Oblates of St. Francis de Sales

New DeSales World Newsletter - Summer Edition

7TH SUNDAY OF EASTER (May 4, 2008)

Suggested Emphasis

“When they entered the city…they devoted themselves with one accord to prayer.”

Salesian Perspective

A prayer life is essential for those who wish to live a life of devotion. Francis de Sales described prayer as “a stream of holy water that flows forth and makes the plants of our good desires grow green and flourish and quenches the passions that lie within our hearts.” (Introduction to the Devout Life, Part II, Chapter 1)

What is prayer? In his Treatise on the Love of God, Francis wrote: “Prayer, generally speaking, comprehends all the acts of contemplation...a conference or conversation with God...a discussion with the divine majesty...an ascent or elevation of the mind to God. To the extent that prayer is a colloquy, discussion, or conversation of the soul with God, then by prayer we speak to God and God in turn speaks to us. We aspire to God and breathe in God; God reciprocally inspires us and breathes upon us.” (Book VI, Chapter 1)

Of all the methods of prayer, Francis recommended “mental prayer, the prayer of the heart, and particularly that which centers on the life and passion of our Lord. By often turning your eyes on Christ in meditation, your whole soul will be filled with him. You will learn Christ’s ways and form your actions after the pattern of his.” (Introduction, Part II, Chapter 1) Mental prayer. Meditation. Contemplation. Francis observed: “They might seem to be words from another world, so few people try to grasp their meaning.” (Pulpit and Pew, page 191) For many of us, therein lies the rub: we are intimidated by and/or are discouraged in our attempts to practice mental prayer. We tell ourselves that we aren’t good at it, we get too distracted or it requires too much time or effort.

And we stop praying.

Francis was no stranger to the challenges of practicing mental prayer, meditation, contemplation or “prayer of the heart.” He realized that just as there are a variety of people and personalities, there is more than one way to pray. He mentions two other approaches: (1) Vocal prayer, and (2) prayer of life or good works. “Vocal prayer consists in making use of a ready-made formula of words provided for us, trying to mean what we say.” (Pulpit and Pew, page 180) “The prayer of life is the prayer of our good deeds, a hidden prayer. The good deed treasured in poor peoples’ hearts speaks for us to God.” (Ibid, p. 181)

Common to these (and other) forms of prayer is the simple — yet powerful — act of asking. “All prayer implies asking God for something: God’s glory or our need. It is our duty to pray, for...although God has no need of our prayers, they are useful to us by keeping alive in us the sense of our obligations to God.” (Ibid)

Prayer is to the soul what breathing is to the body: neither can continue nor flourish without the other. But adapt your devotion to and practice of prayer to the state, stage and circumstances of life in which you find yourself. Don’t make prayer more complicated than it needs to be, while keeping it as important as it ought to be.

I once told my novice master that, much to my embarrassment and frustration, I was convinced that I could not pray deeply. He told me: “If you cannot pray deeply, at least be a deep person...who prays.”

However deep, shallow, long or short, devote yourself to prayer any way, all ways...each and every day.

Rev. Michael S. Murray, OSFS, is the Executive Director of the De Sales Spirituality Center.