Session 2 - School of Prayer
Père Camille Allain
Version française ici (PDF) - Translation in English by Mrs Dawn Keeler
The first pages of the Bible tell us that God created us in His image, to resemble Him. We carry His presence in the deepest part of our being, at the bottom of our heart. Interior prayer is about meeting the Lord present in us. Faith in the presence of God in the deepest part of ourselves is the cornerstone of interior prayer.
Father Caffarel loved to say this prayer: ‘You who are at home in the depth of my heart, I want to live with you in the depth of my heart.” In us, God is at home. It is important in interior prayer to meet the Lord present in the deepest part of our heart.
Saint Augustine said: ‘You made us for yourself, Lord, and our heart is without rest as long as it rests not in you.” Interior prayer allows us to rest in God.
1/ Why practice Interior Prayer?
- The Gospels tell us that Jesus practiced interior prayer. Wherever He was, whatever He was doing Jesus was fully turned towards His Father. During the day as at night, on the mountain, in the Temple, in the desert, on the road, He prayed. Jesus felt the need to be in touch with His Father. By His example, He draws us to follow Him, to practice interior prayer, addressed to both Him and His Father, who is also our Father, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
- The Goal of our School of Interior Prayer is to show us that God calls each one of us to practice interior prayer, it is easy and within everyone’s reach, and requires no particular skills. Only one condition is necessary: make the firm resolution to put pray at the heart of our life, to give time to God each day, because in spite of our sins, we discover that He takes control and will teach us what we need to know. He will purify our heart and make it over in His image.
Realize that God waits for us to meet Him in interior prayer and that we matter to Him. He has written our name on the palm of His hand (Isaiah 49:16). Father Caffarel asks if we will allow Him to wait in vain and continues:
“I would like, dear friends, that in practicing interior prayer you have the conviction that you are expected; expected by the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, expected in the Trinitarian Family. You’re place is ready. Remember what Christ said: “I am going to prepare a place for you.” You may object that He was talking about Heaven. That’s true. But, interior prayer is Heaven, at least the essential reality of it: the presence of God, the love of God, the welcome of God to His children. The Lord always waits for us.
Better: we have hardly taken a few steps that He comes to meet us. Remember the parable: “He was still far away but his father caught a glimpse of him, was touched with compassion, and ran to throw his arms around him and hug him.” This son had deeply offended his father. But, in spite of it, his father had been impatiently waiting for him. (Cent letters sur la priere, 2000, pages 9 & 10).
- Here is another illustration written by Father Henri Caffarel, founder of the Teams of Our Lady and the House of Prayer in Troussures, North of Paris, where around 25, 000 people, lay people, priests, religious, all ages—from the entire world, participated in the ‘weeks of prayer’ in complete silence. Several witnesses relate that in their spiritual experience there is a before Troussures and an after Troussures. Andre Seve, journalist, was overcome by the experience of the week of prayer and he wrote in his book ‘Trente minutes pour Dieu’ (Thirty minutes for God):
‘To meet God daily changes the existence of a man […]If each day you try to talk to Him or simply allow Him to look at you like a sheet spread out in the sun, I promise you that something will happen. Maybe nothing spectacular, but after a few days or weeks you will notice a change in yourself. For example, you might notice that you are less worried, calmer, get along better with others. Very probably too, deep down, you could notice a joy to be alive and especially that God is less uncertain.
If you persevere, it won’t be long before you begin to think like so many others: ‘I can’t give this up; this daily meeting with God has become a necessity for me.” Yes, prayer is vital, as it is for a tree to thrust its roots deep into the soil, for cut flowers to have their stems in water and for all men to breathe, to eat and sleep. Prayer nourishes the soul.” Father Henry Cafferel [ note 1]
- Particular reasons are added to the general call of each one to interior prayer; these reasons are as diverse as the people practicing it. Each one will find them in himself by examining his life for what caused him to turn to interior prayer. This form of silent prayer appears to be the result of a life path and a stage of our spiritual evolution. Reflection will reveal what part came from our initiative and what part was the sovereign action of God.
Here are several questions we can ask ourselves: ‘Why did I get interested in the interior prayer? And where can it take me personally?”
To seek the answer to these questions, is to uncover the plan of God for your life, how He called you interiorly and through the circumstances of your life. The practice of interior prayer finds its meaning in your personal history where God accompanies us and offers us this daily appointment of love which is interior prayer.
Seen in this light, interior prayer reveals to us a friendship with God; it cultivates this friendship which opens us to the infinite love of God for each one of us.
2. How to practice Interior Prayer?
More people than you would think would be capable of practicing interior prayer, but no one taught them. And, without this interior life, the baptized run out of breath, their action becomes noisy gongs and even their religious practice when it exists, dries up.” Jean Paul II 29 September 1982
In the fourth chapter of “I want to see God”, Father Marie Eugene de l’Enfant -Jesus insists on the diversity of methods to practice interior prayer based on the nature and moods of each one. “According to the personalities, this exchange of friendship will take an intellectual, emotional or sensitive form, (page 58). So we can turn towards God in deep reflection, contemplation of an icon, attentive recitation of a prayer, meditation on the Word of the Gospel…etc.
This diversity manifests within the same person through adapting to the variances of our moods. The sadness, joy, worries, sickness or fatigue {…} diversify this exchange which must always remain sincere and lively to enable its definition of exchange of friendship’.
In addition, there are the outside limitations to which we have to adapt our life of prayer and its practical application.
“Regardless of the exterior forms determined in advance, interior prayer knows no other law that the free expression of two loves who meet one another and give mutually of themselves” (“I want to see God”, page 59).
We are going to begin with a series of practical suggestions that we will develop how to enter into interior prayer, how to remain in prayer, and what to do when distracted…
2.1 Practical Suggestions to practice Interior Prayer [ note 2]
Below are several practical suggestions to practice interior prayer:
a/Necessary time to practice prayer, a minimum of ½ hour daily
It is recommended that ½ daily be consecrated to prayer. Of course, in the beginning you will only be able to devote 10-15 minutes to it. It isn’t important, it is the progress that counts, knowing that the Lord will guide little by little to increase the time spent in prayer.
Regularity is also very important, interior prayer is a daily practice that needs to be a daily priority of a Christian seeking to have an intimate relationship with Jesus.
Here is what Father Marie-Eugene de l’Enfant Jesus wrote: [ note 3 ]
-“it is important not to consider interior prayer as a casual activity but rather one that is valued as if not as important as sleep and rest at least as a very useful practice.’
-“it seems that if we want interior prayer to have an influence in our life, ½ hour would be the daily goal.
These two quotes recall the essence of our human nature to nourish the soul through the presence of the Living God. It needs to be inscribed in the daily rhythm of our biology.
b/ Choose the best time of the day
It is strongly suggested to choose the best moment of the day to practice interior prayer. It is better if practiced daily at the same time in order for the habit to be inscribed in our daily routine, our rhythm of life.
If you prefer the morning, set aside a time to pray upon awakening when the house is quiet and the phone isn’t ringing.
If it is in the evening then do the same thing.
If you are the mother of a family and only have time when the children are at school, set aside time early afternoon to practice, remembering to silence the phone to not be disturbed.
c/ Find a calm spot
Interior prayer is the time for a heart to heart with God, peace and quiet are a must, we cannot be interrupted. Jesus tells us to ‘close the door of the bedroom and pray in secret.”
Jesus Himself when He prays isolates Himself high up in the mountain or in the middle of the night or early in the morning.
d/ It is important to find a body posture that can be maintained for ½ hour without getting uncomfortable.
We have to feel good because it is a friendly encounter, a heart to heart with Jesus as a loving encounter with the person loved more than any other.
It is important to find a position that can be maintained but that doesn’t bring on sleepiness: armchair or chair to be seated in, a little prayer bench, firm cushion to kneel on based on our preferences. A solid attitude, awake, the body or the back rather straight, the head straight are preferable to avoid going to sleep, especially if we are tired. But if at times, we do doze off, don’t feel guilty. God is love and loves us completely, even when we are sleeping. St. Theresa of the Child Jesus would go to sleep during prayer!
Each one has to find what works to find the best time to write interior prayer into the daily routine. To do this we will forego another activity, even taking some time away from sleep. What is important is to find an available time only for God because simply stated, interior prayer is deciding to give God some time daily.
This intimacy with God has to be continued throughout the day: think about God, if only a brief instant, while working manually, driving, walking to the market…It is important because Jesus said to ‘pray without ceasing’ (Luke 18:1). Praying, thinking about God, making acts of faith to enter into contact with the Lord don’t replace the time that needs to consecrated uniquely to Him, in other words interior prayer which puts us in contact with Him, for love of Him.
2.2 How to prepare myself to pray
In interior prayer, we enter into relationship with God present in the deepest part of us by an act of faith renewed in His presence. But this act of faith isn’t easy to maintain during a session of interior prayer because our imagination and preoccupations are continually distract us with other subjects such as what is happening at home, work etc. At the beginning of each period of prayer, it is important to quiet our mind, to let go of our daily activities in order to prepare for our meeting with Jesus present within.
Before beginning to pray, remember to call upon the Holy Spirit: “ Holy Spirit fall on me, Holy Spirit of God consecrate me…”
Several Different Methods are possible to enter into prayer:
a/ Signe de Croix:
We can enter into prayer through the Sign of the Cross, an extraordinary prayer. It is strongly suggested to execute it very slowly, with as much faith as possible. We begin by putting ourself in an attitude of profound faith, we can kneel to do this, then we bring our hand very slowly to our forehead, thinking of Our Father who loves us and who we are going to meet, we leave our fingers on our forehead during this act of faith on Our Father. Slowly we lower our hand to our chest, concentrating on His Son Jesus, Our Lord, Our God and Our Savior while making an act of faith we leave our hand on the chest, then slowly we move our hand to the left shoulder in a deep act of faith to the Holy Spirit. Then, moving the hand to the right shoulder, we say ‘Amen’ with faith in a deep communion with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
b/ Meditation on a Gospel Passage:
We select a Gospel passage to read attentively, and then meditate on, imaging ourself in the story, we tell ourself that Jesus is speaking to us, that He is next to us, in the same way He was present for the men of His time. Little by little we enter into an act of faith in His presence, next to us, in us. The meditation stops and without realizing it, we enter into interior prayer. We feel it is important not to think but to believe, believe He is there, in the deepest part of us. Remain in this act of faith that might have to be renewed now and then: ‘Jesus I believe that you are there, Jesus, I love you, Jesus I am yours…”
In 2004, our Cardinal told us during a school of prayer in the Cathedral:
“What is major, essential, vital, is to follow the Gospel closely. I am troubled that He is so little known. As long as we don’t have an interior knowledge of the Gospels, we will not be close to Christ…
…I ask that during the week, that one takes a long time, at least a half an hour to read and meditate the Gospel of the upcoming Sunday. Songs and children’s choirs will not make the Mass more alive. It is in actively participating by reading the Gospel and meditating on it in advance, to pray for those who will explain it to us to question or thank the priest for his homily….if he sees that his people live for the Word of God, he will be happy.
For me this is the important make over in our diocese. The Church has only ever been woken up by the Gospel…”
A priest was saying:
“Go to interior prayer your head full…of Gospel readings, spiritual readings. Monasteries all have a library, monks read to pray. The Cure d’Ars had a library of 450 books. For Christian, two important concrete points go together: spiritual readings and interior prayer. Why do so many Christains have trouble with interior prayer? Because their heads are empty! It is important to repeat oneself, to tell Him insignificant things. The Lord can make beautiful sentences from what you tell Him. In your loving encounters, don’t try and make beautiful sentences! If you knew the simplicity of my interior prayer! I repeat myself! ‘Into your hands Lord I put my spirit.’ I say it and re-say it I don’t know how many times. Every now and again the Lord gives me an insight but that’s a bonus. It’s a loving encounter. It’s important not to seek immediate rewards. Stock up on spiritual reading.”
c/Pray of the Heart
The orthodox are in the habit of saying, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have pity on me a sinner!’ It is the pray of the heart of the Russian pilgrim, who drives him to multiply the act of faith in Jesus Son of God, Savior of the World. At the beginning of each prayer time we can repeat this prayer of the heart attentively and slowly: Lord Jesus Christ, have pity on me a sinner!” This sentence in which the name of Jesus is mentioned, repeated with as much faith and attention possible puts us in the presence of Our Lord. Little by little we do feel His presence, that He responded to our call and that we give Him this time by love of Him and to allow ourselves to be loved by Him.
d/Say the Our Father
very slowly, with as much faith as possible, concentrating on the sentences is another magnificent door to interior prayer. From the minute we call the Lord, we are with Him for sure, by faith, even if we don’t see Him. He is there, I am in His presence, He loves me and I love Him, I remain in His presence.
e/ Say the Rosary
The Rosary, recited slowly and with the faith of the Our Father and the Hail Mary, is a wonderful door to enter into prayer when the prayers are said with faith. A simple Our Father, just begun and not finished lead certain people into contemplation as the sentences are powerful and we are introduced into relationship with God.
The mysteries of the Rosary allow us to meditate the life of Christ and guide us to Him. The different days of the week allow us to meditate the joyous mysteries of the Annonciation and of the Birth of Christ (Mon/Sat), the sorrowful mysteries of the Passion of Jesus (Tues/Fri), the luminous mysteries (Thurs) and the glorious (Wed/Sun). These mysteries are the extraordinary entrance towards the humanity of Christ, to enter into relationship with Him, heart to heart,
f/Contemplate an Icon, an Image
Look at the face of Christ in the icon, think with faith that He is there across from me, that He is looking at me, that He loves me, that I am responding to His love; this is another good way to enter into prayer. During the meeting with the Rich Young Ruler, ‘Jesus looked at him and loved him.’ (Marc 10:21).
g/Listen to music
According to our character, according to this or that entry doors which agree with us the best to begin to pray.
h/Adore the Risen Christ in Eucharistic Adoration, in front of the Holy Sacrement
We can say to Him: ‘I come before you, I love you, I believe in your presence.’ We can look at Him, lose ourselves in Him, give ourselves to Him.
Father Henri Caffarel suggested beginning prayer by making a good start: (L’oraison, jalons sur la route, Editions Parole et Silence, 2006 pag 19-21)
“A picture comes to me which reminds me of two old memories from when I was younger: all the runners were at the starting line, leaning forward, ready to go. Interior prayer is like running, it is important to get a good start, lack of which, within five minutes, we are surprised to find ourselves on our knees, the body has come to prayer but the thoughts have remained caught up in business or daydreams.
I encourage you to pay attention to gestures and attitudes adopted at the beginning of interior prayer. A genuflection well done, an act of both body and soul, an clear and strong of a man awake, present to himself and to God; a slow sign of the Cross, full of meaning. Slowness and calm are of great importance to break the rushed and stressed rhythm of a life as busy as ours. A few moments of silence, like hitting the brakes. This will help to introduce you the rhythm of prayer and to bring about a necessary detachment from former activities. It might even be helpful to recite a vocal prayer, very slowly under your breath.
Pay attention to interior attitudes even more than those of the body…
Don’t forget to ask for the grace of interior prayer because, I have already told you, interior prayer is a gift from God before being an activity of man. Call humbly upon the Holy Spirit, He is our Master of Prayer.’
3/Establish a Personal Relationship with God
‘Right from the beginning of prayer, I invite you to enter into a personal relationship with Christ.’
You have certainly had the experience with a friend to realize that neither one was attentive the deep ‘me’ in the other.
Inversely, in other circumstances you must certainly have had the experience of a deep relationship, a true communication between the deep me of one and the deep me of the other which establishes itself even if the words were unimportant, even if walking side by side you are silent.
This deep relationship, I call the I-Thou. It is the essence of interior prayer. It is presence of Jesus Christ present to me. I say Jesus Christ rather than God, because it is by Him and in Him enters into contact with us and us with Him.
It is completely different from simply thinking about Him (He did this, He did that, He is good, He is all powerful..).This relationship I –He, which is not actually a relationship---is the one of the man who studies, not the one of the man who prays.
Often, it is a struggle to live the relationship I-Thou with the Christ: we can’t turn towards him to establish the contact. We have to detach, get out of all things in which we are emerged, stuck and it is hard.
And however, this relationship I – Thou is in us since Baptism, but buried. We have to wake it up, set it free from the deep.
You can get there little by little, by getting used to speaking directly to Christ from the beginning of prayer: “Lord, I know that you were waiting for me and that you hear me; you look at me with burning love”. ‘I am sure that you are happy that I came”, “I believe that you me to be happy during this meeting.” “Let me know what you expect of this time with me.”
Interior Prayer is a living relationship with the Christ.” Father Henri Caffarel
4/Remain in the presence of Christ during prayer
For Guido Stinissen, all interior prayer is about being seen by God. It means meeting the ‘Good Jesus’, according to the expression of St. Teresa of Avila, in other words to seriously think about Christ’s Humanity. She recommended to her sisters in her convent in Avila to find company in prayer and what better company could there be than the Master Himself, Jesus!
She advises:
“If you get used to thinking about Him next to you, if He sees you doing this with love and you focus on pleasing Him, you will not be able to get rid of Him.
To Keep Him company, she continues, all you have to do is talk simply:
‘Are you Happy?
Are you looking at Him resurrected?
Are you suffering from sadness and pain?
Think about Him in the Garden of Gethsemane
The Saint Continues:
“What I ask of you, is to look at Him with the eyes of your soul
What is stopping you from looking up if only for an instant towards this Lord?”
This look of faith towards Jesus is always possible for each one of us. It is towards Him, around Him that our mind will establish itself during interior prayer.
How do you enter into prayer and stay there in the presence of Jesus?
It is about focusing your attention on His being. We really can’t without God’s help, but He asks us to take the first step which concretely represents a step of faith.
So, each one will choose what suits him the best. When our faith weakens we can say words of love to Jesus such as : ‘Jesus, je t’aime, Jesus, mon amour, Jesus, je crois en toi..Jesus, Je crois que tu es la..” Ignace de Loyola repeated simply with love, “Jesus, Jesus..” When you feel that words are superfluous and your spirit has been caught up in the Presence of God, that we don’t see but who is there present in this relationship of love, we stop talking, and just let ourselves be loved by Him. Allow our mind/spirit to be taken over by Him, just love Him in the silence. All words, thoughts become impossible, we truly feel that we are called to silence, but a silence where we are two. This is contemplation, a grace given by God, regularly or sometimes, often when we don’t expect it. Remember to thank Him, all the while knowing that a difficult prayer time, dry, during which the will suffered so that we could remain in prayer, is very precious to God and that He acts perhaps more at these times then when the prayer time is easy.
Jesus is the only mediator in interior prayer. He leads us to the Father and to the Holy Spirit. In interior prayer we can love the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We can speak to them, tell them that we love them, we can give ourselves to them, renewing the gift of ourselves.
It is important to always look for the nearness of Christ in His humanity, He is in fact the true friend who goes before us and accompanies us on the path of prayer and opens the path of Life to us.
5/Remind myself of the importance of divine action in interior prayer
It isn’t as important what we are doing but what God is doing in us. Have faith in God and don’t worry about what we are doing or feeling. The absolute certainty is as follows: God is there, He loves us, no matter how the prayer session goes. That is why we insist on the daily practice of prayer; to want to love God means to give Him time every day, the same way when it comes to loving your wife or husband, we have to give them time daily.
6/ And the importance of Love: love God while letting myself be loved by Him
‘In interior prayer what is important is not to think a lot but to love a lot.” St. Teresa of Avila
We try to love God in prayer. To love God, is first of all to give Him time willingly in prayer. He is there, He is present, He loves us. To love God is to allow oneself to be loved by Him. “To allow oneself to be loved by Him supposes that one accepts to do nothing. Our first work in interior prayer is just that, not to think, offer or do anything for God but to allow ourselves to be loved by Him like little children. Allow God the joy of loving us. This is difficult because it assumes that we believe without a doubt in the love of God for us. This suggests too that we consent to our own poverty. Here we are hitting on something absolutely fundamental: there is not real love for God which isn’t established on the recognition of the absolute priority of the love of God for us, who hasn’t understood that, before doing whatever, we have to first of all welcome. “In this consists love, St. John tells us, it isn’t us who loved God, it was He who loved us first.” (1 John 4, 10) With regard to God, the first act of love, and this must remain the basis of all acts of love is this- believe that we are loved, let ourselves be loved.
“God doesn’t need our works, but He thirsts after our love”. St Teresa of the Child Jesus
“Interior prayer is fundamentally this- be in God’s presence to let Him love us.”
‘Interior prayer is not praying a lot but loving a lot.” St. Teresa of Avila
7/Thank and Praise God when finished praying
When a session of interior prayer is complete, thank and praise God.
Ask Him for the grace of daily prayer and to remain as much as possible in His presence the rest of the time. To do this, we can imagine Jesus at our side during the day or find a short prayer to say often in secret. Once again, each one will find what agrees with him/her.
We can also think of Jesus present in the deepest part of us, but also in the deepest part of each person we meet. Love our neighbor, is to love Jesus present in him/her.