Contemplation vs Meditation

 James Harpur*

Contemplation or contemplative prayer differs from meditation in that it is non-discursive: it moves beyond the use of thought, words, and reflections to a point where the contemplative reaches a simple, loving attention on God. Contemplation is also divided into two types: “acquired contemplation” involves a degree of effort on the part of the individual, whereas “infused contemplation” comes as a result of divine grace. 

Those attracted to contemplative prayer naturally need a certain amount of time and solitude in which to reach a direct communing with God, so it is not surprising that the great seed beds of Christian contemplation or mysticism up to the Reformation were the monasteries.

Love Burning in the Soul, The Story of the Christian Mystics, from St. Paul to Thomas Merton

British poet