Prayer is such a huge part of our spiritual life, and it is the thing around which my whole life was centered in the Carmelite Monastery (we were in the chapel praying for 8 hours a day...so it was literally our full time job!).
We all have our favorite prayers and devotions - of course there are the typical daily prayers of a morning offering and a night prayer; beyond that, some love the Rosary, some love litanies; some always have a novena they are praying, others do the Divine Mercy Chaplet; others pray the Stations of the Cross. These are all beautiful practices, but today I want to take some time to talk about a very very important type of prayer: mental prayer.
I think we too easily are more inclined to vocal prayer because it is much easier to "check a box" with vocal prayers rather than do the less clear cut task of mental prayer. We can easily tally at the end of day, "I got my rosary in, I did my morning offering, etc." With mental prayer it can feel less rewarding. We might sit quietly but feel no tangible connection with God, no pious sentiment, no inspiring thought, so we feel like it was "unsuccessful prayer," and walk away feeling like we "didn't accomplish anything." My friends, nothing could be further from the truth!! Regardless of whether we feel anything or not, the fact that we showed up to spend time with Him is all that counts for Jesus.
I find saint quotes to be so inspiring, so before we go into the details of mental prayer, let us turn to the saints and get a fire lit in our hearts to zealously desire this type of prayer. (Warning: these quotes do not mince words!!):
“It is morally impossible for him who neglects meditation to live without sin.” (St. Alphonsus Ligouri)
“He who neglects mental prayer needs not a devil to carry him to hell, but he brings himself there with his own hands.” (St. Teresa of Avila)
“Without the aid of mental prayer, the soul cannot triumph over the forces of the demon.” (St. John of the Cross)
Pretty solemn words from the saints on how important mental prayer is! (I am feeling convicted by my own failure to be more committed to my own prayer life!!) But why? Why the emphasis and pressing need for mental prayer? What makes it so crucial for our salvation? Once again, I will step aside and let a saint speak:
“In mental prayer, the soul is purified from its sins, nourished with charity, confirmed in faith, and strengthened in hope; the mind expands, the affections dilate, the heart is purified, truth becomes evident; temptation is conquered, sadness dispelled; the senses are renovated; drooping powers revive; tepidity ceases; the rust of vices disappears. Out of mental prayer issues forth, like living sparks, those desires of heaven which the soul conceives when inflamed with the fire of divine love. Sublime is the excellence of mental prayer, great are its privileges; to mental prayer heaven is opened; to mental prayer heavenly secrets are manifested and the ear of God [is] ever attentive.” (St. Peter of Alcantara)
I can speak from my own experience in the monastery where we had two hours daily of mental prayer: ALL OF THIS IS SO TRUE! The effect that mental prayer has on the soul is beyond words.
Now, if you're anything like me, you are all inspired by the saints' words and want to get started right now! So let us go over a short, simple method to help get you started.
St. Teresa of Avila gave us a beautiful definition of the heart of mental prayer when she wrote: “Mental prayer is nothing else than an intimate friendship, a frequent heart-to-heart with Him by whom we know ourselves to be loved.”
Here is the simple model I follow, that I learned and made a habit in the monastery:
Say a prayer to Holy Spirit, asking Him to be with you as you pray. Put yourself in the presence of God.
Read through all the readings from the Mass for that day (I used to use devotionals, but at the monastery, I learned that we can gain the most from the words of God Himself in Scripture, and most especially in the readings for that day, which He presents to us in a special way through His Church. It may take some getting used to at first, as it did for me, but now I can't imagine any other way. Also, it is amazing how often the day's readings will speak directly to whatever you are going through that day!! God is so good!)
Once you have read over them all, go back to the reading that struck you most, and begin to read it again, slowly. Put yourself into the text, take time with sentences (or even just a word) that stuck out to you. Ask yourself how you have behaved in relation to the text; how you can improve and apply the message of that text to your life.
Sit with God, and let Him work on your heart in light of that particular virtue/vice. Just gaze upon Him, whether that be in an image at home, the tabernacle at the church, or the Host itself in Adoration. Love Him.
Repeat number 3 and 4 as needed. Sometimes one point is enough to carry you for the full amount of time you plan to devote to mental prayer; sometimes, after sitting with a line for a bit, you will find your mind starting to wander consistently (not just passing distractions), and that is when I usually move on to the next line that struck me, to keep my prayer focused.
At the end of prayer, copy the line that you meditated most deeply with, and note down the resolution that you made based on that line for the day. That way, you have something tangible to take from your prayer, and also something to carry from that prayer throughout your day (at the monastery we carried the little notebook we jotted these down in with us to return to throughout the day, keeping us centered on our prayer and bringing its fruits into our whole day).
And that is all! Even 15 minutes a day makes such a huge difference. Start there and over time you may begin to extend it to longer periods of time, as you learn to pray and as your daily responsibilities allow. The saints all encourage the 15 minute starting point, as it is both feasible for the beginner, and short enough to be doable for any schedule. (To the mothers of young children - ask your husband to give you 15 minutes alone each day while he tends to the children if need be! Motherhood does not have to make mental prayer impossible, even if it does limit the amount of time you can devote to it!)
Let us never allow a day to go by where we do not spend quiet time with the Beloved. God loves us so much, and we will be able to realize that more and more, the more often we take quiet time to bask in His love.
Cecilia
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