Mental prayer is a form of meditational prayer, "performed without aid of any particular formula." [1] It is distinguished from vocal prayers, "prayers performed by means of a given formula." [1] The aim of mental prayer is 'to inflame souls with the love of God' and 'live without sin'. [2] [3] In mystical practice, it is to be followed-up by contemplative prayer. [4] [5] [6]
Mental prayer is a form of prayer "performed without aid of any particular formula." [1] It is distinguished from vocal prayers, "prayers performed by means of a given formula," [1] Prayer is mental when the thoughts and affections of the soul are not expressed in a previously determined formula. [web 1]
According to John Hardon, mental prayer is a "form of prayer in which the sentiments expressed are one's own and not those of another person. Mental prayer is accomplished by internal acts of the mind and affections and is either simple meditation or contemplation." [web 2] According to Adolphe Tanquerey, vocal prayer is expressed by words or gestures, while mental prayer "takes place wholly within the soul."[ citation needed ] According to Mother Teresa, "In vocal prayer we speak to God, in mental prayer he speaks to us. It is then that God pours himself into us."
According to Teresa of Ávila, mental prayer is meditational prayer, in which the person is like a gardener, who, with much labour, draws the water up from the depths of the well to water the plants and flowers. [7] According to Teresa of Avila, mental prayer can proceed by using vocal prayers in order to improve dialogue with God. [8] According to Lehodey, mental prayer can be divided into meditation, more active in reflections, and contemplation, more quiet and gazeful. [9]
Some modern authors recommend that this prayer be called "interior prayer". Jacques Philippe:
It would be better to say interior prayer instead of mental prayer, because in our modern culture, the word "mental" is associated with thoughts – as something cerebral – whereas this form of prayer is more an affair of the heart, instead of reflection. St. Teresa of Avila said that it is not an act of thinking much, but of loving much.
Among the Carmelites, there was no regulation for mental prayer until Teresa of Avila (1515–1582) introduced it, practicing it for two hours daily. According to Jordan Aumann, Teresa of Ávila distinguishes nine grades of prayer: (1) vocal prayer, (2) mental prayer or prayer of meditation, (3) affective prayer, (4) prayer of simplicity, or acquired contemplation or recollection, (5) infused contemplation or recollection, (6) prayer of quiet, (7) prayer of union, (8) prayer of conforming union, and (9) prayer of transforming union. "The first four grades belong to the predominantly ascetical stage of spiritual life; the remaining five grades are infused prayer and belong to the mystical phase of spiritual life." [10]
From before the middle of the twelfth century, the Carthusians had times set apart for mental prayer. Early in the sixteenth century, the Dominican chapter of Milan prescribed mental prayer for half an hour during the morning and the evening. Among the Franciscans, there is mention of methodical mental prayer about the middle of that century. In the mid-sixteenth century Ignatius of Loyola in his Spiritual Exercises , which he used with laypersons, taught methods of both meditating on one's life and of contemplating the Gospel accounts of Jesus' life, as a means of becoming more like Christ. His method and that of Sulpice have helped spread the habit of meditating beyond the cloister.
"Friendly dealing" (tratar de amistad) is the literal translation of Teresa's definition of mental prayer, "Tratar de amistad, estando muchas veces tratando a solas con Quien sabemos nos ama.": "Friendly dealing, many times dealing one-on-one with Him whom we know loves us. And this person has a face which we can contemplate, a face that is a singular manifestation of his person." The Catechism of the Catholic Church quotes Teresa of Ávila as stating: "Contemplative [sic] [note 1] prayer [oración mental] is nothing else than a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us." [11]
Alphonsus Liguori (1696–1787), in his work Necessity and Power of Prayer, The Great Means of Salvation and Perfection, explained: "Mental prayer is the blessed furnace in which souls are inflamed with the love of God. All the saints have become saints by mental prayer." Recommending its importance, he said: "It is morally impossible for him who neglects meditation to live without sin." He added that, because of its incompatibility with sin, nobody can continue the practice of mental prayer in the state of mortal sin. They will either repent or quit the practice of mental prayer. [2] He saw it as a means of making available the graces needed for a persevering faith. "He who neglects mental prayer," affirms Teresa of Avila, "needs no devil to carry him to hell. He brings himself there with his own hands." Her fellow Carmelite John of the Cross also said, "Without the aid of mental prayer, the soul cannot triumph over the forces of the demon." [3]
According to Jordan Aumann, "meditation is the reasoned discursus on some supernatural truth, meaning any truth related to God and the spiritual life." [12] Subjects of meditation can be "some scene or mystery from the life of Christ, the life and virtues of Mary or the saints, a particular virtue to be acquired or vice to be uprooted, a truth from dogmatic theology, such as the attributes of God or the indwelling of the Trinity, the prayers and actions of the sacraments, the Mass, and the liturgy." [12]
According to Jordan Aumann, "a basic framework" contains the following three elements: "consideration of some supernatural truth, application of that truth to one's life, and the resolution to do something about it." [13] He gives the following detailed overview of the Carmelite method: [13]
Francis of Sales advised: "Begin all prayer, whether mental or vocal, by an act of the Presence of God. If you observe this rule strictly, you will soon see how useful it is." He says that God is everywhere and is in our hearts and souls. Thus, "a blind man when in the presence of his prince will preserve a reverential attitude if told that the king is there, although unable to see him." [14]
The recommended length of time per day varies from "a few minutes" (FriarsMinor.org), "30 minutes" (Eugene Boylan), "several minutes" (Josemaria Escriva), "one hour" (Francis of Sales), "minimum of half an hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament" (Alphonsus Liguori).
Teresa of Ávila, OCD, also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, was a Carmelite nun and prominent Spanish mystic and religious reformer.
Christian mysticism is the tradition of mystical practices and mystical theology within Christianity which "concerns the preparation [of the person] for, the consciousness of, and the effect of [...] a direct and transformative presence of God" or Divine love. Until the sixth century the practice of what is now called mysticism was referred to by the term contemplatio, c.q. theoria, from contemplatio, "looking at", "gazing at", "being aware of" God or the Divine. Christianity took up the use of both the Greek (theoria) and Latin terminology to describe various forms of prayer and the process of coming to know God.
The Cloud of Unknowing is an anonymous work of Christian mysticism written in Middle English in the latter half of the 14th century. The text is a spiritual guide on contemplative prayer. The underlying message of this work suggests that the way to know God is to abandon consideration of God's particular activities and attributes, and be courageous enough to surrender one's mind and ego to the realm of "unknowing", at which point one may begin to glimpse the nature of God.
In a religious context, the practice of contemplation seeks a direct awareness of the divine which transcends the intellect, often in accordance with prayer or meditation.
Alphonsus Liguori, CSsR, sometimes called Alphonsus Maria de Liguori or Saint Alphonsus Liguori, was an Italian Catholic bishop, spiritual writer, composer, musician, artist, poet, lawyer, scholastic philosopher, and theologian. He founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, known as the Redemptorists, in November 1732.
Christian meditation is a form of prayer in which a structured attempt is made to become aware of and reflect upon the revelations of God. The word meditation comes from the Latin word meditārī, which has a range of meanings including to reflect on, to study, and to practice. Christian meditation is the process of deliberately focusing on specific thoughts and reflecting on their meaning in the context of the love of God.
In Western Christianity, Lectio Divina is a traditional monastic practice of scriptural reading, meditation and prayer intended to promote communion with God and to increase the knowledge of God's word. In the view of one commentator, it does not treat Scripture as texts to be studied, but as the living word.
A spiritual practice or spiritual discipline is the regular or full-time performance of actions and activities undertaken for the purpose of inducing spiritual experiences and cultivating spiritual development. A common metaphor used in the spiritual traditions of the world's great religions is that of walking a path. Therefore, a spiritual practice moves a person along a path towards a goal. The goal is variously referred to as salvation, liberation or union. A person who walks such a path is sometimes referred to as a wayfarer or a pilgrim.
Centering prayer is a form of Christian contemplative prayer, to center awareness on the presence of God. This modern movement in Christianity was initiated by three Trappist monks of St. Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts in the 1970s, Fr. William Meninger, Fr. M. Basil Pennington and Abbot Thomas Keating, in response to the growing popularity of Asian meditation methods.
Quietism is the name given to a set of contemplative practices that rose in popularity in France, Italy, and Spain during the late 1670s and 1680s, particularly associated with the writings of the Spanish mystic Miguel de Molinos, and which were condemned as heresy by Pope Innocent XI in the papal bull Coelestis Pastor of 1687. "Quietism" was seen by critics as holding that man's highest perfection consists in a sort of psychical self-annihilation and a consequent absorption of the soul into the Divine Essence even during the present life.
The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel or the Order of Discalced Carmelites, is a Catholic mendicant order with roots in the eremitic tradition of the Desert Fathers. The order was established in the 16th century, pursuant to the reform of the Carmelite Order by two Spanish saints, Teresa of Ávila (foundress) and John of the Cross (co-founder). Discalced is derived from Latin, meaning "without shoes".
Catholic spirituality includes the various ways in which Catholics live out their Baptismal promise through prayer and action. The primary prayer of all Catholics is the Eucharistic liturgy in which they celebrate and share their faith together, in accord with Jesus' instruction: "Do this in memory of me." The Catholic bishops at the Second Vatican Council decreed that "devotions should be so drawn up that they harmonize with the liturgical seasons, accord with the sacred liturgy, are in some fashion derived from it, and lead the people to it, since, in fact, the liturgy by its very nature far surpasses any of them." In accord with this, many additional forms of prayer have developed over the centuries as means of animating one's personal Christian life, at times in gatherings with others. Each of the religious orders and congregations of the Catholic church, as well as lay groupings, has specifics to its own spirituality – its way of approaching God in prayer to foster its way of living out the Gospel.
Mystical theology is the branch of theology in the Christian tradition that deals with divine encounter and the self-communication of God with the faithful; such as to explain mystical practices and states, as induced by contemplative practices such as contemplative prayer, called theoria from the Greek for contemplation.
Interior life is a life which seeks God in everything, a life of prayer and the practice of living in the presence of God. It connotes intimate, friendly conversation with Him, and a determined focus on internal prayer versus external actions, while these latter are transformed into means of prayer.
Spiritual reading is a practice of reading books and articles about spirituality with the purpose of growing in holiness.
Prayer in the Catholic Church is "the raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God." It is an act of the moral virtue of religion, which Catholic theologians identify as a part of the cardinal virtue of justice.
The Order of the Most Holy Redeemer, also commonly known as the Redemptoristines, is a female contemplative religious order of the Catholic Church. It was formed in 1731, and is the female counterpart to the Redemptorists.
The rosary is one of the most notable features of popular Catholic spirituality. According to Pope John Paul II, rosary devotions are "among the finest and most praiseworthy traditions of Christian contemplation." From its origins in the twelfth century the rosary has been seen as a meditation on the life of Christ, and it is as such that many popes have approved of and encouraged its recitation.
Spiritual communion is a Christian practice of desiring union with Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. It is used as a preparation for Mass and by individuals who cannot receive holy communion.
Prayer has been an essential part of Christianity since its earliest days. As the Middle Ages began, the monastic traditions of both Western and Eastern Christianity moved beyond vocal prayer to Christian meditation. These progressions resulted in two distinct and different meditative practices: Lectio Divina in the West and hesychasm in the East. Hesychasm involves the repetition of the Jesus Prayer, but Lectio Divina uses different Scripture passages at different times and although a passage may be repeated a few times, Lectio Divina is not repetitive in nature.
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