Page:Prayerbookforrel00lasa 0.djvu/68

 lips, but  their  heart  is  far  from  Me."  All  prayer,  therefore, of  whatever  kind,  must  be  "in  spirit  and  in  truth" (John  iv.  23),  but  vocal  prayer  is  confined  to  a  prescribed form  of  words,  whereas  mental  prayer  is  the  spontaneous utterance  of  the  soul  either  with  or  without  words.  When St.  Francis  said  an  Our  Father,  or  recited  his  office,  he used  vocal  prayer;  when  he  knelt  before  God  without  a word  his  prayer  was  purely  mental;  when  he  spent  the whole  night  in  saying  "My  God  and  my  all,"  his  mental prayer  was  mingled  with  words  which  expressed  the  burning love  of  his  seraphic  soul.

St. Alphonsus  says,  "He  who  neglects  meditation  (a part  of  mental  prayer),  and  is  distracted  by  the  affairs  of the  world,  will  not  know  his  spiritual  wants,  the  dangers to  which  his  salvation  is  exposed,  the  means  he  ought  to take  to  conquer  temptations,  and  will  forget  the  necessity of  the  prayer  of  petition  for  all  men;  thus  he  will  not  ask for  what  is  necessary,  and  by  not  asking  God's  grace,  he will  certainly  lose  his  soul."

In the  same  way  St.  Teresa  asks:  "How  can  charity last,  unless  God  gives  perseverance?  How  will  the  Lord gives  us  perseverance  if  we  neglect  to  ask  Him  for  it? And  how  shall  we  ask  it  without  mental  prayer?  Without mental  prayer  there  is  not  the  communication  with God,  which  is  necessary  for  the  preservation  of  virtue." The holy  Doctors  agree  that  those  who  persevere  in mental  prayer  will  live  in  God's  grace. The following words are  the  deliberate  sentence  of  the  holy  Doctor  St. Alphonsus,  the  conclusion  gathered  from  his  vast  learning and  experience:  "Many  say  the  Rosary,  the  Office of  Our  Lady,  and  perform  other  acts  of  devotion,  but they  still  continue  in  sin.  But  it  is  impossible  for  him who  perseveres  in  mental  prayer  to  continue  in  sin;  he  will either  give  up  mental  prayer,  or  renounce  sin.  Mental prayer  and  sin  can  not  exist  together.  And  this  we  see by  experience;  they  who  make  mental  prayer,  rarely  fall into  mortal  sin;  and  should  they  have  the  misery  of  fall-