A Short Method for Meditating Well. And First, of the Presence of God; the First Point of Preparation.
But perhaps you know not, Philothea, how to make mental prayer; for, alas, this is a thing but little known among the people of our age. I therefore offer you here a simple and short method for this purpose, until, by reading the many excellent books that have been written on this subject, and especially by your own experience, you may be more fully instructed therein.
I speak to you first of the preparation, which consists of two points, namely: placing oneself in the presence of God, and then invoking His aid.
Now, to place yourself in the presence of God, I propose to you four principal means, which you may use with good effect at the beginning.
But perhaps you know not, Philothea, how to make mental prayer; for, alas, this is a thing but little known among the people of our age. I therefore offer you here a simple and short method for this purpose, until, by reading the many excellent books that have been written on this subject, and especially by your own experience, you may be more fully instructed therein.
I speak to you first of the preparation, which consists of two points, namely: placing oneself in the presence of God, and then invoking His aid.
Now, to place yourself in the presence of God, I propose to you four principal means, which you may use with good effect at the beginning.
The first consists in thoroughly impressing upon oneself the immensity of God; that is, in filling oneself with this thought, that God is in all things and everywhere, and that there is no place or thing in the world where He is not present in the truest manner; so that, as birds find air everywhere, whichever way they turn, even so we find God everywhere, wherever we go or are. This is a truth that everyone knows, but to which not enough attention is given. Blind men, though they do not see a prince who is present with them, nevertheless behave with reverence if they are told of his presence; but the truth is that, because they do not see him, they easily forget that he is present, and, having forgotten it, they still more easily lose the respect due to him. Alas! Philothea, we do not see God, Who is present; and although faith tells us of His presence, since our eyes do not see Him, we very often forget Him, and behave as though He were far from us. For though we know that He is present everywhere, if in fact we do not think of it, it is as though we did not know it. Therefore, always before prayer, we must stir our soul to a strong and attentive thought of this presence of God. This is what occupied David when he cried out: _If I ascend to Heaven, O my God, Thou art there; if I descend into hell, Thou art there also._ We may likewise make use of the words of Jacob, who, after seeing the sacred ladder, said: _How terrible is this place! Truly God is here, and I knew it not._ He means that he was not thinking of it, for he could not be unaware that God was in all things and everywhere. When, then, you come to pray, you must say with all your heart and to your heart: O my heart! my heart! God is truly here.
The second means of placing yourself in this holy presence is to think that not only is God in the place where you are, but that He is also most particularly in your heart and in the depths of your spirit, which He animates and vivifies by His divine presence, being there as the heart of your heart and the spirit of your spirit. For just as the soul, being spread throughout the whole body, is present in every part and yet dwells in the heart in a special manner, so God, being most present to all things, nevertheless fills our spirit with a more perfect presence. It is for this reason that David called God _the God of his heart_, and that Saint Paul, speaking likewise of God, said, _in Him we have life, motion, and being_. Keeping this truth well in mind, you will awaken in your heart a great reverence for God, Who is so intimately present to it.
The third means is to consider our Saviour in His holy humanity, looking down from Heaven upon all the people of the world, but more particularly upon Christians, who are His children, and more particularly still upon those who are at prayer, whose every action and failing He observes. Now, this is not a mere imagining on my part, but a positive truth; for although we do not see Him as Saint Stephen did at the time of his martyrdom, it is nonetheless certain that from the heights of His glory He continually keeps His eyes fixed upon us. We may therefore say with the bride of the Canticle: _It is He Himself who is behind our wall, looking through the window and through the lattice._
The third means is to consider our Saviour in His holy humanity, looking down from Heaven upon all the people of the world, but more particularly upon Christians, who are His children, and more particularly still upon those who are at prayer, whose every action and failing He observes. Now, this is not a mere imagining on my part, but a positive truth; for although we do not see Him as Saint Stephen did at the time of his martyrdom, it is nonetheless certain that from the heights of His glory He continually keeps His eyes fixed upon us. We may therefore say with the bride of the Canticle: _It is He Himself who is behind our wall, looking through the window and through the lattice._
The fourth way is simply to imagine that the Saviour is present beside us in His holy humanity, as we are accustomed to picture our friends, and to say: I imagine myself seeing such a one doing this and that; it seems to me that I see Him, or something of the kind. But if the Most Holy Sacrament of the altar were present, then this presence would be real and not merely imaginary: for the species and appearances of the bread are like a tapestry behind which Our Lord hides Himself, and from whence He sees and beholds us very well, though we see Him not in His own form. You shall therefore use one of these four ways to place your soul in the presence of God before prayer; and do not think of trying to employ them all together, but only one at a time, and that briefly and simply.