ABOUT PRAYER
Laying of hands
Praise and Joy -Pope Francis
Meditation
-St. Peter of Alcantara
The First Counsel—Avoid Rigidity in Method.
Do not so adhere to things which we have digested as that we should think it a fault to fall upon other things, wherein the mind may reap more abundant fruit.
The Second Counsel—Avoid Excessive Intellectual Speculation. Use rather efficacious affections of the will than curious discourses of the understanding: wherefore, they go not in the right way that meditate of divine mysteries as though they were to preach them to the people in a sermon, which is rather to dissipate than to recollect the spirit, and to wander abroad than to be busied in their own home. Therefore, he that will meditate with fruit to his soul must come to it like a humble simple creature, bringing rather a will disposed to taste these holy mysteries profitably than acrimony of understanding to discuss them learnedly; for this is proper to those who give themselves to study, not to those who consecrate themselves unto devotion.
Saint John Marie Vianney Quotes On Prayer
"Prayer is to our soul what rain is to the soil. Fertilize the soil ever so richly, it will remain barren unless fed by frequent rains."
"When you awake in the night, transport yourself quickly in spirit before the Tabernacle, saying: 'Behold, my God, I come to adore You, to praise, thank, and love you, and to keep you company with all the Angels,' "
"Prayer is the inner bath of love into which the soul plunges itself."
"If we really loved the good God, we should make it our joy and happiness to come and spend a few moments to adore Him, and ask Him for the grace of forgiveness; and we should regard those moments as the happiest of our lives."
"Man is a beggar who needs to ask God for everything."
"A mortal man, a creature, feeds himself, satiates himself, with his God, taking him for his daily bread, his drink... O miracle of miracles!... O love of loves!... O joy of joys!"
Contemplative Prayer
"What is contemplative prayer? St. Teresa answers: '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.' Contemplative prayer seeks him 'whom my soul loves'. It is Jesus, and in him, the Father. We seek him, because to desire him is always the beginning of love, and we seek him in that pure faith which causes us to be born of him and to live in him. In this inner prayer we can still meditate, but our attention is fixed on the Lord himself." -Catechism of the Catholic Church, para. 2709
In the words of Saint Alphonsus de Liguori, acquired contemplation "consists in seeing at a simple glance the truths which could previously be discovered only through prolonged discourse"
.St. Teresa of Avila asked her sisters not to lose time negotiating with God "interests of little importance," while "the world is in flames" (Camino, 1, 5).
