By Susan Brinkmann
CS&T Correspondent

Mental prayer sounds so simple on paper. St. Teresa of Avila describes it as “nothing else, in my opinion, than being on terms of friendship with God, frequently conversing in secret with Him who, as we know, loves us.”
Father Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange wrote that mental prayer is “the commerce of friendship by which the soul converses alone with God, by whom it believes itself loved.”
Could it be any simpler? Yet for many of us, nothing seems more difficult than having to put aside all those familiar prayer cards and routines and simply talk to God heart-to-heart. What is it about mental prayer that makes us feel so awkward and inept?
There are many possible answers to that question. We might feel unworthy to approach God on such a personal basis, or perhaps we’re not sure that it’s even possible for the average person to communicate so intimately with Him. Maybe we just can’t fathom what one could possibly say to the Creator of the universe.
Whatever the reason, there remains an almost instinctive desire to get to know Him better, an interior urge that constantly tugs us toward Him. Wanting to respond to this urge forces us to encounter the next big obstacle standing between us and mental prayer — where do we start?
Most of us come to prayer from busy lives, with concerns and complexities humming in our heads — the job, the house, the family, the car. The minute we sit still, it all comes caving in. How do we make the transition from dealing with creatures of the natural world to communicating on such a personal level with a supernatural Being?
Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D., addresses these issues in a little-known booklet he wrote in 1943 entitled, Little Catechism of the Life of Prayer. Now in its sixth edition, the booklet gives timeless advice about learning the art of mental prayer. Based on the methods handed down to the Carmelite Order during the Teresian Reform of the 15th century, he lays out a comfortable process to follow for entering into a loving colloquy with God.
“We usually distinguish six or seven parts in the exercise of mental prayer, that is: the preparation — reading — meditation (with the loving colloquy) — the thanksgiving — the offering — and the petition.”
He explains that the first two steps are actually preparation for mental prayer, and constitute a kind of “entrance door.” The last three are complementary or optional and may be omitted as soon as we don’t need them any longer. “Prayer is therefore substantially reduced to meditation, which is accompanied by an intimate conversation with our Lord (a loving colloguy).”
Preparation
“The preparation ought to serve to bring us close to our Lord; for we cannot in fact speak intimately with anyone if we are not near the person,” Father Gabriel writes. “We ought therefore to place ourselves in the presence of God with lively faith and in the humble attitude of a soul that knows itself to be a child of God.”
Spiritual reading serves the purpose of providing a subject for conversation with God. We should choose something that concerns whatever we might want to speak with God about. For instance, a person who has just lost a loved one or a good job, or is perhaps just down in the dumps might read what Jesus said during the Sermon on the Mount. “Blessed are the sorrowing, for they shall be consoled.” Read this portion of the Gospel, then put the Bible aside and think about what Jesus meant when He said this.
Meditation
We have now entered the second stage — meditation.
“The meditation or personal reflection that we make on the divine gift or on the mystery that we have selected in our reading, serves a double purpose: the one intellectual, the other affective.”
Intellectually, we might think about the hope Jesus’ words convey to the sorrowing. On an affective level, we will probably experience some kind of comfort, which will almost naturally lead to a feeling of relief and then gratitude for the help received.
Loving Colloquy
At this point, meditation has naturally begun to move into the most important part of the process - a loving exchange with God.
“By making our reflections in the presence of God, and thus seeing more clearly how much God loves us, we easily feel moved to speak lovingly to Him,” Father Gabriel writes.
Our gratitude for His comfort eventually overwhelms our need for further reflection and we find it very easy to abandon ourselves to a simple loving gratitude. “In this conversation, we tell God and repeat in a thousand ways that we love Him, that we desire to love Him more and to prove our love to Him.”
God may respond in any number of ways, either by flooding our senses with consolation, or giving us insights into ways of handling our dilemma.
For instance, we might feel a need to cry out, “I’m so afraid of being without work. I should trust you more, but I’m just so scared.” He might warm the chill of fear from our heart with a palpable sensation of comfort, telling us without words that He’s with us and more than happy to take care of us.
This communication brings the same relief we might feel in the arms of a good friend who is there for us when we most need them. Afterward, we will remain forever closer to them because of having shared this intimate moment of pain.
All of these feelings, these affections, occur naturally, effortlessly, during the time of the loving colloquy.
This beautiful simplicity is what makes mental prayer so important. Imagine how much closer we would feel to God if we spent some time every day in this kind of close and private communication!
Thanksgiving, Offering and Petition
The last three parts or acts of prayer really serve to prolong whatever loving conversation we’re having with the Lord. “They are in fact only more definite acts of affection, or rather various ways of manifesting our love,” Father Gabriel explains.
Thanksgiving comes easily to most after a particularly loving colloquy with God in prayer.
Wanting to give something back, after all He’s done for us, is another very natural response which makes the prayer of offering occur almost without notice.
This is the same case for the prayer of petition. Someone who just lost their job will find it very easy to ask God for help!
“The order indicated above is the most logical,” Father Gabriel writes, “but in prayer one may use great liberty: we may follow these parts in the order that appears the most spontaneous.”
As we progress in mental prayer and become more comfortable with it, we can even do away with some of these stages. In the beginning, he recommends following this method because the variety of acts serve to keep our attention focused.
Many a saint has claimed that a mere thirty minutes a day of mental prayer is the surest road to spiritual progress.
With a little practice and a lot of perseverance, the time spent in this kind of prayer will quickly become the most precious moments of our day.

Contact Susan Brinkmann by e-mail: fiat723@aol.com