THE SPIRITUAL DIRECTORY FOR DAILY ACTIONS

Article II (B)

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Meditation and Preparation for the Day

 

For meditation they shall follow the instructions given in The Introduction to the Devout Life, The Treatise on the Love of God, and other good books similar to these. The serious practice of this exercise is of the utmost importance in the spiritual life.

 

To dispose themselves to make it well, they shall prefer to all other means the exercise of Preparation for the Day. Since the Preparation is to be a guide for all their actions, they shall take as the subject of this exercise the actions of the day and the duties of their state of life. They shall occupy themselves therein according to the variety of cir­cumstances that may occur, and, by means of the preparation, endeavor to dispose themselves to handle their work and fulfill their duties in a good and praiseworthy manner.

 

The exercise of preparation for the day

1. Invocation. The first part of this exercise is the invocation. Hence, mind­ful that they are exposed to an infinite-number of dangers, they shall ask for the help of God, saying, Lord, if Thou hast not care of my soul, it is in vain that any other should have care of it. (Ps. 126:1).

 

Furthermore, realizing that conversa­tion has at times made them fall into many imperfections and failings, they shall exclaim, Often have they fought against me since my youth. Say, there­fore, boldly, O my soul, My God, be my protector, be to me a house of refuge, save me from the snares of the enemy. (Ps. 128:1; Ps. 30:3).  Lord, if thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean. (Matt. 8:2).

 

In short, they shall pray Him to make them worthy of going through the day without offending Him, for which will be useful the words of Psalm 142. Make the way known to me wherein I should walk, for I have lifted up my heart to Thee. Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies. Teach me to do Thy will, for Thou art mi/ God! Thy good spirit will lead me by the hand into the right land, and Thy Divine Majesty will give me the true life by an unspeakable love and by a boundless charity.

 

2. Foresight. The second part is that of the imagination, which is nothing else but a foresight or conjecture of all that may happen to them during the day. Accordingly, they shall think seriously of the contingencies that may occur, of the company which, possibly, they will be compelled to frequent, of the duties which may present themselves, of the places where they may be required to go. And thus, with the grace of Our Lord, they will meet, wisely and prudently, the difficulties and dangerous occasions which otherwise might surprise and overtake them.

 

3. Disposition. The third part is the disposition. After having discreetly fore­seen the situations wherein they might easily go astray and run die risk of sinning, they shall diligently consider and seek out the means of avoiding any wrong step. They shall also decide on what will be proper for them to do, what order and manner they will observe in such and such affairs, what they will say in company, what demeanor they will maintain, and what they will avoid or geek after.

 

4. Resolution. The fourth part is the resolution. They shall, therefore, make a firm purpose nevermore to offend God, and especially during this present day. For this purpose they may use the words of the royal prophet David. Now, my soul, wilt thou not be obedient to the holy will of God with a cheerful heart, seeing that thy salvation depends on Him? (Ps. 61:2). Ah, what great cowardice it is to allow oneself to be persuaded and led to do wrong, contrary to the love and desire of our Creator, through fear, love, desire or hatred of creatures, whosoever they may be! Certainly, this God of infinite majesty, having been recognized by us as worthy of all honor and service, can be despised only through a lack of courage. To what purpose is it to trans­gress His just laws in order to avoid the injuries which creatures may cause to the body, to worldly goods and to honor?

 

Together let us be consoled and strengthened by this beautiful verse of the Psalmist, Let the wicked do their worst against me; the Lord is powerful enough to subdue them all completely. Let the world snarl if it will; it matters not, for He who rules over all the angelic spirits is my protector. (Ps. 98:1).

 

5. Recommendation. The fifth part is the recommendation. They shall, there­fore, commit themselves and all that de­pends on them into the hands of the Eternal Goodness, and they shall beseech Him to consider them as ever recom­mended to Him. They shall leave en­tirely to Him all care as to what they are and what they wish to be. They shall say with all their heart, One thing have 1 asked of Thee, O Jesus, my Lord, and I will ask it again: namely, that I may accomplish faithfully Thy loving will alt the days of my poor and wretched life. (Ps. 26:4). I recommend to Thee, O benign Lord, my  soul,  my  spirit,   my  memory,   my understanding  and my will.  Oh  grant that with and in all these I may serve Thee, love Thee, please and honor Thee  forever.

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COMMENTARY

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A complete analysis of prayer will be found in The Introduction to a Devout Life, Part II, Chapters 1-9, and in The Treatise on the Love of God, Books VI and VII. Here we will give only the highlights of the doctrine of St. Francis de Sales.

 

I. The Necessity of Mental Prayer

 

The sole objective of St. Francis de Sales In the direction of souls was to uproot self and establish Christ in the soul. Now, of all the means at his disposal, he considered mental prayer as the most efficacious means to accomplish this two-fold task. For him, mental prayer is the great means of Christian perfection. All other means, such as ejaculations, aspirations, acts of oblation, vocal prayers, are auxiliary means. For Francis de Sales, mental prayer is the great river of the supernatural life, and all other spiritual exercises are the streams or rivulets, which receive their waters from it. If the great river of our spiritual life runs dry, then our spiritual life will sooner or later dry up.

 

Therefore, St. Francis de Sales strongly insists on mental prayer for all those who are striving for perfection. Read Chapter I of Part II of The Introduction to a Devout Life and you will see with what urgency he begs the devout Christians of this world to give some time to mental prayer every day. He is unrelenting on this all important point. For St. Francis de Sales, mental prayer is the universal and necessary means of Christian perfection.

 

II. The Purpose of Mental Prayer

 

Mental prayer, when well made, repro­duces the likeness of Christ in us. That is why St. Francis de Sales insists on it so very much.

 

"But, above all, I recommend to you prayer of the mind and heart, and especially that which has for its subject the life and passion of Our Lord; for by beholding Him often in meditation, your whole soul will be filled with Him, you will learn His dispositions,  and you will form your actions after the model of His. He is the light of the world, and therefore it is in Him, by Him and for Him that we must be enlightened and illuminated; He is the tree of desire, in the shadow of which we must seek refreshment; He is the living well of Jacob, for the cleansing of all our stains. In fine, as children by listening to their mothers and  prattling with  them,  learn  to  speak their language, so we, by keeping close to Our Savior in meditation, and observing His Words, His actions, and His affections shall learn with the help of His grace to speak, to act and to will like Him."[1]

 

III. The Nature of Mental Prayer

 

In the first chapter of Book VI of The Treatise on the Love of God, St. Francis de Sales treats of the nature of true prayer. He tells us that St. Gregory Nazianzen defines prayer as "a conference or conversation of the soul with God." St. John Chrysostom defines it as "a discoursing with the divine majesty." And St. Francis de Sales concludes, "If prayer is a colloquy, a discourse or a conversation of the soul with God, by it, then, we speak to God and He again speaks to us." St. Francis de Sales crystal­lized the whole theology of prayer in one sentence when he said, Cor ad cor loquitur. Heart speaks to heart. In prayer, our heart must speak to the Heart of God. Prayer is a conversation. It is never a monologue. Methods of prayer vary; the essence of prayer must remain the same. All true prayer is a cordial conversation with the Good God about His affairs and ours.

 

IV. The Method of Mental Prayer

 

St. Francis de Sales said that we must hold to method in all things. He believed it real wisdom to hold to a method of prayer, simple though it be. Here in brief is his method of meditation which he remained faithful to until the day of his death.

 

1. Preparation

(a) Place yourself in the presence of God.

(b) Ask the Holy Spirit to inspire you.

 

2. Considerations

The considerations are the subject-matter upon which we meditate, be it some aspect of the life of Christ, some Christian virtue, some obligation of our state.

 

3. Affections

If our heart is attentive, these affec­tions will flow from the consideration. The considerations are only made to arouse our heart to such affections as the love of God and our neighbor, the desire of conformity to the will of God, hatred of sin, etc.

 

4. Resolutions

The resolutions spring from the con­siderations and affections. The resolu­tions are the most important part of prayer. They should be simple and practical.

 

5. Concluding Prayers

St.   Francis de Sales says that we should TOP off our mental prayer with acts of:  Thanksgiving for the graces of prayer, Oblation of yourself with Jesus Christ, Petition   for   grace to profit by our prayer.

 

6. Spiritual Nosegay

St. Francis de Sales recommends us to make a spiritual nosegay of some thought that impressed us especially at prayer in order to inhale its fra­grance spiritually throughout the day.

 

All beginners in the ways of mental prayer would do well to study very care­fully these chapters of St. Francis de Sales. They contain the most perfect advice on the subject of prayer.

 

V. The Perfect Method of Mental Prayer for the Laity

 

The vast majority of men and women living in the world find meditation rather difficult. Most methods are too complicated for them. Directors of souls are conscious of this difficulty also. That is why Father Louis Brisson, the Founder of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, strongly recom­mended St. Francis de Sales' Preparation of the Day as the ideal way of prayer for the laity. Francis de Sales, when only twenty-three years of age and a lay-student at the University of Padua, formulated this way of prayer for himself. He remained faithful to it through his college days, his days as a priest, his days as a bishop. He became a great saint by taking each day as it came and sanctifying it for the love of God.

 

Our life is made up of days. If we would take each day as it comes, prepare it with Our Lord, we would become holier day by day. This Preparation of the Day is one of the greatest masterpieces of spiritual and temporal strategy. This type of prayer makes us face reality. Every morning we talk over our day with Our Lord. We con­sider what we do each day that pleases or displeases our Blessed Savior. Then we tell Him exactly what we are going to do about it. This way of prayer is very pleasing to Our Lord, and it is very fruitful for our souls. Try it and see what wonders it will work in your life. It will lead to real intimacy with Our Lord. You will find con­versation with Him very easy. You will be telling Him everything: your joys and your sorrows, your virtues and your sins, your needs and those of your loved ones.

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Prayer for Fidelity to the Article on Prayer

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My Jesus, You have told us that You crave intimacy with our souls. This intimacy is at­tained in prayer. My Jesus, may I always give You what You crave. May I always go aside every day to speak to You about Your affairs and mine. Dear Jesus, I desire to prepare each of my days with You in the morning, so that as the days go on, my days on this earth will have some likeness to the days that You spent on this earth.

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[1]  Introduction to the Devout Life, Part II, Chapter 1.

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