HOW TO DO MENTAL PRAYER. OPENING AND CLOSING PRAYERS.

HOW TO DO MENTAL PRAYER. INTRODUCTORY AND CLOSING PRAYERS.

There are many different ways to begin and end a moment of mental prayer. You might want to begin and end yours with the following prayers in the meme 🙂

1. THE VITAL IMPORTANCE OF MENTAL PRAYER

We must be convinced of the vital importance of prayer. Without prayer, knowledge of, friendship with, and love of God would be impossible: “He who flees from prayer, flees from everything that is good,” says St. John of the Cross.

• Without prayer, it is impossible to progress in the spiritual life. We can undergo the most powerful moments of conversion and fervor, having received a tremendous amount of grace but, without fidelity to prayer, our Christian life would soon reach a dead end.
• Without prayer, we cannot receive the help we need from God to be holy, to undergo a deep interior transformation…

2. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VOCAL AND MENTAL PRAYER.

Prayer can be differentiated into vocal (Our Father, Hail Mary etc.) or mental prayer, which in turn, has many forms (meditation, contemplation etc.).

• Nevertheless, mental prayer is nothing but a friendly and filial conversation with God -who we know loves us-, opening our hearts to Him, and talking to Him what concerns us, as one talks to a friend, or to a loved one.
• Topics for mental prayer are diverse: one could talk to God about anything. One could also take advantage of these moments
  • to get to know Him more (meditation of the Gospels);
  • adore Him;
  • atone and repair for our sins and those of others;
  • ask Him not only for our personal needs but those of others as well (conversions, vocations, for those who are suffering);
  • thank Him;
  • say acts of love;
  • console Him and seek consolation;
  • or use a good spiritual book: reading for some time and pausing when an idea strikes you and talk to Our Lord about it!

By then you will realise that time has elasped…and say your closing prayer, for example, the one you have above in the meme.

As you see, whatever you have in your heart could be a topic of conversation with God.

3. PLACE, TIME AND DURATION OF MENTAL PRAYER.

As for the place and time/duration.

• The ideal place would be in front of Our Lord in the Tabernacle, if possible. If not, you could do it in your room, or perhaps in fron of your home altar, while travelling, etc.
• You could start dedicating daily 5 minutes for your mental prayer, and prolong it accordingly. Some people dedicate 30 minutes in the morning and in the afternoon. It is up to you and your spiritual director, if you have one.
• What is important is constancy and perseverance, for only then would one get to know and love God better, and have the grace and strength derived from these moments of intimacy with God, which will help us carry out God’s Will throughout the day.

A great day ahead!
Fr. Rolly Arjonillo