Catechism of the Catholic Church

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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 in the time of his holy cure used to say while praying 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

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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PART FOUR: CHRISTIAN PRAYER

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SECTION ONE: PRAYER IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

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CHAPTER THREE: THE LIFE OF PRAYER

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ARTICLE 1: EXPRESSIONS OF PRAYER

Notes for the above paragraph:

11 Cf. St. Ignatius of Loyola, Spiritual Exercises, 104.

English Translation of the Cathechism of the Catholic Church for the United States of America © 1997, United States Catholic Conference, Inc.

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