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Mental Prayer — Teresian Method

Teresian (Divine Intimacy)

15 min

In mental prayer there is the exercise of the intelligence and that of the will: the intelligence seeks to realize that God loves His creature and wishes to be loved by it; the will, responding to the divine invitation, loves. That is all.

Introductory

1. Preparation

Place yourself in the presence of God, turning toward Him with a good thought.

Mental prayer is nothing else than an intimate sharing of friendship; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us.

— St. Teresa of Jesus, Life 8, 5

2. Reading

Read the day's point in Divine Intimacy, or another passage suited to show God's love for you.

Substantial

3. Meditation

Reading is not enough; one must go deeper, and one goes deeper by reflection. All revealed truths can manifest God's love for me, but today I seek to understand it by reflecting on the theme I have chosen in the reading. I help myself with the beautiful thoughts contained in the "point" of the meditation to persuade myself of it actually, so that words of affection come spontaneously to my heart, and perhaps even to my lips.

4. Colloquy

And thus I begin my colloquy with God, in which I tell Him in every way (using what comes most spontaneously to me) that I love Him, that I want to love Him, that I want to advance in His holy love, that I want to prove my love by works, by doing His holy will.

And here we have arrived at the center, at the heart of prayer.

Use the colloquy printed with the day's meditation very freely, choosing what corresponds to your present need.

For many souls this is enough; you may end here.

Optional

Three further parts, for those who desire greater variety and find the colloquy easier to prolong with them.

5. Thanksgiving

After having repeated to the Lord that we love Him, we express our gratitude for all the benefits received from Him and show ourselves grateful.

6. Offering

Convinced of having received so much, we seek to repay as much as possible by presenting to the Lord some good resolution — something that, in concluding prayer, is always useful to do.

7. Petition

Convinced of our poverty and frailty, we implore God's help.

About this prayer

The Carmelite method, as Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen set it out at the head of *Divine Intimacy*. Everything in it serves one end: to speak affectionately with the Lord after having understood that He loves us. Two introductory parts, two substantial ones, and three that are optional.

History

The method is called Teresian because it springs from the teaching of St. Teresa of Jesus, who defined mental prayer as "an intimate sharing of friendship — taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us" (*Life* 8, 5). Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen (1893–1953), professor of spiritual theology at the Teresianum in Rome, first expounded it in his *Little Catechism of the Life of Prayer*, then built around it the daily meditations published after his death as *Divine Intimacy* — a work whose whole purpose is to lead souls into that intimacy.

How to pray it

Put yourself in God's presence with a good thought; read a passage suited to show you His love — the day's meditation from *Divine Intimacy* serves exactly this; reflect on it until words of affection rise of themselves; then speak to Him. The colloquy is the centre, and for many souls it is enough. If you want more variety, prolong it with thanksgiving, offering, and petition. Do not hurry through the parts to reach the end: the parts exist for the conversation, not the conversation for the parts.

Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D., Preface to *Divine Intimacy* (Rome, 1953)

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