Meditation, contemplation, prayer
See also: To Pray, Prayer, Supplication.
The contemplation of God is like a spark that flashes from the strike of flint against the tinder and produces Fire and light. It is a Purification by Fire that consumes the opaque and always impure matter and transforms it into a luminous and pure flame.[1]File:Brooklyn Museum - Christ Retreats to the Mountain at Night (Jesus se retira la nuit sur la montagne) - James Tissot.jpgJesus retreats to the mountain at night to pray - James Tissot, Brooklyn Museum.
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In "The Gospel as it was revealed to me"
- The need for meditation (prayer) and its effect on the Soul: the practice of Mary.[2]
- We have considered the truth, contemplated God in His goodness, All this is prayer. Now let us sing a bWater psalm of praise, for the joy that is within us.[3]
- It is visible that Jesus prefers to be silent, to isolate Himself in meditative silence which can last several hours if He is not interrupted by someone questioning Him. He raises His head from time to time to look at the sky, the countryside, the people, the animals. To look, I must say: to love. For it is a smile, a smile from God, which flows from those pupils to caress the world and the creatures, a love-smile. For it is a love that shines through, that spreads, that blesses, that purifies the light of His gaze, always intense, but extremely intense when it emerges from contemplation...[4]
- For the Souls, continuous study is necessary, the habit of meditation which enlightens more than a long reading of fixed texts. The book that a master and a doctor of Souls must study is the Souls themselves.[5]
- Throw yourself into the furnace, into the flames of contemplation. The contemplation of God is like a spark that flashes from the strike of flint against the tinder and produces Fire and light. It is a Purification by Fire that consumes the opaque and always impure matter and transforms it into a luminous and pure flame.[6]
- (The Apostles) overwhelm Him with questions. Their affection is sometimes tiring. But Jesus is patient... and patiently He answers: "You know it! For Me prayer is rest. And fatigue from being among people when I am not there to heal or to evangelize. So I will go to the mountain, where I have gone other times. You know the place."[7]