Читать книгу The Practice of Mental Prayer - Father Rene de Maumigny - Страница 17

EXCELLENCE OF MENTAL PRAYER

good works, in accordance with Our Lord's words: God is a spirit and they that adore Him, must adore Him in spirit and in truth."¹ Such acts include those of faith, hope, charity, adoration, praise, thanksgiving, petition and others, of which we shall treat at length later If our life is not in conformity with the acts made during prayer, truly we ought to fear that they are but imperfect, accord- ing to the saying of our Divine Master: By their fruits you shall know them."² What can we conclude from these words except that the most meritorious acts may be only partially profitable if they are made with indifference? In no instance, then, is prayer to be blamed, but the defective dispositions of those who pray.

Finally, prayer gains us further merit, since exterior actions draw their greatest value from its exercise. In reality it is prayer which marks each of these exterior works with a deep and precious seal; that of divine love.

And how is this? The morning's prayer enkindles in our heart the fire of this love, and this fire remains smouldering, as it were,

¹ John 4: 24. ² Matth. 7: 16.