“The Lord is nigh unto them that call upon Him; to all that call upon Him in truth.” – Psalm 144:18“The Lord is nigh unto them that call upon Him; to all that call upon Him in truth.” – Psalm 144:18
The third point in the preparation is the Petition for Help. Indeed, the soul which knows its own baseness and its inability to do good, which feels, moreover, that it depends absolutely on God, will be easily drawn to demand His grace and the help necessary to make the Prayer as it should be made, and with profit.
The Petition for Help can be made in several ways:
The first is to have recourse to God by invoking the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity: the Father, to Whom Power is attributed, in order that He may assist us against the distractions which, through our weakness and misery, too often come to us during Prayer; the Son, Who is the uncreated Wisdom of the Father, in order that He may dispel the darkness of our understanding and fill it with the light and thought of His ineffable Wisdom; the Holy Ghost, Whose infinite Goodness can communicate to us heavenly favours, in order that He may disclose to us the motives which will lead us sweetly and efficaciously to do good and to walk in the way of perfection.
The second way is to have recourse to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God. As treasurer of the riches of heaven she can help us in a thousand ways during our Prayer.
The third way is to address ourselves to our Angel Guardian, in order that he may protect us against the attacks of the devil. The latter, indeed, envious of our spiritual advancement, does whatever he possibly can to trouble us during our Prayer, and to interrupt this holy exercise. It is the more necessary to have recourse to our Angel Guardian seeing that this prince of the heavenly court serves as a mediator between God and our soul, bearing to God our holy desires, and bringing back to us divine illumination.
The fourth way is to make use of ejaculatory prayer; for example: My God, enlighten my darkness – Deus mens illumina tenebras meas; Turn not Thy Face from Thy servant – Ne avertas faciem tuam a puero two; Teach me goodness and discipline – Bonitatem et discipiinam . . . doce me; Give to me understanding, and I will study Thy law, and I will guard it with all my heart – Da mihi intellectum, et scrutabor legem tuam, et custodiam illam in toto corde meo.
An Example of the Petition for Help
“Come, Holy Ghost, send down Thy beams
Which sweetly flow in silent streams
From Thy bright throne above.”
O Divine Paraclete, I know that my understanding is filled with darkness and ignorance, and that I am entirely incapable of performing the holy exercise of Prayer. This is why I have recourse to Thee and why I implore Thy Divine Goodness. For mercy’s sake send forth a ray of Thy light and dispel the darkness of my ignorance. Purify my heart, I pray Thee, that it may be a vessel pure enough to receive the precious balm of Thy grace. Come, Eternal Love, inflame my heart with holy zeal for Thy service. And Thou, Who art a Father full of pity for the poor, come and distribute the heavenly bread of Thy divine instructions to the hungry soul of Thy poor mendicant. I am Thy son, though most unworthy, and Thou art my Father; do not then refuse me, I beseech Thee, but open to me the treasure of Thy blessings; and without regarding my unworthiness, come to help me of my poverty with the abundance of Thy graces.
And Thou, my most sweet Jesus, instill into my heart the virtue and the efficaciousness of Thy love, but in such fashion that I may not close this Prayer without being altogether changed and transformed. To this end I repeat my petition, and beg of Thee in the name of Thy most holy Mother, the fountain of grace and mercy, to grant me a real conversion and a total change of life.
O holy Angel Guardian, this is the moment to let me feel the loving effects of thy charitable ministry, and to protect me against the snares of the devil. And thou, O my most glorious Father, Saint Dominic, whose Prayer was so fervent and continual, do not forsake me, but let me receive the double spirit of love with which thou wast ever inflamed – Ut fiat in me duplex spiritus tuus.
- text taken from A Short Method of Mental Prayer, by Father Niccolò Ridolfi, O.P., 1920