heart to us.”^245 He also provides a number of suggestions of how to maintain
heavenly conversations including taking advantage of heavenly exercises which
includes Scripture and prayer, being cautious to avoid performing spiritual practices
by mere formality, and paying attention to the Holy Spirit.^246 Since “it is the Spirit of
God that must be as the chariot of Elijah” to guide individuals in heavenly-
mindedness Ambrose challenges his readers to “observe the drawings, and movings,
and mindings of the Spirit.”^247
A fourth benefit of contemplation is being transformed into Christ’s likeness.
Contemplation is a looking, beholding, and gazing upon an object in a sustained
loving and grateful manner. When this is directed towards Jesus as the object a
person is transformed more and more into Christ’s likeness. Earlier it was noticed
how frequently Ambrose connects this with Saint Paul’s declaration in 2 Corinthians
3:18 and the formative nature of God’s glory. Of the nine ways of looking at Jesus,
the conforming sections were most likely to be saturated with contemplative language
or images. As Ambrose develops this in the conforming to Jesus in his incarnation
section he significantly frames this within the context of spiritual marriage, “all we
have is by marriage with Jesus Christ; ... if by looking on Christ, we come to this
likenesse, to be one with Jesus Christ.”^248 Previously Ambrose’s frequent reliance
upon the Holy Spirit was mentioned. In drawing a parallel between Mary, the mother
of Jesus, and those who seek to look unto Jesus Ambrose declares, “look we to this
conformity, that as Christ was conceived in Mary by the holy Ghost, so, that Christ be
(^245) Ambrose, Looking Unto Jes (^) us, 918.
(^246) Ambrose, Looking Unto Jesus, 921-4.
(^247248) Ambrose, Looking Unto Jesus, 924.
Ambrose, Looking Unto Jesus, 355, cf. 354, 356.