II. Reading for prayer

"After thus evoking the dispositions necessary for prayer and entering into contact with God, the soul completes its preparation by choosing a subject for meditation. At the beginning of the spiritual life this can be taken from a book, because the mind is not yet sufficiently conversant with the things of God. St Teresa recommends this. Later, the need to have recourse to reading will be less great; one will easily find in one's mind ideas upon which to meditate. Reading will, however, always be useful to suggest new subjects, because our ideas too easily turn back on the same themes, and then they have less power to move us. The Sacred Scriptures and the spiritual writers can always provide abundant and varied material.

Generally, St Teresa leaves one full latitude in the choice of subjects. Here are some of them:

• God and His divine Perfections
• The things of Heaven
• The Person, life and mysteries of Christ
• The Holy Eucharist
• The Words of the Gospels
• The Blessed Virgin and the Saints
• The divine Perfections as manifested in creation and the beauty of creatures
• Self-knowledge and consideration of our faults
• The ugliness of sin and its malice. Death, hell.

However, she advises that we should preferably choose subjects which best accord with our temperament and the disposition of the soul at the time, and from which we can hope to profit most, taking into account also the liturgy of the season. She also recommends taking the advice of an experienced director.

St Teresa insists that we meditate especially on the love shown by God in giving us His Son; on the love of Jesus Himself, on His life, His mysteries, and especially His passion and death, 'through which,' she says, 'all good things have come to us and still come.' In this she is in agreement with St John of the Cross and with the Instruction for Novices cited above. This is because Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except by Him. Further, He is the head; we are His members; and He is our sanctifier. God has deposited in Him all the graces which are to be given to us. And, finally, He is our model. Christ wished to live our way of life so that we could have before our eyes a concrete example of the life of a child of God.

This contemplation of Christ and His mysteries in faith and loves makes us share in the dispositions of His own soul and communicates to us that virtus Christi which emanates from His Person and enables us to live His life. The contemplation of the Humanity of Christ is pure Carmelite doctrine. Some spiritual writers, mentioned by Teresa, believed that the Sacred Humanity of Christ could be an obstacle for souls who already enjoy infused contemplation. St Teresa undertook to refute them. She declared on the basis of the Gospels that the contemplation of the Sacred Humanity is suited to every moment of the spiritual life; she even added that many souls, after arriving at union with God, advance no further because they neglect this. Carmelite spirituality is therefore centered in Christ.

The reading must be done deliberately and attentively in order to grasp the full meaning of the sentences read and to furnish the mind with clear and precise ideas. When the person who is meditating feels that he is sufficiently enlightened and instructed, he stops reading. To prolong it would be mere curiosity and study. If after the reading is finished a person feels inclined to meditate or to contemplate some other subject, then the first subject can be dropped. The Spirit breathes where He wills."

-- The Spirit and Prayer of Carmel by Fr François Jamart, ocd

I. Preparation for prayer

"By this we mean the immediate preparation. But to enter into contact with God by means of prayer, it is not enough to dispose oneself merely at the moment when one wishes to speak to Him more intimately. In several places St Teresa develops at length the need to prepare oneself by the practice of virtue. She demands from souls who wish to find God in prayer a great purity of conscience, a complete detachment from created things, true humility, recollection of soul, fervent desires, confidence that one will succeed, and a great generosity. This is easy to understand: 'God does not force our will; He only takes what we give to Him. But He does not give Himself to us entirely unless we give ourselves to Him without reserve.'

As for the immediate preparation, this consists in purifying ourselves, being recollected, and becoming aware of the infinite greatness of Him with whom we are about to hold converse. The Majesty of God, as well as our position as creatures and sinners, makes this a duty for us. On the other hand, the more conscious we are of the infinity of God's Being, the greater will be the reverence with which we keep ourselves in His presence. It is true that God is also our Father and we are His children. But we do not always behave as real children of the Heavenly Father should, by being docile and eager to please Him in everything. That is why, before speaking more intimately with Him, the soul prostrates itself before God and adores Him. It confesses before Him its nothingness, its misery, and its faults, and implores His pardon."

-- The Spirit and Prayer of Carmel by Fr François Jamart, ocd

Carmelite method of prayer

"Prayer is a characteristic of Carmelite life. The aim of Carmelite spirituality is, indeed, contemplation, and the proper means to arrive at this goal is prayer. For this reason prayer will be the chief occupation of the Carmelite, and ought, so far as possible, to be continuous and to animate every act of the Carmelite. The Carmelite Rule and Constitutions prescribe this life of prayer, and the Holy Founders of the Order insist on it.

Each day, morning and evening, Carmelite religious devote one hour exclusively to prayer. They prolong this prayer through the whole day by remaining in contact with Christ who lives in them. If occasionally there are free moments in their occupations, they are employed in holding conversation with Christ and in recollecting themselves in God. Their is truly a life of prayer.

Beginners must ordinarily be instructed how to pray, first because they do not know how to go about it, and in the next place, because the method of prayer varies with the aims pursued by the different Orders. Thus most Orders have a method of prayer adapted to their purpose.

The method of prayer characteristic of Carmelite spirituality is affective and designed to lead to contemplation. It is a conversation with God and consists above all in loving Him. It might seem that no special method is needed for this kind of prayer. However, to hold proper converse with God and to draw from it all the profit that it can bring, a method is necessary. Beginners must be instructed in prayer, because in the beginning prayer is ordinarily discursive.

-o-

Whether one wishes it or not, a prayer well made is composed of acts which in themselves conform to the Carmelite method prayer.

First, there is the preparation. One cannot pass suddenly from noise to meditation. One cannot approach God without suitable preparation.

Then there is reading. So long as one is not familiar with the practice of prayer, one will find in suitable reading matter a subject capable of inspiring thoughts which will enlighten, instruct, enkindle love and guide our conduct.

The meditation itself: the intellect reflects on some chosen subject; the imagination represents the subject to itself, if this is possible; the memory retains it and associates with it that which will complete the idea. The operations of these last two faculties are not, however, indispensable.

Finally, the will, influenced by these considerations, expresses itself in affective acts. These can be more or less numerous and varied. They end in loving, silent contemplation.

Prayer is concluded with a resolution, because prayer has also a practical purpose. It is not merely establishing contact with God; nor a conversation with Him which would run the danger of producing little practical fruit. Its aim is to transform our life, to share the sentiments of Christ and to model our life on His, to unite ourselves with God.

It is clear that these acts are usually to be found in every well-ordered prayer, and it is these precisely which form the method recommended by St Teresa, St John of the Cross and other Carmelite writers. One may note, indeed, that this method is very similar to that practised in antiquity. While it is claimed that the ancients did not have any method and, of course, one will not find them practising the same order as that followed in modern methods, yet their prayer included: reading, meditation, affectionate colloquy and contemplation. A disciple of St John of the Cross relates that he sometimes analyzed prayer into these same elements. It seems, therefore, that there is no reason to condemn a method of this kind, especially if it is not employed any longer than is necessary. The soul will reduce the complexity of the method in the measure that it makes progress.

However, for a soul which seeks God, prayer is not limited to this passing exercise. This latter is rather a more intense phase in a life devoted wholly to prayer. The soul must strive to keep itself united with Christ all day long, to live in God by an habitual act of loving faith, in order to reproduce in itself the life of Jesus so far as it can."

-- The Spirit and Prayer of Carmel by Fr François Jamart, ocd

Genuine practice of Carmelite asceticism requires the practice of the love of God

"[T]o remain true to the Carmelite spirit it would be preferable to make use of considerations inspired by love. Then every compromise with created things will appear as an infidelity to the love of God. Any satisfaction taken in created things will be an ingratitude towards Him who sacrificed Himself for us. From our meditation on what He has done for us, we can draw courage to bear up under our burdens, courage for the struggle facing us.

Referring to the testimony of Fr Eliseo de los Mártires, we have thus far considered only the struggle against temptations, the disorderly attractions of the senses, or the manifestations of some vice or defect. But it is clear that the method recommended by St John of the Cross can be applied just as reasonably and efficaciously in the struggle against useless thoughts, vain imaginations, idle memories, affections for others, futile worries; in a word, all that can distract one from God and hinder our union with Him. God alone and what can unite us to Him must be all-important to us. As soon as any other object begins to take hold of our faculties, we must brush it aside and continue going towards God by loving Him alone.

St Teresa does not distinguish explicitly between these two methods of combating obstacles of spiritual progress. But she nevertheless teaches both of them. Indeed, she sometimes recommends considerations such as those which we have just given, and counsels that one should make acts of the virtue opposed to the evil tendency against which we are struggling. At other times, she makes an appeal to our love of God 'of which it is characteristic to be always active in all things.' Love is the method she prefers. Although she develops it less clearly, her teaching is the same as that of St John of the Cross and reflects the essential principle of Carmelite spirituality which gives the first place to love. It follows that the genuine practice of Carmelite asceticism requires the practice of the love of God."

-- The Spirit and Prayer of Carmel by Fr François Jamart, ocd

Feast of the Guardian Angels

"Our knowledge of the angels is based on Revelation, on the Old and New Testaments, Tradition and the Church's doctrine from the beginning. Lateran Council IV (1215) and Vatican Council I (1869) declared that "simultaneously at the beginning of time. God created from nothing both the spiritual and corporal creation, i.e. angelic and mundane." Therefore, like his predecessors, a modern theologian, Karl Rahner (Encyclopedia of Theology) firmly holds that the "existence of the angels cannot be disputed by a sincere Christian. They are mere creatures and like man, they are created for a supernatural goal. Their saving grace came from Christ, who is their Head too, and round the Word they form a true society of persons. They are a part of the Christian Message." Through Christ, they give praise to the Father (Mass Preface).

All recent popes have confirmed and promoted the Church's constant faith in the angels. They themselves, lived in close, friendly, brotherly contact with them. Here are some of their words and sentiments:

Pope Pius XI: "I feel that he is here, close by, ready to help me. " To visitors: "every day, morning and evening, pray to your guardian angel, especially in difficulties."

To his successor (Pope Pius XII): "In speaking with someone who is closed to your argument, go to your guardian angel and recommend the matter to him. Ask him to take it up with the guardian angel of the person you have to see. Once the two angels establish an understanding, the conversation with the visitor will be much easier."

Pope Pius XII: "We must unite with the holy angels; with them we must become one great strong family in view of the times that are approaching us!" He denounced (Encyclical Humani Generis, 1950) theologians who questioned whether the angels were persons or reduced them to myths or vague ethereal beings. To American tourists (1958): "There exists another, an invisible world, real as our own, it is all around us; it is peopled with angels; they travel with you and play a part in your lives. As Christ said of children that 'their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven' (Mt. 18:10), so when children become adults, their guardian angels do not abandon them, but remain at their sides."

Pope John XXIII had a deep devotion and familiarity with the angels. With simplicity and naturalness, he said, "rely on your guardian angels, the lovable heralds of our will. May the angels, present in every home, speak of our desire to bring about social concord, good morals, the practice of charity, peace among nations."

To parents: "Teach the children that they are never alone, that an angel is at their side. Show them how to have a trusting conversation with the angel, who is a good advisor and intercedes for you and helps you in your needs." It is consoling to feel this special guardian near us; he promotes our intimacy with God as a teacher of asceticism and mysticism and guide to the summit."

-- Our Guardian Angels by Alfred Boeddeker, OFM

Feast of St Thérèse of Lisieux

Much has been written about the Little Flower. Her doctrine has been misinterpreted by many, but praised by the Church as a model of sanctity worthy of imitation. There are also many websites that could be a source of "media overload," but consider visiting the site of the Sanctuary of St Thérèse in Lisieux, France, where you can get all sorts of interesting, useful information, particularly if you wish to make a pilgrimage there.

I invite you to make a spiritual pilgrimage to the Lisieux Carmel by watching this short video. You can get a glimpse at St Thérèse's life without spending a cent.

This second video is of the exhumation of her relics for her canonization in 1925!




St Thérèse of the Infant Jesus and the Holy Face, pray for us!

Your sufferings have saved many souls on the field of battle

"More than ever, I understand that the smallest events of our life are conducted by God; He is the One who makes us desire and who grants our desires..."


"Let us work together for the salvation of souls; we have only the one day of this life to save them and thus to give the Lord proofs of our love. The tomorrow of this day will be eternity, and then Jesus will restore to you a hundredfold the very sweet and very legitimate joys that you sacrificed for Him. He knows the extent of your sacrifice, He knows the suffering of those dear to you increases your own, but He also suffered this martyrdom. To save our souls He left His Mother, He saw the Immaculate Virgin standing at the foot of the Cross, her heart transpierced by a sword of sorrow. "

"With all my heart I thank God for having left you on the field of battle in order that you may win numerous victories for Him; already your sufferings have saved many souls. Saint John of the Cross has said: 'The smallest movement of pure love is more useful to the Church than all other works put together.' If it is so, how profitable for the Church must be your pains and trials since it is for the love of Jesus alone that you suffer them with joy."


From the letters of St Thérèse of Lisieux