In the fourth century when many Christians left ordinary society in the Roman Empire for a life of solitude in the desert, they were seeking deeper meaning in their relationship with the Holy.
Around this time the word contemplation becomes more commonly used to express a deeper longing for intimacy with God. It seems to represent a deeper level of prayer than typical praying.
Often, when we think of praying, we think of asking God for some favors or to respond to some need of ours. Our prayers may occasionally praise and thank God. However, more often they are prayers seeking favors from the unseen Holy One.
When the desert fathers and mothers went into the wilderness and abandoned society they were not so much seeking favors from God, but desiring to grow into a deeper awareness of the Sacred Mystery.
The etymology of “contemplation” has its root word as “templum.” The meaning of templum had the connotation of measuring, being attentive to, or watchful of object. Early astronomers focused their attention on a certain measure of the sky at night. They watched carefully for the movement or pattern of any stars in their section which became their templum. The heavens were seen as the dwelling place of the gods. Astrologers looked for movement in the stars as signs from the gods of what might happen.
We find the root “templum” in many of our words. We speak of a template, a form to make an exact copy. We speak of contempt – being against the measure; contemporary, being with the measure of the times. We speak of temporary, observable for only a short period.
In time the physical Jewish Temple becomes the dwelling place of God. It was within the confines of the Temple for the Jewish people that God dwelt. Priests were attentive to the sacrifices and the upkeep of the Temple. After the destruction of Jerusalem around the year 68 CE, the Jewish Temple no longer existed. God’s presence was sought elsewhere.
Christian scriptures speak of Jesus, the Risen Lord, as the new Temple, the new dwelling place of God. In our prayer we enter into the temple that is the risen Jesus. We speak of all creation as the temple of God, God’s dwelling place. We live in God’s temple of the Earth. Our own bodies are temples of God’s Spirit.
The ancient desert fathers and mothers were seeking deeper intimacy with God. If we can recognize God’s presence in the temple of the human person, and all God’s creation, then we may not find it necessary to abandon society but rather find the Sacred hidden in ordinary humanity, in the abandoned and forgotten, and in all creatures living upon the Earth.