Chapter XXV

That great profit is reaped by the soul from praying vocally with perfection, and that God then sometimes raises it to a supernatural state.¹

1. Difference between vocal and mental prayer and contemplation. 2. Mental and vocal prayer. 3. Contemplation is a gift from God.

1. To prove to you that vocal prayer, made perfectly, brings with it no small profit, I may tell you that it is quite possible, while you are reciting the Pater Noster or some other prayer (if you say it well), that God may raise you to perfect contemplation.² His Majesty thus shows that He is listening to His handmaid and speaks to her in return, suspending the understanding and stopping the thoughts — one might say, taking the words out of her mouth — so that speech becomes impossible, or at least requires a strong effort. The soul understands that the divine Master is teaching it without the sound of words. He suspends the faculties,³ which by their action would hinder rather than favour contemplation. They are happy without knowing why: the soul is inflamed with love without comprehending how it loves: it feels that it enjoys the Beloved, yet how it does so it cannot tell. It realises that this delight can never be gained through any desire of the mind itself: the will embraces its joy without apprehending how, yet it dimly perceives that every good work mankind could perform in this world would not merit such a reward, for it is the gift of the Lord of heaven and earth Who gives it in the manner befitting His Godhead.

2. This, daughters, is perfect contemplation. Now you can see how it differs from mental prayer, which as I explained to you consists in thinking over and realising what, and with Whom we speak, and who we are that presume to address this great Sovereign. To consider these and other matters, such as how little we serve Him, and how greatly we should do so, is mental prayer. Do not fancy that it is some 'shibboleth', nor take fright at the word. To recite the 'Our Father', or the 'Hail, Mary', or any other petition is vocal prayer — you see what discord this would make without the accompaniment of mental prayer: even the words would go wrong sometimes.

3. With the assistance of God's grace we can help ourselves to a certain extent in these two matters; not so in contemplation:⁴ this is beyond our natural powers, and He does all, for it is His work. In the history of my life, which was written by their command for my confessors, I have spoken at length about contemplation and explained it to the full extent of my knowledge, so I will only touch upon it here. If those of you whom God has so blessed as to lead into this state of prayer (and, as I have said, several of you are among the number) can obtain this book, you will find certain points and advice contained in it which will afford you great comfort, for our Lord was pleased to enable me to make the matter clear —at least, so it appears to me and to others who have read it, and who always keep the book by them because of their high opinion of it. How ashamed I feel at telling you that they have a high opinion of me! God knows how confused I am at writing on some of these sublime subjects: may He be praised for His patience in bearing with me! Those of you who have reached a supernatural state of prayer should procure the volume after my death; the others have no need of it: only let them try to practise what I have taught them here and to advance by all the means in their power. Let them make every effort to obtain this grace from God, begging Him fervently to grant it them: let them help one another and then leave the rest in His Hands. The gift is His: He will not refuse it if you do not linger on the road but force yourselves to persevere to the end and to keep up the struggle, as I told you.