Course objectives: In this class, the first of seven, we give an overview of the Catholic approach to the spiritual life. We see, especially from the writings of St Teresa of Avila, what are the common pitfalls to spiritual growth and why many modernist approaches to prayer (for example, eastern style mediations like yoga or centering prayer) will be most injurious to the soul. We also give an outline of how to make a holy hour (or even to take thirty minutes in mental prayer).
Listen to part 1 online [here]!
Listen to part 2 online [here]!
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Carmelite
Spirituality
Adult
Faith Formation Series, October/November 2021
Session
1: Introduction to Christian Prayer and Carmelite Spirituality
Class Schedule, Tuesdays from 7
to 8pm
October 12th –
Introduction to Christian Prayer and Carmelite Spirituality
October 19th –
Historical Notes on the Carmelites; Introduction to the Three Ages of the
Interior Life
October 26th – St
Teresa’s Insights, The Seven Mansions of the Interior Castle
November 2nd – No
Class, Catholics For Life Meeting
November 9th – The
Dark Nights of St John of the Cross; Appreciating St John’s Poetry
November 16th – The
Little Way of St Therese of Lisieux
November 23rd –
Carmelite Saints and other Resources (Divine Intimacy)
November 30th –
Carmelite Devotions, especially those suited to Advent (The Infant of Prague)
I. Introduction
to Christian Prayer
A. What
types of prayer are Christian Prayer?
“For
me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven,
it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.” (St.
Therese of Lisieux)
“Prayer
is the raising of one’s mind to God, or the requesting of good things from
God.” (St. John Damascene)
First
distinction: Liturgical Prayer and Personal Prayer. (we will focus on
private or personal prayer)
Second
distinction, within personal prayer: Vocal Prayer, Meditation, and
Contemplation
Vocal
Prayer: “Lord, teach us to pray! – And our Lord
replied: When you pray, say: ‘Pater noster, qui es in coelis
… Our Father who are in heaven …’ What importance we must
attach to vocal prayer!” (St. Josemaria Escriva, The Way 84)
Meditation: “Meditation
is above all a quest. The mind seeks to understand the why and how of the
Christian life, in order to adhere and respond to what the Lord is asking. The
required attentiveness is difficult to sustain. We are usually helped by
books.” (Catechism 2705)
Contemplation: “Contemplative
prayer in my opinion is nothing else than a close sharing between friends; it
means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us.” (St.
Teresa of Avila)
B. The Universal
Call to Holiness:
The
interior life is not separate from the practice of the virtues. There is no
true growth in prayer without growth in the virtues.
Everyone
is called to Christian perfection and contemplation. The saints are those who
pass through to the highest mystical union of the life of prayer. This is not
to say that all will receive visions.
Most
common errors in prayer
“In the
battle of prayer, we must face in ourselves and around us erroneous
notions of prayer. Some people view prayer as a simple psychological
activity, others as an effort of concentration to reach a mental void. Still
others reduce prayer to ritual words and postures. Many Christians
unconsciously regard prayer as an occupation that is incompatible with all the
other things they have to do: they ‘don’t have the time.’ Those who seek God by
prayer are quickly discouraged because they do not know that prayer comes also
from the Holy Spirit and not from themselves alone.” (Catechism 2726)
Christian
prayer is not: self-help, eastern meditation (e.g. zen or centering
prayer), merely external rituals, a job or mere obligation.
October
15th, St. Teresa of Jesus
St.
Teresa of Avila is the “Doctor of Prayer”, most especially for her classic work
on Christian prayer, “The Interior Castle”. However, while many people desire
to grow in the life of prayer, they are often confused as to what must be done.
How do I pray well? What method should I use?
Sadly,
many modern(ist) Catholics (including even some priests) have turned to eastern
forms of meditation – like centering prayer or yoga – rather than to the true
tradition of Christian prayer. If we understand St. Teresa’s key insight about
prayer and the interior life, we can clearly see how far eastern meditation is
from true prayer.
The
active and passive movements in prayer
St.
Teresa sees growth in the spiritual life as a passage through various
“mansions” within the soul. In the first three mansions, the soul is primarily
active – St. John of the Cross calls this the Purgative Way, or the way of
beginners. In the fourth and fifth mansions, the soul begins to move (rather,
to be moved) from the active prayer of meditation to passive and infused
contemplation – this is the Illuminative Way, the way of the proficients.
Finally, in the sixth and seventh mansions, the soul rests entirely in God in a
nearly continual realization of his presence – this is the Unitive Way, that of
the perfect.
What is
most important to notice in this division is that the soul begins with a
primarily active role in the life of prayer, but then is moved into a primarily
passive role. The soul must die to itself through a period of trial. In fact,
the soul cannot bring herself to this point, but God alone is able to purify
the soul through passive purifications.
This is
why St. John of the Cross called the first age of the interior life the
“Purgative Way” – not that the other ages have no purgation, but rather to show
that the first stage is the time of active purgation on the part of the soul.
During the first age of the interior life (during the first three mansions),
the soul actively strives to purify herself through fasting, mortification,
prayer, and works of charity.
However,
after the individual has done all that is in human power to accomplish, the
soul still finds herself impure and unequal to the great gift of union with
God. At this point, God himself must purify the soul – and he does this through
a “dark night of the senses”. The soul does not enter into this darkness of her
own power, nor does she purify herself through he own abilities; rather, God
plunges the soul into darkness so as to purge her of self love and vanity.
A modernist
error – rushing ahead too quickly
However,
the great mistake of so many today is that they think that they need not work!
They think that (because the greatest prayer is passive) they ought to rush
ahead to the “prayer of quiet” without crossing through the severe desert of
active mortifications and penance (as well as works of mercy).
Far too
often, people want to jump straight away to the last mansions of the interior
castle, without self-denial and PRACTICAL love of neighbor. St. Teresa tells us
that such persons will never make any progress in the spiritual life. Indeed,
their final state will be worse than their first.
It is a
great want of humility to think that we could attain to the prayer of quiet and
the riches of infused contemplation without first mortifying our senses
(through fasting and penance) and meriting an increase in virtue (through works
of charity, especially for those with whom we live).
There
is nothing that a man can do to attain infused contemplation. This is the whole
point: It is infused, it is passive! All we may do is build our house, through
mortification and the concrete practice of virtue. Active works are necessary!
We must strive to die! To die to self, so as to live for God!
If we
are not growing in virtue (which is exercised in the concrete circumstances of
life), we will not be given the gift of infused contemplation. If we are not
willing to abandon whatever attachments hold us back from perfect union with
God, we will never pass through the dark night of sense, let alone the dark
night of the soul.
What
must I do to grow in the spiritual life?
First,
follow the commandments and the precepts of the Church. Confess your sins
regularly to a wise and learned priest and, if possible, to one who is holy.
Second,
uproot every worldly attachment from your heart.
Third,
humble yourself – especially before your family and neighbors.
Fourth,
practice the virtues in your daily life, particularly through works of charity.
Fifth,
pray, pray, pray! Set a time for prayer (preferably in the morning), and keep
it! Pray the Rosary every day. Meditate on the mysteries, don’t just rush
through or mumble the words of the prayers. Think on God’s love revealed in
Christ, and his power shown forth in the lives of the saints.
Sixth,
read good spiritual books. For my part, I will always give an absolute
preference for books written by Doctors of the Church. If you haven’t read
“Introduction to the Devout Life” by St. Francis de Sales, you have no business
reading anything by a modern author (no matter how good he may be).
Seventh,
put yourself under obedience to a holy and learned priest, as your director and
confessor.
Can I
silence or quiet my mind during meditation?
Now, we
will see precisely what is wrong with eastern meditation. Zen, centering
prayer, yoga, and the like all are “methods” by which a man quiets his mind.
The goal of eastern meditation is to empty the mind and become purely passive
before God. Through human effort, the soul attempts to gain total silence.
This is
entirely absurd, wholly ridiculous, and prideful. St. Teresa explains (Interior
Castle 4.3):
Some
books advise that as a preparation for hearing what our Lord may say to us we
should keep our minds at rest, waiting to see what He will work in our souls.
But unless His Majesty has begun to suspend our faculties, I cannot understand
how we are to stop thinking, without doing ourselves more harm than good.
Possibly
I may be mistaken, but I rely on these reasons.
Firstly,
he who reasons less and tries to do least, does most in spiritual matters. We
should make our petitions like beggars before a powerful and rich Emperor;
then, with downcast eyes, humbly wait. When He secretly shows us He hears our
prayers, it is well to be silent, as He has drawn us into His presence; there
would then be no harm in trying to keep our minds at rest (that is to say, if
we can). If, however, the King makes no sign of listening or of seeing us,
there is no need to stand inert, like a dolt, which the soul would resemble if
it continued inactive. In this case its dryness would greatly increase, and the
imagination would be made more restless than before by its very effort to think
of nothing. Our Lord wishes us at such a time to offer Him our petitions and to
place ourselves in His presence; He knows what is best for us. I believe that
human efforts avail nothing in these matters.
The
second reason is, that these interior operations being sweet and peaceful, any
painful effort does us more harm than good. By ‘painful effort’ I mean any
forcible restraint we place on ourselves, such as holding our breath. We should
rather abandon our souls into the hands of God, leaving Him to do as He chooses
with us, as far as possible forgetting all self-interest and resigning
ourselves entirely to His will.
The
third reason is, that the very effort to think of nothing excites our
imagination the more.
The
fourth is, because we render God the most true and acceptable service by caring
only for His honour and glory and forgetting ourselves, our advantages, comfort
and happiness. How can we be self-oblivious, while keeping ourselves under such
strict control that we are afraid to move, or even to think, or to leave our
minds enough liberty to desire God’s greater glory and to rejoice in the glory
which He possesses? When His Majesty wishes the mind to rest from working He
employs it in another manner, giving it a light and knowledge far above any
obtainable by its own efforts and absorbing it entirely into Himself. Then,
though it knows not how, it is filled with wisdom such as it could never gain
for itself by striving to suspend the thoughts.
God
gave us faculties for our use; each of them will receive its proper reward.
Then do not let us try to charm them to sleep, but permit them to do their work
until divinely called to something higher.
It
would be easier for a man to stop the stars in their rotation through the
heavens, than for him to quiet his mind by human effort. But the same God who
made the stars also made the mind, and he will quiet both in his own time.
Until that Day, the stars must continue in their paths, and the human mind must
be put to the active consideration of the mysteries of our faith. When God so
wills to quiet the mind, let that man rejoice and be at peace, but may he
recall that he then has a special obligation to perform many works of charity
for his neighbor.
A poem
from St. Teresa of Avila (Doctor of Prayer)
|
If,
Lord, Thy love for me is strong As
this which binds me unto Thee, what
holds me from Thee, Lord, so long, What
holds Thee, Lord, so long from me?
O
soul, what then desirest thou? -Lord,
I would see, who thus choose Thee. What
fears can yet assail thee now? -All
that I fear is to lose Thee.
Love's
whole possession I entreat, Lord,
make my soul Thine own abode, And I
will build a nest so sweet It
may not be too poor for God.
O
soul in God hidden from sin, What
more desires for thee remain. Save
but to love, and love again, And
all in flame, with love within, Love
on, and turn to love again? |
Si el
amor que me tenéis, Dios
mío, es como el que os tengo, Decidme:
¿en qué me detengo? O
Vos, ¿en qué os detenéis?
-Alma,
¿qué quieres de mí? -Dios
mío, no más que verte. -Y
¿qué temes más de ti? -Lo
que más temo es perderte.
Un
amor que ocupe os pido, Dios
mío, mi alma os tenga, para
hacer un dulce nido adonde
más la convenga.
Un
alma en Dios escondida ¿qué
tiene que desear, sino
amar y más amar, y en
amor toda escondida tornarte
de nuevo a amar? |
II. How
to engage oneself in mental prayer
Mental
prayer, per se:
This
includes things like: The Rosary, Lectio Divina with Scripture
or writings from the saints, praying with icons, etc.
A. Outline
for a period of mental prayer (at least 15 or 20 minutes)
1) The
beginning, or preparation: We begin always by placing ourselves in
God’s presence, humbling ourselves, asking the Holy Spirit for light, setting
before our mind the mystery we will consider. Give this time wholly over to
God.
2) The
body, or considerations: The consideration of the mystery. This is
the majority of the time of prayer. We think especially on the love of God
revealed in this mystery.
3) The
conclusion: We give adore and give thanks to God, making acts of
love for him. We ask for the graces we need in our daily life and, especially,
the grace of final perseverance. We resolve to grow in particular virtues and
particular areas of our life.
The
most important part is the conclusion (though it is shorter than the
considerations).
B. An
expanded guide for mental prayer:
St.
Alphonsus Liguori offers a good outline for a period of meditation (which could
range anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour or more). The basic structure of
Alphonsus’ method is common to nearly every spiritual tradition, though the
particular emphasis on the petitioning of graces is particular to his thought.
The Carmelite tradition emphasizes the affections and acts of love made in the
last portion of the body of the prayer. Note also that the Carmelites emphasize
the movement inward!
Introduction (only
one or two minutes) – The period of prayer begins with the recognition of the
presence of God. He is present both in the place in which you are praying (most
especially, if you are able to pray before the Eucharist), but he is also
present in your soul through a special mode by grace. Adore the Lord, as you
enter more fully into his presence.
Then,
declare the purity of your intention – that you intend to pray well during this
period of meditation. To this end, petition the Lord for the supernatural light
necessary to illumine your intellect in order to contemplate the divine
mysteries. Finally, offer a few short prayers to Our Lady, St. Joseph, St.
Michael, your guardian angel, and all your patron saints.
The
body of the prayer (20 to 50 minutes) – Here you enter into the meditation.
This can be the Rosary, lectio divina, imaginative Ignatian prayer,
or any other method of the Catholic spiritual tradition. The key is that you
focus especially on the Love of God which is revealed to you through the
meditation. Movements of love are more important than progress in intellectual
understanding. Offer God prayers of thanksgiving and adoration.
Conclusion –
This is the culmination of the period of prayer. It is here that you are to ask
the Lord for further blessings and graces – especially for the grace of
salvation and all those things necessary for your salvation. Having meditated
on the Love of God, you are more convinced of his mercy and care for you;
moreover, seeing his greatness, you recognize your lowliness and your need for
his grace.
Though
this portion of the prayer may not take much time, it is still the most
important and necessary aspect of the period of meditation. In simple and
heartfelt words, you petition God for the gift of final perseverance, for the
graces necessary to persevere in prayer through your whole life, and for the
graces which help you to remain in the state of grace from now until your next
period of meditation. Moreover, you ought to ask God for all else that you
desire – he will not deny the soul who perseveres in prayer, especially when
she is filled with great love through meditation!
C.
Other practices of prayer
Practicing
the presence of God:
“Be
sure then, my child, that while externally occupied with business and social
duties, you frequently retire within the solitude of your own heart. That
solitude need not be in any way hindered by the crowds which surround you –
they surround your body, not your soul, and your heart remains alone in the
Sole Presence of God.” (St. Francis de Sales)
Abandonment
to Divine Providence:
To
accept whatever may come as coming from the hand of God, either from his direct
will or from his permissive will. All things happen for the God, for
those who love God.
Christian
perfection consists in resigning oneself wholly to the plan of God.
III. Recommended
Reading:
Introduction
to the Devout Life, by St. Francis de Sales
How to
converse continually and familiarly with God, by St. Alphonsus Liguori
Abandonment
to Divine Providence, by Jeanne-Pierre de Cussade
The
Secret of Mary, by St. Louis de Montfort
The
Way, by St. Josemaria Escriva
Christian
Perfection and Contemplation, by Fr Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange
The
Three Ages of the Interior Life, by Fr Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange
Readings
in the Carmelite Tradition:
The Way
of Perfection, by St Teresa of Avila
The
Interior Castle, by St Teresa of Avila
(The Three Volume Collected Works of St Teresa of Avila)
The
Ascent of Mount Carmel, by St John of the Cross
The
Dark Night of the Soul, by St John of the Cross
The
Collected Poems of St John of the Cross
(The One Volume Collected Works of
St John of the Cross)
The
Story of a Soul, by St Therese of Lisieux
Divine
Intimacy, by Fr Gabriel of St Mary Magdalen
Fire
Within, by Fr Thomas Dubay
