At Prayer With the Mother of God

What is Spiritual Prayer? When this questions is asked, many people say it’s the reciting of prayers, such as the Our Father, Hail Mary, or the Psalms. Some will say its talking to God! These answers are only partially true. Prayer is the gift we make of our time and attention to God. It is our gift to God! It is time set aside for one’s faith, for one’s soul and one’s spirit.

There are two different types of prayer. The first is Vocal Prayer. Vocal prayer is the reciting of The Holy Rosary, the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Psalms, either out loud or to ourselves. Vocal prayer is important and necessary. The second type of prayer is called Mental Prayer and it is the fountain from which all other prayers, and our spiritual prayer life, flows. Mental Prayer is a process, and it is how Our Lord communicates to Us!

What an interesting statement; since many have not heard of the term Mental Prayer, how can it be the fountain from where all other prayers flow? In the first audio, Preparing to Pray with the Mother of God, the conference audio defines Mental Prayer. Mental Prayer is the process one follows to actually enter into the presence of Our Lady and Our Lord. Mental Prayer consists of four movements: Thinking: Studying (or Learning), Meditation and Contemplation.

• Thinking is not Meditation. It is thinking. If we fall into the trap of thinking is actually meditating, we will never meditate. So it’s important to understand the concepts and definition. Thinking about something, or to be curious about something, is not the same as learning about something. The audio highlights this distinction in greater detail.
• Study is the process of learning something. We move beyond being curious about something, and selectively learn about that topic. It’s the process of knowing something well.
• Meditation is being in the presence of something, for the sake of loving. The fruit of the meditation is love. It can only be achieved after we studied a specific topic.
• Contemplation: When you are in the presence of something you love, you rejoice and delight. That is contemplation. It is when love moves toward delight.

The audio discusses that during the retreat we rely on Our Lady to help teach us throughout the conference. The more we practice mental prayer, the more deeply our spiritual character will be. From there, the Holy Spirit will move you where He wishes for you.

Examples are given during the second conference and third conferences on how to Meditate and Contemplate on a topic. The second conference is entitled: – Unfolding the Hail Mary and Beginning the Process of Entering into Her Presence. In this second conference, the four movements are discussed more fully. The audio walks through the process of recognizing the presence of Mary and how to prepare oneself for experiencing that presence.

Conference audio #3: Where does Mental Prayer Lead Us? Where does Praying with the Mother of God Lead Us?

So why is this practice of prayer different? What does praying this way lead to in our spiritual journey? St Francis de Sales mentions in his Commentary of the Canticle of Canticles: We are after union with God. The union has two sources. The first is the union of Grace (achieved by Baptism and Reconciliation). The second is the union of Devotion to the Lord. It is this second union that makes us spiritual.
Devotion is the fruit of mental prayer. Devotion is NOT mental prayer, it is the fruit of it. It is this devotion that makes us spiritual!
When we speak of Praying with Our Lady and we speak of mental prayer, we are doing so to do two things: (1) We will learn from Our Lady how to engage the sacred humanity of her Son and also, (2) to allow Our Lady to teach us. This is why we pray in the presence of Our Lady. We want therefore, to look at how Our Lady prays, and what happens (or we need to be attentive to) when Our Lady is present with us!

Appreciating someone requires us to be attentive to that purpose. While Study produces a certain amount of knowledge, it is not prayer. Meditation is appreciating what I know. Appreciating things about the Lord and about Our Lady. Scripture gives us a marvelous statement. She treasured all these things in her heart. How little we understand or reflect on this! Our Lady did not think about things. She treasured these things in her heart. What things? Things related to her Son. All that happen to her Son. That again is not thinking. It also is not just remembering things. She treasured them! Things related to her Son, is so valuable, she Treasures them. She valued them. This is the outcome of mental prayer. Focus and treasure them.

Why is mental prayer important? It begins with the conviction that my faith is valuable. What I have been given by Jesus is valuable and I need to honor it and keep track of it. Keeping in her heart, she can think and study them, but more so, so that we can appreciate them.
What we been given by Jesus, including our faith, needs to be honored, valued, and held onto. Other forms of prayer are good and necessary. But, mental prayer focuses on a deep abiding love and appreciation. When we appreciate, we come to love and to know. I think and I study is not prayer. Prayer begins with the meditation and when we appreciate what we have been given. In appreciation, loves begin to grow. I appreciate your goodness and when I appreciate you, I come to delight in you, to love you more deeply.

St. Francis de Sales states meditation is a knowing that seeks to grow in love (20:30). Contemplation is not thinking about things, (23) but savoring the presence of another and finding my joy in the presence of another. If you long to know Jesus, what better way is there to have the one that treasures everything about her Son help us? The great anchor point of all genuine prayer and reflection is the life of Jesus. Jesus is the key to knowing God, because it is through Jesus He chose to reveal Himself. Listen to the audio to understand why mental prayer and the process in Praying with the Mother of God will change the way we pray.

Mental Prayer is focusing on the life of Our Lord. It begins by studying the gospels and focusing on one aspect of Our Lord (audio #2 and #3 provide examples), then mediating on this topic / aspect. In doing so, one will love Our Lady and Our Lord more fully. In doing so we appreciate Our Lord’s sacrifices and His Gift to each of Us! We will love Him more completely, and in taking the time to contemplate, we will delight in His presence. Mental Prayer is a practice that all Christians should do at least weekly, and gradually move to a daily basis. After a time, the Holy Spirit will guide us and we will hunger to be in the presence of the Lord.

Conference #4 continues with a discussion The Building Blocks of a Spiritual Prayer Life.
Building blocks for a healthy prayer life: The retreat has talked about Mental Prayer, and now spends some time on Vocal Prayer in discussing the building blocks (17:50) for a healthy prayer life. A healthy prayer life should includes a number of elements.

1. We need some significant time for mental prayer, if we are serious in growing spiritually (21:20). Other forms of prayer can help anchor us, but we need time for mental prayer.
2. When we consider the other forms of prayer, there are a few that we want to pay attention (22:40); petition and intercession. Petition is important because it rests on two fundamental realities. God is Good! And I am weak, limited and need help! Petition is asking the Lord for something. Intercession is asking for something on behalf of someone else. Hear more about each.
3. Have a prayer of contrition and repentance (31:45). The ability to say I am sorry and please forgive me. It is important to show the Lord that one is willing to change. A discussion of the custom of examination of conscience at night about the day is reviewed in the audio. It includes a statement of contrition. By feeling sorry, one can appreciate the mercy given to us all. If we are not sorry, we cannot appreciate the Lord’s mercy.
4. And lastly (38:10), Thanksgiving. This is the hidden building block. We must be grateful to the Lord on what we receive, thankful for His gift. I do not thank the gift of mercy. I thank the Giver of mercy.

Conference Audio #5 – Entering Into the Presence of Our Lord

In the prior conferences, it was discussed that the hidden anchor for a spiritual prayer life is Appreciation. The disposition behind the scripture that tells us that Mary Treasured All These Things. What I do not appreciate, I can not treasure. It is also the ultimate anchor as to why the role of Our Lady is so powerful and important in our spiritual lives. Do I Appreciate Jesus or not? How well do we appreciate Jesus Christ? Is Jesus worth my very best attention? Is He worth my full attention? Do I have a true appreciation to His greatness and Glory, as oppose to a desire to glorify myself?

Don’t be so quick to answer that last question! Consider who Jesus is! The human heart loves Jesus when He helps us, and loves us. But we do not always appreciate the fact He is also our judge? We often ask Him to do our will, rather than to understand and do His will!

The goals of prayer is conforming myself to the will and greatness of God! Consider this: Do I really know how to honor Him? Do I really know how to truly enter into His presence in a way that truly honors Him? When we rephrase the question like this vs. the appreciation question, one needs to pause first to consider and not be so quick to answer!

If I am to enter His presence, do I do so that gives Him the most honor or is it the most convenient for me? Interesting questions that will impact our own spiritual prayer life. This is why St. Louis de Montfort says it is essential for us to include Mary in our spiritual life. Because it is the way that honors Jesus the most. The issue is not can I approach Jesus, of course I can. The issue is not can I go to Him. It is when I do go to Him, do I do it in the manner that most honors Him? What is the best way to enter His presence? The more I desire what pleases the Lord, the more I turn my attention to the Lord. Should I go to the Lord by myself? Of course you can. But what way honors Him the most? St. Louis says I desire to honor Him fully. But I do not know how to approach Him with the honor He deserves. Is there a way to honors Him the most? St. Louis de Montfort says yes! How can I learn? (0 thru 11:15)

Mary knows better than all of us, how to approach Our Lord! How to enter His presence! Remember earlier in the conference we reviewed the three dispositions needed for spiritual prayer: Modesty, Attention and Devotion. If I desire to please and honor Him, I need to pay attention to the quality of entering His presence. The audio: (12:30) begins to reveal how to do so, which requires that I learn.

How would Mary come into the presence of Our Lord? Before we begin to pray, how would Mary enter into His presence? An interesting question (14:15 – 20:15) for us to consider. Devotion to Mary, and asking Her to be with us and to teach us how to enter His presence, has always been at the service of honoring Our Lord!. (20:15 – 24:30). Conference audio #5 is very insightful as we learn how to come into the presence of Our Lord.

Conference Audio #6: Adoring the Presence of Jesus
First Hymn of St Louis de Montfort on the Blessed Sacrament. The audio opens up with the reading. St. Louis authored a hymn for each day of the week for the Blessed Sacrament. This hymn highlights something that tends to be over looked. We think of Adoration as something we undertake. But that is only half true. The adoration is something the Blessed Sacrament does. Jesus prays in the tabernacle day and night since the tabernacle was first created. We join Him in His prayers. The importance of this is explained in the audio.

Something always happens during Adoration and when Jesus is present in the tabernacle: Almighty God is worshipped. Our prayers rise to Heaven on His prayers. Our adoration is presented before the throne of Glory, because it is united with Jesus’ own heart. Adoration is at the service of creating a hunger in our hearts so that we long to feast on this gift of this adoration. We hunger to receive the body of Christ. Hear more about adoration.

We truly believe this conference will dramatically impact Queen of All Hearts members spiritual prayer life. We hope you indeed find it fruitful and that it impacts your Spiritual Journey.