Contemplative Life: Love, Adoration and Hope
Contemplative life is not only prayer: it is a call to love for love's sake. It is giving one's life to God, recognizing His Love as the absolute value and letting it fill every moment of our existence. As Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity said, the contemplative soul seeks to merge with God: to be invaded by Him, to reflect His Life in every gesture and thought.
To Pray and Adore: The heart of contemplation
Contemplation is not only interceding for others; it is total adoration. In the biblical tradition, burnt offerings symbolized complete giving: what was offered to God was not kept for oneself. Thus, contemplative life may seem “useless” to the world, because it does not seek recognition or reward, but it is a supreme act of love.
Saint Thérèse of Lisieux summarized it thus: “In the Heart of my Mother, the Church, I will be LOVE”. The contemplatives are that heart: their silent prayer is transformed into grace for all, even if they do not see the fruit of their offering. Everything lived, suffered and offered becomes a force that God pours out upon the world.
Rhythm and community
In monasteries, life revolves around prayer: Ora et labora — pray and work — defines each day. Meals, work and rest are organized around the times of prayer.
But it is not a cold isolation: the community is a living sisterhood. Joy and sorrow are shared, one accompanies the other in faith, and they sustain each other. Monasteries are also refuge and a welcoming home for those who seek God, consciously or not.
Hope that transforms
Hope is the engine of contemplative life. It is not merely wishing, but believing with certainty in God's Love, even when everything seems dark. It grows in small acts of prayer, in patience and in silent perseverance.
As Sister Patricia Noya explains, hope does not remain in the cloister: it goes out into the world through prayer, embraces hearts, gathers the small hopes of each person and offers them to God. Thus, contemplative life becomes a living memory of hope for everyone.
Testimony and mission
To be contemplative is to live for others from silence. Although it may seem “invisible”, its influence is enormous: it sustains the Church, accompanies the world and reminds us that God’s Love always acts.
Nuns and monks, through their dedication, show that contemplation is not an escape from the world, but a deep and joyful commitment. Their daily prayer is an act of love that transforms reality, even without anyone seeing it.
In short: contemplative life is self-giving love, constant worship and hope that does not die. A call to live the invisible in order to sustain the visible. Because where there is contemplation, there is light, there is grace and there is hope for all.