Method of Mental Prayer or Meditation

Method of Mental Prayer or Meditation According to St. Alphonsus.

I. PREPARATION.
A recollected life and regular Spiritual Reading are the best remote preparation.
For the immediate preparation, make three short but fervent acts

(I) An Act of Adoration of God present to the soul.
Example: O my God, I believe Thou art really here present; I bow down and adore Thee. Thou art so good, I am so sinful; Thou art so great, I am only nothingness; etc.

(2) An Act of Sorrow for Sin:
Example: O my God, I am heartily sorry for all my sins of thought, word, deed, and omission, and by the help of Thy holy grace I will never sin again.

(3) A Petition for Light and Strength:
Example: O my God, give me light to see Thy holy Will, give me grace to do Thy Will. O Wisdom of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, direct me in all my ways. O Love of the Sacred Heart, consume me in Thy fire. Add a Hail Mary to the Blessed Virgin and an ejaculation to St. Joseph, your Patron Saints and Angel Guardian.

II. BODY OF THE PRAYER.
Use the mind in thinking on some subject as much as is necessary in order to pray fervently. But do not imagine that very much is necessary in order to pray. Do not wait for a great fire to burn up in your soul, but cherish any little spark you may feel.

To help your mind, read a text of Scripture or a short Meditation out of a book. St. Teresa used a book in her Meditations for seventeen years.

Meditate for a few minutes on any thought that has struck you; that is, think for a short time on what it means, what lessons it teaches you, and ask yourself: What have I done about this hitherto? What shall I now do? But remember, you think only in order that you may pray.

The great benefit of Mental Prayer consists less in meditation or thinking than in acts, prayers and resolutions, which are the fruits of Meditation. The thinking is the needle which draws after it the golden thread of acts, prayers and resolutions. The thread is more important than the needle. The chief part of the time of Meditation should, then, be spent in making

1. Acts and Affections.
Examples. -Acts of Humility: ‘My God, I am nothing in Thy sight. Act of Thanksgiving: ‘My God, I thank Thee for Thy goodness. Act of Love: ‘ My God, I love Thee with my whole heart. I wish to please Thee in all things. I will only what Thou wiliest. I love Thee because Thou art infinitely good. Do with me and mine all that pleases Thee, because it is Thy will. Acts of love and of contrition are golden chains binding us to God. St. Thomas says: ‘ Every act of love merit’s eternal life. Make then many simple but fervent acts of love and sorrow.

2. Prayers of Petition.
In mental prayer, it is extremely useful, and, perhaps better than all else, to make many earnest petitions for the graces you want. Always ask, above all, for (a) the perfect forgiveness of all past sin; (b) the perfect love of God; and (c) the grace of a holy death. ‘At first, said Father Paul Segneri, S.J., ‘I used to employ my time of prayer in reflections and affections, but God opened my eyes, and then I gave myself to petitions, and if I have any good, it comes from this practice.

3. Resolutions.
‘The progress of a soul, says St. Teresa, ‘ does not consist in thinking much of God, but in loving Him, and this love is gained by resolving to do much for Him. Make one practical resolution that you mean to keep during the day.

III. CONCLUSION.
Three short fervent acts:
(1) Thank God for the light He has given you.

(2) Renew your resolution to abstain from some fault or to do some good thing, during the day.

(3) Ask the Eternal Father, for the love of Jesus and Mary, to help you to keep it. At the end of meditation, always pray for poor sinners and for the souls in Purgatory.

N.B.-The acts and prayers of petition should occupy the most of the time. Thus, in a half-hour’s prayer, give three minutes to the preparation: think for five minutes and then pray.

“In prayer the soul is cleansed from sin, pastured with charity, confirmed in faith, strengthened in hope, gladdened in spirit. By prayer the inward man is directed aright, the heart is purified, the truth discovered, temptation overcome, sadness avoided, the perceptions renewed, languishing virtue restored, lukewarmness dismissed, the rust of vices done away; and in it there do not cease to come forth living sparkles of heavenly desires, with which the flame of divine love burns. Great are the excellencies of prayer, great are its privileges! Before it Heaven is opened, secrete things are made manifest, and to it the ears of God are ever attentive.” (St. Lawrence Justinian, In Signo Vitae)