Chapter IV: Salesian

IT is not too much to say that with St. François de Sales the practice of mental prayer passes from the cloister into the world. He does not merely repeat what had always been said – that the Christian living in the world is bound to seek perfection no less than the priest or religious – but dots the i's and crosses the t's, emphasises the fact that such perfection obviously cannot be sought for by all in exactly the same way (Vie Dévote, chap. iii.), at the same time telling how those 'who live in towns, in households, at the Court, who by reason of their circumstances are obliged to live an ordinary life in outward show . . . can live in the world without receiving any worldly taint, can find springs of sweet piety in the midst of the briny waters of the world, and can fly among the flames of earthly concupiscences without burning the wings of the holy desires of the devout life' (Introduction to the Devout Life, Preface, p. xxiii.; new translation by Fr. Allan Ross).

Few men have been more fitted for such a work. Of good family, destined by his father for the law, educated in Paris and Padua, having travelled extensively in France and Italy, nourished on both the Italian and Spanish spirituality, knowing intimately the spiritual leaders of his day, spending the early years of his priesthood in apostolic labours among the Chablais, later becoming the director of numerous souls living in the world, as well as of religious, as familiar with the common ways of life as with those of Courts, with merchants and their wives no less than religious and clergy, it is little wonder that his Vie Dévote and the

Traite de l'Amour de Dieu have become classics of Catholic literature and devotion, and indeed of a large world outside the Church, for, like his namesake of Assisi, he is revered by Protestants, although they usually only know him by his writings, and that in abridged, mutilated or misleading translations.

St. François teaching on prayer in general, in the Introduction, the Love of God and his letters, is most valuable, and I shall have occasion to use much of it in the third part of this book. His method of mental prayer for those living in the world is found in the second part of the Introduction to the Devout Life, and consists of four parts.

I. The Preparation, in two acts.

(a) Placing oneself in the presence of God.

(b) Invoking His assistance.

(a) There are four principal ways of making the first act.

(1) ' Consists in a lively and attentive apprehension of the omnipresence of God, which means that God is in everything and everywhere . . . say with all your heart and to your heart : O my heart, my heart, God is truly here.'

(2) By reflecting on the presence of God within the soul residing ' in a special manner in the heart.'

(3) By considering ' our Saviour Who in His humanity looks from Heaven upon all persons in the world.'

(4) By an act of the imagination alone ' representing to ourselves the Saviour in His sacred humanity, as though He were near to us.' If the prayer is made before the Blessed Sacrament, ' then this presence will be real and not imaginary ; for the species and appearances of bread are as it were a tapestry, behind which our Lord really sees and observes us.' Only one of these acts must be used at a time, and that briefly and simply.

(b) The invocation is an act of deep humility by which the soul, realising the presence of God, 'prostrates herself with profound reverence, acknowledging her unworthiness to appear before so sovereign a Majesty, yet, knowing that His goodness desires it, she asks of Him the grace to serve Him well, and to adore Him in this meditation.' Short and fervent words may be used if desired, and we should invoke our Guardian Angel and the holy persons concerned in the particular mystery we are to meditate upon 'in order that the interior sentiments and movements which they received may be communicated to us.'

(c) A third, but not invariable point, is the composition of place, as given by St. Ignatius, which is 'to represent to the imagination the scene of the mystery . . . as though it were actually taking place in our presence.'

II. The Considerations, 'the action of the understanding, which we call meditation, no other thing than one or many considerations made in order to stir up our affections towards God and Divine things.' If one thought gives sufficient 'relish, light and fruit,' we must dwell upon it; if, however, we 'find nothing to our liking' in one, we may pass on to another, but always 'quite gently and simply, without undue haste.'

III. The Affections and Resolutions. The object of the meditation is to produce 'good movements in the will or affective part of our soul, such as the love of God and of our neighbour, the desire of Heaven, zeal for the salvation of souls, imitation of the life of our Lord, compassion, admiration, joy, fear of God's displeasure, of judgment and of Hell, hatred of sin, confidence in the goodness and mercy of God, confusion for our bad lives in the past; and in these affections our spirit should expand and extend itself as much as possible.'

But we must not stop at these affectionate acts of the will, but convert them into special and particular resolutions. For example, if we have meditated upon the first word on the Cross we should be moved to imitate the example of our Saviour, not in a vague, general way, but in particular, saying, 'Well, then, I will not hereafter be offended by such and such annoying words, which such and such a person, a neighbour of mine, perhaps, or a servant, may say of me, nor by such and such an affront which may be put upon me by this person or that.'

IV. The Conclusion, in three acts :

(a) Of Thanksgiving for the affections and resolutions we have been led to make and for the goodness and mercy of God revealed in the mystery we have meditated on.

(b) Of Oblation, offering to God this same goodness and mercy of His, the death, the blood and the virtues of His Son, and, together with these, our own affections and resolutions.

(c) Of Petition, that God may give us the graces and virtues of His Son, may bless our affections and resolutions and give us grace to put them into practice ; for the Church, our pastors, relations and friends, for all beseeching the aid of our Lady and of the Angels and Saints, and concluding with a Paternoster and Ave.

Spiritual Nosegay. As when we walk about a beautiful garden we desire to carry away a few flowers and enjoy their perfume, so we should gather one or two points from our meditation ' in which we have found most relish and which are most proper for our advancement, ' so as to recall and act upon them during the day.

St. François adds ' some very profitable counsels ' on meditation. We must bear in mind the resolutions and intentions we have made in order to practise them during the day, for this is the great fruit of our prayer. To meditate upon virtues without putting them into practice is vain and dangerous, leading us to think we are other than we actually are. We should take care not to dissipate the effect of our prayer, keeping, so far as is possible, silent and recollected, accustoming ourselves to pass from prayer to the duties of our state of life ' with so much gentleness and tranquillity that the spirit be not disturbed thereby,' for since prayer and active work are both according to the will of God, ' we must make the passage from the one to the other in a spirit of humility and devotion.'

If, after we have made the preparation, our hearts are drawn by some special attrait towards God, we must ignore the method, for ' it is a general rule that one must never restrain the affections, but always allow them free play when they present themselves.' This was the Saint's constant teaching ; in a letter to a lady he says, ' If it please God to give us affections without reasonings and considerations, it is for us a great grace. The secret of secrets in prayer is to follow attractions in simplicity of heart' (Letters to Persons in Religion, p. 290).

But resolutions should always be made at the end, since they are concerned with particular and familiar objects, and if made earlier in the prayer would be a cause of distraction to us.

It is good to make use of colloquies, speaking to our Lord, to the Angels and Saints, to one's own heart, to sinners and even to inanimate creatures, as the Church does in the Benedicite.

We must not be in the least troubled when we experience dryness or lack of any sensible taste or consolation in our prayer, for we ' should come to holy prayer purely and simply to pay our respects and give proof of our fidelity,' as a courtier goes into the presence chamber of his prince a hundred times a year only to be seen by him and pay his respects.' We must not doubt that this is good prayer; indeed, often of more real value than when we are filled with consolations; yet we may, in such case, make use of vocal prayers, ask our Lord to visit us in our unworthiness, stir up our devotion by outward acts, if we are alone, as kissing the crucifix, prostrating ourself, etc. Or we may have recourse to a book, reading it with attention until moved to devotion.

Such is St. François's method and instructions on mental prayer for beginners. For his further teaching, always as sane as it is entirely supernatural, his letters should be consulted. We must not, however, overlook what he says at the end of the Introduction, replying to the criticism he anticipates that his book presupposes that everyone has the gift of mental prayer. It is true, he says, that the book implies this, and also true that everyone has not the gift, 'but it is also true that almost everyone is able to have it, even the most dull-witted, provided that they have good directors, and that they be willing to strive to acquire it as much as it deserves' (Introd., Pt. V., chap. xvii.).

It is true, people do not meditate, think they cannot meditate, simply because they have not been taught, or have been taught by an unskilled director, who knows little, either of the diversity of souls or the rich abundance of methods which exists. If he does not succeed with his favourite method – usually the Ignatian – he abandons them as hopeless instead of seeking to follow the attraction of the Holy Ghost. At least he could, as St. François says, get them to pay attention to reading or hearing read the subjects upon which mental prayer should be made. But the truth is that the large majority of our people have never had a word said to them on the subject, and are amazed to hear of its necessity and at the immense good they derive from it.