Sacredness of Life's Oneness
Embrace the transformative power of contemplation, for it awakens us to the sacred oneness of all life. Contemplate not merely as an intellectual exercise, but as a living commitment to the Kingdom of God within and around us, present for everyone.
Contemplation shifts our consciousness, enabling us to transcend boundaries, dogmas, and self-interest. It unveils the face of the Divine, the mothering God from whose womb all life emerges. To claim awareness of life's oneness while disregarding its sacredness violates the very purpose of contemplation – immersion in the God of life.
True contemplation births a new presence in the world, signaling an alternative way of being. The contemplative can never be complacent or complicit in oppressive systems. From contemplation arises not only the realization of life's universal connectedness but also the courage to embody it.
Those without a flame for justice, a sense of responsibility for the reign of God, or a raging commitment to human community may seek God, but God remains merely an idea, not a living reality. Contemplation is perilous, confronting us with God, the world, and ourselves – compelling us to act, to fill voids, to free, begin anew, end, change, create, or heal, for nothing remains unchanged once we find the God within.
We become connected to everything and everyone, carrying the whole world's oppression, suffering, burdens, joys, and hunger in our hearts. Then, the zeal for justice consumes us, and action and prayer become one.
To be contemplative, we must have zeal for the God of love in whom all things originate and culminate. When consumed by love for God and all creation, shaping this world here and now, you will know the unmistakable sign of true contemplation.
(inspired by: Joan Chittister, Prophets Then, Prophets Now)