p. 24Three Other Methods of Prayer

Not all persons can pray and meditate in the same way. Some cannot long keep their minds fixed on a subject; others find it very difficult to reflect. A person may, on account of the state of the body or of the mind, not be able to meditate for a length of time according to the method given above. We therefore give here the three simpler and easier methods of prayer laid down by St. Ignatius in his Spiritual Exercises. St. Francis Xavier was wont to recommend most earnestly to all the first of these methods, and even impose it on his penitents as a penance to be performed morning and evening.

First Method of Prayer

It consists in quietly recollecting one’s self and, after a short preparatory prayer, in reflecting tranquilly and simply on the commandments of God, on the seven capital sins, the three powers of the soul, the five senses of the body, for as long as it takes to recite three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys, somewhat as follows:—

I. At each commandment of God reflect (1) how good, meet, just and holy it is; (2) what great advantages its observance, and what injury its transgression entails; (3) how we have hitherto observed it. If we have faithfully kept it, let us thank God and resolve to continue to observe it in future. If we have transgressed it, let us excite ourselves to contrition, crave pardon for our sins and the remittance of the punishment deserved, resolve to amend, imploring of God the grace to do so, and say the Our Father. If we get through with one commandment before the time of the meditation is up, we should proceed in the same manner with another commandment. Having thus gone through several commandments, let us accuse ourselves before God of our transgressions, pray for grace and assistance henceforth to observe them more faithfully, and conclude by a prayer full of childlike confidence in God our Lord.

II. At each of the seven capital sins consider, first, its great malice and how meet it is that it should be forbidden; secondly, what great injury it does to those who commit it; thirdly, whether and how we have hitherto avoided it, and intend henceforth to avoid it. This is to be done, not as if we were examining our conscience as a preparation for confession, but only in general, without p. 25thinking of any special sinful act. In order the better to acknowledge our past faults, we should carefully consider the opposite virtue; and, in order the more surely to avoid them in future, we should strive to practise and acquire the contrary virtue.

III. At each of the three powers of the soul—memory, understanding, will—and of the five senses of the body, consider, first, how noble, useful and necessary it is; secondly, for what purpose it has been given to thee; thirdly, how Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin made use of it; fourthly, how thou hast employed it; and fifthly, how thou intendest to use it henceforth.

He who wishes to take our Lord Jesus Christ as his Model in the use of his senses, should, in the preparatory prayer, recommend himself to Him, and after considering each sense, recite an Our Father or a Hail Mary. He who intends to imitate the Blessed Virgin Mary in the use of his senses, ought, in the preparatory prayer, specially to recommend himself to her, that she may obtain for him from her divine Son the necessary grace, and recite a Hail Mary after the consideration of each sense.

Second Method of Prayer

It is made in this manner. After recollecting ourselves a few moments and reciting an appropriate preparatory prayer, we should kneel or sit, just as we prefer, or, in order to be more recollected, remain with our eyes closed or fixed on a certain point or object; we should then recite slowly some prayer, e.g., an Our Father, a Hail Mary, the Apostles’ Creed, the Soul of Christ, the Hail, holy Queen, etc., dwelling long enough on each word to discover its diverse meanings, and to find therein appropriate comparisons, spiritual enjoyment and consolation. And how much of all this is often found in a single word! After this we continue in like manner with the rest of the prayer. If in one or two words we find matter enough for reflection, spiritual enjoyment and consolation, we should continue to dwell thereon even until the end of the meditation. In this case we conclude the meditation by merely reciting the rest of the prayer, and begin our next meditation where we left off at the foregoing, after previously reciting that part of the prayer on which we have already meditated. At the end of the meditation we should make short aspirations to whomsoever the prayer is addressed, that we may obtain the grace or virtue of which we stand most in need.

Third Method of Prayer

This method is thus employed. After recollecting ourselves for a few moments, p. 26and making an appropriate preparatory prayer, we should recite some vocal prayer so slowly and so devoutly as to take breath between each word and reflect on its meaning. In so doing we direct our attention to the saint etc., to whom the prayer is addressed, or to our own wretchedness, or to the immense distance between that saint’s grandeur and dignity and our own worthlessness. Having finished the prayer in this manner, we spend the remainder of the time in reciting some vocal prayers in the usual way. We may, if time allows, make use of more than one prayer at our meditation. This method of prayer infuses greater reverence for and attention to the words of our ordinary prayers.