Chapter XV: Mental Prayer

Moral Necessity of Mental Prayer for Religious.

The life of a religious must be a life of prayer. It is difficult, or to speak more correctly, it is morally impossible for a religious, who is not a lover of mental prayer, to be a good religious. If you see a tepid religious, say that she does not make mental prayer and you will say the truth. The devil labors hard to make religious lose the love for meditation; and should he conquer them in this, he will gain all. St. Philip Neri used to say, “A religious without mental prayer is a religious without reason.” I add: she is not a religious, but the corpse of a religious. Let us examine what makes mental prayer so necessary.

I. In the first place, without mental prayer a religious is without light. They, says St. Augustine, who keep their eyes shut, cannot see the way to their country. The eternal truths are all spiritual things that are seen, not with the eyes of the body, but with the eyes of the mind, that is, by reflection and consideration. Now, they who do not make mental prayer do not see these truths, nor do they see the importance of eternal salvation, and the means that they must adopt in order to obtain it. The loss of so many souls arises from the neglect of considering the great affair of our salvation, and what we must do in order to be saved. With desolation, says the prophet Jeremias, is all the land made desolate because there is none that considereth in the heart.¹ On the other hand, the Lord says, that he who keeps before his eyes the truths of faith, that is, death, judgment, and the happy or unhappy eternity that awaits us, shall never fall into sin. In all thy works remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin.² Draw near to God, says David, and you shall be enlightened. Come ye to him and be enlightened.³ In another place our Saviour says: Let your loins be girt, and lamps burning in your hands.⁴ These lamps are, according to St. Bonaventure, holy meditations;⁵ for in prayer the Lord speaks to us, and enlightens, in order to show us the way of salvation. Thy word is a lamp to my feet.⁶

¹ “Desolatione desolata est omnis terra, quia nullus est qui recogitet corde.”—Jer. xii. 11.

² “Memorare novissima tua, et in æternum non peccabis.”—Ecclus. vii. 40.

³ “Accedite ad eum, et illuminamini.”—Ps. xxxiii. 6.

⁴ “Sint lumbi vestri præcincti, et lucernæ ardentes in manibus vestris.”—Luke, xii. 35.

⁵ “Oratio est lucerna.”

⁶ “Lucerna pedibus meis, verbum tuum.”—Ps. cxviii. 105.

St. Bonaventure also says, that mental prayer is, as it were, a mirror, in which we see all the stains of the soul. In a letter to the Bishop of Osma, St. Teresa says: “Although it appears to us that we have no imperfections, still when God opens the eyes of the soul, as he usually does in prayer, our imperfections are then clearly seen.”⁷ He who does not make mental prayer does not even know his defects, and therefore, as St. Bernard says, he does not abhor them.⁸ He does not even know the dangers to which his eternal salvation is exposed, and therefore he does not even think of avoiding them. But he that applies himself to meditation instantly sees his faults, and the dangers of perdition, and seeing them, he will reflect on the remedies for them. By meditating on eternity, David was excited to the practice of virtue, and to sorrow and works of penance for his sins. I thought upon the days of old, and I had in my mind the eternal years, . . . and I was exercised, and I swept my spirit.¹ The spouse in the Canticles said: The flowers have appeared in our land: the time of pruning is come: the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.² When the soul, like the solitary turtle, retires and recollects itself in meditation to converse with God, then the flowers, that is, good desires, appear; then comes the time of pruning, that is, the correction of faults that are discovered in mental prayer. “Consider,” says St. Bernard, “that the time of pruning is at hand, if the time of meditation has gone before.”³ For, says the saint in another place, meditation regulates the affections, directs the actions, and corrects defects.⁴

⁷ Letter 8.

⁸ “Seipsum non exhorret, quia nec sentit.”—De Consid. l. 1, c. 2.

¹ “I considered the days of old, and held the eternal years in mind, . . . and I was exercised, and I swept my spirit.”—Ps. lxxvi. 6.

² “The flowers have appeared in our land; the time of pruning has come; the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land.”—Cant. ii. 12.

³ “Puta tempus putationis adesse, si meditatio præivit.”—De Consid. l. 2, c. 6.

⁴ “Consideratio regit affectus, dirigit actus, corrigit excessus.”—Ibid. l. 1, c. 7.

II. Besides, without meditation there is not strength to resist the temptations of our enemies, and to practise the virtues of the Gospel. Meditation, says the Venerable Bartholomew of the Martyrs,⁵ is like fire with regard to iron, which when cold is hard, and can be wrought only with difficulty, but placed in the fire it becomes soft, and the workman gives it any form he wishes. To observe the divine precepts and counsels, it is necessary to have a tender heart—that is, a heart docile and prepared to receive the impressions of celestial inspirations, and ready to obey them. It was this that Solomon asked of God: Give, therefore, to thy servant an understanding heart.¹ Sin has made our heart hard and indocile; for being altogether inclined to sensual pleasures, it resists, as the Apostle complained, the laws of the spirit. But I see another law in my members fighting against the law of my mind.² But the soul is rendered docile and tender to the influence of grace that is communicated in mental prayer. By the contemplation of the divine goodness, the great love which God has borne him, and the immense benefits that God has bestowed upon him, man is inflamed with love, his heart is softened, and made obedient to the divine inspirations. But without mental prayer his heart will remain hard and restive and disobedient, and thus he shall be lost. A hard heart shall fare evil at the last.³ Hence, St. Bernard exhorted Pope Eugene never to omit meditation on account of external occupations. “I fear for you, O Eugene, lest the multitude of affairs (prayer and consideration being intermitted), may bring you to a hard heart, which abhors not itself, because it perceives not.”⁴

⁵ “Faber ignitum ferrum ictibus mollire satagit.”

¹ “Dabis ergo servo tuo cor docile.”—3 Kings, iii. 9.

² “Video autem aliam legem in membris meis, repugnantem legi mentis meæ.”—Rom. vii. 23.

³ “Cor durum habebit male in novissimo; et qui amat periculum in illo peribit.”—Ecclus. iii. 27.

⁴ “I fear for you, Eugene, lest the multitude of occupations, with prayer and consideration interrupted, lead you to hardness of heart, which does not abhor itself because it does not perceive itself.”—De Consid. l. 1, c. 2.

Some may imagine that the long time which devout souls give to prayer, and which they could spend in useful works, is unprofitable and lost time. But such persons know not that in mental prayer souls acquire strength to conquer enemies and to practise virtue. “From this leisure,” says St. Bernard, “strength comes forth.”⁵ Hence the Lord commanded that his spouse should not be disturbed. I adjure you . . . that you stir not up, nor awake my beloved till she please.¹ He says, until she please: for the sleep or repose which the soul takes in mental prayer is perfectly voluntary, but is at the same time necessary for its spiritual life. He who does not sleep, has not strength to work, nor to walk, but goes tottering along the way. The soul that does not repose and acquire strength in meditation is not able to resist temptations, and totters on the road. In the life of the Venerable Sister Mary Crucified we read that while at prayer she heard a devil boasting that he had made a nun omit the common meditation, and that afterwards, because he continued to tempt her, she was in danger of consenting to mortal sin. The servant of God ran to the nun, and with the divine aid rescued her from the criminal suggestion. Behold the danger to which one who omits meditation exposes his soul! St. Teresa used to say that he who neglects mental prayer needs not a devil to carry him to hell, but that he brings himself there with his own hands. And the Abbot Diocles said that “the man who omits mental prayer soon becomes either a beast or a devil.”

⁵ “Ex hoc otio vires proveniunt.”

¹ “Ne suscitetis neque evigilare faciatis Dilectam, donec ipsa velit.”—Cant. iii. 5.

III. Without petitions on our part God does not grant the divine helps, and without aid from God we cannot observe the commandments; hence the Apostle exhorted his disciples to pray always. Pray without ceasing.² We are poor mendicants: I am a beggar and poor.³ The entire revenue of the poor consists in asking alms from the rich; and our riches also consist in prayer, that is, in the prayer of petition; for by prayer we obtain from God his graces. Without prayer, says St. John Chrysostom, it is absolutely impossible to lead a good life.¹ And, says the learned Monsignor Abelly, what but the neglect of mental prayer can be the cause of the great relaxation of morals that we witness? God has an ardent desire to enrich us with his graces, but, as St. Gregory writes, he wishes to be entreated, and, as it were, forced by our prayers to grant them to us. “God,” says the holy Doctor, “wishes to be asked, he wishes to be compelled, he wishes to be overcome by a certain importunity.”² According to St. John Chrysostom, it is impossible for him who attends to prayer to fall into sin.³ And in another place he says that when the devils see that we pray, they immediately cease to tempt us.⁴

² “Sine intermissione orate.”—1 Thess. v. 17.

³ “Ego autem mendicus sum et pauper.”—Ps. xxxix. 18.

¹ “Simpliciter impossibile est, absque precationis præsidio cum virtute degere.”—De or. D. l. 1.

² “Vult Deus rogari, vult cogi, vult quadam importunitate vinci.”—In Ps. pœnit. vi.

³ “Impossibile est hominem congruo precantem studio unquam peccare.”—Ad pop. Ant. hom. 79.

⁴ “Si nos conspexerint deprecatione munitos, illico resiliunt.”—De or. D. l. 1.

From the absolute necessity of the prayer of petition arises the moral necessity of mental prayer; for he who neglects meditation, and is distracted with worldly affairs, will not know his spiritual wants, the dangers to which his salvation is exposed, the means which he must adopt in order to conquer temptations, or even the necessity of the prayer of petition for all men; thus he will give up the practice of prayer, and by neglecting to ask God’s graces, he will certainly be lost. The great Bishop Palafox, in his Annotations to the letters of St. Teresa, says:⁵ “How can charity last, unless God gives perseverance? How will the Lord give us perseverance if we neglect to ask him for it? And how shall we ask him without mental prayer? Without mental prayer, there is not the communication with God which is necessary for the preservation of virtue.” And Cardinal Bellarmine says that for him who neglects meditation, it is morally impossible to live without sin.

⁵ Letter 8.

Some one may say, I do not make mental prayer, but I say many vocal prayers. But it is necessary to know, as St. Augustine remarks, that to obtain the divine grace it is not enough to pray with the tongue: it is necessary also to pray with the heart. On the words of David: I cried to the Lord with my voice.¹ the holy Doctor says: “Many cry not with their own voice (that is, not with the interior voice of the soul), but with that of the body. Your thoughts are a cry to the Lord.² Cry within, where God hears.”³ This is what the Apostle inculcates. Praying at all times in the spirit.⁴ In general, vocal prayers are said distractedly with the voice of the body, but not of the heart, especially when they are long, and still more especially when said by a person who does not make mental prayer; and therefore God seldom hears them, and seldom grants the graces asked. Many say the Rosary, the Office of the Blessed Virgin, and perform other works of devotion; but they still continue in sin. But it is impossible for him who perseveres in mental prayer to continue in sin; he will either give up meditation or renounce sin. A great servant of God used to say that mental prayer and sin cannot exist together. And this we see by experience: they who make mental prayer rarely incur the enmity of God; and should they ever have the misfortune of falling into sin, by persevering in mental prayer, they see their misery, and return to God. Let a soul, says St. Teresa, be ever so negligent, if she persevere in meditation, the Lord will bring her back to the haven of salvation.⁵

¹ “Voce mea ad Dominum clamavi.”—Ps. cxli. 2.

² “Multi clamant, non voce sua, sed corporis. Cogitatio tua clamor est ad Dominum.”—Enarr. in Ps. cxli.

³ “Clama intus, ubi audit Deus.”—In Ps. xxx, en. 4.

⁴ “Orantes omni tempore in spiritu.”—Eph. vi. 18.

⁵ Life, ch. 8.

IV. All the saints have become saints by mental prayer. Mental prayer is the blessed furnace in which souls are inflamed with the divine love. In my meditation, says David, a fire shall flame out.¹ St. Vincent of Paul used to say, that it would be a miracle if a sinner who attends at the sermons in the mission, or in the spiritual exercises, were not converted. Now, he who preaches and speaks in the exercises is only a man; but it is God himself that speaks to the soul in meditation. I will lead her into the wilderness; and I will speak to her heart.² St. Catharine of Bologna used to say: “He who does not practise mental prayer deprives himself of the bond that unites the soul to God; hence, finding her alone, the devil will easily make her his own.” “How,” she would say, “can I conceive that the love of God is found in the soul that cares but little to treat with God in prayer?”

¹ “In meditatione mea exardescet ignis.”—Ps. xxxviii. 4.

² “Ducam eam in solitudinem et loquar ad cor ejus.”—Osee, ii. 14.

Where but in meditation have the saints been inflamed with divine love? By means of mental prayer St. Peter of Alcantara was inflamed to such a degree that in order to cool himself he ran into a frozen pool, and the frozen water began to boil like water in a caldron placed on the fire. In mental prayer St. Philip Neri became inflamed, and trembled so that he shook the entire room. In mental prayer St. Aloysius Gonzaga was so inflamed with divine ardor that his very face appeared to be on fire, and his heart beat as strongly as if it wished to fly from the body.

St. Laurence Justinian says: “By the efficacy of mental prayer temptation is banished, sadness is driven away, lost virtue is restored, fervor which has grown cold is excited, and the lovely flame of divine love is augmented.”³ Hence, St. Aloysius Gonzaga has justly said that he who does not make much mental prayer will never attain a high degree of perfection.

³ “From prayer temptation is put to flight, sadness departs, virtue is restored, fervor is aroused, and the flame of divine love increases.”—De Casto Conn. c. 22.

A man of prayer, says David, is like a tree planted near the current of waters, which brings forth fruit in due time; all his actions prosper before God. Blessed is the man . . . who shall meditate on his law day and night! And he shall be like a tree which is planted near the running waters, which shall bring forth its fruit in due season, and his leaf shall not fall off: and all, whatsoever he shall do, shall prosper¹ Mark the words, in due season; that is, at the time when he ought to bear such a pain, such an affront, etc.

¹ “Blessed is the man who . . . will meditate on his law day and night. And he will be like a tree planted beside the courses of waters, which will give its fruit in its season; and its leaf will not fall, and all things whatsoever he does will prosper.”—Ps. i. 3.

St. John Chrysostom² compared mental prayer to a fountain in the middle of a garden. Oh! what an abundance of flowers and verdant plants do we see in the garden which is always refreshed with water from the fountain. Such, precisely, is the soul that practises mental prayer: you will see that she always advances in good desires, and that she always brings forth more abundant fruits of virtue. Whence does she receive so many blessings? From meditation, by which she is continually irrigated. Thy plants are a paradise of pomegranates with the fruits of the orchard, . . . the fountain of gardens, the well of living waters, which run with a strong stream from Libanus.³ But let the fountain cease to water the garden, and, behold, the flowers, plants, and all instantly wither away; and why? Because the water has failed. You will see that as long as such a religious makes mental prayer she is modest, humble, devout, and mortified in all things. But let her omit meditation, and you will instantly find her wanting in modesty of the eyes, proud, resenting every word, indevout, no longer frequenting the sacraments and the church; you will find her attached to vanity, to useless conversations, to pastimes, and to earthly pleasures; and why? The water has failed, and therefore fervor has ceased. My soul is as earth without water unto thee. . . . My spirit hath fainted away.¹ The soul has neglected mental prayer, the garden is therefore dried up, and the miserable soul goes from bad to worse. When a soul abandons meditation St. John Chrysostom regards it not only as sick, but as dead. “He,” says the holy Doctor, “who prays not to God, nor desires to enjoy assiduously his divine conversation, is dead. . . . The death of the soul is not to be prostrated before God.”²

² Ad pop. Ant. hom. 79.

³ “Your shoots are a paradise of pomegranates with the fruits of the orchard. . . . A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, which flow with force from Lebanon.”—Cant. iv. 13.

¹ “Anima mea sicut terra sine aqua tibi; . . . defecit spiritus meus.”—Ps. cxlii. 6.

² “Whoever does not pray to God, nor desires continually to enjoy his divine converse, is dead. . . . The death of the soul is not to prostrate oneself before God.”—De or. D. l. 1.

The same Father says that mental prayer is the root of the fruitful vine.³ And St. John Climacus writes that “prayer is a bulwark against the assault of afflictions, the spring of virtues, the procurer of graces.”⁴ Rufinus asserts that all the spiritual progress of the soul flows from mental prayer⁵ And Gerson goes so far as to say, that he who neglects meditation cannot, without a miracle, lead the life of a Christian.⁶

³ “Radix vitis frugiferæ.”—Ibid.

⁴ “Oratio est propugnaculum adversus impetum afflictionum, virtutum scaturigo, gratiarum conciliatrix.”—Scal. par. gr. 23.

⁵ “Omnis profectus spiritualis ex meditatione procedit.”—In Ps. xxxvi.

⁶ “Absque meditationis exercitio, nullus, secluso miraculo Dei, ad christianæ religionis normam attingit.”—De Med. cons. 7.

Speaking of mental prayer, Jeremias says: He shall sit solitary, and hold his peace; because he hath taken it up upon himself.¹ That is, a soul cannot have a relish for God, unless it withdraws from creatures, and sits, that is, stops to contemplate the goodness, the love, the amiableness, of God. But when solitary and recollected in meditation, that is, when it takes away its thoughts from the world, it is then raised above itself, and departs from prayer very different from what it was when it began it.

¹ “Sedebit solitarius, et tacebit, quia levavit super se.”—Lam. iii. 28.

St. Ignatius of Loyola used to say that mental prayer is the short way to attain perfection. In a word, he who advances most in meditation makes the greatest progress in perfection. In mental prayer the soul is filled with holy thoughts, with holy affections, desires, and holy resolutions, and with love for God. There man sacrifices his passions, his appetites, his earthly attachments, and all the interests of self-love. Moreover, by praying for them in mental prayer we can save many sinners, as was done by St. Teresa, St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi, and is done by all souls enamoured of God, who never omit in their meditations to recommend to him all infidels, heretics, and all poor sinners; begging him also to give zeal to priests who work in his vineyard, that they may convert his enemies. In mental prayer we can also, by the sole desire of performing them, gain the merit of many good works which we do not perform. For as the Lord punishes bad desires, so, on the other hand, he rewards all our good desires.

It is necessary, above all, to be careful not to go to mental prayer in order to enjoy consolation and tenderness, but for the purpose of pleasing God, and of learning from him how he wishes to be loved and served by us. Father Balthazar Alvarez used to say: “The love of God consists not in receiving his favors, but in serving him through the sole motive of pleasing him. And he would say, that divine consolation is like the refreshment that we take on a journey not to rest in it, but in order to go forward with greater vigor. When you feel aridity in meditation, be careful to persevere, in spite of all the tediousness that you experience, and know that you then give great pleasure to your Spouse, and acquire great merits. Say to him then: O my Jesus, why dost Thou treat me thus? Thou hast stripped me of all things, of property, of relatives, of my will, and I have been satisfied with these privations, in order to gain Thee; but why dost Thou now deprive me also of Thyself? Say this to him with an humble affection; he will make thee feel that he does all because he loves thee, and for thy greater good. Father Torres used to say: “To carry the cross with Jesus without consolation, makes the soul run and fly to perfection.”

Prayer.

My Jesus, Thou hast loved me in the midst of pains; and in the midst of sufferings I wish to love Thee. Thou hast spared nothing: Thou hast even given Thy blood and Thy life in order to gain my love; and shall I continue as hitherto, to be reserved in loving Thee? 2 No, my Redeemer, it shall not be so; the ingratitude with which I have hitherto treated Thee is sufficient. To Thee I consecrate my whole heart. Thou alone dost deserve all my love. Thee alone do I wish to love. My God, since Thou wishest me to be entirely Thine, give me strength to serve Thee as Thou deservest, during the remainder of my life. Pardon my tepidity and my past infidelities. How often have I omitted mental prayer in order to indulge my caprice. Alas! how often, when it was in my power to remain with Thee in order to please Thee, have I remained with creatures so as to offend Thee. Oh! that so many lost years would return! But, since they will not return, the remaining days of my life must be entirely Thine, O my beloved Lord. I love Thee, O my Jesus! I love Thee, O my Sovereign Good! Thou art, and shalt be forever, the only love of my soul.

O mother of fair love, O Mary, obtain for me the grace to love thy Son, and to spend the remainder of my life in his love. Thou dost obtain from Jesus whatsoever thou wishest; through thy prayers I hope for this gift.

II. The Practice of Mental Prayer.

Having seen the great necessity of mental prayer for religious, and the great blessings that they may draw from it, let us now consider the practice of meditation, with regard to the place, the time, and the manner.

1. The Place Suitable for MENTAL Prayer.

With regard to the place, it should be solitary. But, said our Saviour, when thou shalt pray, enter into thy chamber, and having shut the door, pray to thy Father in secret.¹ When you wish to pray, shut yourself up in your chamber, and thus pray to your Father. St. Bernard says that silence and the absence of all noise almost force the soul to think of the goods of heaven.²

¹ “But you, when you pray, enter into your chamber and, having closed the door, pray to your Father in secret.”—Matt. vi. 6.

² “Silentium, et a strepitu quies, cogit cœlestia meditari.”—Epist. 78.

To make mental prayer, the best place is, as has been said, your own room; but for religious the most appropriate place is the church, in presence of the Blessed Sacrament. The Venerable Father Avila used to say that he knew no sanctuary more desirable than a church in which Jesus Christ remains in the holy Eucharist.

In order to make mental prayer well, it is necessary to unite to the external silence interior silence, that is, detachment from earthly affections. Speaking of certain persons attached to the world, our Lord said one day to St. Teresa: “I would wish to speak to them, but creatures make such a noise in their ears that they do not give me a moment in which I can make them listen to me.” But in the next chapter,¹ on the solitude of the heart, we shall speak at length on this point.

¹ Chap. XVI. § II.

We have here two things to consider, namely, the time of the day most suitable for mental prayer, and the time that is to be spent in making it.

2. The Time of Making Mental Prayer.

1. With regard to the time of making mental prayer, St. Isidore used to say, that, ordinarily speaking, the fittest time for meditation is the morning and evening.² But according to St. Gregory of Nyssa, the morning is the most seasonable time for prayer; because, says the saint, when prayer precedes business, sin will not gain admission to the soul.³ The Venerable Father Charles Carafa, founder of the Congregation of the Pious Workers, used to say that a fervent act of love made in the morning during meditation is sufficient to maintain the soul in fervor during the entire day. Prayer, as St. Jerome has written, is also necessary in the evening.⁴ Let not the body go to rest before the soul is refreshed by mental prayer, which is the food of the soul. But at all times and in all places religious can pray, even at work, or at recreation; it is enough for them then to raise the mind to God and to make good acts, for in this consists mental prayer

² “Mane et vespere tempus est orationis opportunum.”—Spec. disc. p. 1, c. 12.

³ “Si oratio negotium præcesserit, peccatum aditum non inveniet.”—De Or. Dom. or. 1.

⁴ “Non prius corpusculum requiescat, quam anima pascatur.”—Ad Eustoch.

2. With regard to the time to be spent in mental prayer, the rule of the saints was, to devote to it all the hours that were not necessary for the occupations of human life. St. Francis Borgia employed eight hours in the day in meditation, because his Superiors would not allow him a longer time, and when the eight hours were expired, he earnestly asked permission to remain a little longer at prayer, saying, “Ah! give me another little quarter of an hour.” St. Philip Neri was accustomed to spend the entire night in prayer. St. Anthony the Abbot remained the whole night at prayer, and when the sun appeared, which was the time assigned for terminating his prayer, he complained of it for having risen too soon. Father Balthazar Alvarez used to say that a soul that loves God, when not in prayer, is like a stone out of its centre, in a violent state; for in this life we should as much as possible imitate the life of the saints in bliss, who are constantly employed in the contemplation of God.

It is right to observe, that with regard to the posture the fittest one is kneeling; but when it causes pain and distraction, a person may, as St. John of the Cross says, make meditation sitting in a modest posture.

But let us come to the particular time which a religious who seeks perfection should devote to mental prayer. Father Torres prescribed for religious who were his penitents an hour’s meditation in the morning, another during the day, and a half-hour’s meditation in the evening, when they should not be hindered by sickness or by any duty of obedience. If to you this appears too much, I counsel you at least to give to mental prayer an hour in addition to the time devoted to it by the Community.

Sometimes the Lord wishes you to omit prayer in order to perform’some work of fraternal charity; but it is necessary to attend to what St. Laurence Justinian says: “When charity requires it, the spouse of Jesus goes to serve her neighbor; but during that time she continually sighs to return to converse with her Spouse in the solitude of her cell.”¹ Father Vincent Carafa, General of the Society of Jesus, stole as many little moments of time as he could, and employed them in prayer.

Mental prayer is tedious to the religious who is attached to the world, but not to those who love God only. Now, how can it be said that a religious loves God only, when she feels no tediousness in conversing for two hours with a relative or an acquaintance at the grate, and cannot bring herself to make an hour’s meditation, in addition to the meditations made by the Community? Ah! conversation with God is not painful nor tedious to those who truly love him. His conversation has no bitterness, his company produces not tediousness, but joy and gladness.¹ Mental prayer, says St. John Climacus, is nothing else than a familiar conversation and union with God.² In prayer, as St. John Chrysostom says, the soul converses with God, and God with the soul. No, the life of holy religious that love prayer and fly from earthly amusements is not a life of bitterness. If you do not believe me, Taste and see that the Lord is sweet.³ Try it, and you will see how sweet the Lord is to those who leave all things in order to converse with him only. But the end which we ought to propose to ourselves in going to meditation should be, as has been said several times, not spiritual consolation, but to learn from our Lord what he wishes from us, and to divest ourselves of all self-love. “To prepare yourself for prayer,” says St. John Climacus, “put off your own will.”⁴ To prepare ourselves well for meditation, we must renounce selfwill, and say to God: Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.⁵ Lord, tell me what you wish me to do: I am willing to do it. And it is necessary to say this with a resolute will, for without this disposition the Lord will not speak to us.

¹ “When charity urges, it exposes itself for its neighbor, yet in such a way that it continually longs for a return to the chamber of the Bridegroom.”—De Casto Conn. c. 12.

¹ “Non enim habet amaritudinem conversatio illius, nec tædium convictus illius, sed lætitiam et gaudium.”—Wisd. viii. 16.

² “Oratio est familiaris conversatio et conjunctio cum Deo.”—Scal. par. gr. 28.

³ “Gustate, et videte quoniam suavis est Dominus.”—Ps. xxxiii. 9.

⁴ “Ad præparandum te ad orationem, exue voluntates tuas.”—Scal. par. gr. 28.

⁵ “Loquere, Domine, quia audit servus tuus.”—1 Kings, iii. 19.

3. The Manner of Making Mental Prayer.

As to the manner of making mental prayer, I will suppose that you are already instructed in it; but allow me to explain briefly the principal parts of mental prayer for any young beginner into whose hands this book may fall.

Mental prayer contains three parts: the preparation, the meditation, and the conclusion.

1. In the preparation there are three acts: an act of faith, of the presence of God, and of adoration; 2, an act of humility and of sorrow for our sins, and, 3, a petition for light. They may be made in the following manner:

My God, I believe Thee present within me; I adore Thee with my whole soul.

Be careful to make this act with a lively faith, for a lively remembrance of the divine presence contributes greatly to remove distractions. Cardinal Carracciolo, Bishop of Aversa, used to say that when a person is distracted in meditation there is reason to think that he has not made a lively act of faith.

2. Lord, I should now be in hell in punishment of the offences I have offered to Thee. I am sorry for them from the bottom of my heart; have mercy on me.

3. Eternal Father, for the sake of Jesus and Mary, give me light in this meditation, that I may draw fruit from it.

We must, then, recommend ourselves to the Blessed Virgin by saying a Hail Mary, to St. Joseph, to our guardian angel, and to our holy patron.

These acts, says St. Francis de Sales, ought to be made with fervor, but should be short, that we may pass immediately to the meditation.

II. On entering on the meditation we must take leave of all extraneous thoughts, saying with St. Bernard, “O my thoughts! wait here;”¹ after prayer we shall speak on other matters. Be careful not to allow the mind to wander where it wishes; but should a distracting thought enter, we must not be disturbed, nor seek to banish it with a violent effort, but let us remove it calmly and return to God. Let us remember that the devil labors hard to disturb us in the time of meditation in order to make us abandon it. Let him, then, who omits mental prayer on account of distractions be persuaded that he gives delight to the devil. It is impossible, says Cassian,² that our minds should be free from all distractions during prayer. Let us, then, never give up meditation, however great our distractions may be. St. Francis de Sales³ says that if in mental prayer we should do nothing else than continually banish distractions and temptations, the meditation is well made. And before him St. Thomas taught that involuntary distractions do not take away the fruit of mental prayer.⁴ When we perceive that we are deliberately distracted, let us desist from the voluntary defect, and banish the distraction, but let us be careful not to discontinue our meditation.

¹ “Exspectate hic.”—De cont. D. c. 1.

² Collat. 23, c. 7.

³ Lettre 629.

⁴ “Evagatio mentis, quæ fit præter propositum, orationis fructum non tollit.”—2. 2, q. 83, a. 13.

With regard to the subject-matter of meditation, the best rule is to meditate on the truths or mysteries in which the soul finds most nourishment and devotion. But above all, for a religious who loves perfection the most appropriate subject is the Passion of Jesus Christ. Blosius writes that our Lord revealed to several holy women, to St. Gertrude, St. Bridget, St. Mechtilde, and St. Catharine of Sienna that they who meditate on his Passion are very dear to him. According to St. Francis de Sales,¹ the Passion of our Redeemer should be the ordinary subject of the meditations of every Christian; how much more should it be the subject of the meditations of the spouse of Jesus Christ! Oh, what an excellent book is the Passion of Jesus! There we understand better than in any other book the malice of sin, and also the mercy and love of God for man. You may read for your meditation the devout reflections that I have published on what the holy evangelists have written concerning the Passion of our Saviour. To me it appears that Jesus Christ has suffered so many different pains, the scourging, the crowning with thorns, the crucifixion, etc., that having before our eyes so many painful mysteries we might have a variety of different subjects for meditating on his Passion, by which we might excite sentiments of gratitude and love.

¹ Introd. p. 2, ch. 1.

When she is alone at meditation a religious will do well always to make mental prayer with the aid of a book. St. Teresa used a book for seventeen years: she would first read a little, and then meditate for a short time on what she had read. It is useful to meditate in this manner, in imitation of the pigeon, that first drinks and then raises its eyes to heaven.

However, let it be remembered that the advantage of mental prayer consists not so much in meditating as in making affections, petitions, and resolutions: these are the three principal fruits of meditation. “The progress of a soul,” says St. Teresa, “does not consist in thinking much of God, but in loving him ardently; and this love is acquired by resolving to do a great deal for him.”² Speaking of mental prayer, the spiritual masters say that meditation is, as it were, the needle which when it has passed must be succeeded by the golden thread composed, as has been said, of affections, resolutions, and petitions.

² Found. ch. 5.

1. When you have reflected on the point of meditation, and feel any pious sentiment, raise your heart to God and offer him acts of humility, of confidence, or of thanksgiving; but above all, repeat in mental prayer acts of contrition and of love.

The act of love, as also the act of contrition, is the golden chain that binds the soul to God. An act of perfect charity is sufficient for the remission of all our sins. Charity covereth a multitude of sins.¹ The Lord has declared that he cannot hate the soul that loves him: I love them that love me.² The Venerable Sister Mary Crucified once saw a globe of fire in which some straws that had been thrown into it were instantly consumed. By this vision she was given to understand that a soul by making a true act of love obtains the remission of all its faults. Besides, the Angelic Doctor teaches that by every act of love we acquire a new degree of glory. “Every act of charity,” says the saint, “merits eternal life.”³ Acts of love may be made in the following manner:

¹ “Charitas operit multitudinem peccatorum.”—1 Pet. iv. 8.

² “Ego diligentes me diligo.”—Prov. viii. 17.

³ “Quilibet actus charitatis meretur vitam æternam.”—1. 2, q. 114, a. 7.

My God, I esteem Thee more than all things.

I love Thee with my whole heart. I delight in Thy felicity.

I would wish to see Thee loved by all.

I wish only what Thou wishest.

Make known to me what Thou wishest from me, and I will do it.

Dispose as Thou pleasest of me and of all that I possess.

This last act of oblation is particularly pleasing to God. St. Teresa was accustomed to offer herself to God in this manner at least fifty times in the day.

Remember that in this chapter we speak of the ordinary mental prayer; for should a soul feel itself at any time united to God by supernatural or infused recollection, without any particular thought of an eternal truth or of any divine mystery, it should not then labor to perform any other acts than those to which it feels itself sweetly drawn to God. It is then enough to endeavor with loving attention to remain united with God without impeding the divine operation, or forcing one’s self to make reflections and acts. But this is to be understood when the Lord calls the soul to this supernatural prayer; but until we receive such a call we should not depart from the ordinary method of mental prayer, but should, as has been said, make use of meditation and affections. However, for persons accustomed to mental prayer it is better to employ themselves in affections than in considerations.

2. Moreover, in mental prayer it is very profitable, and perhaps more useful than any other act, to repeat petitions to God asking with humility and confidence his graces; that is, his light, resignation, perseverance, and the like; but above all, the gift of his holy love. St. Francis de Sales used to say, that by obtaining the divine love we obtain all graces; for a soul that truly loves God with its whole heart will of itself, without being admonished by others, abstain from giving him the smallest displeasure, and will labor to please him to the best of its ability.

When you find yourself in aridity and darkness, so that you feel, as it were, incapable of making good acts, it is sufficient to say: My Jesus, mercy. Lord, for the sake of Thy mercy, assist me. And the meditation made in this manner will be for you, perhaps, the most useful and fruitful.

The Venerable Paul Segneri used to say that until he studied theology he employed himself during the time of mental prayer in making reflections and affections; but “God” (these are his own words) “afterwards opened my eyes, and thenceforward I endeavored to employ myself in petitions, and if there is any good in me, I ascribe it to this exercise of recommending myself to God.” Do you likewise do the same; ask of God his graces in the name of Jesus Christ, and you shall obtain whatsoever you desire. This our Saviour has promised, and his promise cannot fail: Amen, amen, I say to you, if you ask the Father anything in my name he will give it you.¹

¹ “Amen, amen, dico vobis: si quid petieritis Patrem in nomine meo dabit vobis.”—John, xvi. 23.

In a word, for you, religious, all your mental prayer should consist in acts and petitions. Hence the Venerable Sister Mary Crucified, while in an ecstasy, declared that mental prayer is the respiration of the soul; for as by respiration the air is first attracted and afterwards given back, so by petitions the soul first receives grace from God, and then by good acts of oblation and love it gives itself to him.

In finishing the meditation it is necessary to make a particular resolution; as, for example, to avoid some particular defect into which you have more frequently fallen, or to practise some virtue, such as to suffer the annoyance that you receive from a sister, to obey more exactly a certain Superior, to perform some particular act of mortification. We must repeat the same resolution several times until we find that we have got rid of the defect or acquired the virtue. Afterwards reduce to practice the resolutions you have made as soon as an occasion presents itself.

You would also do well, before the conclusion of your prayer, to renew the vows made at your profession. This renewal is most pleasing to God, because by her vows a religious gives herself entirely to God. According to the doctrine of St. Thomas,¹ a religious is absolved from all her sins on the day of her profession, on account of the donation that she makes of herself entirely to God by means of the vows by which she consecrates to him all that she has—her property, her body, and her will. The same favor appears to be obtained by the nun who with a true spirit of self-spoliation renews her religious vows. Hence I advise you to renew them frequently, as well in the common prayer as at Communion, in the visit to the Blessed Sacrament, at rising in the morning, and in going to bed at night.

¹ 2. 2, q. 189, a. 3.

III. The conclusion of meditation consists of three acts: 1. In thanking God for the lights received; 2. In making a purpose to fulfil the resolutions made; 3. In asking of the eternal Father for the sake of Jesus and Mary grace to be faithful to them.

Be careful never to omit at the end of meditation to recommend to God the souls in purgatory and poor sinners. St. John Chrysostom says that nothing more clearly shows the love of a soul for Jesus Christ than her zeal in recommending her brethren to him.²

² “Nihil declarat quis sit amans Christi, quam si curam fratrum agat.”—Contra Anom. hom. 6.

St. Francis de Sales remarks that in leaving mental prayer we should take with us a nosegay of flowers, in order to smell them during the day; that is, we should remember one or two points in which we felt particular devotion in order to excite our fervor during the day.

The ejaculations that are dearest to God are those of love, of resignation, of oblation of ourselves. Let us endeavor not to perform any action without first offering it to God, and not to allow at the most a quarter of an hour to pass, in whatever occupations we may find ourselves, without raising the heart to the Lord by some good act. Moreover, in our leisure time, such as when we are waiting for a person, or when we walk in the garden, or are confined to bed by sickness, let us endeavor to the best of our ability to unite ourselves to God. It is also necessary by observing silence, by seeking solitude as much as possible, and by remembering the presence of God, to preserve the pious sentiments conceived in meditation. But I shall speak more at length on this subject in the following chapter.

I here add, that in order to be a soul of prayer, a religious must resist with fortitude all temptations to continue mental prayer in the time of aridity. St. Teresa has left us very excellent instructions on this point. In one place she says: “The devil knows that he has lost the soul that perseveringly practises mental prayer.”¹ In another place she says: “I hold for certain that the Lord will conduct to the haven of salvation the soul that perseveres in mental prayer, in spite of all the sins that the devil may oppose.”² Again she says: “He that does not stop in the way of mental prayer, reaches the end of his journey, though he should delay a little.”³ The love of God does not consist in experiencing tender affections, but in serving him with courage and humility.⁴ Finally she concludes, saying: “By aridity and temptations the Lord proves his lovers. Though aridity should last for life, let not the soul give up prayer: the time will come when all will be well rewarded.”⁵

¹ Life, ch. 19.

² Life, ch. 8.

³ Life, ch. 19.

⁴ Life, ch. 11.

⁵ Life, ch. 11.

The Angelic Doctor says that true devotion consists not in feeling, but in the desire and resolution to embrace promptly all that God wills.⁶ Such was the prayer that Jesus Christ made in the garden; it was all full of aridity and tediousness, but it was the most devout and meritorious prayer that had ever been offered in this world; it consisted of these words: Not what I will, but what thou wilt.¹

⁶ 2. 2, q. 82, a. 1.

¹ “Non quod ego volo, sed quod tu.”—Mark, xiv. 36.

Dear sister, never give up mental prayer in the time of aridity. Should the tediousness that assails you be very great, divide your meditations into several parts, and employ yourself for the most part in petitions to God, even though you should seem to pray without confidence and without fruit. It will be sufficient to say and repeat: My Jesus, mercy. Lord, have mercy on me. Pray, and doubt not that God will hear you and grant your petitions.

And in going to meditation, never propose to yourself your own pleasure and satisfaction, but only to please God, and to learn what he wishes you to do. And for this purpose pray always that God may make known to you his will, and that he may give you strength to fulfil it. All that we ought to seek in mental prayer is light to know and strength to accomplish the will of God in our regard.

Prayer.

Ah! my Jesus, it appears that Thou couldst do nothing more, in order to gain the love of men. It is enough to know that Thou hast wished to become man; that is, to become like us, a worm. Thou hast wished to lead a painful life, of thirty-three years, amid sorrow and ignominies, and in the end to die on an infamous gibbet. Thou hast also wished to remain under the appearance of bread, in order to become the food of our souls; and how is it possible that Thou hast received so much ingratitude, even from Christians that believe these truths, and still love Thee so little? Unhappy me! I have hitherto been among those ungrateful souls; I have attended only to my pleasures, and have been forgetful of Thee and of Thy love. I now know the evil I have done; but I repent of it with my whole heart; my Jesus, pardon me. I now love Thee; I love Thee so ardently that I choose death, and a thousand deaths, rather than cease to love Thee. I thank Thee for the light that Thou givest me. Give me strength, O God of my soul, always to advance in Thy love. Accept this poor heart to love Thee. It is true that it has once despised Thee, but now it is enamoured of Thy goodness; it loves Thee and desires only to love Thee.

O Mary, Mother of God, assist me; in thy intercession I place great confidence.