Page:TheYoungMansGuide.djvu/216

 and we  shall  surely  obtain  all  that  we  ask. 'Mental prayer,'  said  a  holy  soul,  'is  the  breathing of  the  soul;  as  in  corporal  breathing  the  air is first  inhaled  and  then  exhaled,  so  in  mental prayer the  soul  first  receives  light  and  other grades from  God,  and  then  by  acts  of  self-offering and  love,  it  gives  itself  wholly  to  Him.'

"Before concluding  the  meditation,  we  should make  some  specified  good  resolution,  appropriate as  far  as  possible  to  the  subject  of  our  meditation. This  resolution  should  be  directed  to  the shunning  of  some  sin,  of  some  occasion  of  sin, to  the  correction  of  some  defect,  or  to  the  practice of  some  act  of  virtue  during  the  day.

"The preparation  of  our  meditation  consists of  (1) an  act  of  faith  in  the  presence  of  God, and  of  adoration;  (2)  an  act  of  humility  and  of contrition,  and  (3)  an  act  of  petition  for  light. We  should  then  recommend  ourselves  to  the Blessed  Virgin  Mary  by  reciting  a  Hail  Mary, and  also  to  St.  Joseph,  to  our  Guardian  Angel, and  to  our  holy  patrons.  These  acts  should  be brief  but  very  earnest  and  fervent.

"The conclusion  of  our  meditation  consists of  these  three  acts:  (1)  thanksgiving  to  God  for the  light  He  imparted  to  us;  (2)  purposing  to fulfil  our  good  resolutions  at  once;  and  (3)  beseeching the  eternal  Father,  for  the  love  of  Jesus and  Mary,  to  grant  us  the  grace  and  strength to  put  them  into  practice.  Before  finishing  our meditation  let  us  never  omit  to  recommend  to God  the  souls  in  purgatory  and  poor  sinners. In  concluding  our  mental  prayer  let  us,  after the  advice  of  St.  Francis  of  Sales,  pick  out  a thought  or  an  affection  from  our  mental  prayer in  order  to  reflect  on  it  or  repeat  it  from  time  to time  during  the  day.