Revelation and the Practices of Reception

Revelation is often thought of as a purely passive event, but this essay argues that contemplative practices—such as those in monastic and liturgical life—actively prepare a person to receive revelation without controlling or determining it. Drawing on Jean-Luc Marion's phenomenological account of revelation, the essay examines mystical and liturgical experiences to show that habituated practices of contemplation increase the capacity for reception. The argument challenges the view of revelation as entirely passive, suggesting instead that disciplined spiritual practices play a preparatory role.

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Abstract

This essay brings theology and phenomenology together in order to explore the role of contemplative practices in the reception of revelation. The essay begins with Jean-Luc Marion’s phenomenological account of revelation and subsequently considers the dynamics of revelation in the context of mystical and liturgical experience. Challenging the understanding of the reception of revelation as a passive event, I argue instead that the habituated practices of contemplation which mark monastic and liturgical life can also be understood to be preparatory techniques to increase the capacity for reception of revelation without, however, controlling or determining its arrival.