A Brief Explanation of Mental Prayer

The general sequence for mental prayer is outlined by the sequence (that is usually expressed in Latin) “lectio, meditatio, oratio, contemplatio.” That sequence is attributed to the French Carthusian monk Guigo II (also called, “Guido,” “Guy,” and “the Angelic”). Guigo II expounds the sequence in his treatise “Scala Claustralium” (“The Ladder of Monks”). The sequence is called “lectio divina” (“divine reading,” or “sacred reading”) because Guigo II prescribed reading to be the initial step in mental prayer. “Lectio” refers to the act of slowly and attentively reading, namely Sacred Scripture, and (mentally) noting any cognitive wakes, resonating referents, queries, or novel understandings therefrom (the topic, so to speak). “Meditatio” refers to the act of intellectual, discursive, reasoned, logical reflection, i.e., upon the informatiom from that which has just been read, or the topic, viz., in order to discern or determine an elevated or sophisticated conclusion or understanding thereof. “Oratio” refers to a spontaneous, sincere, and articulated, verbalized, or conversational prayer with God (whether vocal or interior), namely regarding the information or topic under consideration. “Contemplatio” refers to quieting the mind and being solely receptive, to the exclusion of all distractions and temptations to distraction, in order to perceive a response from God, such as knowledge, meaningfulness, disposition, or affect — attentively and intently submitting under God’s presence and spiritual-intellectual dependence. “Contemplatio” and its English equivalent “contemplation” mean “to gaze attentively,” or “(for an augur, oracle, or seer) to mark out a sacred area (“templum”) reserved for observation in order to make a discernment by divination.” The “lectio, meditatio, oratio, contemplatio” sequence is not prescribed by the Church in any authoritative way but it is accepted as the standard format for conducting mental prayer — though other approaches to mental prayer exist as esteemed formats in their own right, namely St. Teresa of Ávila’s instructions in the progression of a devout life of prayer, and St. Ignatius of Loyola’s “spiritual exercises” (his treatise on which is by the same name) or “retreat” method which immensely employs the imagination to cultivate phantasms of Gospel scenes and participation in those scenes in order to culminate in an explicitly affective colloquy with God.

Meditation

This exercise might be mistaken as a prayer of simple gaze but it is not, for simple gaze is contemplation, and contemplation is devoid of intentional visualization (and of discursive thought) – despite what French Dominican friar Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange would say. This exercise is not discursive meditation, which utilizes the powers of the intellect to reason and logically reflect, in order to determine conclusions or to receive divine illuminations, lights, enlightenment, insights, understandings (the latter being the meaning of “contemplation,” strictly speaking). The prayer of simple gaze is attributed to the German Carthusian monk Ludolph of Saxony (from whose writings Basque Jesuit St. Ignatius of Loyola learned it) and also attributed, as a case of multiple discovery, to Spanish Franciscan friar Francisco de Osuna (from whose writings the Castilian Carmelite St. Teresa of Ávila learned it). The prayer of simple gaze employs the imagination to cultivate phantasms (i.e., mental representations, figments of imagination) and the rejection or silencing of all other thoughts – this does not amount to the refuted and prohibited condition of quietism, which entails the annihilation of one’s will, of interior acts of virtue, and of the rejection of interior graces, but rather the rejection of one’s own spontaneous, irrelevant thoughts and of temptations of all sorts).

Contemplation

St. Alphonsus de Liguori, echoing his predecessors, defined acquired contemplation (distinct from infused contemplation) as momentarily apprehending truths (usually after much meditation) which could otherwise only be discovered through prolonged discourse (paraphrased; Homo Apostolicus, Appendix I.7).

Contemplation, in practical terms, is (1.) the preparation of the mind, by renouncing all distractions, and a total interior orientation toward God in order for subtle truths from Him to be clearly and thoroughly perceived; it is (2.) single-pointed focus upon an openness to and a dependence upon God requisite for His spiritual-intellectual guidance, to the exclusion of all other mental and emotional phenomena; it is (3.) a durable attendance to God’s presence by maintaining a conduit of communication and service to Him, not in the hopes of receiving a gift of knowledge, meaning, or inspiration from Him, but rather with an openness to such and a contented disposition of not receiving any such gift – as you have been satisfied with your maintenance of attendance, communication, and service to Him; it is (4.) the effortful making of “space” in your mind and the allowing of ample time to pass in order to maximize clarity in the reception of truths given by God, if He wills – as accomplished by the clearing away of all the debris in one’s mind that are one’s own thoughts, feelings, expectations, and distractions by way of radical acceptance of their momentary presence (if outright rejection does not work) and by way of radical detachment from them (by returning to attendance to God – as a replacement Object of attention, if outright renunciation does not work).

or to receive divine illuminations, lights, enlightenment, insights, understandings

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