I am currently slowly studying Thomas Merton's "The New Man". What he wrote about contemplation and friendship with God both made sense to me and led me to this question: "What about those of us for whom contemplation gives way to praise (usually in song/music/poetry), are we doing something wrong because we can't keep the mandatory contemplative silence?" Why is it that it seems many teachings put praise and contemplation at polar opposites? It would seem to me that they are, at the very least, complimentary. (I DO believe there are times to be silent before God.) — RG

Dear RG,

The landscape of contemplation, as you seem to intrinsically recognize, rarely features landmarks labeled "right" or "wrong". Instead, it is a place of exploration and discovery. We can follow a guide there -- especially someone of Merton's stature -- and yet what we truly follow is our own resonance with their guidance, a sure knowing that lives within us by the grace of the Holy Spirit.

Scriptures (both officially recognized ones and other texts which shine with understanding of what's most human and most sacred) are full of exactly what you experience: contemplation giving way to praise. Psalm 40 begins with a prolonged waiting and resolves in a new song of awe on the psalmist's lips. Elizabeth, waiting patiently for her own son's birth (surely a form of contemplation!) and surprisingly greeted by a visit from Mary, sings out a song of rejoicing and gratefulness (Luke 1: 39-55). Merton on his contemplative Fire Watch comes, through the course of his reflections, upon unrestrained praise: "There is no leaf that is not in Your care. There is no cry that was not heard by you before it was uttered...." Etty Hillesum, resting on her bunk in the prison camp of Westerbork, suddenly has to write these words in her diary (this only three months before her death at Auschwitz): "You have made me so rich, oh God, please let me share out Your beauty with open hands. My life has become an uninterrupted dialogue with You, oh God, one great dialogue...."

Perhaps many teachings treat praise and contemplation as polar opposites for exactly the reason you suggest. If we too blithely associate the two, we risk losing the value of silence. As Merton's Fire Watch passage continues, he observes that "there is greater comfort in the substance of silence than in the answer to a question." We can easily deceive ourselves into leaving silence prematurely because we want to shout out our praise. We may override our ability to take the power of silence into ourselves as fuel for going even deeper into silence, out of which grows an even more unfathomable praise. That is to say: It takes most of us a lifetime of experience and wisdom to know when the fullness we feel in the Presence calls for song, music, and poetry; and when it calls for us to set aside self-expression for the sake of deepening a relationship that goes beyond all outer expression. In thoughtfully asking your question, you are already well on your way to prayerfully distinguishing what will best honor and complete any given moment of contemplation.

In Peace,
Patricia Carlson