Helpful Suggestions for Mental Prayer

Introduction

The following ideas are suggestions which could be helpful in mental prayer. It is useful, in fact, to have different holy pictures to help us recollect ourselves and be united with God during prolonged periods of silent mental prayer. They are not intended to all be used at the same time, but rather to make use of one or other of these holy pictures in keeping with one’s needs or inspiration. There is an infinite number of possible suggestions; may the following be useful to you. We may even add a few others as time goes on. Keep in mind the method for mental prayer as you try these techniques to detach yourself from our worldly and often limited points of view.

Spending one’s time with Christ

This suggestion is particularly useful during the night, in solitude and silence. We think of Jesus and ask Him how He went about entering into contact with His Father when He was a human being like us on earth.

Through the sacrament of Baptism, He gave us His own Life. Consequently, we must always identify with Him more and more, so that it is no longer we who are living but Him. So, we imagine that we are Him, that He is the one acting in us and then we talk with the Father as He himself would have done when His physical eyes couldn’t see His Father any more than we can. He didn’t need to feel anything special in order to believe that His Father was listening to Him because He knew the Truth about His own identity; He knew who He was. However, we too know the truth concerning who we are, and that truth is: Jesus made of us other beloved children of God! Therefore, let’s believe, love with Him even without feeling anything special!

«“Father, I love you!”»

We can also think of Marie-Paule when she worked in her office very early in the morning. She didn’t feel God’s presence, but she knew that she was working for His Work of Love, that Mary was acting through her. We too are working for this Work when we strive to engage in mental prayer and please God in all things in spite of our limitations. So, let’s work at it with her!

Trust in Providence

This suggestion is particularly useful when a future event worries us. The Co-Redemptrix, our Mother, gives herself to us in the Eucharist. More and more, we must live of her very life. We can meditate upon the following truth in her life, wanting to make it our own.

“The future does not worry me, for I have confidence in divine Providence. I want whatever God wants, knowing that He will always be there.” (Life of Love I, 130))

As the method suggests, we then cast aside every thought, feeling, impression and judgment our Mother wouldn’t have had.

Correcting a fault with the divine omnipotence

Since Christ’s life is communicated to us through the sacraments, all the divine power that accompanied it is also communicated to us.

“All things are possible to him who believes.” (Mk 9:23)

Let’s use this to correct our faults, so that we may then benefit from the peace and inner strength of Jesus and Marie-Paule.

Let’s ask for their help in correcting this or that important fault. Then, keep ourselves close to the truth concerning the divine omnipotence during our mental prayer, casting aside everything that draws us away from this (thoughts or ideas, impressions, judgment about oneself…).

Thus, in the silence of a quiet mental prayer, let’s allow ourselves to be penetrated by this infinite power so as to be fortified and changed by it.

Praying with our guardian angel

Kneeling and with our hands joined, we join forces with our guardian angel in adoring and loving God. In union with him, we want to be consumed with love for God before the entire heavenly court, while sacrificing ourselves by staying on our knees in this way with our hands clasped. If our thoughts wander off in distractions, if we have doubts about the reality of such lofty things our body’s position is proof of what we are doing and bears witness to our intention. According to the method, everything that deters us from this truth must be left behind.

Praying the rosary with our arms out in a cross

We recite the rosary on our knees with our arms extended in the form of a cross, uniting ourselves with Jesus dying on the cross and with our Mother, Marie-Paule who often recited rosaries in this way for the welfare of souls. It’s an uncomfortable position, but we need only think of Jesus dying on the cross and remember that it was much harder for Him. Then we forget our little sufferings, uniting ourselves with His suffering and thinking of the unimaginable power of His death on the cross in order to obtain very strong graces in favor of souls. While praying in this way, it is also useful to look at a crucifix to be inspired.

It is possible to recite rosaries that way every day, but at first, it is best to start by saying only one decade and then increase the number of decades as the weeks go by so that our body may get used to this. We can also pause between the decades.

(Other reflections to come…)