On the Necessity of Prayer.
1. Prayer, setting our spirit before the Divine light, and exposing our will to the warmth of heavenly love, is most apt to purge our understanding of its ignorances, and our will of its evil affections. It is the water of blessing, which, by its gentle freshness, makes the plants of our good desires grow green and bloom, washes our souls of their imperfections, and quenches the thirst of our hearts, parched by the passions.
1. Prayer, setting our spirit before the Divine light, and exposing our will to the warmth of heavenly love, is most apt to purge our understanding of its ignorances, and our will of its evil affections. It is the water of blessing, which, by its gentle freshness, makes the plants of our good desires grow green and bloom, washes our souls of their imperfections, and quenches the thirst of our hearts, parched by the passions.
2. But above all I counsel you to mental and affective prayer, especially that which has for its object the life and passion of Our Lord. By often beholding Him in meditation, your whole soul will be filled with Him; you will learn to know Him, and your actions will be formed upon the pattern of His. He is the light of the world: it is therefore in Him, by Him, and for Him that we must be enlightened. He is the tree of desire: it is therefore under His shadow that we must refresh ourselves; He is the true fountain of Jacob: it is therefore in His waters that we must wash ourselves of all our defilements. Lastly, children, by dint of hearing their mothers and lisping with them, learn to speak their language; and we also, remaining near the Saviour through meditation, and carefully observing His words, His actions, and His sentiments, shall learn, by means of His holy grace, to speak, to act, and to will as He does. We must dwell upon this, Philothea; and, believe me, we could not go to God the Father save by this door; for, just as the surface of a mirror could not hold our gaze if it were not coated on the back with lead or tin, so the Divinity could never have been well contemplated by us in this lowly world, had It not been joined to the sacred humanity of the Saviour. Now, since this is so, it is plain that the life and death of Jesus are the object most suited to our weakness, the sweetest, most delightful, and most profitable that we can choose for our ordinary meditations. It is not without reason that the Saviour is called the bread come down from Heaven; for, as bread must be eaten with all manner of meats, so also must the Saviour be meditated upon, considered, and sought in all our prayers and in all our actions. Some authors, to make this exercise easier, have devised dividing His life and death into various points for meditation. Those whom I recommend most to you are Saint Bonaventure, Bellintani, Bruno, Capilia, Granada, and Dupont.
3. Set aside an hour each day for this, before dinner, and, if possible, early in the morning, because your mind will be less burdened and fresher after the night’s rest. Do not spend more than an hour on it either, unless your spiritual father has expressly told you to do so.
4. If you can perform this exercise quietly in a church, I believe that will be best; for neither father, nor mother, nor wife, nor husband, nor anyone else will be able reasonably to disturb you during this hour of devotion: whereas in your own house, you may perhaps be unable to secure the whole hour, or to be so free, because of the duties to which you are subject.
5. Always begin your prayers, whether mental or vocal, by placing yourself in the presence of God; never relax this rule, and you will soon see how profitable it will be to you.
6. If you take my advice, you will say the _Pater_, the _Ave_, and the _Credo_ in Latin; but you will also learn to understand their words well in your own language, so that, while reciting them in the language used by the Church, you may nonetheless savour the delicious and admirable meaning of these holy prayers. They must be said with deep attention of mind, stirring your heart to the sentiments they express; do not hurry at all in order to say many, but rather strive to say with all your heart what you say; for one _Pater_ said with feeling is worth more than several recited in haste.
4. If you can perform this exercise quietly in a church, I believe that will be best; for neither father, nor mother, nor wife, nor husband, nor anyone else will be able reasonably to disturb you during this hour of devotion: whereas in your own house, you may perhaps be unable to secure the whole hour, or to be so free, because of the duties to which you are subject.
5. Always begin your prayers, whether mental or vocal, by placing yourself in the presence of God; never relax this rule, and you will soon see how profitable it will be to you.
6. If you take my advice, you will say the _Pater_, the _Ave_, and the _Credo_ in Latin; but you will also learn to understand their words well in your own language, so that, while reciting them in the language used by the Church, you may nonetheless savour the delicious and admirable meaning of these holy prayers. They must be said with deep attention of mind, stirring your heart to the sentiments they express; do not hurry at all in order to say many, but rather strive to say with all your heart what you say; for one _Pater_ said with feeling is worth more than several recited in haste.
7. The Rosary is a very good way of praying, provided that you know how to say it as you ought. And for this purpose, have one of the little books which teach the way to recite it. It is good also to say the litanies of Our Lord, of Our Lady, and of the Saints, and all the other vocal prayers which are in the approved Manuals and Books of Hours, on condition, nevertheless, that if you have the gift of mental prayer, you always give it the chief place. If, then, after having made it, the multitude of occupations, or some other reason, prevents you from making your vocal prayer, do not be troubled, but simply say, before or after meditation, the Lord’s Prayer, the Angelic Salutation, and the Apostles’ Creed.
8. If during vocal prayer you feel your heart drawn toward inward and mental prayer, do not resist this attraction, but let your spirit gently flow in that direction, and do not grieve that you have not finished the vocal prayers you had proposed to yourself; for the mental prayer which you will have made in their place is more pleasing to God, and more useful to your soul. I except the ecclesiastical office, if you are obliged to say it; for in this case, duty takes precedence over all.
9. If it should happen that your whole morning passes without this holy exercise of mental prayer, either because of the great number of affairs, or for some other reason, which you must avoid as much as possible, try to make up for this loss in the afternoon, at the hour farthest removed from the meal that you can manage, because, if digestion were not yet complete, you might fall into drowsiness and harm your health.
8. If during vocal prayer you feel your heart drawn toward inward and mental prayer, do not resist this attraction, but let your spirit gently flow in that direction, and do not grieve that you have not finished the vocal prayers you had proposed to yourself; for the mental prayer which you will have made in their place is more pleasing to God, and more useful to your soul. I except the ecclesiastical office, if you are obliged to say it; for in this case, duty takes precedence over all.
9. If it should happen that your whole morning passes without this holy exercise of mental prayer, either because of the great number of affairs, or for some other reason, which you must avoid as much as possible, try to make up for this loss in the afternoon, at the hour farthest removed from the meal that you can manage, because, if digestion were not yet complete, you might fall into drowsiness and harm your health.
But if at last you cannot make it throughout the whole day, you must make up for it by many ejaculatory prayers and by reading some book of devotion, with a penance that prevents the consequences of this loss; and moreover, make a firm resolve to resume your course the following day.