Conversation with Christ

The Teachings of St. Teresa of Avila about Personal Prayer

Peter Thomas Rorhbach

• Publisher: TAN Books
• Year: 1980
• eBook ISBN: 9781618901552
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Denominations

The practicality of St. Teresa's teaching about mental prayer shines through in this wonderful synopsis of her writings about it–something she said "the whole world could not purchase." Learn how we should pray, in order to grow in the spiritual life. Impr. 184 pgs,

Part I

The Nature of Meditation

“Prayer is … conversation with Him.”

—St. Teresa

Chapter 1

The Purpose of Meditation

AGOOD DEAL of the confusion surrounding meditation results from a failure to recognize its basic, fundamental purpose. Simply stated, the aim of meditation is to provide a framework or setting for a personal, heart-to-heart conversation with Christ. If this primary goal is retained in mind throughout our entire discussion of meditation, much of the mystery will fade away.

St. Teresa sums up the whole matter with one magnificent sweep of the pen in her classical definition of mental prayer:

Mental prayer is nothing else than an intimate friendship, a frequent heart-to-heart conversation with Him by whom we know ourselves to be loved.¹

Therefore, all that precedes meditation, all that accompanies it, and all that follows it, has for its primary aim the stimulation of this conversation with Christ. Let us repeat it again— for it is of extreme importance—meditation, in its final analysis, should be basically a friendly conversation with Christ.

The practice of meditation has assumed frightening proportions in the minds of many. It is regarded warily as some type of mental workout which leaves one better prepared to serve God, a spiritual “setting-up exercise.” The assumption, therefore, is that meditation is intended only for intellectuals, and is definitely not something to be undertaken rashly by those further down the intellectual ladder. Nothing could be further from the truth; meditation is for all, university professors, and grade school graduates alike

First of all, the word “meditation.” The term is confusing; for in this conversation with Christ, meditation is only one part of the process. By entitling the entire procedure “meditation,” we are in effect calling the whole by one of its parts. St. Teresa preferred to designate the process “mental prayer,” and in her writings one finds the terms “mental prayer” and “prayer” predominantly employed in place of “meditation.” But to preclude further difficulty, we will continue to designate the entire process by the more widely accepted term “meditation,” with the tacit reservation that meditation is but one of the divisions of mental prayer. In following this pattern, we will here employ the word “consideration” for that part of prayer which is specifically the meditation.

Meditation, then, is interior prayer without the aid of rosaries, prayer books, or missals. It is the prayer in which we talk to God in our own words. It is distinguished from vocal prayer which employs the words and sentiments of some saint, spiritual writer, or the liturgy itself.

St. Teresa rather chides at the sharp distinction made between mental and vocal prayer. The erroneous assumption in many quarters is that conversation with God is the aim of mental prayer, but not of vocal prayer. St. Teresa is vigorous in her assertion that we must talk to God in both mental and vocal prayer. Vocal prayer, she staunchly maintains, in which interior contact with God is absent, is no prayer at all.² During vocal prayer we rely on the formulae of some other person; in mental prayer we attempt to stimulate a direct conversation with Christ using our own words and thoughts.

While it is important to remember what meditation is, it is equally important to remember what it is not. It is definitely not spiritual reading, nor examination of conscience, nor the formation of rules for better conduct.

Modern methods have lent to the general confusion by attempting to cram spiritual reading, examination of conscience, and amendment of life into the period of meditation. These practices have a definite position of importance in the spiritual life; but that position is not the period of meditation.

Spiritual reading is quite necessary in our times to center our hearts on the true purpose of life in face of the unrelenting media which constantly channel a materialistic philosophy of living into our lives and homes. But this is an exercise distinct from prayer. It is also imperative that we examine our consciences daily if progress in virtue is to be made. Concomitant with this should be the formation of definite resolutions for the future. But again, these are not the primary functions of meditation. Meditation is conversation with Christ, and our talk with Him will often conclude with a promise to be more faithful in the future. This, however, is something that flows from our conversation; it is not a necessary part of it, for it may or may not be present on different occasions.

In employing the term “conversation,” St. Teresa, of course, does not intend to infer that it is requisite to formulate explicit words interiorly—although this is advisable for those beginning the practice of meditation. The habit of meditation should bring us into loving contact with Christ, and our affection for Him may be expressed with or without words. At times it will be entirely proper to remain in Christ’s presence as did the apostles on Mount Thabor—“Lord, it is good for us to be here.”³ Our affection for Christ may be manifested in a loving “gaze” upon Him; or in any number of wordless expressions of our love for Him. All of these forms of contact are included in the phrase “conversation with Christ.”

Nor is meditation limited to contact with Christ alone. We may hold our conversation with God, our loving Father, or with the Blessed Mother, or any of the saints. But to simplify our discussion, we shall continue to speak throughout of conversation with Christ.

But at the outset, let us remember the fundamental aim of meditation as proposed by St. Teresa: the attainment of a friendly, intimate conversation with Christ. If this be retained in mind throughout, a giant step will have been taken along the road to successful meditation.

1. St. Teresa, Life, viii.

2. “I do not allude to mental prayer more than to vocal prayer. For, if it is to be

prayer at all, the mind must take a part in it. If a person neither considers whom he is addressing, what he asks, nor what he himself is who ventures to speak to God, although his lips may move with many words, I do not call it prayer.” St. Teresa, Interior Mansion, I, i.

C. W. C.–B

3. Luke 9:33

Chapter 2

The Necessity of Meditation

BEFORE EMBARKING on our discussion of the practice of mental prayer, it would be well to pause and examine the motive for meditating. Why do spiritual writers place so much insistence upon the practice of meditation? Is it an integral part of the spiritual life; or is it a superfluous nicety of spiritual esthetes?

To answer the question let us call on two saints of the Church, St. Alphonsus and St. Teresa. St. Alphonsus stoutly maintains:

It is morally impossible for him who neglects meditation to live without sin.¹

St. Teresa corroborates his statement in these words:

He who neglects mental prayer needs not a devil to carry him to hell, but he brings himself there with his own hands.²

We can readily ascertain that meditation in the mind of these two saints is no superfluous nicety, it is a basic necessity for spiritual living. Nor is this insistence on mental prayer merely a pet theory of theirs. They reflect the traditional doctrine of the Church.

In our own day, Pope Pius XII has paused twice in his encyclicals to remind us of the value of meditation:

Moreover, the common practice of the Saints as well as ecclesiastical documents demonstrate how highly everyone should esteem mental prayer.³

It must be stated without reservation that no other means has the unique efficacy of meditation, and that as a consequent, its daily practice can in no wise be substituted for.⁴

The case for meditation can be easily proved. Christ came to earth to re-establish God’s friendship with man—“I call you now not servants, but friends.”⁵ Our Lord Himself has made the initial overture in this friendship; we must, on our part, reciprocate, and strive to maintain the companionship at its highest level. This entails a sustained contact with Christ; and prayer is our principal contact with Him. However, vocal prayer does not completely fulfill this need—we are required to employ the language of the Church’s official prayers, but we must also converse with God in sentiments which arise from our own hearts and are expressed in our own words. As St. Teresa comments:

Take my advice and let no one mislead you by pointing out any other way than prayer. I am not discussing here whether mental and vocal prayer are necessary for everybody; but I contend that you require both.⁶

There is serious danger in restricting our prayer life to vocal prayer: we stand the risk of becoming victims of that vicious habit of sing-songing our prayers without actually contacting Christ. Furthermore, the true lover wishes to express his affection in his own words, and not rely on the “canned” sentiments of a spiritual writer. In meditation the soul is forced, as it were, to speak directly with Christ; there can be no hiding behind standardized formulae of prayer. And this is the way the truly spiritual man would want it: an opportunity to speak privately with Christ about the many affairs of his daily life. The experience of the saints has demonstrated that an amazing change occurs in one’s life when he forms the daily habit of intimate, heart-to-heart conversation with Christ.

The Church, therefore, in its laws wisely obliges its priests “to spend some time each day in meditation.”⁷ Without it, the priest would lose intimate contact with Christ. This is not, of course, to deprecate vocal prayer; vocal prayer and meditation go hand-in-hand. But the priest (as well as the layman) experiences that a well made meditation enhances and enlivens his vocal prayer. In fact, it gives a new impetus to his entire spiritual life.

Meditation serves a twofold purpose in the spiritual life: it aids the soul to attain closer union with Christ, and it prevents our relapse into sin. The first is easily understood: our daily contact with Christ soon brings us into clo...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• To Our Lady
• Dedication
• Preface
• Contents
• PART I. THE NATURE OF MEDITATION
• 1. Purpose of Meditation
• 2. Necessity of Meditation
• 3. St. Teresa’s Concept of Meditation
• 4. A Simplified Method of Meditation
• PART II. EXPLANATION OF THE METHOD
• 5. General Preparation for Meditation
• 6. Immediate Preparation for Meditation
• 7. Selection of Material
• 8. The Consideration
• 9. The Conversation—Heart of the Meditation
• 10. The Conclusion of the Meditation
• PART III. VARIATIONS OF THE METHOD
• 11. Mediative Recitation of Vocal Prayers
• 12. Meditative Reading
• PART IV. DIFFICULTIES IN MEDITATION
• 13. Distractions
• 14. Aridities
• PART V. DEMONSTRATION OF THE METHOD
• 15. The Regular Method—A Demonstration
• 16. The Alternate Methods—A Demonstration
• PART VI. INDISPENSABLE AIDS TO MEDITATION
• 17. Recollection
• 18. Detachment
• 19. Spiritual Reading
• PART VII. PROGRESS IN MEDITATION
• 20. Facility in Meditation
• 21. Advanced Mental Prayer
• PART VIII. THE ROYAL HIGHWAY
• 22. St. Teresa’s Royal Highway