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PRACTICE OF MENTAL PRAYER

with friend. Now this last mystic view of prayer so surpasses the powers of our intellect that this could not even suspect its truth and Divine Wisdom has been obliged to reveal it: Behold," says St. John, "what manner of charity the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called and should be the sons of God." ¹

This placing of ourselves in God's presence is the most important act of meditation, for it is the basis of all others. It is well, then, to point out different ways of doing it and each one may choose that which ap- peals to him most, according to the impulse of grace.

The first method is to see God present everywhere, in His entirety both in the whole and in each atom of the universe. "If I ascend into heaven, Thou art there: If I descend into hell. Thou art present. If I take wings early in the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there also shall Thy hand lead me: and Thy right hand shall hold me." ²

Not only is God present in the universe by reason of His essence, pervading the

¹ 1. Ep. 3: 1. ² Ps. 138: 8, 9, 10.