There are many ways to converse with God. Different spiritual leaders and communities have various methods of making meditations or mental prayer. It is really simple and enjoyable and I am sure that after you try it you will be wanting to do more. Basically, we want to place ourselves in the presence of God, trying to keep distractions at a minimum and have just the time alone with God - a very satisfactory thing.
As mentioned above, there are many helps toward mental prayer or meditation. Many orders have their ways of using prayer. If you are familiar with them and enjoy them keep up the good work. For those who are beginners or just starting to enjoy this method of mental prayer you might find a few notes to possibly help you get started.
These notes are from one of the old guides used many years ago in a book written by Father Dominic Phillips. The method goes back many years, to a time of St. Francis de Sales given in his book "INTRODUCTION TO A DEVOUT LIFE". Even if a person has already been trained in or accustomed to some other method of meditation it is hoped you might find some practical help from these notes.
1) PREPARATION: Do this my making certain acts which dispose us for conversing with God/e.g. acts of faith in his presence, adoration, humility, etc. Mental prayer should be merely some form of simple childlike conversation with Our Father Who is in heaven. Hence at the very outset of the meditation itself, we should try to recall as vividly as possible the fact of the abiding presence of God to whom we are about to speak. This we can do by representing Him to ourselves as
existing everywhere, filling the heavens and the earth, or by considering Him as present in our souls by His grace, furnishing us with supernatural life, thinking of Him in the Blessed Sacrament. Next we ask Him for His Divine help to make the meditation.
2) CONSIDERATION: A simple way to understand this is to, for example, present to our will and understanding the crib at Christmas, or the passion on Calvary. Reflect on it. Some might ask themselves questions about the subject under review. Who is it that suffers? What does He suffer? How was He tortured? Where is all this taking place? Who is there? Was I there? Was I instrumental in causing this? I think for this short list of questions you might get the idea. The major part of the time is spent considering the scene, the virtue, or the dogma of the Church in this way. As you continue to observe the
scene take time out to say a prayer of adoration, petition or sorrow, what ever the situation might lead you to do. After the consideration, you make a resolution concerning that about which you just meditated. In general it will have some bearing upon the correction of evil inclinations, bad habits or the removal of certain dangers besetting our way to holiness of life: I must love God Better - I must serve Him more faithfully, etc.
3) THANKSGIVING: We must never forget to thank God for all the good thoughts and the giver of all good gifts - our chief helper in the exercise of prayer. The more we thank God, the more we might receive the next time from the giver of all good gifts as we petition Him to help us keep our resolution we just made.
©2009 Fr. Louis Schlangen
As mentioned above, there are many helps toward mental prayer or meditation. Many orders have their ways of using prayer. If you are familiar with them and enjoy them keep up the good work. For those who are beginners or just starting to enjoy this method of mental prayer you might find a few notes to possibly help you get started.
These notes are from one of the old guides used many years ago in a book written by Father Dominic Phillips. The method goes back many years, to a time of St. Francis de Sales given in his book "INTRODUCTION TO A DEVOUT LIFE". Even if a person has already been trained in or accustomed to some other method of meditation it is hoped you might find some practical help from these notes.
1) PREPARATION: Do this my making certain acts which dispose us for conversing with God/e.g. acts of faith in his presence, adoration, humility, etc. Mental prayer should be merely some form of simple childlike conversation with Our Father Who is in heaven. Hence at the very outset of the meditation itself, we should try to recall as vividly as possible the fact of the abiding presence of God to whom we are about to speak. This we can do by representing Him to ourselves as
existing everywhere, filling the heavens and the earth, or by considering Him as present in our souls by His grace, furnishing us with supernatural life, thinking of Him in the Blessed Sacrament. Next we ask Him for His Divine help to make the meditation.
2) CONSIDERATION: A simple way to understand this is to, for example, present to our will and understanding the crib at Christmas, or the passion on Calvary. Reflect on it. Some might ask themselves questions about the subject under review. Who is it that suffers? What does He suffer? How was He tortured? Where is all this taking place? Who is there? Was I there? Was I instrumental in causing this? I think for this short list of questions you might get the idea. The major part of the time is spent considering the scene, the virtue, or the dogma of the Church in this way. As you continue to observe the
scene take time out to say a prayer of adoration, petition or sorrow, what ever the situation might lead you to do. After the consideration, you make a resolution concerning that about which you just meditated. In general it will have some bearing upon the correction of evil inclinations, bad habits or the removal of certain dangers besetting our way to holiness of life: I must love God Better - I must serve Him more faithfully, etc.
3) THANKSGIVING: We must never forget to thank God for all the good thoughts and the giver of all good gifts - our chief helper in the exercise of prayer. The more we thank God, the more we might receive the next time from the giver of all good gifts as we petition Him to help us keep our resolution we just made.
©2009 Fr. Louis Schlangen