Of the Temptation to Sleep, Whence It Comes, and the Remedies to Meet It

A kind of distraction is the temptation to sleep. That may arise sometimes from natural causes, as want of sleep, heavy fatigue and labor, the hour, the person’s age, excessive eating and drinking, though it be only of water. At other times it comes from a temptation of the devil, as those holy Fathers of the Desert related that God showed in vision that there were some devils who settled on the cowls and heads of monks and made them sleep and others who put a finger in their mouths and made them yawn. At other times it comes from our remissness and negligence and our taking a posture in prayer that occasions sleep.

The principal remedy is that already mentioned; namely, attention and remembering that we are in the presence of God. One would not dare to sleep in presence of a great sovereign, neither should we dare if we reflected that we are in presence of the majesty of God regarding us; SO reflecting, we should be much ashamed to sleep at meditation. It is also a good remedy to stand up, not to lean against anything, to wash the eyes with cold water; and some are in the habit of carrying a wet handkerchief for that purpose when they are molested with this temptation. Others help themselves by looking up to the sky, by opening the window to the light, or by going to make their meditation in presence of the Blessed Sacrament in company with others; or again by taking a discipline before meditation, which keeps them wide-awake and devout. Others, likewise, at meditation inflict on themselves some pain, which keeps them awake; or, if they are alone, they extend their arms for some time in the form of across. It is also helpful to recite some vocal prayers—a great help to keeping awake and lively, as we have said above (Chapter 22). There are these and other like remedies, besides begging our Lord to heal us of this infirmity.

Caesarius in his Dialogues tells of a religious of the Cistercian order who often used to sleep over his prayer. One day Christ our Redeemer appeared to him, crucified with his back turned to him, and said: “Because you are remiss and tepid, you deserve not to see My face.” He tells of another who came in for a more severe castigation; for, he being at prayer in choir and sleeping as usual, there came to him a crucifix from the altar and gave him such a blow on the jowl that two days after he died. All this gives us well to understand how displeasing to God is such remissness and tepidity. Because thou art lukewarm I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth (Apoc. iii. 16).

Of St. Romuald, abbot and founder of the Camaldolese, St. Peter Damian relates that he took it for such a grave fault for any of his religious to sleep in time of prayer that he would not allow the delinquent to say mass the day he had fallen into this fault, for the little respect he had shown in presence of the Lord Whom he was to receive.