The School of Love, February 27

SOME HINTS ON PRAYER, Part II

[continued from yesterday]

...To such one can only suggest a kind of prayer, a model upon which the soul may work for itself, climbing to God by means of a ladder of its own making.

The method is to hold its thoughts steady, taking one at a time without confusion, letting one lead to another naturally, and as slowly as the soul will go, that it may draw from each step all the fruit that it may be able.

As an example, let us take a prayer of appeal to Our Lady. The soul comes into her pres­ence. It is conscious of her, conscious of itself, conscious also of the hunger that is gnawing at its heart.

Then spontaneously the expres­sions come, one succeeding the other, very slowly but very easily, crystallising each new feeling as it takes form, and holding it till the soul is satisfied.

In this way the prayer may take some such shape as the following:

A VISIT TO OUR LADY
Mary, full of grace,
Mary, Mother of God:
Mary, my Mother,
You are God's perfect creature,
You know me well,
And love me very fondly,
As a mother her most sickly child,
As a mother her most wayward child,
I am weak and sickly,
I am self-willed and wayward,
I want to do better,
I want to be true,
Of myself I am unable,
My wilfulness is too much for me,
My circumstances beat me,
You want to help me, I know,
And you are able,
What, then, prevents you?
Is it anything in myself?
It can be nothing in you.
But what can I do?
I cannot mend myself,
Do it for me,
Take away what hinders you.
I am sincere,
If I am not I want to be,
Take me at my word,
Be a mother to me,
Firmly but gently,
Let me see truly,
Make me be true,
Make me act truly,
Make me worthy of you;

and the prayer will then conclude with a Hail Mary, a Salve Regina, or any other form of prayer according to the choice of the soul....

[continued tomorrow]
___________
From The School of Love and Other Essays
by The Most Reverend Alban Goodier, S.J.
Burns, Oates, & Washburn, Ltd. 1918