E. L. Mascall, Whatever Happened to the Human Mind

E. L. Mascall, Whatever Happened to the Human Mind

 

 

 

 . . . the Trinity is not primarily a doctrine, any more than the incarnation is primarily a doctrine. There is a doctrine about the Trinity, as there are doctrines about many other facts of existence, but, if Christianity is true, the Trinity is not a doctrine; the Trinity is God. And the fact that God is Trinity—that in a profound and mysterious way there are three divine Persons, eternally united in one life of complete perfection and beatitude - is not a piece of gratuitous mystification, thrust by dictatorial clergymen down the throats of an unwilling, but helpless laity,  and therefore to be accepted, if at all, with reluctance and discontent. It is the secret of God’s most intimate life and being, into which in in his infinite love and generosity, he has admitted us, and it is therefore to accepted with amazed and exultant gratitude.

 

The God whom the Christian Church proclaims is the fundamentally triune God, Father, Son, and Spirit, not a unitarian God to whom the trinitarian character is attached as a kind of secondary, or even optional and purely symbolical, appendage.

 

It is significant that the great ecumenical creed of Christendom cannot profess its belief in the One God without immediately identifying him with the Person of the Almighty Father, and going on from this to speak of the Son and the Spirit, who, while distinct as Persons, are consubstantial with him and derive their being from him.

 

If, then, the great tradition of Christendom is true, the personal God of unimaginable splendor, bliss, and love, upon whom the world and human beings depend for their existence from moment to moment, is not one solitary monad, but three Persons, united in one life of perfect mutual giving and receiving, a giving and receiving that is so complete that there is nothing to distinguish one from another except the ways in which each gives and receives; a life of sharing so perfect and intense that the most intimate of human unions bears only a remote and analogical comparison to it. And if we wish to acquire some faint understanding of the wonder and glory of the Christian God—who, we must remind ourselves, is the only God there is—we may well find the poets more helpful than the theologians. I have specially in mind Dante, in the final canto of the Divine Comedy, striving to put into words his vision of the triune Godhead, as it smote him in all its dazzling splendor, gathering into its one embrace all conceivable perfections and in its threefold mystery eternally flooding itself with love and satisfying in its mysterious unity every human desire:

 

That light doth so transform a man's whole bent

 That never to another sight or thought

Would he surrender, with his own consent:

 

For everything the will has ever sought

 Is gathered there, and there is every quest

Made perfect, which apart from it falls short.

Blessed Clara Gambacorta, Widow, Nun/ Blessed Mary Mancini, Widow and Nun

Blessed Clara Gambacorta, Widow, Nun/ Blessed Mary Mancini, Widow and Nun

Blessed Gambacorta, Widow, Nun/ Blessed Mary Mancini, Widow and Nun

 

 

Tribue nobis, miséricors Deus, spiritum oratiônis et paeniténtiœ, ut, Beate Clara vestigiis inharéntes, corénam quam ipsa in célis accépit, obtinére mereâmur. Per Dôminum.

 

Grant to us, O merciful God, the spirit of prayer and penitence, that following the footsteps of blessed Clara, we may be worth to obtain the crown she received in heaven.

 

Deus, gratiae largitor et maerentium consolator, qui Beatam Mariam admirabili patentia invictaque animi constantia in adversis vitae roborasti, ipsius nobis intercession concede ut, voluntati tuae sincere corde obsequentes, per varias vitae semitas fideliter ambulemus. Per Dominum.

 

O God, the giver of grace and the consoler of those who mourn, who strengthened Blessed Mary with wondrous patience and invincible constancy in adversity of life, grant to us by her intercession that following your will with a sincere heart, we may walk faithfully in the various paths of life.

 

 

Blessed Clara Gambacorta is a widow and Dominican nun who was known for her and her community's religious observance and her great charity and forgiveness.

 

Born in Pisa in A.D. 1362, Blessed Clara's father became the governor of Pisa when she was seven years old and betrothed her to a young man named Simon di Massa. Although chosen for marriage by her parents, Blessed Cara was devoted, tradition tells, to living a life entirely for God. At the age of 12 Blessed Clara was forced to submit to marriage, but her husband left immediately after the marriage to fight in foreign wars and died in 1377 without ever returning to Pisa. Now a widow at the age of 15, Blessed Clara was determined to join a religious order, but her parents were intent on seeing her remarried.

 

In the face of her parents' opposition, Blessed Clara cut off all her hair, gave all she owned to the poor, and, wearing rough penitential clothes, entered the local Convent of the Poor Clares. In her choice of a religious life, Blessed Clara was encouraged in letters by Saint Catherine of Sienna, whom she had met on the Saint's visit to Pisa two years earlier. In the convent, she exchanged her baptismal name, Thora, for the religious name of Clara. However, she was not in the convent long because her brother, with an armed force, removed her from the convent and took her home where she was kept for many months against her will. However, on the feast of Saint Dominic, Clara's sister-in-law took her to mass a the local Dominican church where she received a call to the religious life as a Dominican.

 

Finally, through patience, Blessed Clara overcame the objections of her family and was allowed to join the Dominican Convent of the Holy Cross outside Pisa.

 

While the Convent of the Holy Cross had a devout and pious spirit, it was not a place of strict religious observance. So, after four years Blessed Clara, and four others, moved into a new convent dedicated to Saint Dominic and built for them by Peter Gambacorta, where strict religious observance was kept by Blessed Clara and her fellow sisters.

 

Blessed Clara was soon chosen as the prioress of the new convent and from it several sisters went on to reform communities throughout the region. The community was renowned for its religious observance and even was responsible for initiating a reform of friars because of their example and prayers.

 

Tradition tells of Count Galeazzo who one day was praying in front of a crucifix in a half-ruined church in the city. From the crucifix came a voice asking that the Count carry it to the Covent of Saint Dominic. While the Count was enroute to the convent, Blessed Clara heard a voice that urged her to the convent's door to meet her spouse. At the door she found Count Galeazzo and the crucifix, which she accepted with great deoviton and hung it above the convent's high altar.

 

Although Blessed Clara's convent lived in strict religious observance, it was a community known for its charity. No poor person who approached the convent was left unaided. And, Blessed Clara organized out-sisters who would work in institutions around Pisa ministering to those in need under the direction of Blessed Clara. As well, Blessed Clara was a spiritual guide for many through her wise counsel and letters. Known for her prudence and charity, Blessed Clara even pardoned the assassins of her father and brothers, even giving the assassin's widow and daughters safe refuge in the convent. Blessed Clara also prized study and encouraged her sisters to do so too.

 

Blessed Clara died on 17 April 1419, at the age of 57. Tradition tells that many miracles and signal graces have been obtained by the intercession of Blessed Clara. She was beatified by Pope Pius VIII.

 

Blessed Mary Mancini:

 

    Catherine Mancini was born in Pisa, of noble parentage, and almost in babyhood began enjoying the miraculous favors with which her life was filled. At the age of three, she was warned by some heavenly agency that the porch on which she had been placed by a nurse was unsafe. Her cries attracted the nurse's attention, and they had barely left the porch when it collapsed. When she was five, she beheld in an ecstasy the dungeon of a place in Pisa in which Peter Gambacorta, one of the leading citizens, was being tortured. At Catherine's prayer, the rope broke and the man was released. Our Lady told the little girl to say prayers every day for this man, because he would one day be her benefactor.

 

 

 

    Catherine would have much preferred the religious life to marriage, but she obeyed her parents and was married at the age of twelve. Widowed at sixteen, she was compelled to marry again. Of her seven children, only one survived the death of her second husband., and Catherine learned through a vision that this child, too, was soon to be taken from her. Thus she found herself, at the age of twenty five, twice widowed and bereft of all her children. Refusing a third marriage, she devoted herself to prayers and works of charity.

 

 

 

    She soon worked out for herself a severe schedule of prayers and good works, fasting and mortifications. She        tended  the sick and the poor, bringing them into her own home and regarding them as Our Lord Himself. She gave her goods to the poor and labored for them with her own hands. Our Lord was pleased  to show her that He approved of her works by appearing to her in the guise of a poor young man, sick, and in need of both food and medicine. She carefully dressed his wounds, and she was rewarded by the revelation that it was in reality her redeemer whom she had served.

 

 

 

    St. Catherine of Siena visited Pisa at about this time, and the two saintly women were drawn together into a holy friendship. As they prayed together in the Dominican church one day, they were surrounded by a bright cloud, out of which flew a white dove. They conversed joyfully on spiritual matters, and were mutually strengthened by the meeting.

 

    On the advice of St. Catherine of Siena, Catherine (Mary Mancini) retired to an enclosed convent of the Second Order. In religion, she was given the name Mary, by which she is usually known. She embraced the religious life in all its primitive austerity, and, with Blessed Clare Gambarcota and a few other members of the convent, she founded a new and much more austere house, which had been built by Peter Gambacorta. Our Lady's prophecy of his benefactions was thus fulfilled.

 

    Blessed Mary was favored with many visions and was in almost constant prayer. She became prioress of the house on the death of her friend Blessed Clare Gambacorta, and ruled it with justice and holiness until her death.Blessed Clara Gambacorta, Widow, Nun/ Blessed Mary Mancini, Widow and Nun

 

 

Tribue nobis, miséricors Deus, spiritum oratiônis et paeniténtiœ, ut, Beate Clara vestigiis inharéntes, corénam quam ipsa in célis accépit, obtinére mereâmur. Per Dôminum.

 

Grant to us, O merciful God, the spirit of prayer and penitence, that following the footsteps of blessed Clara, we may be worth to obtain the crown she received in heaven.

 

Deus, gratiae largitor et maerentium consolator, qui Beatam Mariam admirabili patentia invictaque animi constantia in adversis vitae roborasti, ipsius nobis intercession concede ut, voluntati tuae sincere corde obsequentes, per varias vitae semitas fideliter ambulemus. Per Dominum.

 

O God, the giver of grace and the consoler of those who mourn, who strengthened Blessed Mary with wondrous patience and invincible constancy in adversity of life, grant to us by her intercession that following your will with a sincere heart, we may walk faithfully in the various paths of life.

 

 

Blessed Clara Gambacorta is a widow and Dominican nun who was known for her and her community's religious observance and her great charity and forgiveness.

 

Born in Pisa in A.D. 1362, Blessed Clara's father became the governor of Pisa when she was seven years old and betrothed her to a young man named Simon di Massa. Although chosen for marriage by her parents, Blessed Cara was devoted, tradition tells, to living a life entirely for God. At the age of 12 Blessed Clara was forced to submit to marriage, but her husband left immediately after the marriage to fight in foreign wars and died in 1377 without ever returning to Pisa. Now a widow at the age of 15, Blessed Clara was determined to join a religious order, but her parents were intent on seeing her remarried.

 

In the face of her parents' opposition, Blessed Clara cut off all her hair, gave all she owned to the poor, and, wearing rough penitential clothes, entered the local Convent of the Poor Clares. In her choice of a religious life, Blessed Clara was encouraged in letters by Saint Catherine of Sienna, whom she had met on the Saint's visit to Pisa two years earlier. In the convent, she exchanged her baptismal name, Thora, for the religious name of Clara. However, she was not in the convent long because her brother, with an armed force, removed her from the convent and took her home where she was kept for many months against her will. However, on the feast of Saint Dominic, Clara's sister-in-law took her to mass a the local Dominican church where she received a call to the religious life as a Dominican.

 

Finally, through patience, Blessed Clara overcame the objections of her family and was allowed to join the Dominican Convent of the Holy Cross outside Pisa.

 

While the Convent of the Holy Cross had a devout and pious spirit, it was not a place of strict religious observance. So, after four years Blessed Clara, and four others, moved into a new convent dedicated to Saint Dominic and built for them by Peter Gambacorta, where strict religious observance was kept by Blessed Clara and her fellow sisters.

 

Blessed Clara was soon chosen as the prioress of the new convent and from it several sisters went on to reform communities throughout the region. The community was renowned for its religious observance and even was responsible for initiating a reform of friars because of their example and prayers.

 

Tradition tells of Count Galeazzo who one day was praying in front of a crucifix in a half-ruined church in the city. From the crucifix came a voice asking that the Count carry it to the Covent of Saint Dominic. While the Count was enroute to the convent, Blessed Clara heard a voice that urged her to the convent's door to meet her spouse. At the door she found Count Galeazzo and the crucifix, which she accepted with great deoviton and hung it above the convent's high altar.

 

Although Blessed Clara's convent lived in strict religious observance, it was a community known for its charity. No poor person who approached the convent was left unaided. And, Blessed Clara organized out-sisters who would work in institutions around Pisa ministering to those in need under the direction of Blessed Clara. As well, Blessed Clara was a spiritual guide for many through her wise counsel and letters. Known for her prudence and charity, Blessed Clara even pardoned the assassins of her father and brothers, even giving the assassin's widow and daughters safe refuge in the convent. Blessed Clara also prized study and encouraged her sisters to do so too.

 

Blessed Clara died on 17 April 1419, at the age of 57. Tradition tells that many miracles and signal graces have been obtained by the intercession of Blessed Clara. She was beatified by Pope Pius VIII.

 

Blessed Mary Mancini:

 

    Catherine Mancini was born in Pisa, of noble parentage, and almost in babyhood began enjoying the miraculous favors with which her life was filled. At the age of three, she was warned by some heavenly agency that the porch on which she had been placed by a nurse was unsafe. Her cries attracted the nurse's attention, and they had barely left the porch when it collapsed. When she was five, she beheld in an ecstasy the dungeon of a place in Pisa in which Peter Gambacorta, one of the leading citizens, was being tortured. At Catherine's prayer, the rope broke and the man was released. Our Lady told the little girl to say prayers every day for this man, because he would one day be her benefactor.

 

 

 

    Catherine would have much preferred the religious life to marriage, but she obeyed her parents and was married at the age of twelve. Widowed at sixteen, she was compelled to marry again. Of her seven children, only one survived the death of her second husband., and Catherine learned through a vision that this child, too, was soon to be taken from her. Thus she found herself, at the age of twenty five, twice widowed and bereft of all her children. Refusing a third marriage, she devoted herself to prayers and works of charity.

 

 

 

    She soon worked out for herself a severe schedule of prayers and good works, fasting and mortifications. She        tended  the sick and the poor, bringing them into her own home and regarding them as Our Lord Himself. She gave her goods to the poor and labored for them with her own hands. Our Lord was pleased  to show her that He approved of her works by appearing to her in the guise of a poor young man, sick, and in need of both food and medicine. She carefully dressed his wounds, and she was rewarded by the revelation that it was in reality her redeemer whom she had served.

 

 

 

    St. Catherine of Siena visited Pisa at about this time, and the two saintly women were drawn together into a holy friendship. As they prayed together in the Dominican church one day, they were surrounded by a bright cloud, out of which flew a white dove. They conversed joyfully on spiritual matters, and were mutually strengthened by the meeting.

 

    On the advice of St. Catherine of Siena, Catherine (Mary Mancini) retired to an enclosed convent of the Second Order. In religion, she was given the name Mary, by which she is usually known. She embraced the religious life in all its primitive austerity, and, with Blessed Clare Gambarcota and a few other members of the convent, she founded a new and much more austere house, which had been built by Peter Gambacorta. Our Lady's prophecy of his benefactions was thus fulfilled.

 

    Blessed Mary was favored with many visions and was in almost constant prayer. She became prioress of the house on the death of her friend Blessed Clare Gambacorta, and ruled it with justice and holiness until her death.

Angelus ad Virginem

 

InCulture

 

Angelus ad Virginem

 

Angelus ad Virginem is a popular Medieval carol. It is thought to be of Franciscan origin and  to have been composed in the later part of the 13th century. Chaucer mentions it in his Miller's tale:

 

    And over all there lay a psaltery

    Whereon he made an evening's melody,

    Playing so sweetly that the chamber rang;

    And Angelus ad virginem he sang;

    And after that he warbled the King's Note:

    Often in good voice was his merry throat.

 

    Angelus ad virginem,

    Subintrans in conclave,

    Virginis formidinem

    Demulcens, inquit "Ave!

    Ave, regina virginum:

    Coeli terraeque dominum

    Concipies et paries intacta

    Salutem hominum;

    Tu porta coeli facta,

    Medela criminum."

 

    "Quomodo conciperem,

    Quae virum non cognovi?

    Qualiter infringerem,

    Quae firma mente vovi?"

    "Spiritus sancti gratia

    Perficiet haec omnia.

    Ne timeas, sed gaudeas

    Secura, quod castimonia

    Manebit in te pura

    Dei potentia."

 

    Ad haec, virgo nobilis

    Respondens inquit ei,

    "Ancilla sum humilis

    Omnipotentis Dei.

    Tibi coelesti nuntio,

    Tanti secreti conscio,

    Consentiens et cupiens videre

    Factum quod audio,

    Parata sum parere

    Dei consilio."

 

    Angelus disparuit

    Et statim puellaris

    Uterus intumuit

    Vi partus salutaris.

    Qui, circumdatus utero

    Novem mensium numero,

    Hinc exiit et iniit conflictum,

    Affigens humero

    Crucem, qua dedit ictum

    Hosti mortifero.

 

    Eia Mater Domini,

    Quae pacem reddidisti

    Angelis et homini

    Cum Christum genuisti!

    Tuum exora filium

    Ut se nobis propitium

    Exhibeat, et deleat peccata,

    Praestans auxilium

    Vita frui beata

    Post hoc exsilium.

 

 

The angel came to the Virgin, entering secretly into her room, calming the Virgin’s fears said, “Hail!

Hail, Queen of virgins; you will conceive and give birth to the Lord of heaven and earth, the salvation of the world,  and remain undefiled; you will become the gate of heaven, the remedy of sin”.  “How can I conceive, who has not known a man? How can I break the vow I have made with firm intention?” “The grace of the Holy Spirit will accomplish all of this. Do not fear but rather rejoice, your chastity will remain pure by the power of God.” To this the noble virgin replied, saying “I am the humble handmaid of almighty God. To you, heavenly herald, sharing such a great secret, I consent and desire to see done what I have heard, I am ready to submit myself to the design of God”. The angel disappeared and at once the maiden’s womb swelled with power of the birth of salvation, who surrounded by the womb, for nine months in number, left it and began the battle, fastening to his shoulder the cross, with which he dealt the blow to the death-bearing  enemy. Ah! O Mother of the Lord, who has brought back peace between angels and men, when you gave birth to Christ, that he may show himself gracious to us and blot out our sins, granting help to us that after this exile we may enjoy blessed life.

ROMANO GUARDINI: The Lord

 

ROMANO GUARDINI: The Lord

 

The old commandment, fifth of the Ten from Sinai, runs: Thou shalt not kill. Jesus seizes upon the wickedness that is expressed by murder and traces it back to its origin in the murderer's heart. What breaks out in violence is already present in the evil word or intent, or rather, everything that follows is the result of that intent. The intent then, not the deed that expresses it, is decisive. Notice that Jesus does not even mention downright hatred; a brother's irritation or having "anything against thee" is enough to sow the dragon-seed of evil. From irritation grows anger; from anger the word; from the word the deed. . . .

 

The Old Law used justice as its norm of human behavior. As others treat you, so shall you treat them. Violence may be returned for violence, evil for evil. The justice of the day consisted in not returning more evil than the amount received, and naturally one was allowed to protect oneself from anything that seemed threatening. Christ says: That is not enough. As long as you cling to "justice" you will never be guiltless of injustice. As long as you are entangled in wrong and revenge, blow and counterblow, aggression and defense, you will be constantly drawn into fresh wrong. Passion, by its very definition, surpasses measure—quite aside from the fact that the claim to vengeance in itself is wrong because it lies outside our given role of creature. He who takes it upon himself to avenge trampled justice never restores justice. The moment discussion of wrong begins, wrong stirs in one's own heart, and the result is new injustice.

 

If you really want to get anywhere, you must extricate yourself from the whole embroilment and seek a position far removed from all pro's and con's. You must introduce a new force, not that of self-assertion, but of selflessness; not so-called justice, but creative freedom. Man is really just only when he seeks more than mere justice. More not merely quantitatively, but qualitatively. He must find a power capable of breaking the ban of injustice, something strong enough and big enough to intercept aggression and disarm it: love.

 

Homily of St. John Chrysostom: John 4:43-54: On imperfect faith

 

There was a nobleman whose son was lying sick at Capernaum. Some people think that this is the same man as that mentioned by S. Matthew, but we can see he is a different one, not only by his rank, but also by his faith. For one, when Christ was willing to come, begged him to stay; while the other was for bringing him to his house when he had made no such offer. One said "I am not worthy to receive thee under my while the other pressed him: "Lord, come down before that my son die". And what was Christ's answer? " You must see signs and miracles happen or you will not believe. "

 

Indeed, it was at least a partial faith that he had come and asked, and the evangelist admits this later when he reports Jesus as saying "Go back home, thy son is to live, and the man began his journey home putting his trust in the words Jesus had spoken to him. What, then does he mean by this? The man believed, but his faith was not whole and entire. And we can see this from the way he asked at what hour the fever left the boy. For he wanted to know whether the fever had gone of its own accord or at the command of Jesus. But when he learned that it was the day before at the seventh hour, he and all his household found faith. Do you see how he found faith on the word of his servants, not of Christ? And in saying this the evangelist censures the state of mind he was in when he came. For it was this that brought him to faith, and before the sign his trust was not very great. There is nothing very marvelous in his coming and asking; for all fathers, moved by their great love not only consult reputable doctors but also, in their desire to leave no avenue unexplored, go to those in whom they put no real trust.

 

I would have you consider how great a weakness this man's very words reveal. For he ought, at least after the rebuke of his motives if not before, have had a high opinion of Christ, yet hear how he still keeps firmly on the ground: "Come down" he says, "before my boy dies." As though Jesus were not able to raise up the dead or did not know in what condition the boy lay.

 

Therefore, he rebuked him and appealed to his conscience, thus showing that the signs were performed principally for the good of the soul. For in this he cured the sick soul of the father, no less than the son, thus urging us to attend not to the signs, but to the teaching. The signs are not for the faithful, but for those who lack faith and are dull witted. For when he says " You must see signs and wonders happen or you will not believe, " he means "You do not yet possess proper faith, but still think of me as a prophet." For he revealed himself and showed that true faith in him was independent of signs when he said to Philip: Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me? Let my actions convince you where I cannot?

 

Let us not expect miracles, or seek for pledges of the divine power. For I now see many people here who showed much more piety and devotion when their son or their wife was ill to get some consolation from it. But we ought to continue to give thanks and praise even if we do not get what we ask for. For this is what the rightminded servants and strong lovers of God do: flying to him not only in easy times but also in trouble and distress, for these also come from the loving kindness of God. It is where the Lord loves that he bestows correction; there is no recognition of any child of his without chastisement. And when a man serves him only when things are easy, he does not show very great signs of love nor does he have a very real love for Christ.

Dom John Chapman: On Contemplative Prayer

 

Dom John Chapman: On Contemplative Prayer

 

I.                   St John of the Cross: the signs that one is being called to contemplative prayer:

A.     The reason is not simply ‘technical’ but because often these signs are interpreted

as signs of ‘failure’: Dom John suggest this test: say the Our Father and really try

to really try to think out what each phrase; if you can, you should; if you can’t you are

being praying another way.

B.     Does disinterest or dissatisfaction with meditation or prayer in general indicate that

that you are just lazy or weary or does it mean that you are being called to a form of

prayer which is simpler,  more passive, devoid of mental effort?

1.       St. John insists on a failure of any sense of pleasure and a continual ‘painful care and worry about God’.

2.      But Dom John Chapman says there are only two things that matter: an inability to meditate and persistent sense of dryness.

3.      This does not mean that you are disinterested in God or that you should stop going to Mass or reading Scripture.

4.      For Chapman it is very simple: ‘affective’ prayer is replaced by something different: either the imagination works or it doesn’t and if it doesn’t there no point in trying to force the matter: ‘pray as you can, not as you can’t’.

 

II.                From this the recipients of his letters drew great relief, having inappropriately berated themselves for lack of spiritual fervor.

A.     Dom Chapman, unlike Joh of the Cross tells them exactly what to do.

B.     You can be praying while appearing to be nothing and wasting one’s time.

C.     Distractions are of two sorts:

1.       The kind that completely take over and stop you from talking with God and the harmless meandering of the mind.

2.      Expect to be distracted and do not sorry about it.

3.      Use some arrow prayer or bits of the Psalms or other Scripture not as the main focus of your prayer but as a ‘drone’ to keep the imagination occupied, while the intellect if left a blank directing its attention to nothing in particular.

4.      Distractions that are not willful don’t matter in the least.

D.    What matters is that we cling to God, which will more often than seem like a mindless and idiotic state.

 

III.             “Prayer, in the sense of union with God, is the most crucifying thing there is. One must do it for God's sake; but one will not get any satisfaction out of it, in the sense of feeling "I am good at prayer. I have an infallible method."

A.     That would be disastrous, since what we want to learn is precisely our own weakness, powerlessness, unworthiness.

B.     Nor should one to expect "a sense of the reality of the supernatural". 

C.     “And one should wish for no prayer, except precisely the prayer that God gives us -- probably very distracted and unsatisfactory in every way”.

D.    On the other hand, the only way to pray is to pray; and the way to pray well is to pray much.

1.       If one has no time for this, then one must at least pray regularly, but the less one prays, the worse it goes.

2.      If circumstances do not permit even regularity, then one must put up with the fact that when one does try to pray, one can't pray -- and our prayer will probably consist of telling this to God.

E.     You simply have to begin wherever you find yourself;  make any acts you want to make and feel you ought to make, but do not force yourself into feelings of any kind.

F.     “You say very naturally that you do not know what to do if you have a quarter of an hour alone in church. Yes, I suspect the only thing to do is to shut out the church and everything else, and just give yourself to God and beg Him to have mercy on you, and offer Him all your distractions”.

 

IV.              The ‘blank’: At some stage there will be what Chapman calls the ‘blank’ –John of the Cross: ‘not being able to think of any particular thing’—which can give way to a conscious loving attentiveness to God.

 

V.                 You cannot decide that you want to pray contemplatively, although you can desire it, but it is something given (infused) by God.

 

 

VI.              None of this involves stopping the normal course of Christian Prayer, liturgical prayer, petition and intercession.: contemplative prayer says Dom Chapman makes one’s petitions more bold: we should ask God for everything and make up your mind that you will get it not because you deserve it but because God is good.