Sharing the Fruits of Contemplation
Contemplation, at its core, is an invitation to step into a deeper, more intimate relationship with the Divine. It calls us to empty ourselves of distractions and attachments, creating space within for God's presence to fill us. This is not a superficial exercise but a transformative process that changes our very being. Yet, the fruits of this experience are not meant to be hoarded for ourselves; they are meant to overflow into the lives of others. True spiritual experience, true mystical experience of God, comes only when we renounce our attachments to the material and worldly, opening ourselves fully to the Divine. True mystical experience of God and supreme renunciation of everything outside of God coincide [1]. When we release our grip on everything that is not God, we make room for an intimacy with the Divine that surpasses all understanding. And in this release, this renunciation, we discover a joy that is unlike any worldly pleasure, one that is pure and incorruptible. (Matthew 6:19-21)
Joy, when we experience it from God, does not belong to us alone. It is not a private possession but a gift meant to be shared, to be poured out into the lives of others. The joy that arises from a deep encounter with the Divine naturally overflows from the heart, touching the lives of those around us. God does not give His joy to us for ourselves alone, and if we could possess Him for ourselves alone we would not possess Him at all [1]. When we experience the richness of God’s love, we are called to let it spill over, to allow others to be nourished by the same joy. Our spiritual journey, our time spent in contemplative silence, is never for our own enrichment alone. We are entrusted with the fruits of God’s love, and those fruits must be shared, for this joy is not truly ours until it reaches out to others. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)
But let us be clear: sharing this joy is not always straightforward. It is not about boasting of our experiences or drawing attention to ourselves. In fact, one of the great spiritual challenges is the humility required to know when and how to share the fruits of our contemplation. The temptation to speak prematurely is great, but it can diminish the purity of the experience. To speak about the gift He has given us would seem to dissipate it and leave a stain on the pure emptiness where God’s light shone [1]. Contemplation is, at its heart, a silent knowing, a direct encounter with God that often cannot be put into words. There is a certain sanctity in keeping these experiences within, preserving their sacredness. The truth of God’s presence, as we experience it in contemplation, cannot be fully conveyed through words, and when we try to force it into language, we risk reducing it to something far less than what it truly is. (Proverbs 25:11)
This is where discernment comes into play. There is a time to speak and a time to remain silent, a time to share and a time to retreat. If we speak too soon, if we try to share the depth of our experience before others are ready or able to receive it, we may unintentionally create confusion or distance. Sometimes it gives him almost physical pain to speak to anyone of what he has seen of God. Or at least it is intolerable for him to speak about it as his own experience [1]. In our humility, we learn that not all moments are meant for sharing, and that true wisdom lies in knowing when to remain silent. The contemplative path is not one of selfish withdrawal but one of careful and intentional sharing when the time is right—when our words, when our experience, can help lead others into their own direct encounter with the Divine. (Ecclesiastes 3:7)
And yet, we must also acknowledge that we may never see the fruits of our sharing. In the economy of grace, our words, our actions, may not always result in immediate or visible transformation. But this does not diminish their value. But do not think that you have to see how it overflows into the souls of others. In the economy of His grace, you may be sharing His gifts with someone you will never know until you get to heaven [1]. The impact of our spiritual gifts is not always visible to us. The seeds we plant, the joy we share, may take root in places we cannot see, growing quietly in the hearts of others, until one day, when we stand before God, we will come to understand the full impact of the joy we shared. This is the nature of spiritual fruit: it grows in the unseen, in the hidden places where the Divine works outside of our knowing. (1 Corinthians 3:6-7)
When we do share, we must remember that the highest calling is not to boast of our own experiences but to guide others to their own. The highest vocation in the Kingdom of God is that of sharing one’s contemplation with others and bringing other men to the experimental knowledge of God that is given to those who love Him perfectly [1]. The goal is not to make others experience exactly what we have, but to invite them into their own encounter with the Divine. We share not to elevate ourselves but to lead others toward the same peace, the same joy, the same intimacy with God. Our sharing must always be in service to others, not in service to our own ego or desire for recognition. (Matthew 5:16)
Yet, even as we prepare to share, we must remember the importance of silence and humility. The best preparation for sharing contemplation is not in studying how to speak about it, but in withdrawing from unnecessary words, from arguments, and allowing God to purify our hearts. The best way to prepare ourselves for the possible vocation of sharing contemplation with other men is not to study how to talk and reason about contemplation, but withdraw ourselves as much as we can from talk and argument and retire into the silence and humility of heart in which God will purify our love of all its human imperfections [1]. The time of preparation, then, is a time of deep listening, a time of allowing God to purify our intentions, and a time of trusting that when the moment comes, we will be ready—not because we have perfected our speech, but because we have allowed God to perfect our hearts. (Psalm 46:10)
When we share, we must resist the temptation to control outcomes. The Divine works in ways we cannot see or predict, and the results of our sharing are ultimately in God’s hands. We will be able to keep our tranquillity and our freedom, and above all we will learn to leave the results to God, and not indulge our own vanity by insisting on quick and visible conversions in everyone we talk to [1]. Our role is not to force outcomes, to insist on quick transformations or immediate results. Our role is to remain faithful in sharing, to trust that God is working in the lives of those we touch, even when we do not see the immediate evidence. The fruits of our contemplation may take years to manifest, and that is not for us to decide. We are simply vessels, called to share in God’s time and according to His will. (1 Corinthians 3:7)
In the end, sharing the fruits of contemplation is about trust—trust in the process, trust in God’s timing, and trust in the transformative power of His presence. We share not because we have to, but because we are compelled by the overflowing joy of knowing God. And we trust that, in the end, it is not our words or our efforts that make the difference, but the work of the Divine in the hearts of those we touch. It is this trust, this surrender, that allows us to truly share the fruits of contemplation in a way that honors God and serves others. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
[1] Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation