How Proper It Is to Take Some Extraordinary Times to Give Ourselves More to Prayer

AS men of the world besides their daily meals have their extraordinary feasts and banquets, in which they are wont to go beyond their ordinary fare; so also it is proper that besides our daily prayer we should have our spiritual feasts and banquets, where our souls shall not feed by pittance as on other days, but have their fill of the abundance of the sweetness and grace of the Lord. And nature herself teaches us the same practice; for we see that, not content with the dew that falls every night on the earth, it will also at times rain a whole week or two without stopping; and all that rain is necessary that so the earth may be thoroughly soaked with water, and no days of sunshine and wind coming after may avail to dry it up. So, then, it is also proper that our souls, besides the common dew of every day, should have some well-marked times in which they may wax so full of virtue and the sap of devotion that neither their occupations, nor the winds of the temptations and vicissitudes of life, may be able to dry them up. So we read of many holy men and prelates of the Church that many times, leaving their occupations and affairs, they would often recollect themselves for a time in places set apart to give themselves more to prayer and contemplation. We read of the holy Abbot Arsenius that it was his custom to take one day a week for this purpose, and that was the Saturday, on which day he remained in prayer from the afternoon to the morning of the next day.

And this is a very important expedient, not only for our advancement and growth in virtue and perfection, but also to prevent our falling back. For such is the weakness and misery of man and the inclination we have to evil that, though we begin sometimes our spiritual exercises with fervor, we afterwards come little by little to grow lax and fall off from the fervor with which we commenced. We return to our tepidity and remissness as easily as water, however much it is heated, afterwards returns little by little to its natural coldness when it is taken off the fire. Indeed, tepidity seems more ingrained and connatural to us than coldness to water. As the Holy Spirit says: The senses and thought of a man’s heart are inclined to evil from his youth, for wicked is their race and connatural their malice (Wisdom xii. 10). As we are of nothing, we return to our nothingness.

Add to this that in a busy life like ours, taken up as some of us are with studies, others with the work of the ministry, others in offices and exterior employments, we stand in more particular need of these intervals of recollection because, good and holy as our occupations are, yet as a knife is blunted by daily use and from time to time must be sharpened again because the steel has lost its edge, so we come to be blunted and lose the care of our spiritual advancement from having to help others. Even there in the world philosophers say: Omnis agens agendo patitur— “An agent suffers and loses something of his own.” And everyone knows this well by his own experience. On this account it imports much to recollect ourselves from time to time, disengaging ourselves from all other occupations to make up this loss and replace the daily waste and gather new strength to go forward, since we are-more bound to ourselves than to our neighbor, and well-ordered charity begins at home.

Especially so, since for the very end of aiding and advancing our neighbor this care of ourselves is of great importance; for it is certain that on our own greater spiritual advancement depends the greater spiritual advancement of our neighbor. Thus the time is not lost to our neighbor that we take for ourselves, but rather is gained; it is like letting land lie fallow for a year that it may bear a better crop afterwards. Father Master Avila says that it is like taking the millstone off to pick it anew that it may grind better. Thus one’s being a very busy man is not only no reason for not doing this; but, rather, the busier a man is and the more charged with ministrations and business affairs, the greater need he has of having recourse to this remedy. Those who voyage by sea need often to come into port to take refreshment; so those who are charged with business affairs and occupations and ministrations to their neighbor, in the midst of so many dangers and occasions of sin, need often to take refuge in the harbor of solitude and recollection, to refresh themselves and make themselves up anew and increase their store of the goods they require. We read in the holy Gospel a very good example of this. The Evangelist St. Mark tells how the apostles were very much taken up with ministrations to their neighbor, so much so that they had hardly time to eat, such was the crowd of people that had recourse to them. They went to make a report to Christ our Redeemer of what was happening, and He said to them: Come apart to a desert place and rest ye awhile (Mark vi. 31). Now, if the apostles had need of this relaxation and recollection, and the Savior of the world advised them to it, how much more need have we?

Writers on prayer say well that as sleep is to the body, so is prayer to the soul. So Holy Scripture calls it a sleep: I sleep, but my heart watcheth. I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the goats of the mountains and stags of the plains, not to awaken my beloved until she herself wishes it (Cant. v. 2; viii. 4). They say in explanation of this that as the body is set at ease by bodily sleep and gathers new strength, so the soul is relieved by this sleep of prayer and gathers new vigor of mind to labor for God. And, further, as a man eating the best food, if he has not the repose of necessary sleep, becomes listless and infirm and is in danger of going out of his mind, so also he who is much taken up with external works, however good and holy they may be, if he loses the necessary sleep and repose of prayer, will grow listless and infirm in spirit and will be in danger of losing his soul. That is why the Bridegroom bids them not to awaken His beloved till she herself wishes. When one is awakened from sleep by the noise that they make, it is disagreeable; but when one wakes because the body is now satisfied and the humors that ascend to the brain have been dissipated, that is very soothing. So God wishes for the soul that none may disturb or hinder her prayer, but that, when she has had what is necessary, then she may awake and occupy herself in works of charity, since in this way she will do them well]

Though for all of us, at all times, it is very important to apply ourselves to these spiritual exercises and devote more time to prayer, and the more we make use of it the better, yet it is more necessary in certain particular occasions and conjunctures. Thus, when one sees himself going tepid and slack in the spiritual exercises of meditation, examen, and spiritual reading, not doing them as he ought nor gathering from them the fruit that might reasonably be expected; when he sees that he is weak and negligent in the observance of rules and makes no account of small things; when he seems to be not getting on in spirit, but is turned inside out, carried away by business and the affairs he has on hand; also when he descries some point on which he does not succeed in overcoming and mortifying himself as he ought—in all these cases it is an excellent thing to recollect oneself for some days over these exercises, to arrive at a proper resolution of self-conquest; for it may be that in one period of these he will gain more grace of the Lord and more strength to mortify himself and gain the victory over himself than by the ordinary labor of many days. It often happens that a man goes halting on his way, falling and rising again, and by one course of these exercises he is disenchanted and gets thoroughly in earnest and resolves to do the right thing; he changes his tone and takes another line of action. For, after all, the being for such a time alone, dealing with oneself and with God, is a great preparation for the Lord to speak to the heart and do great favors there. He shall sit in solitude and be silent, for he is lifted above limself (Lam, iii. 28)—lifted above himself and made another man. We have seen extraordinary changes brought about in this way, and the hand of the Lord is not shortened (Isaias lix. 1). We should never lose heart, but always do what is in our power. Who knows what God will work in your soul by means of this preparation? It may be that God has attached your improvement and perfection to one of these exercises.

Besides, after any long journeys and businesses and occupations that involve much distraction, this recollection seems as important as the comfort and good treatment of the body after a long illness, that one may come back upon oneself and recover what one has lost. And for the same reason also it is a very good thing to prepare ourselves beforehand by these exercises, when we are going to be taken up with the like occupations, so as to do things in a more spiritual way and without injury to oneself. Preservative medicine is better than the medicine that cures you after you have been ill. That is why our Father recommends all superiors before entering on their office to recollect themselves first by some days of retreat. And it is a good thing to do the same when we are going to undertake a long and important mission; of this Christ our Redeemer gives us the example, Who before commencing to preach recollected Himself for forty days in the desert. Also a time of tribulation and distress, whether private or particular, or general distress of the whole Church or of the whole order, is a very good occasion for this; for to put in more prayer and more penance and mortification has always been a usual practice in the Church to appease God and obtain His mercy.

All these are good occasions to recollect oneself in these exercises. But it is not necessary to go seeking occasions. Our own need and interest should urge us to desire and bring this about many times; at least no year should be let pass without our taking these spiritual vacations. And when it is done, it should be done in earnest and with all our heart; for a thing of such consequence as this should nowise be done for form’s sake or as a compliment to others or to save appearances. The Lord has given this means very particularly to the Society, not only for our own advantage, but also for the aid and profit of our neighbor; so the bulls of our institution set this down as one of the principal means which the Society has to aid its neighbor. And this is another chief reason why our Father wishes that we should make much use of these exercises, and puts it into the Constitutions and into the Rules of Priests that we should be very dexterous in the use of this kind of arms so profitable for the gaining of souls. These are his words: “In giving the Spiritual Exercises to others after having had experience of them in himself, let each one have practice and know how to give an account of them and aid himself with this arm, since we see that God our Lord makes it so effectual for His service.” By this means our Lord gained our blessed Father Ignatius; by this He gained his companions; by this since then so many others have been gained as well within as outside of the Society: and in both the one and the other we have seen that the Lord concurs with marvelous effect to their end, as with a means given so directly from His hand. Thus we should have great confidence that thereby He will help us also and bestow on us great blessings.

Another main consideration to help and animate us to this is the singular favor and grace which His Holiness Paul V has done in this particular to all religious in the bull and constitution which he published on the twenty-third of May in the year 1606, the first of his pontificate, declaring the indulgences that religious enjoy; where he grants a plenary indulgence and remission of all sins to all religious, of whatsoever order they be, who recollect themselves for the space of ten days to make these spiritual exercises, every time they make them. In this is seen the esteem which His Holiness has of this practice, and which we should have. And for the consolation of all I will set down the pontiff’s very words: ‘‘To those who by permission of their superiors shall put away their other business and for ten days remain in their cells, or separated from the conversation of others, and attend to the reading of pious books and other spiritual things apt to lead the mind to devotion and spirituality; adding frequent considerations and meditations on the mysteries of Catholic faith, on the benefits of God, on the four last things, on the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, and other exercises of ejaculatory or vocal prayers; exercising themselves in mental prayer for at least two hours day and night; making at the same time a general confession or an annual confession or an ordinary confession and receiving the most holy Sacrament of the Eucharist or celebrating mass; every time they make these said Exercises, We mercifully grant in the Lord a plenary indulgence and remission of all sins.”