Contemplatio is “simply” being with God.
First, the meaning of the word itself. It comes from joining two Latin elements, the pronoun cum (Latin – with) and the noun templum (Latin – temple). At the starting point, we understand contemplation as “being together in the temple.” For us, this temple is the Body of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, born of the Virgin Mary. His Heart was opened on the Cross, therefore there is no longer any separation from the deity. So, contemplation is abiding and communing in the Word.
“It is a prayer of presence rather than words.”
Oratio in the final phase may reveal an impatience caused by the number of words in the prayer. It happens because of the growing longing for BEING with the Beloved one. Contemplatio is also a prayer in which I rest in God and He rests in me. It comes as a relief to the heart after talking to a good and merciful God during the Oratio. It is a comfort that we sometimes need, and He wants to give it to us. Mutual being in the freedom to be yourself. Contemplation is a non-exclusive gift. So, there is no technique that can trigger it. We have spoken what is our, God has spoken what is His. And what now? Now is the time to wait for the Word to incarnate itself and for our love for Him. The thirst for presence shows the beginning of the next moment of Lectio Divina.
“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word”
Contemplation is accepting the gaze of Someone who we know loves us, Someone who knows us, we are known to Him from today or yesterday … to saturate every place that cried out for Love in Oratio. Contemplatio is a request of the desire to fill the interior with speaking silence – with God Himself. In looking at the Beloved, the soul feels itself His loving gaze, which re-creates the interior of the heart.