Page:Withgodbookofpra00las.djvu/132

 prayer it  is  very  profitable,  and  perhaps  more  useful than any  other  act,  to  address  repeated  petitions  to God,  asking  with  great  humility  and  unbounded  confidence for  His  graces  —  such  as  His  light,  resignation in adversity,  patience,  perseverance,  etc.,  but,  above all, for  the  inestimable  gift  of  His  holy  love. ' By obtaining  divine  love,'  says  St.  Francis  of  Sales,  '  we obtain  all  graces;'  'For,'  says  St.  Alphonsus,  'he who  truly  loves  God  with  all  his  heart,  will,  of  himself, abstain from  causing  Him  the  least  displeasure,  and will strive  to  please  Him  to  the  best  of  his  ability.' If we  feel  dry  or  despondent  and  unable  to  meditate or pray  well,  let  us  repeat  many  times  as  earnestly  as possible:  '  My  Jesus,  mercy! ' '  Lord,  for  Thy  mercy's sake,  assist  me!'    '  My  God,  I  love  Thee!'

"Let us  offer  all  our  petitions  for  grace  in  the name  and  through  the  merits  of  Jesus  Christ,  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  graces  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,  or  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  (i) an  act  oi  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