Prayer and Forms of Prayer

Introduction to the Devout Life, Part Second

English speaking group: Carlo, Elizabeth, Rosita and Ruwantha

In Part II of the Introduction to the Devout Life, St Francis de Sales treats the two principal means of deepening the union with God - the sacraments, by which God comes to us - and prayer, by which we go to God.
1. Aspirations
     • Make spiritual aspirations to God by short, ardent movements of the heart.
2. Ejaculatory Prayers
     • Do not restrict yourself to a set form of words, but rather pronounce within your heart or
with your lips the words love suggests to you at the time.
3. Good Thoughts
     • Those who love God can never stop thinking about Him, longing for Him, aspiring to Him,
and speaking about Him.

Religious practices proposed by St. Francis of Sales. 

Communal Exercises - God is more honored by exercises performed with others than by private ones, because of the union with others. The Saints - “Choose certain particular saints whose lives you can best appreciate and imitate and in whose intercession you may have particular confidence.”
The Word of God - “Always listen with attention and reverence.”How to Attend Mass - The Mass is “the sun of all spiritual exercises - the most holy, sacred, and supremely sovereign sacrament and sacrifice”.  Center of Christian Religion. / Heart of Devotion / Soul of Piety. Holy Confession-This sacrament is given to the Church so we may be cleansed from all our iniquities no matter how often and how greatly we have sinned.

Holy Communion - Our hearts are preserved from the corruption of sin when sweetened by the incorruptible flesh and blood of the Son of God.

1. Begin your preparation the previous evening.
2. Arise in the morning with great joy because of the happiness for which you hope.
3. Go with confidence and humility to receive this heavenly food.
4. After you receive Jesus, allow your heart to be moved by love.
5. When you cannot enjoy the benefit of communicating in reality at Holy Communion, unite your heart and spirit to the life-giving Body of our Lord.
6. Your great intention in receiving Communion should be to advance, strengthen and comfort yourself in the love of the Lord.

Statue of St Francis de Sales at Salesianum, Wilmington (Delaware) August 2011

Francis was in full grasp of his theology, his thought and his language and the truths he
exposed were neither scholastic, nor dialectic, nor literary. Rather, full of life, faith, enthusiasm and cordiality. They came from the heart and spoke to the heart. This realization leads us to make some applications to our own situations today:

1. Need of prayer comes in time of need: experience of the people in the Philippine at present.
2. In time of difficulty people hold on to God or to the Holy images.
3. Desire for prayer – we found all over the world in particular young people going for meditation and other types of prayer services.
4. Methodology presented by St. Francis of Sales is simple and any one can follow.
5. Compared with men more women participate in Religious practices in many parts of the world.

Summary by Ruwantha Thirimanne
Photos by Joe Boenzi