by Susan Brinkmann
CS&T Correspondent
If we had the opportunity to hold the infant Jesus in our arms the way
Simeon did when Jesus was presented in the Temple, we would probably
pray as we never prayed before.
Imagine the thoughts that would go through our minds, the feelings that
would rush upon our hearts, the words that would somehow manage to burst
through our speechlessness.
St. Francis de Sales said, in a sermon Feb. 2, 1620, that anyone who
wants to pray well should do exactly that.
“There is only one thing necessary to pray well, and that is to
have Our Lord in our arms,” he said. “When we do this our
prayer is always made well, whatever method we follow.”
Using Simeon as an example, St. Francis proceeded to lay out four simple
conditions that are necessary for us to pray well, the equivalent of
“holding our Lord in our arms.”
Resignation
First, we must be “just” in the way we pray, meaning we
must be resigned to having God’s will trump our own.
“To be just is nothing else than to exist according to the Heart
of God and to live according to His good pleasure,” St. Francis
says.
Applying that rule to prayer, St. Francis gives the example of a person
who is on his way to prayer. You ask, “What are you going to do
in prayer?” The person answers, “I’m going to ask
God for consolations.”
Although it’s perfectly all right to ask God for comfort, if our
will is truly adjusted to His, our prayer intention would sound more
like this: “I'm going to ask God for consolation, if it is His
will to give it to me.”
Every spiritual master from King David to St. Augustine has said that
kind of prayer is irresistable to God.
For example, Father Jeremias Drexelius, S.J., said in his classic book,
“Heliotropium,” that such trustful prayer is “like
an arrow that pierces God’s heart” because it imitates Jesus’
own prayer: “Not my will but Thine be done.” That acknowledges
God’s freedom to act as He will.
“We can then be confident of either receiving what we seek, or
something better,” Father Drexelius wrote. “Because no prayer offered with fitting resignation of will is vain — absolutely
none.”
Patience
The second condition that must be present for us to pray well is that
we be patient, and place no unreasonable expectations on ourselves.
“It certainly would be a great good if we could be humble as soon
as we had the idea to be so, without any trouble,” St. Francis
says. But, he adds, “We must get used to seeking the attainment
of our perfection by the ordinary ways, in tranquility of heart.”
Praying well is not something that will happen overnight. As long as
we live on this earth, we will suffer from distractions and aridities.
If we’re going to persevere, we must learn how to be gentle and
forgiving with ourselves, especially in prayer.
“Some people become discouraged because in time distractions overcome
moments of concentration on God. Others are discouraged because their
worries preoccupy them and remain with them during times of prayer,”
Segundo Galilea wrote in “Temptation and Discernment.”
“In both cases they forget that distractions are not only normal,
but they often increase because of tiredness, aridity, etc. …,”
he said. “People who experience this forget that maturing faith
and persistence — moved by love for God and not for pleasure —
invaluably assists prayer.”
Coming to prayer for God’s sake, and not our own, is part of the
spiritual maturing process. But it takes time, and we must be prepared
to wait on the Lord, as Simeon did. Although we must do all we can to
acquire that level of virtue, St. Francis tells us to be patient and
let the attainment of this perfection be according to God’s time,
not our own.
“We will always have soon enough what we desire when we have it
when it pleases God to give it to us,” he says.
Fear of the Lord
The third condition for praying well is to be God-fearing. “How
full of respect and reverence should we not be when speaking to the
Divine Majesty, since the angels who are so pure tremble in His presence?”
St. Francis says.
That condition does not mean shrinking away from God in fear, he explains,
but in acknowledging His greatness and our profound littleness. It also
means that we don’t just sit and rattle off prayers without thinking
about what — and to Whom — we’re praying.
“If you are to be speaking with so great a Lord, it is good that
you consider whom you are speaking with, as well as who you are, at
least if you want to be polite,” St. Teresa of Avila advised in
“The Way of Perfection.”
Practically speaking, she said, “How can you call a king ‘your
highness,’ or know the ceremonies to be observed in addressing
the highest ranking nobleman, if you do not clearly understand what
his position is, and what yours is?”
St. Teresa said us we have nothing to fear in approaching such a great
God because He finds more delight in the unpolished manners of a humble
shepherd than a learned man who is not humble. However, “just
because He is so good doesn’t mean that we should be rude.”
Cleanness of heart
The fourth condition is to make room within ourselves for the Holy Spirit
because we can approach God only through the mediation and favor of
the Holy Spirit.
How do we do that? By ridding our hearts of all deceit and duplicity,
St. Francis said: “Therefore, we must be simple and ingenuous
if we want the Holy Spirit to come into us, and Our Lord after Him.”
That cleanness is what Jesus meant when He said, “Say yes when
you mean ‘yes’ and ‘no’ when you mean ‘no.’
Anything beyond that is from the evil one” (Mt 5:37).
That means more than merely refraining from double-speak. It means we
need to keep the intentions of our heart simple and pure.
“Simplicity excludes every form of duplicity and complication
stemming from egoism, self-love, or attachment to self and to creatures;
hence it impels the soul in one direction only: to God, to live for
Him, to please Him, and to give glory to Him,” Father Gabriel
of St. Mary Magdalen wrote in “Divine Intimacy.”
He went on: “The whole spiritual life consists in this progressive
simplification, which proceeds at an equal pace with interior purification.”
As St. Francis summarized: “What more shall we now say except
that having the Holy Spirit in us during this perishable and mortal
life, holding ourselves in great respect and reverence before the Divine
Majesty, while awaiting with submission the attainment of our perfection
and, as far as possible, adjusting our will to that of God, we will
(like Simeon) have the happiness of carrying the Savior in our arms
and being blessed eternally by this grace. Amen.”
Contact Susan Brinkmann at fiat723@aol.com or (215) 965-4615.