| Mental Prayer, Recollection, and the Path to Joyful Humility |
This week we read part of a letter from St. Francis de Sales to Madame de la Flechere, written from Annecy around April or May, 1608.To prepare for our chat on Sunday, please read the letter, which is reproduced below, and review the questions at the end.Click for Living Jesus Chatroom  Photo by Mateus Campos Felipe on UnsplashI have been much consoled by the letters you have written to me and by seeing that Our Lord has let you taste the beginnings of that tranquility with which, by the help of his grace, we must from now on continue to serve him in the rush and variety of business forced on us by our vocation. I have very great hopes for you because I think I have seen your heart firmly resolved to serve his divine Majesty and this makes me sure that you will be faithful in the exercises of devotion. And if it happens that you often fail because of infirmity you must not be in any way put out; but while hating the offence towards God, you must also cultivate a certain joyful humility which helps you to make a point of seeing and recognizing your misery.I will tell you briefly what exercises I advise for you; you will see them set out more fully in something else that I wrote [instructions drawn up in 1604 for the ladies at Dijon]. Preparation for the whole day, which is done briefly in the morning, mental prayer before dinner, which can take an hour or thereabouts according to your leisure; in the evening, before supper, a short time of recollection during which by way of repetition you will make a few heart-felt aspirations to God on your morning meditation, or some other subject.During the day and amidst your work, examine yourself as often as you can to see whether your love is not too far engaged in what you are doing, or in some way out of order, and whether your hand is still clasped in that of Our Lord. If you find yourself harassed beyond measure, calm and quieten your spirit. Imagine how Our Lady calmly used one hand to do what needed doing while she held her Child with her other hand or on her other arm, for she held him most carefully.In times of peace and tranquility make many acts of meekness, for in this way you will tame your heart and train it to gentleness. Do not stop to fight the small temptations which come your way by contesting them or disputing with them, but simply by turning your heart back to Jesus Christ crucified, as though kissing his side or his feet because you love him.Do not force yourself to much vocal prayer; and when you are praying and feel your heart carried towards mental prayer, always let it follow this attraction freely. And if you were to use mental prayer only, together with the Lord’s prayer, the Hail Mary and the creed, that would do perfectly well.I dedicate myself whole-heartedly to the service of your soul which will henceforward be as dear to me as my own. May Our Lord rule for ever, and I am in him your servant,Francis, Bishop of Geneva. Reflections: What does tranquility look like here on earth? And how is it similar/different compared to the tranquility we experience in heaven?If God calls us “good,” why does St. Francis instruct to recognize our misery? He is just being pessimistic?Why is starting the day with prayer so important?St. Francis uses the image of Our Lady holding Our Lord with one hand and doing what she needed to do with her other hand (something any mom can relate to). Using that analogy, why is it imperative to bring prayer into everything we’re doing, even while we’re doing it, instead of using “being busy” as an excuse to not pray?St. Francis seems to encourage a balance of vocal prayer and mental prayer. Why is this important? How does one help the other? St. Francis cautions us to make sure that our love “is not too far engaged in what you are doing,” and asks that we should make sure that our hand “is still clasped in that of Our Lord.” Isn’t it good to put our heart into our work? What is St. Francis warning about? How do we make sure our hand is still “clasped in that of Our Lord?” Sign up for our Living Jesus Chat Room:Come to our Living Jesus Chat Room, 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM Eastern Time |