The Christian contemplative tradition has its roots in the gospel, and it is here that the spiritual journey common to man is first elaborated by Jesus himself. The richness of this tradition comes from the insights and example of those who through the centuries have lived in accordance with the guidance first presented in the gospels.
The process of Christian transformation presented here as the crisis of faith and the crisis of love is based on later mystical writers, especially St. John of the Cross, as the dark nights of soul and spirit.
The interpretation of scriptural texts is inexhaustible, and the spiritual sense of Scripture elaborated by the Fathers and Mothers of the Church has been used again and again to illustrate insights useful to the various stages of spiritual development. This rich storytelling tradition can be used to trace a gospel map of the spiritual journey, showing the progress of transformation that is outlined there, once our capacity to listen to the Word of God has been sharpened by the habit of contemplative prayer.