The Practice of Mental Prayer. Father Rene de Maumigny
connected with Our Lord, and the second more perfect than the first, namely, the consideration of our sins, yet by far the best plan for each individual is to choose that consideration in which God, Our Lord, communicates Himself most freely to the soul, sharing with it His most holy gifts and spiritual graces; for He knows and sees what is most suitable to each, and knowing all, points out the road which each ought to follow."1
And yet the three subjects just mentioned should not be chosen to the exclusion of all others, for in every meditation there are three beings of whom we must never lose sight: The first is God, the Sovereign Lord of all things. Who on account of His infinite
1 Borgia p. 268; Lettre 58, a St. Frànçois.
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perfections is worthy of boundless love and respect. For how can we treat with Him of what concerns His glory and the interests of our soul if we lose sight of what He is, His power and what He wants to do for us?
The second being is Jesus Christ, our divine Redeemer, who is in truth our Mediator, our Physician, our Master, our only Road to Heaven; in a word He is, in prayer as in everything else concerned with our salvation and sanctity, the Way. Hence it is clear that if we become separated from Him we shall not reach the end of our journey.
And lastly, ourselves. We shall do well not to lose sight of the multitude of our sins, the waywardness of our passions, the spiritual maladies which threaten us, our own feeble strength, the great need in which we stand that God should help us and take possession of our hearts. Otherwise we shall not pray well, nor correct those faults which prevent our union with God.
It is clear, then, that we should choose one of the three subjects just mentioned for special consideration without neglecting the two others. If no particular attraction be felt, the meditation should, in the generality
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of cases, be made on the life and death of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
The subject once chosen, the next step is to prepare it. Many do this by reading a passage from Holy Writ, especially from the Gospels. Such persons are to be praised, for the preparation thus becomes more per- sonal and therefore more practical and fruit- ful. If the person who is making the con- templation," says St. Ignatius, takes the true groundwork of the narrative and, discuss- ing and considering for himself, finds some- thing which makes the events a little clearer or brings them a little more home to him, whether this comes through his own reason- ing, or because his intellect is enlightened by the Divine power, he will get more spiritual relish and fruit, than if he who is giving the exercises had much explained and amplified the meaning of the events. In this case, too, we may have recourse to the general and well-known developments. For instance, if the subject be some mystery of the Passion one may consider: 1. The intensity of the sufferings of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, so as to arouse compassion for them; 2. The enormity of sin, which has caused
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such suffering, so as to be filled with a horror of it; 3. The infinite magnitude of the benefit received; hence, to return thanks to God for His goodness; 4. God's incomprehensible love for us, shown clearly in this mystery, and so, ardently to return that love; 5. The unfathomable wisdom of the eternal prov- idence, so as to admire and praise God for it; 6. The incomparable virtue of Our Lord shown here more clearly than anywhere else, so as to be brought to imitate it.
In the same way, if we are meditating on a passage from the Gospels, such as: "If any one will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."1 We might try to answer the following questions:
What considerations urge me to comply with this teaching?
How have I followed it up to the present?
What measures must I take to make it my rule of life?
What ought I to do for the future?
It must be admitted, however, that a great number of those who meditate daily prefer to use a book in which they have many thoughts suggested by the writer. This
1 Matth. 16: 24.
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method requires only an attentive reading of the text, an effort to imprint it on the mind, and consideration of the fruit which may be drawn from it for one's spiritual advancement.
The preparation in its strict sense com- pleted, our task is not finished; it is still of the utmost importance to keep recollected until beginning the meditation proper. The preparation is usually made before retiring for the night. The subject should be again reviewed in a cursory manner just before going to sleep, and it should be the first thought on awaking next morning. Finally, while dressing, we should direct our thoughts to the subject of meditation, or at least to some pious subject, so as to exclude the day's pre-occupations. Such is the advice of St. Ignatius. 1
This effort to keep recollected until the moment of meditation has a double advantage: in the first place, as the mind is not busied with thoughts foreign to the subject, distrac- tions are avoided and the soul's converse with God is greatly facilitated; and in the second place, the generous effort to keep silent and recollected draws down innumerable graces.
1 Spiritual Exercises , Addit., 1, 2.
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CHAPTER II
THE FIRST ACT, THAT OF PLACING ONESELF IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD, WHICH MUST NEVER BE OMITTED IN BEGINNING A MEDITATION
WHEN a person has been admitted to the presence of an earthly king, it would be most unbecoming for him not to think from the very first of what he is going to say. What can be said, then, of a soul which has been granted the unspeakable privilege of conversing with God and is bold enough to forget that it is in presence of the Divine Majesty, or only to think of it in a more or less vague way?
And here a question arises. Is it enough to place oneself in presence of God by an act of the reason, which proves to us that He is present everywhere?
No, that is not enough. We must place ourselves in presence of God by faith. Prayer is more than an audience granted by God, the Creator and Sovereign Lord of all things, to a creature; it is familiar intercourse like that of children with their father, or of friend
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with friend. Now this last mystic view of prayer so surpasses the powers of our intellect that this could not even suspect its truth and Divine Wisdom has been obliged to reveal it: Behold," says St. John, "what manner of charity the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called and should be the sons of God." 1
This placing of ourselves in God's presence is the most important act of meditation, for it is the basis of all others. It is well, then, to point out different ways of doing it and each one may choose that which ap- peals to him most, according to the impulse of grace.
The first method is to see God present everywhere, in His entirety both in the whole and in each atom of the universe. "If I ascend into heaven, Thou art there: If I descend into hell. Thou art present. If I take wings early in the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there also shall Thy hand lead me: and Thy right hand shall hold me." 2
Not only is God present in the universe by reason of His essence, pervading the
1 1. Ep. 3: 1. 2 Ps. 138: 8, 9, 10.
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immensity of space and each molecule in somewhat the same way as the soul pervades the body, but He is also present by reason of His power, preserving to all things the existence which they would lose, to return into nothingness, if He withdrew. He is equally present in virtue of His knowledge, as the outcome of which He knows