Prayer is opening our understanding to God’s brightness and light, and exposing our will to the warmth of his love.[1] Nothing else purifies so well our understanding of its ignorance and our will of its sinful attachments. It is a spring of blessings and its waters quench the thirst of the passions of our heart, wash away our imperfections, and make the plants of our good desires grow green and bear flowers.
I strongly recommend to you prayer of the mind and of the heart, and especially that based on the life and sufferings of our Lord. By looking at him often in meditation, your whole being will be filled with him. You will learn his attitudes and model your actions on his.
He is the light of the world (Jn. 8:12), and therefore we must be enlightened and instructed in him, by him and for him. He the tree of desire in whose shade we must seek refreshment (Song 2:3). He is the living well of Jacob (Jn. 4:6) for the cleansing of all our stains.
Children learn to speak by constantly listening to their mothers and chattering to them. So we, remaining close to the Saviour in meditation and observing his words, his actions, and his loving desires, shall learn with the help of his grace to speak, act and will like him.
Let us stay closer to him, Philothea. I assure you we can go to God the Father only through this door (Jn 14:6). The glass of a mirror would not catch our reflection it its back were not covered with tin or lead. Similarly, we could not easily contemplate God in this world if the Divinity were not united to the sacred humanity of the Saviour. His life and death are the most suitable, appealing, delightful and fruitful subjects that we can take for our ordinary meditation.
The Saviour calls himself, not without reason, the bread come down from heaven (Jn. 6:51). As bread should be eaten with all sorts of food, so also the Saviour should be meditated on, considered and searched for in all our prayers and actions
The incidents of his life and death have been arranged and presented as points helpful for meditation by many writers.[2]
Spend an hour in meditation every day, some time before the midday meal. If possible do it in the earlier part of the morning, as your mind will be less distracted and more fresh from the night’s rest. Do not spend more than an hour, unless your spiritual director expressly tells you to do so.
If you find sufficient quiet in Church, it will be more easy and convenient for you to make your meditation there. No one, neither father nor mother nor wife nor husband nor anyone else is likely to prevent your staying there for an hour. Being in some way dependent on others, you might not be able to make sure of an undisturbed hour while at home.
Begin any kind of prayer, whether mental or vocal, by recalling the presence of God. Keep to this rule without exception. You will soon realize how helpful it is for you.
I recommend that you say the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the I believe in Latin. But also learn to understand the words well in your own language. Thus, while using the common language of the Church[3], you will be able to relish the wonderful and delightful meaning of these holy prayers. You should say them fixing your attention earnestly on the words, and allowing their meaning to stir up good movements in your will[4]. Do not hurry in order to say many prayers but take care to say those that you do say from the heart. One Our Father said earnestly is of greater value than many recited quickly and in a hurry.
The Rosary is very helpful way of praying, provided you know to say it properly. For this get hold of one of the booklets which explain how it should be recited. It is good to also say the litanies of Our Lord, of our Lady and of the Saints, and all the other vocal prayers to be found in approved prayer books. However, if you have the gift of mental prayer, it is your responsibility to give it always the first place.
If it happens that after mental prayer you are not able to say any vocal prayers, either because of your many duties, or for any other reason, do not be troubled about it. Be satisfied with saying simply the Lord’s Prayer, the Angelical Salutation and the Apostle’s Creed either before or after your meditation.
While saying vocal prayers, if you feel your heart drawn and invited to interior or mental prayer, do not turn away, but let your mind go gently in that direction. Do not worry at all that you have not said all the vocal prayers that you had intended to say. In fact, the mental prayer you have made in their place is much more pleasing to God and of greater benefit to yourself. I make an exception with regard to the Divine Office. If you are bound to say it, you must fulfil your obligation.
If it happens that the whole morning passes without your having spent time in mental prayer, either because you have been busy or for any other reason (you should not allow this to happen, as far as you possibly can) try to make up for this omission after the midday meal. But find a time as long after the midday meal as possible. If you try to make your meditation soon after your meal, while you are still digesting your food, you will feel drowsy and it will harm your health.
In case you have not been able to find time for mental prayer during the whole day, make good this loss by saying numerous ejaculatory prayers, reading some spiritual book, and doing some act of penance to prevent the repetition of this fault. With all this, make a firm resolution to take up the practice of daily mental prayer from the following day.
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[1] Literally “Prayer is placing our understanding in the divine clearness and light, and exposing our will to the warmth of heavenly love.”
[2] Here St. Francis recommends meditation books available in French in his days: those by St. Bonaventure (1221-1274), Franciscan; Matthew Bellintani (1534-1611), Italian Capuchin; Vincent Bruno (1532-1594), Italian Jesuit; Andrew Capilia (1530-1610), Spanish Jesuit who became a Carthusian; Louis of Granda (1505-1588), Spanish Dominican; Louis de la Puente (1545-1624), Spanish Jesuit.
[3] It is only from the time of the Second Vatican Council document on the Liturgy, dated 4 December 1963, that the vernaculars have progressively replaced Latin for the celebration of Mass, the administration of the Sacraments and the praying of the Divine Office.
[4] “Good movements in your will” literally “your affections”. Read Second Part Chapter 6.