Summer of Contemplation 2024 Week Nine: Contemplating in Church

Raised Catholic

This summer we are returning to a 2022 series on contemplation, and this week's episode is all about contemplating in church. Church can be a complicated place for a lot of us these days, but there is a richness to many church spaces that really can be a place for us to hear from God in a particular way. I do this episode is a blessing to you!

As we explore a variety of methods of contemplative prayer this summer, week eight is all about art. As you choose a piece of art to contemplate this week, I pray that you will have a fruitful encounter with God who is crazy about you.

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Thanks as always to my friend, Peter Vaughan-Vail, for providing the beautiful harp music you hear in this and every episode.

Here are some resources I hope will help you to engage with this week's topic in a deeper way for yourself:

1. Article: ⁠Heavenly Illumination: The Science and Magic of Stained Glass⁠, from The Guardian

2. Article: ⁠Rose Windows of Notre Dame⁠

3. ⁠History of Stations of the Cross⁠, from Catholic Straight Answers

4. Journal prompts (while sitting in a church):

God, where are you directing my gaze in this church? What does this element have to say to me today?

What is my history within this space and in other churches? Can I gather in the goodness and light memories but also the pain? How does my history here impact how I see God and my life of faith in this moment?

God, I am here. What would you say to me today?

5. Song: ⁠In This Place⁠, Trevor Thomson, Victoria Thomson