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Further Reference to: Inspirations | Meditation | Contemplation
Prayer is necessary
Prayer is opening our understanding to God’s brightness and light, and exposing our will to the warmth of his love. (Read further in Introduction to the Devout Life, Part II, Chapter 1)
Recalling God’s presence during the day
In the course of the day, recall to mind the presence of God, as often as you can. (Read further in Introduction to the Devout Life, Part II, Chapter 12)
This exercise is not difficult. It can be interwoven with all our occupations and work without causing the least disturbance. All the more so because, both in the awareness of God’s presence and in these interior longings, we turn aside only in a small way and briefly. (Read further in Introduction to the Devout Life, Part II, Chapter 13)
Longing for God, Ejaculatory Prayers, and Good Thoughts
We recollect ourselves in God because we long for him, and we long for him in order to recollect ourselves in him. Thus, longing for God and recollection in God support one another. Both arise from and are born of good thoughts. (Read further in Introduction to the Devout Life, Part II, Chapter 13)
Prayer, a Heart to Heart with God
We express our love for God chiefly in two ways – spontaneously (affectively), and deliberately (effective; or, as St. Bernard puts it, actively). In the first of these ways we grow fond of God, of what he likes; in the second we serve God, do what he enjoins. (Read further in Treatise on the Love of God, Book 6, Chapter 1)
Meditation the first step in prayer
Meditating is an idea that finds a frequent place in holy Scripture. All it means is thinking intently and repeatedly about something in such a way as to give rise to good or bad emotions. (Read further in Treatise on the Love of God, Book 6, Chapter 2)
Contemplation and How it differs from Meditation
Contemplation is but a loving, artless, unremitting, mental preoccupation with the things of God. (Read further in Treatise on the Love of God, Book 6, Chapter 3)
Love demands knowledge, for we can never love the unknown; the more thorough does our knowledge of something good become, the deeper grows our love for it – as long as the emotion meets with no impediment. (Read further in Treatise on the Love of God, Book 6, Chapter 4)
Meditation is a reflection in great detail, point by point, on those things which are capable of touching our hearts; contemplation, however, takes a single concentrated look at what we love – a concentrated reflection that has greater energy, greater power to move the will. (Read further in Treatise on the Love of God, Book 6, Chapter 5)
Contemplation’s simple survey is made in one of these three ways… (Read further in Treatise on the Love of God, Book 6, Chapter 6)
The Loving Recollection of a soul resting in God
By recollection, in this context, Theotimus, I do not mean the effort to be aware of God’s presence, which people make at the beginning of their prayers, when they rein in their souls (so to speak), to have a heartfelt talk with God. (Read further in Treatise on the Love of God, Book 6, Chapter 7)
When the soul is inwardly recollected like that, in God or in his presence, it occasionally becomes so secretly attentive to its beloved’s goodness, as to give the appearance of scarcely being attentive at all – so artless its attention, so unobtrusive. (Read further in Treatise on the Love of God, Book 6, Chapter 8)
A soul that knows stillness and tranquillity in God’s presence is like a baby at its mother’s breasts. As that tiny creature satisfies its hunger, its little eyes begin to close, and gradually it falls asleep. (Read further in Treatise on the Love of God, Book 6, Chapter 9)
How to preserve this prayer of quiet and tranquillity
Some people possess active minds, minds that are prolific, swarming with ideas. Others have minds that are flexible, introspective, minds that are greatly given to consciousness of their own working; they must sift all their mental processes; they must be constantly watching themselves to see how they are getting on. (Read further in Treatise on the Love of God, Book 6, Chapter 10)
It follows, from what I have been saying, that there are various degrees of holy tranquillity. (Read further in Treatise on the Love of God, Book 6, Chapter 11)
How Love unites the soul with God in prayer
Here, I am not going to discuss habitual union of soul with God, but those special actions, impulses, which are the prayers of a recollected soul – its efforts to become more and more united or joined to God’s goodness. (Read further in Treatise on the Love of God, Book 7, Chapter 1)
Occasionally union is achieved without any corresponding effort on our part; we merely go along unresistingly, allowing God, in his goodness, to unite us with him. (Read further in Treatise on the Love of God, Book 7, Chapter 2)
The highest degree of union: Ecstasy or Rapture
In whatever way union of soul with God is achieved, then – consciously or unconsciously – God is always responsible for it. No one can become one with God without going out towards him; nor can anyone go out towards God unless attracted by him. (Read further in Treatise on the Love of God, Book 7, Chapter 3)
Types of Ecstasy or Rapture
Ecstasy is given the name of rapture, since it is a state in which God attracts us and lifts us up to him. Rapture is called ecstasy, because it takes us out of ourselves, holds us above and beyond self, to make us one with God. (Read further in Treatise on the Love of God, Book 7, Chapter 4)
The sun’s beauty and goodness are to be found in its light; but for that light, there would be nothing beautiful, nothing good, in this physical world of ours. By reason of its beauty the sunlight illuminates all things; by reason of its goodness it warms and quickens all. (Read further in Treatise on the Love of God, Book 7, Chapter 5)
In our own day, to be sure, there have been people convinced – and they were not alone in their belief – of being often rapt by God into ecstasy; yet, in the end, it turned out that they had been suffering from delusions, deceived by the devil. (Read further in Treatise on the Love of God, Book 7, Chapter 6)
How love is the life of the soul
Love is the active principle of the spiritual life, the life of devotion; it gives us vitality, sensitivity, emotion. Our spiritual lives are what love’s activity makes them: a heart devoid of emotion is devoid of love; while a loving heart cannot be devoid of love’s emotion. (Read further in Treatise on the Love of God, Book 7, Chapter 7)
Prayer
Begin each prayer, the silent as well as the vocal, by being aware of the presence of God. Keep to this without exception. In all petitions and prayers, the “We” carries weight, as the Lord taught us in the Our Father. In it, no “I” or “for me” is found. (Read further in In the Midst of the World: A Call to Holiness, Chapter 2, Prayer)
The necessity of prayer
Prayer is most necessary to help us to understand divine things and to open our wills to the warmth of heavenly love. It cleanses our souls of their imperfections and lessens our passions. (Read further in In the Midst of the World: A Call to Holiness, Chapter 2, Prayer)
Prayer of the heart throughout the day
There are five kinds of shorter prayers which flow out of our daily mental prayer. (Read further in In the Midst of the World: A Call to Holiness, Chapter 3, Prayer of the heart throughout the day)
How should we receive inspirations
By inspirations we mean all the interior attractions, movements, reproaches, all the lights and rays of knowledge, which God causes within us through His Fatherly love and care. (Read further in In the Midst of the World: A Call to Holiness, Chapter 3, Prayer of the heart throughout the day)
How should we carry out inspirations
Resolve to accept with a good heart all the inspirations God gives to you. Consider the love which inspired them. (Read further in In the Midst of the World: A Call to Holiness, Chapter 3, Prayer of the heart throughout the day)
Living in God's presence
Recall the presence of God as often as you can during the day by one of the four ways I pointed out to you. (Read further in In the Midst of the World: A Call to Holiness, Chapter 3, Prayer of the heart throughout the day)
Quite interval with the Lord
Before the evening meal, take time to recollect yourself in some quiet place, or before the Blessed Sacrament. (Read further in In the Midst of the World: A Call to Holiness, Chapter 3, Prayer of the heart throughout the day)
Atmosphere of Spiritual Retreat
It is here that I wish you very earnestly to follow my counsel, for in this exercise of spiritual retreat – short prayers, scripture phrases, speaking to Christ throughout the day – lies one of the surest means of your spiritual advancement and the great work of devotion. (Read further in In the Midst of the World: A Call to Holiness, Chapter 3, Prayer of the heart throughout the day)
The use of aspirations - Short Prayers and Scripture Phrases
Aspirations to God proceed from and are born of good thoughts. Aspire then very often to God, by short but ardent movements of the heart. (Read further in In the Midst of the World: A Call to Holiness, Chapter 3, Prayer of the heart throughout the day)
The Goal of Prayer
St. Bernard – whose memory is dear to those who have to speak on prayer – in writing to a bishop, advised him that all that was necessary for him was to speak well (meaning to instruct, to discourse); then to do well in giving good example; and finally, to devote himself to prayer. And we, addressing this to all Christians, shall dwell upon the third point, which is prayer. (Read further in Sermons of St. Francis de Sales on Prayer, Sermon 1, The Goal of Prayer)
The Spirit of Prayer
We have now to speak of the efficient cause of prayer. It is necessary for us to know, then, who can and who ought to pray. The question would soon be decided were we to say that all can pray and that all ought to do so. But in order the better to satisfy the mind, we shall treat this subject at greater length. (Read further in Sermons of St. Francis de Sales on Prayer, Sermon 2, The Spirit of Prayer)
The Kinds of Prayer
We have shown that the end of prayer is our union with God, and that all who are on the way to salvation can and ought to pray. But there remained to us a difficulty in our last exhortation, namely, whether sinners can be heard. (Read further in Sermons of St. Francis de Sales on Prayer, Sermon 3, The Kinds of Prayer)
The Heart of Prayer
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