III. Contemplative Prayer

From The Catechism of the Catholic Church

2715
Contemplation is a gaze of faith, fixed on Jesus. “I look at him and he
looks at me”: this is what a certain peasant of Ars used to say to his
holy cure about his prayer before the tabernacle. This focus on Jesus is a
renunciation of self. His gaze purifies our heart; the light of the countenance
of Jesus illumines the eyes of our heart and teaches us to see everything in
the light of his truth and his compassion for all men. Contemplation also turns
its gaze on the mysteries of the life of Christ. Thus it learns the
“interior knowledge of our Lord,” the more to love him and follow
him.¹¹

PART FOUR: CHRISTIAN PRAYER