Adam and Eve had intimate fellowship in the presence of God before the fall (Genesis 3:8). Since that time, sin has prevented our ability to be in the physical presence of God (Exodus 33:20). Now only the holy, sinless angels are in the physical presence of God (Luke 1:19). But Christians have the presence of God within us by His indwelling Holy Spirit (John 14:23; 15:4), and that indwelling presence comes only through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

We are aware of the reality of this presence from our obedience to His Word. “We are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praise of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). Note that Peter says that “we are chosen people . . . belonging to God.” If we belong to Him, will He not be present among us? We never lose the reality of God’s presence, no matter how badly we fail; we never sin so much as to lose our salvation; we never sink so far as to banish the Holy Spirit. We can anger God because of our sin, but true believers never lose the presence of the Holy Spirit. While we will never lose the reality of God’s presence, we might lose the “sense” of His presence.

Every child of God invariably goes through this feeling of losing God’s presence from time to time, like a landlord who has left his house and gone away on business for a while. He has not left the house completely empty, for, if he had, he would have taken all his belongings with him. But because he has left all his furniture and belongings in that house, does it not mean that he will return once again? Any believer knows that there are times of spiritual leanness when perhaps the Lord determines to test our faith. Does He not push us through the winnowing flames of affliction that we might be all the more pure (Job 23:10; 1 Peter 1:7)?

But the practical result of being in God’s presence is joy! Many Christians seem gloomy and dejected because they lack this sense of God’s presence. The fellowship is sweet for those who walk with the Lord in obedience and faith. But the sweet fellowship that comes from obedience and trust in the Lord is not a passing feeling. It sustains us, especially during trials, for “the joy of the Lord shall be your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). James, the Lord’s brother, writes, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds” (James 1:2) because trials produce faith and develop perseverance. When we persevere through trials, proving to ourselves and to others that our faith is real, our sense of God’s presence increases, as does our joy.

David speaks of a joy that only the righteous can know (Psalm 16:11)—a joy that is but a foretaste of a far greater and everlasting joy when we see the Lord’s face in the glory to come.

It doesn’t happen often, that a person’s birthday is celebrated all year round. But Teresa of Avila was not an ordinary person! She was one of the giants of Spanish literature, a religious reformer, a mystic, and a pioneer in spiritual life. As a small but strong woman, Teresa significantly influenced the Church of her time, and it only grew over time. Together with Katarína Sienska, she was declared a teacher of the Church in 1970 – they were the first two women to receive this honor. Her writings are still in demand and have been translated into dozens of languages. Her spiritual advice has helped countless people to experience Christ’s love and presence more deeply.

For these and many other reasons, on October 15, 2014, the Church began the year-long celebration of Teresa of Avila’s 500th birthday. So, let’s look at this great woman’s life, times, and teachings.

 Period background.

When Teresa was born in March 1515, Spain was just entering its golden age. The royal wedding between Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon occurred in 1469, uniting the Spanish kingdoms under one rule. Together, these monarchs drove out the last Moorish rulers in 1492. From that moment on, they worked to realize a vision of an entirely Christian, intensely religious kingdom based on evangelical principles. Still, they intensely focused on “cleansing” the country of all Muslim and Jewish spiritual practices.

The same year, Columbus proved it possible to sail to America and return safely with enormously rich treasures. Within a few years, Spain had become rich and powerful, and the rest of Europe envied him.

Bloody struggles for status and influence between noble families characterized Spanish society. For example, Teresa’s grandfather moved from Toledo to Ávila to hide the stigma of Jewish ancestry and that he had only recently become a noble. Thus, Teresa’s family had to live with a dark secret that did not allow them to live in their new social position. As a young girl, she had to deal with feelings of inferiority and the need to prove her worth. Later, this determined, combative personality served her well as she pursued religious reforms and seemingly unorthodox methods of prayer.

 From a martyr to a nun.

Considering the intense religiosity in Spain and her family’s desire to appear “Catholic,” it is unsurprising that Teresa grew up with a very active conscience and a strong sense of belonging to the Church. When she was only seven years old, she and her brother decided that they wanted to be martyrs. They went to the land of the Moors to shed their blood. Fortunately, they did not get too far because the uncle stopped the young zealots and brought them home. Then came the period when they played as hermits, separated from the imperfect world, and engaged in constant prayer and solitude.

When Terézia was about 14 years old, her mother died, ending her carefree childhood. A short period at the school of the Augustinian nuns sparked her interest in religious life, but her fragile health limited her further plans. It wasn’t until she was 20 that she decided to join the Carmelite convent of the Incarnation in her birthplace.

The Convention of the Incarnation was huge. There were too many nuns for the funds available. Although it was not immoral, the quality of prayer and observance varied, and many women had no trace of a religious vocation. In a few cases, unmarried women from noble families were “deposed” to the spiritual community, along with a large donation to the convent. These women continued to enjoy a comfortable life. They had their maids, cooks, and social circle of friends. It was hardly a good environment for sincere prayer and contemplation.

Despite these shortcomings, Teresa survived the next 20 years as an obedient religious. She studied and accepted the Carmelite ideals of silence and solitude, as well as the aim of the first hermits: “meditate day and night on the Lord’s law.” Although her health continued to complicate her inner peace, other community members found her level-headed and reliable.

 A spiritual earthquake.

Everything changed for Teresa in 1557 when she had an overwhelming experience with Jesus’ suffering, which he underwent for her. The unusually vivid statue of the wounded Christ urged her to repent for her previous half-hearted life. In addition to the flood of tears, she was also overwhelmed by the loneliness and abandonment that Jesus had to endure during his suffering. Seeing Jesus like this moved her to offer him personal friendship. From that moment on, Teresa experienced a deep communion with God, manifested in the form of constant, conversational prayer, which was interrupted by experiences of deep, mystical ecstasy.

This new relationship with Jesus was the impetus for Thérèse to work on reforming the Carmelite order. This relationship was her comfort when she felt abandoned, misunderstood, or rejected. It became the core of all her writings and spiritual guidance. What she experienced was so remarkable that she could not keep it to herself. She knew it wasn’t just for her. Theresa was convinced that everyone could know Jesus as she did. Anyone could have the same conversational prayer she learned.

After this spiritual earthquake, Teresa began thinking creatively about improving life in her convent. She concentrated on the Carmelite rule’s essential elements and started thinking about new and more fruitful ways to live it. She devised ​​an experimental community that would be small enough to foster loving relationships between sisters. Aware of the poisonous effects of titles and status, she proposed that surnames replace religious names and that each sister should adopt simplicity in dress and shoes. Daily activities were to be disciplined and straightforward, focusing primarily on prayer. And above all, the community was supposed to be a happy place if the sisters did everything as they should.

With the permission of the Carmelite provincial, Teresa opened a small convent of St. Joseph in 1562. She still had a little work to do in her new home, but in general; she was glad to have an environment where she could cultivate the same kind of prayer she had experienced. Many previous reforms failed because they focused more on compliance than essential spirituality. Teresa was successful because she insisted that worship must take precedence over all other activities. And it worked! Other nuns asked her to join the happy community, and enthusiastic new vocations came. There were so many of them that Teresa always had candidates for the new communities she wanted to find.

In 1567, the Carmelite Superior Giovanni Battista Rossi visited Avila and was very pleased with what he saw. He told Teresa that she could start convents if she found sisters to live in them. As chaplains and spiritual advisors were needed, he commissioned her to establish religious communities that would follow her reformed directives. Over the next 15 years, Teresa founded 16 reformed convents for women and several others for men.

 Fruitful tension.

It is said that the most dangerous time for any human institution is when it wants to reform itself. In the case of the Spanish Carmelites, some had a natural reluctance to devote themselves to a more austere way of life. This dynamic was complicated by outsiders who had good intentions and ideas on restructuring existing communities, although they needed to understand the Carmelite way of life fully. These people included King Philip II, bishops, papal envoys, and three popes. As a result, human pettiness, pride, and political infighting marred much of Teresa’s excellent restoration.

Teresa finally understood that the two approaches to the Carmelite rule couldn’t live together. Bickering and the hardness of opinions did not allow for real harmony. She had to unite her communities into a separate province called the Discalced Carmelites.

After a particularly bitter dispute in 1575, the Rossies and the General Council advised Theresa to suspend her reformation ways and be in one convent for a time. It was not an easy decision for a very active person, but Terésia used this time to write her best books in the heat of creativity. She has already completed the Autobiography and the Path of Perfection. It was a textbook on prayer. She was now writing her masterpiece, The Inner Castle and the Book of Foundations, in which she described the details of her reformation work.

 A good woman.

After about four peaceful years, Terezia traveled again. She felt she was no longer in control but did not want to stop. Finally, exhaustion and illness caught up with her. She died on the night of October 4, 1582. Ironically, Pope Gregory XIII announced a reform of the calendar on the same day, so the next day was October 15, which we now celebrate as Teresa’s holiday. Even in death, this respectable woman was ahead of her time!

So far, we have talked about faith and hope in the New Testament and the beginnings of Christianity. However, it was still clear that we were not just talking about the past. The whole consideration concerns the life and death of a person in general and thus interests us here and now. Therefore, we must now explicitly ask: Is the Christian faith still hope for us today that transforms and sustains our lives? Is it “performative” for us – is it a message that reshapes life in a new way? Or is it just “information” that we have put aside in the meantime and seems to us to be surpassed by more current information? In searching for an answer, I would like to start with the classical form of dialogue, which was used in the baptism ceremony to express the acceptance of the newborn into the community of believers and his rebirth in Christ. First, the priest asked what name the parents had chosen for the child, and then he continued with the question: “What do you ask from the Church?” Answer: “Faith.” “What does faith give you?” – “Eternal life.” In this dialogue, the parents sought for the child access to faith and fellowship with believers because they saw in faith the key to “eternal life.” Today, as yesterday, this is precisely what baptism is about, by which we become Christians: it is not only an act of socialization within the community, not only by being accepted into the Church. Parents expect something more from a child receiving baptism: they expect that faith, which also includes the materiality of the Church and its sacraments, will give him life, eternal life. Faith is the essence of hope. But here the question arises: Do we want it – to live forever? Today, perhaps many reject faith simply because they do not desire eternal life. They do not wish for eternal life but present life, and the belief in eternal life appears to them rather as an obstacle to this goal. To go on living forever—without end—seems more like a condemnation than a gift. Of course, death should be delayed as much as possible. But to live all the time, without end, can only be boring, even unbearable. This is exactly what Ambrose, one of the church fathers, says in his funeral speech for his late brother Satyr: “Indeed, death was not a part of nature, but it became a natural reality. For God did not establish death from the beginning, but gave a remedy for it (…) As a result of guilt, people’s lives began to be miserable amid daily toils and unbearable crying. Evil had to be put to an end, so death had to make up for what life had lost. Immortality is a burden rather than an advantage unless it is enlightened by grace.” 6 Even earlier, Ambrose said: “We should not weep over death, because it is the cause of salvation…

 Whatever exactly St. Ambrose meant by these words, the truth is that death’s elimination, or almost indefinite delay, would throw the earth and humanity into an intolerable situation and would bring no benefit to the individual himself. Of course, there is a contradiction in our attitude, which points to the inner contradiction of our very existence. On the one hand, we don’t want to die, especially the one who loves us doesn’t want us to die. On the other hand, however, we do not desire to continue life indefinitely, even if the earth was not created with this perspective in mind. So what do we want? This paradox of our attitude raises a deeper question: What, in essence, is “life”? And what does “eternity” actually mean? There are moments when we suddenly realize: Yes, it should be exactly like this, real life should be exactly like this.

On the contrary, what we call “life” in everyday life is not life. In his long letter on prayer, addressed to Probe, a well-to-do Roman widow and mother of three consuls, Augustine once wrote: We want only one thing – a “blessed life,” a life that is simply life, simply “happiness.” And after all, we do not ask for anything else, not even in prayer. We are not moving towards anything else and are only concerned with this. But then Augustín adds: When we look closer, we don’t know what we desire or want. We do not see this fact, and even when we think we are touching it, we are not reaching it. ” We don’t even know what to pray for, ” he confesses in the words of St. Paul (Rom, 8,26). All we know is that it’s not that. Yet, in our ignorance, we know that this fact must exist. “There is, so to speak, learned ignorance ( docta ignorantia ) in us,” he writes. We don’t know what we want. We do not know this “true life,” yet we know that there must be something we do not know, yet we are drawn to it.

I think that Augustine here very precisely and always validly describes the basic situation of man, the situation from which all his contradictions and hopes come. In some way, we long for life itself, for that right which even death cannot touch; at the same time, we do not know what we feel attracted to. We cannot stop moving towards it, yet we know that everything we can experience or realize is not what we desire. This unknown “thing” is the true “hope” that prompts us, and the very fact that it is unknown is simultaneously the cause of all disappointments and positive or destructive stimuli about the authentic world and authentic man. The expression “eternal life” tries to name this known-unknown fact. It is necessarily an inadequate term that causes confusion. “Eternal” evokes the idea of ​​”never-ending,” which makes us afraid. The word “life” leads us to think of the kind of life we ​​now know, love, and don’t want to lose, which is nevertheless often more of a struggle than satisfaction, and so while we long for it on the one hand, we don’t want it on the other. We can only try to get out of the temporality to which we are prisoners with our thinking and somehow experience a foretaste of the fact that eternity is not an endless succession of days on the calendar but something like a moment of satisfaction in which the totality of being embraces us and we embrace it. This means immersing yourself in an ocean of infinite love, in which time – understood as “before and after” – no longer exists. We can do our best to think that this moment is life to the fullest, an ever-new plunge into the breadth of being, while we are simply permeated with joy. This is how Jesus expresses it in the Gospel of John: ” But I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice.” And no one will take away your joy ” ( 16,22 ). We must think in this direction to understand where Christian hope is headed, what we expect from faith, and our being with Christ.

The Gospels record several instances of Jesus offering words of caution. One notable example is his response to a woman who exclaimed, “Blessed is the life that bore you and the breasts that you enjoyed” (Lk 11, 27-28), to which he countered, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.”

Saint Josemaría said, “Fraternal admonition is part of God’s vision, of his loving Providence”. Jesus admonishes the woman on this occasion because he wants to bring her to the fullness of the truth. “Brotherly admonition is born of love,” says Fernando Ocáriz, “it shows that we want others to be ever happier”. For this reason, our interest in others does not consist only in judging whether they follow a rule but in trying to look at them as Jesus looked at them: his look does not stop at trivial details but is full of hope, with great horizons. Christ’s warning is driven by personal love for the other, his desire to make us happy, and not to maintain some external order.

“There is always a need for a loving and admonishing, knowing and recognizing, discriminating and forgiving perspective (cf. Lk 22:61), as God did and did with each of us”. The brotherly admonition is not administered from above, as one who has something to teach the other; rather, it is about reaching out to the other to understand and accompany him in his desire for holiness. With brotherly admonition, people around us do not feel alone in their struggle but know they can count on our support.

“WHEN YOU GIVE fraternal admonition, you must love the faults of your brothers”, said Saint Josemaría. A heart that loves can overlook what we see as faults in others. Logically, as far as we can, we will try to help him overcome it; however, this will not always be possible, or it will not happen overnight. Therefore, learning to love even these shortcomings in a certain way introduces us to the logic of God’s love. Jesus accepts our qualities and weaknesses, he does not attach any conditions to his love.

The highest rule of fraternal admonition is love: to want the good of our brothers and sisters. And often it also bears the problems of others, the mistakes of others in silence, in prayer, and then finding the right way to correct them “. This means respecting each of them’s freedom because our love will be more like God’s love for us. Helping one of our brothers or sisters on the path of holiness is more like a patient and warm, sleepless night in which we wait for God’s action than cold supervision. The one who wants to help is not only interested in external phenomena but looks at events in the light of the other’s desire for holiness, and takes off his sandals because it is in the depth of his soul (cf. Ex 3, 5).

Before correcting the people around us, it might be good to remember Christ’s words: “First cast out the log from your eye!” Then you will see and be able to take the speck out of your brother’s eye” (Mt 7:5). While we always try to help others, perhaps the best way to encourage them to holiness is through our holiness. Perceiving in the second bonus the odor Christi, the fragrance of Christ, attracts us to live in friendship with God and provides an environment favorable for us to admonish or be admonished with the confidence of the children of the same Father.

The Fruit of Friendship …

FOR brotherly admonition to be authentic and fruitful, it is usually necessary first to establish a context of closeness and genuine interest in the other’s life. Reprimanding someone we don’t know is typically not the best course of action and can often be unfair. In other words, it is good to have a mutual and authentic friendship relationship where love is experienced and manifested in various ways: details of service, shared moments, and shared worries… And simply as another manifestation of this friendship, the desire to help the other in his path to holiness. In this way, we can gently enter their heart without interfering with their intimacy and always try to take responsibility for their situation. This context also leads us to understand the reactions of others when they are reprimanded. There are dispositions of temperament that make us very different from each other, which St. Josemaría considered the central part of that “most diverse counter” in people in Opus Dei and the Church. For some, even the gentlest words can easily sound reproachful. On the other hand, if the words are unclear, others may perceive a lack of interest. In any case, if there is a close and friendly relationship between us in advance, we all discover a gesture of loyalty in brotherly admonition.

The founder of Opus Dei said that “we will never tolerate criticism behind his back” regarding the brother. And we say unpleasant things kindly to correct them”. We can ask Mary to help us see our brothers and sisters with her motherly eyes so we can talk to each other with love, tenderness, and fidelity.

Have you ever known someone who truly trusted God? When I was an atheist, I had a friend for whom prayer was a regular thing. Every week she told me about some problem she had with faith that God would take care of that problem. And I saw every week how God extraordinarily answered her prayers. Can you imagine how hard it was for me – an atheist – to see this week after week? After a while, the “coincidence” argument seemed pretty weak.

Why did God answer the friend’s prayers? The biggest reason was that she had a relationship with him. She followed God and listened to him. She said God had the right to rule her life, and she even welcomed it! Her prayers were a natural part of her relationship with God. She had no problem going to God with her needs, worries, fears, and anything that came her way. She was convinced that God wanted her to rely on him completely in everything.

The verses guided it: “And we have firm confidence in him that he hears us whenever we ask for something according to his will”    and  “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, his ears are attentive to their supplications, but the face of the Lord is against what they do wrong.”

Why doesn’t God answer everyone’s prayers?

Maybe because they are not in a relationship with God. They know that God exists, and sometimes they ask him for something, but their prayers are not answered because they have no close relationship with him. Moreover, they may be living in their sins without experiencing God’s forgiveness.

You ask what sins have to do with prayer. Here is the explanation: “Behold, the hand of the Lord is not so short that it cannot save, and his ear is not so deaf that it cannot hear. It is your sins that have become an obstacle between you and your God, and your sins have covered his face from you so that he does not hear…

How prayer works

If you want God to hear you, you must first establish a personal relationship with him. Why? Imagine a situation where you ask the president to finance your university studies. If you don’t know the president personally, you probably won’t get any money for your studies. But if you are the president’s son – that is, you are asking your father – there would be no problem with your request! The relationship is important.

When a person is a child of God and belongs to God, God knows him and hears his prayers. Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd.” I know my sheep, and my sheep know me.” He goes on to say: “My sheep listen to my voice. I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will not perish forever, no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

So when it comes to God, do you know him and does he know you? Do you have a relationship with him that would answer your prayers? Or do you have some idea about him, but he is distant from you, and you live your life without him? If God is distant from you, or you are not sure if you are his child, here you will learn how you can establish a close relationship with him: Would you like to know God personally?

Surely God will answer your prayer?

For those who know him and rely on him in everything, Jesus’ generous and extravagant offer applies:  “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you.”   ” Abiding ” in him and allowing his words to abide in us means that we live our lives according to him, relying on him and obeying what he tells us. Only when we live in such a close union with him will we be able to ask for anything we want? For as it is written: “We have firm confidence in him that he hears us whenever we ask anything according to his will.” And if we know that he hears us whenever we ask for something, we also know that we already have what we asked him for.”   God answers our prayers according to his will (and also based on his wisdom, love for us, holiness, and many other factors).

We saw in the previous verse that God will always answer those prayers that are by his will. However, sometimes it may seem to us that we know God’s will, but it may not be so. We assume that there is only one correct “answer” to our prayer, and therefore we believe that THIS should be God’s will. This is exactly where it all gets messy. We live in limited time and with limited knowledge. We have only limited information about the given situation and its consequences and impacts in the future. However, God’s understanding is unlimited. After all, only he knows how some things will develop in life or history. God may have purposes that are far beyond our understanding and that we cannot even imagine. The fact that we have concluded that something must be his will does not mean that God will act that way.

What does it entail? What is God willing to do?

There is an awful lot that we could write about God’s intentions for us. The entire Bible describes what kind of relationship God intends to have with us, and what kind of life he wants to give us. Here are just a few examples:

“The Lord waits to have mercy on you, he rises to show you mercy; for the Lord is a God of justice; blessed is everyone who waits for him.”   Do you get it? As someone who is getting up from his chair to come to your aid, so the Lord is getting up to “show you mercy”!

“With you, I will surely break through the enemy’s ranks, with my God I will also jump over the wall.”

“The Lord delights in those who fear him, in those who rely on his mercy.” 

However, the greatest manifestation of his love and devotion is this:  “Greater love has no one than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”  This is exactly what Jesus did for us!

“What can I add to that? If God is for us, who is against us? How could he who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, not give us everything with him?” 

What about “unanswered” prayers?

It is obvious that people get sick and even die, have real financial difficulties, and experience very difficult situations. What about that?

God tells us to cast all our cares on Him. Even if the situation seems hopeless,  “Throw all your worries on Him, for He will take care of you.” [13]  Sometimes it may seem to us that the circumstances are out of control and there is no way out – but this is not true. When it seems like the whole world is falling apart, God holds us in his arms. It is then that we should be most grateful for knowing God. “The Lord is near! Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything with Thanksgiving present your requests to God in your prayers. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” 

God often provides unexpected solutions to our problems. Many Christians can attest to this from personal experience. Even when circumstances don’t change, God can give us supernatural peace amidst the challenges. As Jesus promised, “I give you my peace, not as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or afraid.”

In difficult moments, God asks us to trust him, living by faith rather than our circumstances. This trust is like a car passing over a bridge – despite the driver’s feelings or thoughts, the vehicle’s safe passage ultimately relies on the strength and structure of the bridge, which the driver trusts to hold it.

Likewise, God wants us to trust in his strength, his character…his compassion, his love, his wisdom, his justice. God is on our side! He says: “… I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore I have kept you in favor.” and “People, hope in him at all times, pour out your hearts before him! God is our refuge.”

As God’s children, we have the privilege of bringing our prayers to Him, believing that He will care for our needs according to His will. When facing struggles, we are invited to cast our worries on Him and receive His supernatural peace. Our hope and faith are rooted in God’s nature, and as we deepen our understanding of who He is, our trust in Him will grow.

A young Indian hunter trekked to the river, armed with a slingshot, to hunt wild ducks. Collecting frogs along the shore, he started launching them at the ducks waddling nearby. With just two frog-propelled shots, he hit and killed two ducks, although the projectiles splashed into deep water. Satisfied, the young man headed back to the city with two ducks in his backpack and a single frog in hand.

A jeweler stopped him near the bazaar and exclaimed in surprise: “Boy, you have a diamond in your hand that is worth at least a thousand rupees!” The young hunter turned pale and cried in despair: “But I am a fool! I used the diamonds to kill two ducks… If I had looked at them carefully, I would have been rich now, and this is how the water took them all away!”

Each day is like a precious diamond. It is important to realize this and not waste the hunt.

The same can happen with our prayer. I must know how to use the correct method, and if I find it, I must know how to use it correctly.

The method enables us to pray. It is an excellent and valuable prayer aid because we must do it with a technique. As the masters of the spiritual life teach, the process is a great help to those who begin their relationship with God; a method is needed for them. However, for those already “advanced,” the process may not always be useful. Opinions differ on this. Some say the technique is necessary for everyone, while others do not. It can be more of a danger for the more advanced. “There is only one norm for them: to be guided by the Spirit of God, which comes, and you do not know where it comes from and where it is going.”

Be that as it may, the method is necessary, despite the speculation about it. Every person is an original. And every method is and will be original. However, unless a praying person develops his own method of meditation, he has no choice but to use those already tried and tested. The methods are different, different from each other, and have their characteristics. We know the Ignatian method (according to St. Ignatius of Loyola), the Sulpician method (this is a French school of spirituality from the 17th century, named after the parish of St. Sulpice in Paris; its representative was Cardinal Peter de Berulle), the Carmelite method, and others. The Carmelite Method is not even a method. Instead, it is prayer itself.

What is a method?

The method is not the goal of prayer. It is only a means to an end. The characteristic of each method is to help the praying person to get close to God, that is, to be with him (cf. Mk 4, 13). Each of us has our way of praying, so we cannot convulsively stick to a fixed method. If I get in touch with God at the first point of the process (they will be discussed later), that is thorough enough for my prayer. The goal of worship is not me but God, my conversation with HIM.

Let’s try to think about the individual points of the contemplative method:

1. Preparation

How I prepare for prayer depends on its entire later course. We discussed preparation in one of the previous catechesis: External conditions of worship. Let’s think about the preparation in a little more detail.

We distinguish distant, closer, close, and immediate preparation. Remote preparation takes up our whole life, our work, and everything related to the life of prayer. Sv. In her work The Way to Perfection, Teresa of Jesus mentions three virtues that are necessary for our life of prayer: mortification, humility, and mutual love. We will try to acquire these three virtues throughout our lives. In the spiritual life, this is called asceticism.

The second essential preparation is the closer one. It consists in preparing a thought for contemplation. It can be some truth of faith, experience, or moral conflict. If I want to experience the prayer well, I must prepare well. That is why it is important to prepare for worship in the evening. It consists of choosing some passage thoughts that will help me later in prayer. Various books can help us – and do help us – in meditation; however, they can often cause us that these “artificial meditations” may not appeal to us and do not lead us to the essence. The best aid for meditation will be the Gospel – living water. Sv. Thérèse of Lisieux commented on this extraordinary aid – the Gospel – as follows: “Even if I open a book by a spiritual writer (how beautiful and touching), I immediately feel that my heart is constricted, and I read in such a way that I hardly understand it, or if I also understand, my mind stops and I cannot meditate… In this helplessness, the Holy Scriptures and Following Christ come to my aid. I find in them a strong and quite pure dish. But in contemplation, I run above all to the Gospel, where I find everything necessary for my poor soul. I keep discovering new lights in it, a hidden and mysterious meaning.” (Vol. 1: Story of my soul, 83vo, p. 214.)

How should we proceed when choosing a text? Fundamentally, we choose a text that is for us. Nothing difficult. A state that is short and short. The optimal length of a state for meditation is eight verses. It can be a story from Jesus’ life (calling disciples, healing the sick, resurrection, conversation, for example, with a Samaritan woman…) We should prepare this text in the evening to use it in meditation in the morning. When we do not understand the text, we can also look for commentary to clarify some things. It should be an appropriate comment, preferably a Catholic one. Sv. Ignatius of Loyola said we should fall asleep with the text and return to it while sleeping or waking up. You may be wondering if this is possible. It is likely because even if we watch a movie in the evening, we often dream about different scenes from this movie, think about them, and even return to them the next day. So why shouldn’t we do the same with text? What is important is that during the “near” preparation, we look for “material” to meditate on and that this “material” helps us find the answer to our question.

Immediate preparation begins before the prayer itself. One must realize the moment of silence, which is very important. If I want to know how to pray, I must also know how to be silent. Sv. Teresa of Jesus (of Avila) recommends that the person praying should pray before the prayer itself. This is how he invites God into a mutual conversation. I concentrate on the closeness of God; I realize who I am standing in front of or what prayer position I am in right now. He is here, and I am standing in front of him. Many complain that they are not good at prayer, find it difficult to pray, and cannot even concentrate. Even if I were to focus all the time dedicated to worship and still struggle with being constantly aware of God’s nearness, it is not wasted time. The very desire to pray is prayer. Even if my prayer is focused on immediate preparation all the time, this time will be well spent.

2. Reading

Reading as a separate part of contemplative prayer should be discussed separately because it is already partially included in the preparation for prayer. However, it belongs to contemplative prayer, it is part of it. In what sense? We said that we would choose a suitable text in the evening. We did it. During the day, but also during the prayer itself, it would be advisable to return to this text more often. We have already talked about suitable reading. “The reading at the beginning of the prayer is not an ordinary spiritual reading. Prayer does not consist of reading. It’s just preparation. It is recommended to read for about 5 minutes. Even prepared meditations should fit into the mentioned time. I should read to help myself, not to read out of curiosity. If the reading is extended, it causes distraction in us, and constant reading can also be an escape from prayer, which is not what God wants from us. Saint Teresa of Jesus mentions the book during meditation. But it’s just a tool to help me arouse my desire for God with some suitable text – if I can’t concentrate. However, if I don’t read a book at all during prayer, it can border on pride, and in the practical life of prayer, a void can emerge. Contemplation fills this void. Through our senses and feelings, we navigate and meditate. When we find a passage or event from Jesus’ life that resonates with us, we enter a conversation with Him or other characters from the story. This is not a study session, but an encounter with Jesus. We can aid our imagination with a suitable picture of Jesus. As St. Theresa of Jesus recommends, a friendly conversation with Jesus is the goal of contemplation, fostering a spiritual friendship that extends beyond prayer to a deeper way of life, characteristic of Carmelite spirituality.

St. Theresia is conscientious that we perceive Jesus – his humanity – realistically. She writes: “Since I did not know how to think with my mind, I adhered to this way of praying. I tried to imagine Christ in my sou and succeeded best in meditating on those mysteries in which I observed him alone… That was my way of prayer.” Imagination plays a big role in prayer. Contemplation by reason is not the essence of worship. Prayer cannot be thinking but loving, as Teresa said from Jesus. And what about those who can’t imagine anything? When does the image fade or dissolve quickly? Such people should not strain themselves with imagination but should emphasize emotional movements.

3. The prayer itself

If we set out to pray 30 minutes a day, everything we have said so far should fit into 10 minutes. What about those remaining minutes? Prayer itself means looking to Him. To be with him and in front of him as I am. “Contemplation must bring the person praying before the living God. He must realize his holy reality, he must seek his holy face. A dialogue arises where the human “I” stands against the divine “you“ – against God.“ St. John of the Cross calls it: being in front of and with him, looking at him, finding love in him. Teresa of Jesus calls it a loving relationship with God. Prayer grows and, over time, only requires a few words. It becomes more and more simple. It becomes contemplation.

4. Resolution

The fruit of prayer is determination, which consists of a determined desire to serve God and neighbors more perfectly and with greater zeal. If this does not happen, something is wrong in our prayer, something is missing. Therefore, prayer should invite us to constantly work on ourselves, not waste God’s opportunities, and discover him as a precious diamond.