Preface

"The devil knows that he has lost the soul that perseveringly practices mental prayer." - Saint Teresa of Avila

This little "Catechism" is a substantial summary of the book Guide of the Man of Good Will in the Exercise of Mental Prayer by the same author.

It is published with the view of aiding especially the young in the proper understanding and practice of mental prayer. It treats the subject with so much clearness and simplicity that any person of good will cannot but study it with profit.

Although the book is intended alike for general and private use, its present form and arrangement will render it particularly serviceable as a textbook in novitiates, preparatory seminaries, and other institutions where young persons are initiated into the practices of a religious life.

May God abundantly bless this little work, and grant that it may serve to render the practice of mental prayer both profitable and easy. May the august Queen of Heaven, the patroness of devout souls, look down with approval upon the efforts of all who shall study its pages; may she herself teach them the art of praying well, that they may gradually be brought to an ever more perfect knowledge and love both of herself and of her divine Son.

- Father L Beck, 1888

- taken from Catechism of Mental Prayer, by Father Joseph Simler