Thomas McGinnis, O.Carm.
The General Relationship between the Life of Prayer and the Life of Action
In reality, at the present time the danger seems not to be that Carmelites will neglect methodical prayer, 'but rather that they will refuse to rise above it, will look upon it as a sufficient fulfillment of the precept of continual prayer contained in the Rule, particularly since so many Carmelites now live the mixed life. Some would go so far as to deny our vocation to infused contemplation, saying that it is incompatible with the active life. Such a conception results, first of all, from a misconception of the mixed life. Furthermore, it forgets that the position of prayer in Carmel has never been changed or modified, not even by the adoption of activity. Finally, it seems to entertain a very inferior notion of the nature of true sanctity.
Regarding the compatibility of contemplation with action, Father Lejeune writes in the Dictionnaire de Theologie Catholique: « It is opportune here to respond in a few words to that prejudice which looks upon contemplation as incompatible with the duties of the apos tolate, as something de luxe, almost as a hindrance for souls devoted to zealous activity.... This prejudice which we are attacking is far from new. In the seventeenth century Father Lallemant had already met it, and he refuted it in an article which he thus concluded: 'With contemplation, one can do more for oneself and for others in one month, than in ten years without contemplation. If one has not received this excellent gift, it is dangerous to give oneself over much to those activities which directly regard the neighbor. In such activities one must engage, as it were, after the manner of a trial, if obedience does not otherwise demand1 » (Vol. Ill, art. Contemplation).
Clear and concise principles from which the true nature of the mixed life can be seen are set forth by Father Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange in his article, Unite et elevation de la vie apostolique, synthese de la con- temptation et de faction (La Vie Spirituelle, XIX, pgs. 387-410). He points out that the mixed religious life tends principally and primarily to contemplation and union with God, and secondarily to action, which in the religious is the effect of his contemplation, and which, to others, should be a means capable of disposing them to the contemplation of divine things and to union with God. « From this superior point of view, it can be seen that all the elements of the mixed religious life are ordered in a very harmonious ascending scale: 1) regular observances; 2) study; 3) liturgical prayer, which, when well made, leads to contemplation, to union with God, from which, 4) must be derived external and apostolic activity. This life thus rises gradually to God, to arrive at divine intimacy, and then descends to souls to sanctify and save them, by making them know and love the mystery of Christ, Who will Himself lead them to the Father ».
The Relationship between Prayer and Action in Carmel
No one will deny that, at first sight, the Carmelite ideal of prayer is somewhat frightening. How can we be expected to live in continual prayer in the midst of the absorbing occupations which, outside of the time fixed for prayer, are the lot of most religious men and women? Viewed in this light, St. Teresa and St. John of the Cross may seem more admirable than imitable. We can think, however, of someone more accessible, of Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection (died 1691) for example, who is still too little known, although he is close to us by virtue of his simplicity. He taught that continual prayer is the fruit of a continual attention, full of faith and love, to the presence of God. He insisted also that it is a mistake to consider that the time of prayer must differ from any other time, for we are as strictly obliged to be united to God through action when it is time for action as by prayer when it is time for prayer. Not that one’s attention should be turned away from the action in which he is engaged in order to think of God; this would be the source only of complication and division. Rather the actions themselves should be turned into prayers which proclaim our love for God. In this way will the Lord be found in the most simple work, even « among the pots and pans », as St. Teresa put it. « For me », writes Brother Lawrence, « the time of action is no different from that of prayer. I possess God as peacefully amid the bustle of my kitchen, where several persons are often asking me for many different things at the same time, as I do before the Blessed Sacrament» (cf. L’Experience de la Presence de Dieu, pgs. 77, 118).
That continual prayer can be practiced despite much activity, and that it can develop to those higher stages characteristic of Carmel, St. Teresa tells us in her Book of the Foundations. « I assure you that lack of solitude need not prevent you from preparing to attain this genuine union of which I have spoken and which consists in making our will one with the will of God ». But she lays down one condition: « Remember, I am assuming all the time that we are acting in this way out of obedience or charity: if one of these motives is not involved, I do not hesitate to say that solitude is best» (chap. 5).
Venerable John of St. Samson, the blind lay brother who was to the Touraine Reform in the seventeenth century what John of the Cross was to the Teresian Reform, thus wrote of the union with God expected of all Carmelites: « The religious must be in closer union with God than his body with his soul. The soul who desires God must live always in this pure, faithful, and continual attention to His presence, as if God and she were alone in the world » (Oeuvres, pg. 36).
This is not the place to discuss the various methods for the practice of God’s presence. We can say in passing, however, that Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D., has expressed the doctrine of Carmel in his short work, Piccolo Catechismo della Vita di Orazione. « The best form of this exercise is that which fits with a person’s character and point of spiritual advancement; it is not to be determined a priori, but from experience. What is more, in this holy exercise we must not limit ourselves exclusively to one determined method, but we can leave room for variety according to circumstances. Nevertheless, we should habitually prefer one form to all the others, that form which has proved most useful for us » (chap. 6, 11).
