Mental Prayer — Method of St. Francis de Sales

Salesian (St. Francis de Sales)

20 min

I. The Preparation

Placing oneself in the presence of God

There are four principal ways. Only one of these must be used at a time, and that briefly and simply.

— The first "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."

— The second, by reflecting on the presence of God within the soul, "residing in a special manner in the heart."

— The third, by considering our Saviour, who "in His humanity looks from Heaven upon all persons in the world."

— The fourth, 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."

Invoking His assistance

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.

Invoke your Guardian Angel and the holy persons concerned in the particular mystery you are to meditate upon, "in order that the interior sentiments and movements which they received may be communicated to us."

The composition of place

A third, but not invariable, point, as given by St. Ignatius: "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," is "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. 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.

— St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, II, 6

IV. The Conclusion

Three acts:

— 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;

— 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;

— 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 — beseeching the aid of our Lady and of the Angels and Saints, and concluding with a Paternoster and Ave.

Our Father

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

Amen.

Pater noster, qui es in cælis,

sanctificétur nomen tuum.

Advéniat regnum tuum.

Fiat volúntas tua, sicut in cælo et in terra.

Panem nostrum quotidiánum da nobis hódie,

et dimítte nobis débita nostra,

sicut et nos dimíttimus debitóribus nostris.

Et ne nos indúcas in tentatiónem,

sed líbera nos a malo.

Amen.

Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou amongst women,

and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,

pray for us sinners,

now and at the hour of our death.

Amen.

Ave María, grátia plena, Dóminus tecum.

Benedícta tu in muliéribus,

et benedíctus fructus ventris tui, Iesus.

Sancta María, Mater Dei,

ora pro nobis peccatóribus,

nunc et in hora mortis nostræ.

Amen.

The 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.

Counsels of St. Francis

We must bear in mind the resolutions 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."

If, after the preparation, our hearts are drawn by some special attraction 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." But resolutions should always be made at the end.

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.

— St. Francis de Sales, in a letter

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, "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." In such case we may make use of vocal prayers, stir up our devotion by outward acts — kissing the crucifix, prostrating ourselves — or have recourse to a book, reading it with attention until moved to devotion.