Session 1 Part 2; Man prays
Father Gilles Garcia
School of Prayer Week 2
Translation in English by Mrs Dawn Keeler
“God, I want to reach Him, I want to reach Him in His intimate life. I do not only want an idea of God, it is Him that I want , it is in His life that I want to submerge myself, live my divine filiation. The goal of my prayer is nothing other than my supernatural vocation, in other words, then to penetrate the intimate life of God, to penetrate the Holy Trinity. Prayer is going to take me there. How to get there? Father Marie-Eugene de L’Enfant Jesus
The good news is that we are baptized; we have in us, because it belongs to us, all that is necessary to practice interior prayer, to enter into a relationship with the Father, to live and incredible intimacy with God! I can call Him Father and then hear Him call me ‘My Child”!
It is true that we have described what we are, a little like a rocket with three floors. Well, when we pray, it is our whole being that participates! So let’s take a look at what happens when we pray.
1/ The Life of the Senses
When I want to pray I take very specific steps to that end. I seek out a silent area and a setting that is pleasant to be in such as a beautiful garden or a room reserved for prayer. Perhaps I will have a picture of Jesus or another picture that I like to calm me down and help me to recollect myself. Then I will choose a comfortable position for my body.
Then as St. Paul says in Romans 10: 17: “Faith comes from what I hear”. I heard spoken of Jesus in Catechism classes. So what does that mean? Our Faith is based on a given knowledge, a knowledge that we already received, in other words heard with our ears (you will remark that in the Gospels Jesus first heals the deafness of the person and then he gives him back his speech. (see Dt. 6: ‘Listen Israel’).
All of this is good and necessary but it doesn’t give us Jesus/God. Let’s look at the second life.
2/ The Life of the Soul
Comfortably settled in, I just read (heard) a passage from the Gospel. I will begin to think about this passage; I begin to think. Here we are touching on an essential dimension in the act of faith; its cognitive and intellectual dimension.
So, I just read that ‘My Father and I are One”, and I am thrown into the mystery of God who is One in Three Persons. This statement is not apparent for my intelligence. Spontaneously, I trust the Church who tells me that this is a revealed truth. But, it could be that I feel the need to do some research.
In this research, which could be very simple, I will get some insights, and so have the impression of better understanding; it’s coherent, I make the connection with other mysteries…I reflect!
But am I praying? Well no, I could have incredible reasoning, fantastic insights, but this will remain the fruit of my small intelligence and won’t allow me to reach God.
To pray is not to reflect! Meditate isn’t coming into contact!
So what is going to happen? I have to make a jump, I must leave, live an exodus, by quieting my reasoning , an silencing my feelings…in other words, make an Act of Faith.
3/ Spiritual Life
The time of interior prayer, is the moment when I take a step towards this life which allows me to overcome the infinite which separates me from God and casts me into Him. It is the time when I give myself completely to God.
God, I don’t understand, I don’t feel anything, but I believe in you, I trust you, I love you! This action makes us touch God, it causes us to penetrate God, allows me to hug God as a child hugs his father. Only faith thrills Jesus (See Mark 5:30-31). Let’s discover two main qualities of faith.
Faith is certain
Faith alone touches God, this is a fact it is important to have faith in one’s faith), but we don’t understand that.( note 1) Faith alone gives us God, this is certain (note 2) and so interior prayer, when I pray, I can’t stop at what I feel, but strive through peaceful actions of faith to reach this God revealed in the depths of my being.
Faith is obscure
Very often, we don’t feel our act of faith, nor its effects. As we were saying, nothing happens. Why?
“Clearly, the darkness that I feel in prayer doesn’t come from a separation from God, but to the contrary from an extreme proximity. You can’t stare at the sun without being blinded, you can’t stare at God with a look of faith without being blinded. God is a sun who blinds and warms us….who transforms us!
This is good news for us!
I can get bored during prayer, I can have an imagination running wild, I can have a toothache, this will not stop me from making an act of faith which will cast me into God for a prolonged period.
Boredom and distraction are almost-normal states when practicing interior prayer! But let’s apply ourselves to simply adopt this interior attitude, this simple look at God, present and living in me.
Interior prayer is being in the presence of God maintaining contact by repeated acts of faith. We will always get beyond the distractions, the impression of dryness through little acts of faith, the little loving glances towards God.
If faith is certain but obscure let’s not forget that it casts us into God. And, we aren’t cast into God without reaping a benefit.
God transforms us through interior prayer. All contact with God is fruitful. We don’t feel anything, nothing happens and yet God enriches me through His spiritual life, through His life of love and charity.
In interior prayer, God impresses in the deepest part of my being the likeness of His Son Jesus Christ. He really does make me His child!
Conclusion
Now that we know a bit better who we are, we can attempt the adventure of interior prayer confidently. We know our part, reminding ourselves that it is God who does everything.
“Remember that God always leaves the door open for us to enter through the door of prayer.
God is a consuming fire, an ever-gushing fountain.
It depends only on us, by an act of faith, by an act of love,
To contact Him, to motivate ourselves, to supernaturally enrich ourselves,
Even when I am tired, provided that this virtue of faith which is in me look for God, express
Its love and faith in God, my pray will be effective.
Prayer is always possible…it is always possible to look at the Master in faith and remain in
His presence.”
Father Marie-Eugene of the Child-Jesus