"He who avoids prayer is avoiding everything that is good"-St. John of the Cross
In March, several of us went to a retreat up in the mountains. One of the many fruits from that retreat, was the recommendation of resources for further study.
In particular the following: Time For God by Jacques Philippe, deals with the topic of Mental Prayer.
Unlike the methods taught in Asian traditions of 'centering prayer', mental prayer, Philippe proposes is not a type of Christian Yoga. He strongly affirms that Mental Prayer is not a technique but a GRACE.
Philippe afirms that "contemplative prayer is not the result of a technique, but a gift we receive." He quotes St. Jane Frances de Chantal, "The best method of prayer is not to have one, because prayer is not obtained by artifice, but by grace."
Philippe poses that contemplative prayer is a gift (grace) from God, and no special technique on our part can bring us to that special place of communion with God. But, he believes that we do need to understand how to receive this grace. As in all things, we need to cooperate with God in order to receive His lavishly given graces.
A topic of lively discussion at one of our ENDOW gatherings was the topic of Centering Prayer. Philippe affirms the conclusions that we reached at that time, in essence; centering prayer leads to too much concentration on ourselves, instead of God. How comforting to know that prayer is God's gift to us and by letting Him take the lead, we can be led higher than we can ever go on our own. I much prefer to let God, who is ALL WISDOM and KNOWLEDGE take the lead. My understanding of my puniness compared to His majesty is very clear. Let God take the lead and I'll go much further than I ever could on my own efforts.
The other point the Philippe makes in the early part of the book is that "Every single person, in accordance with his or her own personality, his or her own gifts and weaknesses, can have a deep prayer life by corresponding faithfully to God's grace." In other words, don't give up! Anyone can open themselves up to God's call to prayer. As in all things, be persistent!
"But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved." Matthew 24:13
The basic mental attitudes needed to improve in prayer and to be open to receive graces, Philippe identifies as follows:
Humility-God is God and I am not
Faith and Trust-To believe in God and that He hears us and has only good in store for us
Fidelity and Perseverance-Pray daily and with consistency
Purity of Intention-Love God, Praise God, Seek God's Desire before our own
Philippe quotes the following frequently throughout his book. These giants of prayer will be familiar to all of you.
St. Teresa of Avila
St. John of the Cross
St. Francis de Sales
St. Thérèse of Lisieux
I've read books by all of these individuals, but appreciate Philippe's thoughtful conglomeration of prayer information being meshed together in this book. There is a great deal to consider on this subject, but it seems to me that the most important thing of all is to actually start doing it!
"Prayer is, beyond doubt, the most powerful weapon the Lord gives us to conquer evil passions and temptations of the devil; but we must really put ourselves into our prayer: it is not enough just to say the words, it must come from the heart. And also prayer needs to be continuous, we must pray no matter what kind of situation we find ourselves in: the warfare we are engaged in is ongoing, so our prayer must be on-going also." -St. Alphonsus de Liguori
A point Phillipe made in the book is that we all make time for those things we find important. No one has ever been known to starve for lack of time to eat! Yet, so often we starve our souls by putting all manner of busyness before our time with God. I am as guilty of this as anyone.
Prayer is the lifeblood of the soul. Without it, even the sacraments can only gift you graces to a point. With prayer, the sacraments become deeper, more meaningful, a fuller expression of faith. Phillipe says that "the life of prayer is the source of infinite riches."
Further, he believes that even poor, distracted and prayer of short duration will bring us closer to God. The devil can not distract a soul close to God. Our prayer life makes it easier to discern light from dark, goodness from the imitation of goodness and ultimately if we persevere, it will bring us to holiness.
For Deeper Prayer, St. Frances de Sales says that there are 2 levels of prayer in what is called recollection. In one level, love inspires prayer. In the other, love does not inspire the prayer as much as controls the prayer. It impels us to withdraw from the world in order to be more fully in God's presence. In the story or Martha and Mary, St. Frances points out that Martha tries to draw Mary from Jesus' side and back to the world by complaining to our Lord. But it is obvious by Jesus' response to Martha that Mary had made a better choice. This is a great challenge for me in mental prayer. Thoughts race and often distract me from just 'being' with the Lord. I'm often thinking about what needs to be done and not in the eternal moment that I am sharing with my beloved. I find myself thinking about aspects of God as revealed in sacred scripture or nature and forget to simply BE in His presence. "Oh God! I was looking for you everywhere, and you are within me."-St. Augustine.
St. Peter Julian Eymard offers the following advice:
"We must know where mediocrity of spirit comes from. The first is the worst: it’s a scattered mind, a life which is too active. Nothing can cling to it. It’s like the seed of the Gospel falling on the open road. The remedy is to bring the mind back to natural reflection by some reading or serious meditations which strike it and help it to be focused. In general, it’s better to choose a great truth than a pious feeling. The work of truth is to refocus our attention, reflection, and finally, devotion.
From the Endow study Edith Stein: Seeker of Truth we find the following words; "It all depends on having a quiet little corner where you can talk with God on a daily basis as if nothing else existed, and on regarding yourself completely as an instrument, so that you treat your most frequently demanded talents not as something that you use but as God working through you."
I am convicted and challenged to find that quiet place, in my home, and in my soul.
Stay with it Sisters-the rewards will send out echos of love throughout the world!
How gently and lovingly
You wake in my heart,
Where in secret you dwell alone;
And in your sweet breathing,
Filled with good and glory,
How tenderly you swell in my heart with love!
-St. John of the Cross-
