Hajja Salesjana April-June 2022

inspirations to the full extent of their power in how short a time would we make great progress in holiness.” 11 Praying heart to heart Prayer, for Francis, is ‘heart speaking to heart.’ 12 It is a movement of love between hearts in which the devout heart is united to God and transformed. Francis describes the various degrees of prayer in terms of the heart’s response to God’s love. He follows closely the degrees of prayer as outlined by St. Teresa of Avila: 1. Vocal prayer is “an overflowing of the heart in words”. 13 2. Mental prayer is a “prayer of the heart” that enables us to ruminate on the various aspects of the divine heart. 14 3. Contemplative prayer allows “the heart to drink” liquid nourishment which finds its source in the divine heart. 15 4. Prayer of Quiet in which the devout heart rests on the divine heart as exemplified by John the evangelist resting on the breast of Our Lord at the last Supper. 16 Whilst acknowledging that prayer is above all a gift of God, there are things we can do to make ourselves more open to receiving God’s gift of prayer. Francis compares us humorously to a clock that “no matter how good it may be, it needs resetting and rewinding twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening.” 17 It is through prayer that we best dispose ourselves for the work of God in our lives. The dialogue of prayer begins in the Heart of God who communicates to us through his inspirations. These inspirations, the gift of the Holy Spirit, enlighten our mind and move our will to respond to God’s goodness. It follows, then, that prayer is the inverse movement of the inspirations that God communicates to our heart. Our souls move, and are moved, by these inspirations so that we can lift our mind and heart to God in prayer. St Francis writes: “we are in continual communication with him and he never ceases to speak to our hearts by his inspirations, allurements, and sacred movements … He has openly revealed all his secrets to us as to his closest friends ... as for ourselves, we have freedom to speak to him in devout prayer whenever we wish, for we have all our life, movement and being not only with him but in him and by him.” 18 Deeply influenced by Gilbert Génébrard’s commentary on the Song of Songs , which reveals the unfolding of the love story between God and humanity, prayer is accordingly understood not as something we do , but as a response to God, who draws us continually. It is God who takes the initiative. We are invited to respond in love to God who has first loved us into being. As St Therese of Photo by Priscilla de Preez - www.unsplash.com 12 April - Ġunju 2022 hajja