active life embraces the direct implementation of the moral virtues (justice, temperance, fortitude, etc.). In this context, it corresponds to what theologians would later characterize as the purgative and the illuminative ways. The contemplative life, on the other hand, is characterized by the operations of the theological virtues and constitutes the unitive way subsequently described by the scholastics. More than his predecessors, Gregory insisted that the contemplative life was for everyone regardless of class or vocation. The two lives are considered normal stages of spiritual growth for everyone. Thus he admitted the possibility of contemplation for everyone.

St. Thomas Aquinas (+1274) elaborated extensively on the theology of Gregory and Augustine [4]. On the one hand, he saw the active and the contemplative lives as two “states of life”, hence the division of religious institutions into active and contemplative On the other hand, he viewed them as aspects, functions and internal forces within the maturing life of an individual.

In this context, three inter-relationships are possible: 1) action can prepare one for contemplation, 2) one can alternate with the other, 3) action can flow from contemplation. Thus action has an ascetical value in relation to the mystical grace of contemplation. Action may also have a spiritualizing value of its own as the expression of love of God and neighbor in the apostolate. Seen in this light, the active dimension of life accentuates the ascetical, behavioral and practical; whereas the contemplative aspect stresses the mystical, aesthetic and speculative. For St. Thomas - who, when he defines contemplation, bases himself on the charism of the Order of Preachers - one engages in contemplation in order to share its fruit with others through some activity: contemplata aliis tradere (communicate to others what one has contemplated) [5].

St. Ignatius of Loyola (+1556) completely revolutionized the theology and the practice of the active or apostolic life, together with the understanding of its correlation to interior life. Furthermore, his usage of the terms “meditation” and “contemplation” differs from that of his predecessors. Meditation is a very active reflection on some Gospel values. Contemplation, on the other hand, stresses entering into a Gospel scene by trying to imagine, see, feel, etc., what actually occurred at the time of Jesus. Thus, his view of contemplation, while being more receptive and affective than meditation, contemplation is still highly discursive, i.e., active [6].

St. John of the Cross (+1591) goes to the very heart of the problem. Following in the footsteps of Gregory of Nyssa, the Pseudo-Dionysius, the Rhino-Flemish mystics, the author of the Cloud of Unknowing, etc., John brings out the fact that contemplation - from the point of view of God - is the immediate and direct, the transforming and purifying activity of the Father, Son and Spirit within us [7]. From our perspective, contemplation consists in a state of loving receptivity to divine intimacy and in abandoning oneself to the love of God. Thus, contemplation both epitomizes and radically differs from all modes of discursive prayer. The Mystical Doctor would consider the Thomistic and the Ignatian approaches to contemplation to be basically discursive in nature. For John of the Cross, the contemplative life must not only favor contemplation, but the contemplation of God is its sole reason for being. Every detail of the contemplative life derives its meaning from the goal to which it tends “to remain lovingly in the presence of one’s Beloved” [8].

[1] See “Contemplation”, in Dictionnaire de spiritualité, Beauchesne, Paris, 1949, vol. II, col. 1645-1716 and in Dictionnaire de la vie spirituelle, Cerf, Paris, 1983, p. 177-187.
[2] NEMECK, Francis Kelly and COOMBS, Marie Theresa, Contemplation, Michael Glazier Inc., Wilmington, DE, 1984, p. 21-43.
[3] AUMANN, J., St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, volume 46, Action and Contemplation, New York, 1966, p. 90-102; Dictionnaire de spiritualité, XIII-XV, 1716-1948.
[4] Summa Theologiae, 2a2ae, ques. 179-182, 186-189; AUMANN, J., Action and Contemplation, New York, 1966, p. 85-123; Dictionnaire de spiritualité, vol. II, XIV-XV, col. 948-2023.
[5] Summa Theologiae, 2a2ae, ques.188, art. 6 & 7.
[6] Dictionnaire de spiritualité, vol. II, XIV-XV, col. 2023-2029, 2052-2055, 2102-2119.
[7] NEMECK, Francis Kelly and COOMBS, Marie Theresa, Contemplation, Michael Glazier Inc., Wilmington, DE, 1984, p. 9-146; idem, The Spiritual Journey: Critical Thresholds and Stages of Adult Spiritual Genesis, Michael Glazier Inc., Wilmington, DE, 1987, p. 75-95, 114-124, 210-227; NEMECK, Francis Kelly Teilhard de Chardin et Jean de la Croix, Desclée and Cie-Bellarmin, Paris-Tournai-Montreal, 1975, p. 28-64.
[8] John of the Cross, The Sum of Perfection, 4. NEMECK, Francis Kelly and COOMBS, Marie Theresa, Contemplation, p. 22-23, 39-40; Dictionnaire de spiritualité, 2029-2036, 2042-2045, 2058-2067.