Book II. Preliminary Dialogue: On several questions touching the direct acts in which the different forms of mystical prayer consist, and the various names Bossuet gave to these forms of prayer

Q. Could you explain to me by comparisons from the senses what Bossuet said regarding the acts of mystical prayer, which he calls direct and non-reflective acts, which are little if at all understood, practised in the heart and not signified, that is not formulated in the

1 The spiritual life ordinarily presents three successive and ascending stages. In the first, which is called the purgative < way or the way of beginners, the soul frees itself from the allurements of sin, and purifies itself by resistance to-the-violent temptations which menace in it the life of grace. In the second, the soul, freer as re gards t he sense s, looks to the end of its voyage, which is Heaven, and exercises itself in virtues in the hope of recompense; this is the illurtwnatiye_way or the way of the proficient. In the third, called the unitive way, what d omin - *5 ates the soul is less the fea r of hel l a nd th e hope of Heav en than the aspiration of pleasing Gfb(T and Heing united to the Sovereign Good.

Now in this last stage of perfection the divine action may take two forms, which constitute two very different states.

In the first, the common and usual one, divine grace is silen tly infus ed into hum an action, in such a way that the soul feels it is still more active than p assive, as in the two preceding states.

But som etimes God i nvades the soul with such impetuos ity that it feols itself dominated and reduced to more or less absolute pas sivit y: It is this second iorm ot the unitive way which 'A constitutes mysticism.

Those authors who in general write of the ascetic life are called the masters of the.spiritual life, and those who treat specially of the unifive life, and more especially the second phase of this life, are called mystics. It should, however, be added that such exactness of language is not general, that the name of mystic is often given to theologians and teachers who treat of Christian perfection in general.

We should add: (i) extraordina ry and supernatural praj^ers are not in the ordinary road to God; (ii)Yhat it7S~presij mpjjA Qus * to meddle with tnem without being called thereto by God;

(iii) that a person is sub jectTo illus ion who under the pretext

" 157 heart in a reflective manner and still less outwardly expressed by words, signs or exterior acts P¹

A. He wished us to understand by these words that in the prayer of the simple presence of God and loving attention to that presence, a soul finds itself in much the same attitude towards God, by a supernatural attraction, as that of any person who loves another by natural attraction when he is thinking of his beloved. In fact, is not all that he says about direct acts found and easily comprehensible in the^ heart of a_ mother thinking of her beloved child ? for while she is thinking these sweet thoughts does she not exert maternal love ? By direct acts which are merely simple interior movements, of a siu^le~turning^Ohe_heaxt_^wanls__the child; (ii) by non-reflective acts, for she does not reflect if she loves; (iii) by acts confusedly if at all perceived, for she does not know them except by consciousness, so to speak, that is by a confused feeling she experiences without any attempt to disentangle what is passing within herself; (iv) by acts which are not signified, since she says neither with her mouth 'nor inwardly in her heart: I love this child very much; but she love s it none the less b y means of acts performed in herjjeart; she lov es without s aying anything, but me rely by lov ing; and if this child penetrated as God does into the heart of its mother, would it not see all her actual tenderness for it? Nevertheless, while not reflected upon, these acts are so deliberate, so freely accepted and willed, that if the object of them was criminal that mother would be sinning, and would of abandoning himself to the spirit of God and doing only what he wills, scorns the direction and discipline of his directors, however enlightened they may be, and goes looking for guides whom he thinks more exp ert, according to his prejudices; (iv) it is certain (Article XXXIV of the Conference of Issy) that beginners and the perfeot must be led each according to his way by different rules.

not fail later to accuse herself in confession of having passed a considerable time in a voluntarily criminal disposition of the mind and heart; finally, may we not say of these acts that since reflection has no part in them they are all the more simple, natural and sincere, and truly heart-felt, as Bossuet explains² when writing of direct and deliberate acts which tend towards God ? 2³⁴⁵

Q. What does Bossuet mean when he says: * When the will is fixed on God it produces a succession of good movements, which in this life are called perpetual prayer 5 ?⁶

A. He wishes us to understand that there takes place in this good will towards God what takes place towards evil in a perverted will which produces a succession of thoughts, affections, desires, hopes, joys, fears, sadnesses, and other simple, deliberate criminal movements. Now is it not certain that God sees the good dispositions of the heart as clearly as the bad ones, and that he is even more ready to reward the good than to punish the wicked ? This is what caused our Bishops to say, in Article XIX of Issy, 2 that ‘ perpetual prayer does not consist in a perpetual and single act, which one may imagine going on without interruption and which must not be repeated, but in a habitual and perpetual disposition and preparation to do nothing which might displease God, and to do everything to please him. 5 For how many good movements either for avoiding evil or for doing good must be produced by this habitual and perpetual condition ?

Q. How comes it, then, that most slightly spiritual persons know so well and so easily all the evil of those discursive, and the end proposed purely speculative.’ (Le Bienheureux Guerric, by Abb6 Beller, p. 144.)

Nevertheless, in the ordinary state and in common prayer, reflection is a force of the soul, as Bossuet says. It affirms our acts, gives energy to our will, and aided by grace from on high makes efficacious our good resolutions. I have considered my ways, says the royal Prophet, and I have turned my steps in the way of thy commands.

It is important, then, especially for those who are not too well advanced in spirituality, not to despise reflection; it nourishes the mind and the heart with sentiments and thoughts which prepare the soul for higher states of Prayer in case it should please God to call it to one of these states.—‘ The only bad reflections (Article XVII, Issy) are those in which one goes over one’s actions and the gifts one has received, in order to gratify one’s self-love, to seek human comfort or to be too concerned with oneself.’ direct acts which aim at wickedness only, even to the slightest thoughts, complacency, deliberate affections and adhesions of spirit of which they never fail to accuse themselves in confession, whereas it is so difficult to understand the goodness of those direct acts which are a simple deliberate movement towards good ?

A. The reason of this is: (i) that simple movements of the heart towards evil are much more easily perceived; (ii) that one’s custom is to understand only vaguely what is read in books and heard in sermons, that good desires without deeds are useless; yes, useless, because without deeds they will not save us; but despite this they may still be good and meritorious in themselves, in the same way as evil desires without effect do not become thereby less criminal and evil in themselves, from the moment they are conceived in the heart, without being expressed even to oneself, indeed, though one may well wish to hide them from oneself. This it was that made Our Lord say that all evil came from the heart: de corde exeunt. It is the same with good. That is why experienced confessors do not count on our good resolutions, on our beautiful acts of contrition and noble purposes, but bring us back always to direct acts of the heart and tell us: ‘ Sound your heart well: is this its true and actual inclination ? ’

Q. What did he mean when he said⁷ of certain souls that they pray by an actual disposition of the heart, often so fervent that it is not a single act but rather a mass and collection of acts ?

A. He means that by deep and frequent repetition of all sorts of pious acts the same thing often happens as happens to a will habituated to evil: at certain moments all the most criminal affections a marred and corrupted soul is capable of, come together, are infused into each other, so to speak, tend all towards crime and form in the heart a mass and collection of all kinds of sin; with the important difference that this violent l62 disposition to evil comes only too naturally, while the disposition of the heart towards good has to be ceaselessly undertaken and continually renewed.

Q. What, lastly, does he mean when he says⁸ that in mystical prayer we come to speak only the pure language of the heart, and that until this stage we speak to ourselves only in a human tongue, clothing our thoughts in the language we would use in explaining them to another; but in contemplation, in pure recollection we come, he adds, to speak so much to God that we have now no other language than that which he alone understands, and which is that which we called the language of the heart?

A. He means that the pure language of the heart does not and cannot express itself save by simple movements, by interior cries as S. Paul says, by groanings, by indescribable desires, even in the case of him who raises them to Heaven independently of all expression. For human words could but weakly express the feelings of a heart that has been deeply touched. Men themselves cannot do this in ordinary human intercourse, for when they have tried to bear witness to their mutual feelings, their reciprocal friendship, they say: c I wish you could see the feelings in my heart 5; now that which men cannot express or see to their liking, God sees and understands: how shall I say it ? he understands, as the Prophet says, to the very preparation of our hearts; that is, the first movement of a heart which begins to will to set itself in motion in order to form a desire, as Bossuet so finely says. 2

Q. Would you explain to me now the various names⁹ given to those kinds of prayers which are performed by direct acts, not reflective, scarcely or confusedly perceived, practised in the heart and not outwardly expressed ? In the first place, why does Bossuet call them prayers of simple recollection ?

A. Because the soul finds itself here simply recollected in God.¹⁰

accustomed to reasoning, and to kindling her own affections by the consideration of definite motives, is suddenly as it were struck by a sovereign hand; she discourses no longer, she can no longer discourse. She is entirely penetrated by God; she contemplates, sees, rejoices, loves in silence, she knows not where she is, she only knows that she is well, and a peace that nothing can disturb makes her feel not far from God.

On this subject Bossuet established six propositions to clarify his ideas and avoid all error on this subject of passive prayer:

(i) This state of contemplation, which according to the mystics is an act of God rather than of man, is never of long duration. S. Teresa assures us positively that ‘ the period of time... during which the faculties of the soul were entranced, was very short; if half an hour, that would be a long time. I do not think that I have ever been so long.’ (Life, Ch. XVIII, 16). S. John of the Cross, S. Francis do Sales and other mystics say the same.

(ii) The time of passive prayer is that in which the soul rests specially recollected in faith and love in actual contemplation.

(iii) According to S. Thomas actual, contemplation cannot last long in its principal acts, but can last a long time in its less perfect acts which demand less attention.

(iv) Though short in itself, passive prayer may be perpetual in its effects, for it keeps the soul perpetually more disposed to recollect itself in God.

(v) This disposition to recollection is not meritorious in itself, for it is not an act; but it prepares the soul to make more and more easily the most perfect acts.

(vi) We regard as a state of prayer the fixed and permanent habit which prepares the soul to perform it in one way rather than another, giving her the inclination together with the facility of performance.

Thus passive prayer is fixed and perpetual in its manner; it produces what is called a ‘ state ’; it puts the soul in the hand of God in that admirable manner which at the time of prayer excludes discursive acts, and keeps the soul supple and pliant in the hands of God, where he holds the school of the heart in which we listen to him in great tranquillity and silence. ( Instruction, Book VIII, p. 620 //.)

Q. How does this recollection come about ?

A. Sometimes by the exercise of the will alone, aided by ordinary grace, with the help of which we enter seriously into ourselves; almost as if we wished to engage in study, in science, in important affairs; this is active recollection, for we use our own forces and efforts to recall our thoughts and affections, which were spread and scattered over sensible objects, but at the time of prayer, as S. Teresa says, the soul is like a snail retiring into its shell, she folds back on herself, so to speak, so as to think only of God who dwells in the most intimate parts of its being, where is the living temple of the Holy Ghost.

enjoy his company: nor need the voice be raised to address him, for he hears even the lowest whisper. We are not forced to take wings to find him, but have only to seek solitude and to look within ourselves.... In this way the Divine Master comes more speedily than ho otherwise would to teach us and to grant us the prayer of quiet. For, being retired within itself, the spirit can meditate on the Passion and can there picture in its thoughts the Son, and can offer him to the Father without tiring the mind by journeying to find him on Mount Calvary, or in the Garden, or at the Column.... If this recollection is genuine it is easily discerned, for it produces a certain effect that I cannot describe, but which will be recognized by those who know it from personal experience. The soul seems to rise from play—for it sees that earthly things are but toys—and therefore mounts to higher things. Like one who retires into a strong fortress to be out of danger, it withdraws the senses from outward things, so thoroughly despising them, that involuntarily the eyes close so as to veil from the sight what is visible, in order that the eyes of the soul may see more clearly.... The soul appears to gather strength and to dominate itself at the expense of the body, which it leaves lonely and enfeebled and thereby gains a stronger empire over it.

At first these signs are not apparent, as the recollection, which may be more or less intense, is not very great. In the beginning it requires a painful effort, for the body claims its rights, not understanding that its rebellion is suicidal. Yet, by persevering in the habit for several days, and by controlling ourselves, the benefits that result will become clear. We shall find that when w*^ begin to pray the bees will return to the hive and enter it to make the honey without any effort on our part, for our Lord is pleased to reward the soul and the will.... Souls are thereby delivered from many occasions of sin, and are more easily inflamed by the fire of divine love. >. exterior hindrance

At other times it is recollection infused by a particular attraction which is wholly divine, and which draws the soul out of itself towards it.¹¹

Q. How does this divine recollection operate ?

A. As this prayer has been raised above all suspicion by the authority of S. Francis de Sales,¹² who was acquainted with both its theory and its practice, and as in speaking of the same saint, with reference to the prayer of Mother de Ghantal, Bossuet said that in this matter he was indisputably the first expert of his century,¹³ I can reply to you best by quoting his words:¹⁴ c It happens, then, sometimes, that Our Lord imper- being removed, the soul is alone with its God and is predisposed to take fire... this is not a supernatural state, but something which, with the grace of God, we can desire and obtain for ourselves. This 6 graco ’ is always implied... for without it we can do nothing.

*... I advise whoever wishes to acquire this habit (which as I said we have the power to gain) not to grow tired of persevering in trying gradually to obtain the mastery over herself. This self-denial will profit any nun by making her senses serve her soul. If she wishes to talk, let her know that there is one within her to whom she can speak; if she prefers to listen, lot her realize that she can hearken to him who is nearer to her than all others.... If possible, let her recollect herself often during the day in this way; if she is unable to do so, at least let her practise it occasionally. When accustomed to it, she will benefit greatly sooner or later; when once God has bestowed this grace on her, she would not exchange it for any earthly troasuro.’ (Way of Perfection, Chs. XXVIII and XXIX.)

ceptibly infuses into the depths of our hearts a certain agreeable sweetness, which testifies to his Presence; and then the powers, yea, the very exterior senses of the soul, by a certain secret contentment, turn in towards that most interior part where dwells the most amiable ai J dearest spouse. For as a new swarm of bees, when it would take flight and change country, is recalled by a sound softly made on metal basins, by the smell of honied wine, or by the scent of some odoriferous herbs, being held by the attraction of these agreeable things, and enters into the hive prepared for it; so Our Saviour, pronouncing some secret word of his love, or pouring out the odour of the wine of his dilection, more delicious than honey, or letting stream the perfumes of his garments, that is, feelings of his heavenly consolations in our hearts, and thereby making them perceive his most welcome presence, draws unto himself all the faculties of our soul, which gather round him and sate themselves in him, as in their most desired object. And as he who should cast a piece of lodestone amongst a quantity of needles would instantly see them all turn their points towards their well-beloved adamant, and join themselves to it, so when Our Lord makes his most delightful presence to be felt in the midst of our hearts, all our faculties turn their points in that direction, to be united to this incomparable sweetness.

Q. Why does he call it the prayer of simplicity and silence ?

A. As for the first term, he means that there is nothing so simple as this prayer, for it is merely the pure language of the heart expressed in its simple deliberate movements, which are its direct acts. As for the second, the soul often remains in profound silence, remaining on the alert in order to listen more attentively to the Holy Ghost. At other times it will be a silence of respect and admiration, somewhat as it happens with the kings of the earth, to whom it would be impossible to pay a more flattering court; so also o

God cannot more worthily be honoured by his creatures than by a silence full of respect and admiration, which also serves as an introduction to contemplation, according to Bossuet;¹⁵ a silence which caused David to say:¹⁶

5 O Lord, my silence is thy praise.’

Q. Why is it called the prayer of simple regard or contemplation ?

A. Because in it we regard God simply by faith with loving attention; for as I can look at material objects with the eyes of the body and the spiritual with the eyes of the mind, so also can I regard divine objects, and even God, with the eyes of faith. If this gaze at God, or rather simple memory of him, lasts only for a moment, it is but an ephemeral good act; but if by my fidelity to ordinary grace, or by a special grace, I have acquired the facility of fixing myself on this interior gaze, and sustaining it for a relatively considerable time, this is what Bossuet calls a true prayer of simple regard for as long as this loving regard lasts; and if it gradually became perpetual in the sense explained by him, we should be then practising to the letter what God ordained to Abraham: ‘ Walk before me and be perfect.’ 2

Q. Why does he call this the prayer of simple surrender or abandonment to God ?

A. He has well and fully explained this, speaking of the prayer of the Venerable Mother de Chantal.¹⁷

Q. Why does he call it the prayer of repose or quiet,¹⁸ a name which suggests to countless people the idea of pure idleness and waste of time ?

A. You must know first that the mind and the heart do not repose in the same manner as the body, by ceasing to act, but rather by continuing their action in a simpler and gentler manner which charms the soul. Thus, when a miser lets his mind and his heart, that is, his feelings and his affections, repose on his wealth, as the ambitious man on the objects of his ambition, and each man on what he loves, they do not cease on that account to act; they are not idle, but on the curiosities and such tilings. The soul does not act by discourse nor by its own efforts as it normally does, but as the result of a divine impression.

From this results in the third place that the soul becomes impotent to make certain acts which it wishes to make and cannot. The saint often bewailed this impotence, as is clearly shown by the letters of the holy Bishop and by the words of the venerable religious herself, who could find no remedy for these confusions, shadows and impotencies of her mind, until it was united to God and surrendered into his pitying arms, ‘ without acts,' she said, ‘ for I cannot perform any'

‘ I will pause here,* continues Bossuet, ‘ to conjure those who live in the world not to treat these states as mere visions and dreams. Do they doubt that God, who is wonderful in all his works and especially in his saints, has particular ways, unknown to the world, of communicating himself to his friends, of holding them in his hands and making them feel his sweet sovereignty ? Let them beware then, lest in making rash judgements, they incur the just reproach of the Apostle Jude against those who blaspheme what they know not. S. Francis de Sales wrote to his spiritual daughter ‘ Your prayer of simple surrender in God is extremely holy and salutary, and you must never doubt it; it has been so thoroughly examined, and it has always been found that Our Lord wished you to use this kind of Prayer; there is no need to do other than to continue peacefully in it.’ (Instruction, p. 570.)

contrary are most criminally occupied, in this deadly repose of the mind and the heart. For their thoughts and affections are voluntarily fixed on the objects of their love, in which they gratify themselves and rest as in their centre; this, says S. Paul, is the veritable idolatry of the heart. Now if the corruption of nature can effect this long and criminal repose in creatures of whom one has made vain idols, must we be astonished that habit, which is second nature, and grace, which is stronger still, can effect the holy repose of heart and mind that good souls find in thinking of God, their veritable centre, in enjoying God, their only treasure, to whom they have already given their hearts and on whom they have fixed their will. This is what Bossuet how she understands. She merely sees that she is in the Kingdom, or at least close to the divine King who will give it her; but she is too lost in profound awe before him to dare ask for it.

‘ This state resembles a swoon, both exterior and interior, so that the exterior man (or as I will call him, “ the body,” lest some simpleton among you may say she does not know what “ exterior” and “ interior ” mean) does not wish to move, but rests like a traveller who, having nearly come to his journey’s end, stops so that he may start again refreshed, for the strength of the soul is now double what it was. The body feels enjoyment while the will is supremely satisfied and so delighted at finding itself near the fountain that, before even tasting the water, its thirst is quenched and there seems nothing left to desire. The faculties are reluctant to stir; all action seems to impede their loving God—yet they are not entirely lost, for they can and do realize, by peaceful contemplation, in whoso presence they are. Two of them are free; the will alone is captive.... At such a time, people wish the body to remain motionless; they think its movement would destroy their repose, therefore they dare not stir... the soul is so intoxicated with delight and joy that there no longer seems anything left to wish for, and it would gladly cry with S. Peter: “ Lord, let us build here three tabernacles.” ’

‘ When the quiet is great and lasts long I think the will must be held fast in some way, or such peace could not be protracted. Sometimes, although we cannot miderstand how, it lasts for one or two days. I am speaking here of souls raised to this degree of prayer. They are conscious that their attention is not entirely given to whatever they may be doing, but that the chief factor—that is, the will—is wanting. I believe that it is united to God, leaving the other powers free to attend to his service.’ (Way of Perfection, Ch. XXXII.)

calls the prayer of repose and quiet after the holy mystics.

Q. Is this prayer of repose in God performed by one act or by several ?

A. Sometimes it is performed by the continuation of a single act subsisting and persevering during a certain time in proportion to the vehemence of the love which produces it: at other times it is performed by a succession of consecutive uniform acts, uninterrupted and interiorly peaceful; all are acts of love, for the repose of the soul can only be found in what one loves and in proportion to the depth of one’s love. It is in this prayer, then, that God is truly adored and loved in the heart, in spirit and in truths as Our Lord Jesus Christ put it. This is why all the mystics declare that this kind of prayer is nothing but a pure exercise of true charity, and that in consequence it embraces all that is necessary to please God and to advance in the ways of all perfection. This view is supported and explained by Article XIII of the Conference of Issy,¹⁹ which contains the following words: ‘In perfect prayer, all these acts that have been mentioned are joined together in charity in so far as it inspires all the virtues and commands their exercise, according 10 S. Paul’s words: “ Charity... beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” The same might be said of the other Christian acts whose distinct exercises it rules and prescribes, though they are not always sensibly and distinctly perceived.’

Q. Why did the Bishops add these last words ?

A. To prevent an evil which has become only too common. Because of the frequent imperceptibility of the direct acts of the prayer of quiet, many often withdraw from this holy repose; some through fear of idleness or of omitting commanded acts, others, because they push their simplicity so far as to be afraid of falling into heresy, even by stopping in this sweet and holy repose, acts which, though insensible and confusedly perceived, are none the less directly opposed to the false repose of Quietism, which entirely rejects all acts, and extinguishes the slighest glimmer of them that appears, according to the forceful words of Bossuet.²⁰²¹²²²³

Q. Did he himself give these various names to these prayers ?

A. No, he took them from both ancient and modern mystics, as they have drawn them from their own experience, each speaking of his prayer either of simplicity, according to the principal sentiment that God granted him of his simple presence, or of repose in the heart, or of contemplation in the mind, or of simple recollection in the depths of the soul, or of the silence of admiration in the powers of the soul, etc., or of simple surrender or total abandonment to the good pleasure of God.

Q. What does Bossuet mean by always keeping a certain order in the enumeration of these prayers, as when he asks: 2 ‘ What prayer is in peril ? Is it the

A. In this matter he divides these states of prayer

Q. As I am quite satisfied on all the questions I have put up to now, and as I have nothing more to fear regarding the abuse of mystical prayer, I beg you to teach me how to attain even to a low degree of these states of prayer; I do not speak of the extraordinary or purely passive prayers, but of those that Bossuet, with S. Teresa, puts in the first class, namely: the prayers of simple recollection, of silence, of contemplation and even of repose and quiet.

A. All the ways of attaining this that I have learnt from the mystics can be reduced to certain remote and proximate dispositions.

Q. In what do they say the remote dispositions consist ?

A. In an entire purity of the soul, which I propose to sum up under four heads, which shall be the subject of the following dialogues, namely, purity of conscience, of heart, of mind, and of action.

Article XXIV: * It is a dangerous error to exclude from the state of contemplation the thought of the Divine attributes, of the three divine Persons, and of the mysteries of the Son of God incarnate, above all that of the Cross and the resurrection; all those things which are seen only by faith are the object of the Christian contemplative.’

Article XXV: ‘ It is not permitted to a Christian, under pretext of passive or other extraordinary prayer, in the conduct of life, as much in the spiritual as in the temporal, to expect God to determine each action by a particular leading and inspiration; to do this leads to tempting God, to illusion and nonchalance.’

Article XXVI: ‘ Apart from the case of, and moments of, extraordinary inspiration, the true submission that every Christian soul, even the perfect, owes to God, lies in using the natural and supernatural knowledge it receives from him and also the rules of Christian prudence, supposing always that God directs everything by his Providence, and that he is the author of all good counsel.’

Article XXVIII: ‘ The extraordinary ways and the marks of them as given by approved spirituals, are in their judgement very rare and subject to the examination of the Bishops, ecclesiastical superiors and teachers, who should judge them not so much according to experience as according to the immutable laws of Scripture and tradition: to practise and teach the contrary is to shake off the yoke of the obedience due to the Church.*

Instruction sur les dtais d'oraison, Vol. XVII (L. Viv&s, Paris, 1857)—the edition we shall follow throughout this work. ↩
Instruction, p. 452. ↩
‘ I admit that in general, 5 says Bossuet, 4 reflection is an imperfection of human nature, because it is never found, I will not say in the divinity, but in the most sublime operations of the angelic nature or of the blessed spirits. 5 (Instruction, Book V, No. IV, p. 451.) The discursive state, or the state of reflection, is thus a less perfect state than the contemplative. S. Teresa explains it thus: 4 1 do not cal l praver made by thinking over a subj ect, “ livmgjvyaierT 1 for I believe that, in spite of’alTbur efforts, owing partly to physical causes and partly to human nature, it always retains something from which we should like it to be free. I will explain myself more clearly. While meditating on the world and the contempt it deserves on account of its short duration, almost without knowing it we find ourselves thinking of the worldly matters wo used to care for. Although we try to check theso thoughts, they distract us all the more by the remembrance of what happened and speculations about what will come of it, what will be the consequences, what we did, and what we shall do. By pondering over the mea ns of free ing ourselves fro m faults, we sometimes run into fresh dang er.’ (Way of PerfectionfTfh. XlX, 8, 9.) ↩
In mystical theology... the understanding ceases from its acts, because God suspends it.... He puts j2ef&L e AfcJdiat whic h astonishes and occupies it: so that, without making any "reflections, it will comprehend in a moment more than we could comprehend in many years with all the efforts in the world. 5 (Life of S. Teresa, Ch. XII, 8.) The author of Le Bienheureux Guerric explains in other words: ↩
Contemplation is the most elevated of spiritual exercises; reading seeks the sweetness of the blessed life; meditation discovers it; prayer beseeches it; but it is contemplation which enjoys it. This is defined as a simple gaze of the intelligence, accompanied by a most gentle love for God and his mysteries. It is thus very different from thought, which goes from one object to another, and from meditation, which necessarily involves the effort of work, interior discourse and fatigue of the mind. It is hardly necessary to say that the simple intellectual gaze which constitutes it, and the act of will, namely love, which is its end, distinguish it essentially from philosophical and theological contemplation, where the process of knowing is ↩
Instruction, p, 512. Ubid., p. 341, ↩
Instruction, p. 580, ↩
Instruction, p. 464. * Ibid., p. 467. The psalmist has pushed this explanation to its utmost simplicity by these words: 4 1 said, I will confess against myself my injustice to the Lord. And thou hast forgiven the wickedness of my sin.’ What admirable precision: ‘ I said: I will con- fess....’ I have not yet confessed, I resolved to do so and prepared my heart thereto; and he does not say: 4 Thou wilt forgive,’ as if the Lord had to await his confession before forgiving his fault. On his side it is the future: 4 1 will confess ’; on God’s it is the past: 4 Thou hast forgiven ’; God has forgiven before we have accomplished the confession of our fault. ↩
There are several kinds of prayer: ordinary mental prayer which is performed in the discursive way is meditation properly so called; we reflect on a truth, on a mystery, for some time, in order to excite in the soul some pious feelings which may lead us to take practical resolutions for the good direction of our lives. Next come extraordinary prayers: the prayer of recollection, the prayer of simplicity or silence, the prayer of regard or contemplation, the prayer of surrender or abandonment, the prayer of repose or quiet, the prayer of union, the prayer of ecstasy. In these various kinds of prayer, the soul, aided by divine grace, acts more or less by its own powers: memory, imagination, understanding, sensibility; but it leaves the greater part to divine action. Now these extraordinary prayers may be passive prayers. It will be useful here to repeat the explanation given by Bossuet of this state of passivity of the soul: ‘ To avoid all ambiguity what is here meant by being passive, suffering, enduring, should be explained; this passivity and suffering are not opposed to joy or accompanied by grief, but they are opposed to personal movement and the action one might perform oneself.... One suffers divine things, one receives impressions from God in which the soul has little or no part.’ Now we know from Holy Scripture: (i) That God does with men what he wills, carries them away and draws them where he wills, does in them and by them what he has decided for them in his eternal plan, notwithstanding the free will he has given them; (ii) It is of faith that in acts of piety there are many things which wo merely suffer, in a sense opposed to our own movement. Such are the enlightenments of the understanding and the pious affections of the will, which take place in us without our aid; (iii) In all these actions not only are there many things which take place in us without our aid, they are many more than those we do ourselves; the reason is that in all the work of our salvation and all that leads us thereto, there is always more of God than of ourselves, more of God’s grace than of our efforts; (iv) In this order of ideas it is evident that ecstasy, revelation or inspiration, and the gift of prophecy, are states of complete passivity. These are extraordinary and divine motions which occur suddenly, and of which we will not speak here. But it is not this that the mystics call passive prayer: ‘ passive prayer, also called infused, consists in a suspension or ligature of the intellectual powers or faculties in which a soul rests powerless to produce discursive acts.’ In this state the soul. ↩
That prayer is called the prayer of recollection in which the soul, recollecting all its powers, retires inside itself with its God. S. Augustine tells us that he sought God in surrounding objects and at last found him within himself. Meditate on this text, for it is of no slight importance for a soul who finds recollec- tion difficult to realize this truth and to see that it has no need to go to Heaven in order to speak to the Eternal Father or to ↩
Bossuet explains very well in a few words these various states of prayer: 4 (i) the ordinary and natural method is to discourse and arouse the will by reflections and intellectual representations of the motives which touch it; (ii) this method is not absolutely necessary to piety: one may act by faith alone, which of its nature is not discursive, and this constitutes contemplation; (iii) God, who is the master of the soul, may push it still further, so that not only does it no longer discourse but it even cannot do so, which is called the suspension of the powers, or passive prayer and contemplation, infused and supernatural; (iv) con- templation, active or passive, is only short-lived and like a moment in this life, and can never be perpetual.’ ( Instruction Book X, p. 655). ↩
Second treatise, Vol. XVIII, p. 273. ↩
Instruction, p. 671. ↩
S. Francis de Sales: On the Love of God, Book VI, Ch. VII. ↩
Instruction, p. 399. ↩
In the first place this prayer is a general abandonment and surrender of oneself in the arms of divine Providence. Secondly, the soul thus surrendered entirely forgets herself and casts away all kinds of discourses, efforts, reflections, ↩
4 In this form of prayer the faculties of the soul are suspended in such a way that she seems to be altogether outside herself. The will loves; the memory, it seems to me, is as it were lost; and the understanding, I think, makes no reflections—yet is not lost: as I have just said, it is not at work, but it stands still as if amazed at the greatness of the things it is contemplating; for God pleases to make her know that she understands nothing whatever of that which his Majesty is placing before it.’ ( Life of S. Teresa, Ch. X.) ↩
Prayer of quiet or repose: this prayer is a supernatural state far above any efforts of our own to achieve. It consists in a profound peace, a perfect repose of all our faculties into which the soul enters or is rather caused to enter by the presence of Our Lord. The soul understands but not by means of her exterior senses that she is already close to her God, and that if she were a little nearer, she would be one thing with him in union. Thus did the adorable Infant Jesus cause Simeon to recognize him. Just so does the soul recognize him at whose feet she lies, though not as clearly because she does not yet understand ↩
Instruction, p. 340. ↩
Instruction, p. 470. ↩
The act of abandonment and repose in God is composed of the most perfect acts of faith, the most complete and self- surrendering acts of hope, the purest and most faithful acts of love. This act detaches us from ourselves; it unites us to God as much as is possible in this life; this act causes sins to be regretted from the highest and most powerful of all motives, and removes all possible fears, because so perfect a love absorbs and consumes them. This act contains in itself everything that could give us assurance, for nothing makes us more sensible of the goodness of God than the movement he inspires in us of hoping for everything from him; and abandonment could go no further, for this is a complete fulfilment of the words of S. Peter when he tells us to cast on God all our cares, for he hath care of us, and yet to continue to watch and pray lest we fall into temp- tation, as the Saviour himself commanded him. This, then, is Christian abandonment according to the apostolic doctrine, and it is clear that it presupposes two foundations, one that wo believe that God has care of us, and the other that we must none the less act and watch; otherwise we should be tempting God.’ ( Instruction, Book X, XVIII, p. 640.) • Second treatise, Vol. XVIII, p. 272. PRELIMINARY DIALOGUE 1 73 prayer of simple presence, of contemplation and quiet, or perhaps the extraordinary and even passive states of prayer which are attacked ? 5 What is the meaning of this threefold graduation which is constantly observ- able ? into three classes, as most mystics do. The first com- prises those special states, which are not common, of recollection, or of ordinary contemplation, of simple presence, of quiet; the second, extraordinary states, either because of their high degree or because of their special gifts, such as ecstasies, visions, revelations; the third, purely passive prayers which are so habit- ually, on the subject of which he appropriately rebukes 1 the hostility of those who ‘ confuse contemplation with passive prayer, though the two notions are not in the least the same according to S. Thomas and others 2 who, in treating of contemplation, do not include under this name passive prayer. Because though contemplation, like faith, is not discursive, it does not always remove the power of discourse, which state, he adds, is what characterises the passive state of prayer.’ 3 ↩
Instruction, p. 632. * Summa, II-II, 9, 82, Art. iii. ↩
We feel we should add here, in order to forestall all abuse and to remain within the limits of sound doctrine, the following articles of the Conference of Issy, Art. XX. ‘ The prayer of simple presence of God, or of surrender and quiet, and the other extraordinary prayers, even the passive ones, approved by S. Francis de Sales and other spirituals recognized throughout the Church, cannot be rejected or regarded as suspect without singular presumption.” (instruction, p. 341.) Article XXII: ‘ Without these extraordinary prayers, it is possible to become a very great saint and attain Christian perfection.’ S. Teresa also said: ‘... contemplation is a gift of God which is not necessary for salvation, nor for earning our eternal reward, nor does anyone here require us to possess it. She who is without it, yet who follows the counsels I have given, will attain great perfection. It may be that she will gain far more merit, as she has to work harder on her own account; Our Lord is treating her like a valiant woman and keeping until hereafter all the happiness she has missed in this life.’ (Way of Perfection, Ch. XVII.) ↩

Chapter 21 of 31

Book II. Preliminary Dialogue: On several questions touching the direct acts in which the different forms of mystical prayer consist, and the various names Bossuet gave to these forms of prayer

Footnotes