12. Is mental prayer necessary?
12. Is mental prayer necessary?
Mental prayer, in its essence, is necessary for every Christian who wishes to be saved.
13. Demonstrate this necessity.
1. Every Christian is obliged to pray; it is impossible for him to pray well without reflecting on what he says, consequently, without meditating.
2. Without meditation, he does not know his wants, and therefore does not think of praying. Thus, meditation is as necessary for him as is prayer in general.
14. How else can you prove this necessity?
Without meditation, everything is done by routine; and, by degrees, routine leads to thoughtlessness, spiritual blindness, and insensibility. Hence, the Holy Ghost says: "With desolation is all the land made desolate; because there is none that considereth in the heart." (Jeremiah 12:11).
15. Is it a duty of state for a religious to practice mental prayer?
Yes:
1. Because without mental prayer he cannot advance toward perfection, for which he ought unceasingly to strive.
2. Because without mental prayer he will be much exposed to losing his vocation, as is proved by experience. Therefore, the founders of religious orders and the masters of the spiritual life have made this holy exercise a duly of slate for religious persons.
16. Has the religious who is devoted to an active life any special reason for applying himself to mental prayer?
Yes:
1. Because mental prayer is the only means which can efficaciously preserve him from the spirit of the world, and keep up in him the spirit of faith.
2. Because the salvation of souls is above all the work of grace, and grace is obtained principally by prayer.
3. Because Our Lord, Who came on earth to save mankind, devoted far more time to prayer than to preaching.
4. Because the Apostles freed themselves from all other cares, in order to devote themselves exclusively to prayer and to the ministry of the word. (Acts 6:4).
5. Because those evangelical laborers who gained the most souls for God distinguished themselves by their application to mental prayer.
17. Is mental prayer an exercise of any particular excellence?
Yes, mental prayer is most excellent, not merely by reason of its necessity, but also on account of its advantages, and because it is most honorable for us.
18. Name some of the advantages of mental prayer.
By the light and strength it imparts to us, mental prayer:
1. Keeps sin far from us and saves us from Hell.
2. Preserves us from lukewarmness, or cures us of it.
3. Is the common source of all virtues. It is thus the shortest way of arriving at perfection, and the most efficacious means of persevering in our vocation.
19. Why is mental prayer such a great honor for us?
Because in mental prayer we are admitted to the audience, not of a prince, of an earthly ruler, but to that of God Himself.
- taken from Catechism of Mental Prayer, by Father Joseph Simler