| How to Best Meditate on the Mysteries of the Life and Death of Our Savior |
For Sunday’s Living Jesus Chat, we will again read an article from a book by St. Francis de Sales called Of Devotion, and of the Principal Exercises of Piety. It explores the importance of generosity in devotion.___________________________________________To prepare for our chat, please read the article, which is reproduced below, and review the questions at the end.Click for Living Jesus Chatroom  Elijah under the Juniper Tree, by Copilot AIThe first method of mental prayer is, to carry to it some point wherewith to occupy one’s mind, such as the mysteries of the life, death, and passion of our Lord, which are the most useful; and very rarely indeed is it that one cannot profit by the consideration of what our Saviour did, said, or suffered. He is the sovereign Master, whom the Eternal Father sent into this world to teach us what we ought to do; and consequently, besides the obligation we are under of forming ourselves upon this divine model, we ought to be very exact in considering His actions, His words, and His sufferings, in order to imitate them by practicing the virtues, because our Father and our Master practiced them; and in order to comprehend them well, it is necessary faithfully to weigh them, to see and consider them, in mental prayer. What you say is true, that there are souls who cannot fix themselves or occupy their minds on any mystery, being attracted to a certain sweet simplicity, which holds them in great tranquility before God, without any other consideration except to know that they are before Him, and that He is all their good. If they can thus remain profitably, it is good; but, generally speaking, all ought to manage to begin by that method of mental prayer which is the surest, and which leads to the reformation of life and change of manners, which is the kind we speak of, and which consists in the consideration of the mysteries of the life and death of our Saviour. It is necessary, then, to apply oneself in all good faith to our Master, to learn what He would have us do; and those who are able to avail themselves of the imagination even ought to do so, but it is necessary to use it soberly, very simply, and briefly. The holy fathers have left several pious and devout considerations, of which use may be made, on this subject; for since these great and holy persons made them, who shall hesitate to make use of them, and piously to believe what they most piously believed? We ought to follow in security persons of such an authority. But people are not content with what they have left; some have devised abundance of other imaginations; and it is these of which we ought not to make use in meditation, inasmuch as they may prove prejudicial. The second method of mental prayer is, not to make use of the imagination at all, but to meditate purely and simply on the Gospel and the mysteries of our faith, entertaining ourselves familiarly and in all simplicity with our Lord, on what He has done, said, and suffered for us, without any representation. Now this method is much better and safer than the first. This is why it is necessary to incline to it the more easily, however little appeal one may have for it, observing in every degree of prayer to keep one’s spirit in a holy liberty to follow the lights and movements which God shall give us in it; but for the other more elevated modes of devotion, unless God absolutely gives them to us, I beg of you not to urge your mind towards them yourself, or without the advice of those who direct you. We ought to make our resolutions in the fervor of prayer, when the Sun of Justice enlightens us and excites us by His inspiration. I do not mean by this to say that we must needs have great sentiments and great resolutions, although when God gives them to us we are obliged to turn them to our profit, and to correspond with His love: but when He does not give them, we ought not to fail in fidelity; on the contrary, we ought to live according to reason and the Divine will, and make our resolutions at the point of our spirit in the superior part of our soul, not omitting to put them into effect and to practice them, in spite of the drynesses, repugnances, or contradictions which may present themselves. To make mental prayer profitable, we ought to have a great determination never to abandon it for any difficulty which may arise, and not to go to it with the previous idea of being consoled and satisfied by it; for that would not be to unite and conform our will to that of our Lord, who would have us, when entering into mental prayer, to be resolved to suffer the distractions, the drynesses, and disgusts which we may meet with in it, remaining as content as if we had had a great deal of consolation and tranquility, since it is certain that our prayer will not be the less agreeable to God, or the less profitable, because it is made with the greater difficulty; for provided that we always conform our will to that of His Divine Majesty, remaining always in a simple readiness and disposition to receive the events of His good pleasure with love, whether it is in prayer or on other occasions, He will order it so that all things shall be profitable to us, and, at the same time, pleasing in the eyes of His Divine Goodness.We shall, therefore, be making our meditation well, if we keep ourselves in peace and tranquility near our Lord, or in His sight, without any other aim than to be with Him and to please Him. Those greatly deceive themselves who consider that for mental prayer there is required an abundance of methods, and a certain art which consists, according to them, in subtilizing and refining on their meditation, to see how they are doing it, or how they may do it to satisfy themselves, thinking that one must neither cough nor move for fear the Spirit of God should withdraw itself. A great deceit, indeed; as if the Spirit of God was so delicate, that it depended on the method and the countenance of those who perform the meditation. I do not say that one ought not to use the methods I have alluded to; but I do say that one ought not to attach oneself to them, as those do who think that they have not made their meditation well, if they do not place their considerations before the affections, which hither are nevertheless the end for which we make the considerations. Such persons resemble those who, finding themselves at the place whither they wanted to go, return again, because they had not arrived by the road they had been told to go. Further, it is necessary to hold oneself in great reverence when speaking to the Divine Majesty, since the angels, who are so pure, tremble in His presence. But, my God, someone will say, I cannot always have this feeling of the presence of God, which causes so great a humiliation in the soul, nor this sensible reverence, which so sweetly and delightfully annihilates me before God. But it is not of this sort of reverence I mean to speak, but of that which makes the highest part, and the very edge of our souls hold themselves lowly and humbled in the presence of God, in acknowledgment of His infinite greatness, and of our profound littleness and unworthiness.(Italics and bold type added) Reflections: What is mental prayer? Is it merely praying silently in our minds instead of out loud?What is the “goal” of mental prayer?Why is it helpful to affix our minds on a holy mystery to aid in mental prayer?What is the difference between meditation and contemplation?How can we become more aware of God’s presence?What is your favorite form of meditation? Does it involve a book, rosary beads, or images? What do you find helpful in keeping your mind on target during these meditations? How is it possible to “hold oneself in great reverence when speaking to the Divine Majesty” without distractions and proud thoughts entering our minds? (final paragraph) Sign up for our Living Jesus Chat Room:Come to our Living Jesus Chat Room, 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM Eastern Time U.S. |