. Discussion of CHAPTER 22 Explains - the meaning of mental prayer. . |
█ St. Teresa speaks about
"combining mental and vocal prayer"
"while...speaking with God"
with a
with a
"clear realization and
full consciousness"
of
of
- "Who it is that you are addressing,
and
- what you yourself are"
. Before praying consider: - "Whom we are going to address, and - who we are that are addressing Him, so that we may (pray) in the way we should?" "if you gave all due attention to a consideration of these two points before beginning the vocal prayers which you are about to say you would be engaging in mental prayer for a very long time" . |
"How can you address a king
with the deference due to him...
unless you are clearly conscious
- of the nature of his position and
- of yours?
"clearly conscious
▪ of the nature of His position and"
- with praise,
trying "to realize
His purity and His nature"
• "of yours" (of our lowly nature)
- "to show our gratitude to Him for
enduring our foul odour and
allowing such a one as myself
to come near Him"
- "accompanied by humility".
"When you approach God, then,
- try to think and realize
Whom you are about to address and
- continue to do so
while you are addressing Him"
St. Teresa discusses this striving in prayer
to "think and realize
Whom you are about to address"
in terms of how the bethrothed strives
to grow in knowledge and love of her beloved
and to please him:
"If these thoughts
are not forbidden to those
who are betrothed to men on earth,
how can we be forbidden to discover
- Who this Man is,
- Who is His Father,
- what is the country
to which He will take me,
- what are the riches with which
He promises to endow me,
- what is His rank,
- how I can best make Him happy,
- what I can do
that will give Him pleasure, and
- how I can bring my rank
into line with His"
"...in him she has all
that she can desire".
"To understand these truths...
is to practise mental prayer".
■ "But do not, I beg you,
address God
while you are thinking of other things"
- not "reciting the Pater Noster
(while) thinking of worldly things"
- not to "come to speak with (God)
... with their lips alone"
"for to do that
is the result of not understanding
what mental prayer is".
■"It is most important
that you should realize
you are making progress;
for if a traveller is told
that he
has taken the wrong road, and
has lost his way,
he begins to wander to and fro
and
the constant search for the right road
tires him,
wastes his time and
delays his arrival".
| . End of Discussion of Chapter 22 The Way of Perfection . |
