Everyone contemplates something. What do you contemplate? To contemplate is to ponder something deeply. As Christians, we are called to think on a deeper level, and to live on a deeper level. 

Bruno of Cologne lived an incredibly contemplative life. He thought deeply about God’s dream for his life, and that contemplation gave birth to powerful action. Beyond his amazing work as a priest, teacher, and philosopher, Bruno was best known for founding the Carthusian Order, which emphasized a life of silence, solitude, and humility. Throughout his lifetime, Bruno built churches, taught future bishops, and even advised the pope. But it all sprang from his deep commitment to contemplating God’s will for his life.

Contemplation is not just for monks and nuns. In truth, we all lead lives of contemplation, but we spend our lives contemplating very different things. What do you contemplate? Is it the riches of the world? Is it every woman who passes you on the street? Do you ponder the latest fashions? The local gossip? Or do you contemplate the wonders of God, the glory of His creation, and the joys of the spiritual life? It is not necessary to go away to a monastery to live a life of contemplation. We are all contemplatives because we are all thinking all the time, and what you contemplate will play a very significant role in the life you live.

The reason prayer and contemplation are so integral to the Christian life is that thought determines action. If you send your thoughts down one road, your actions will follow your thoughts. Thought determines action, and so the actions of your life are determined by your most dominant thoughts.

Consider the heroes of Christianity, the men and women we call saints. They have lived in every place, in every time, and in every culture. Some of the saints were young and some were old. Some were rich and some were poor. Some were educated and others were uneducated. Some had positions of power and authority, and others did not. My point is that you cannot find a more diverse group of people in history than the saints. And yet, the people of their time say exactly the same thing about every single one of them: They brought Jesus to life for us. Why? Because the saints all spent their post-conversion lives pondering the life and teachings of Jesus Christ—the Gospel—and they simply became what they thought.



Feast Day: October 6 

Feast Day Shared By: Saint Mary Francis of the Five Wounds

Patron Saint of: Germany and Calabria (Spain) 

Also Known As: The Founder of the Carthusian Order

Symbols: Holding and Contemplating a Skull

Canonized: February 17, 1623

Canonized By: Pope Gregory XV