Begin with prayer…
Do nothing at all unless you begin with prayer.
–Saint Ephrem of Syria (c. 306-373)
Contemplative prayer is…
Contemplative prayer in my opinion is nothing else than a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us.
–Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)
Prayer is the means…
Prayer should be the means by which I, at all times, receive all that I need, and, for this reason, be my daily refuge, my daily consolation, my daily joy, my source of rich and inexhaustible joy in life.
–Saint John Chrysostom (347-407)
Find some suitable time…
Every one should find some suitable time, day or night, to sink into his depths, each according to his own fashion. Not every one is able to engage in contemplative prayer.
–Johannes Tauler (c. 1300-1361)
Beginning each day…
Never forget that it is at the beginning of each day that God has the necessary grace for the day ready for us. He knows exactly what opportunities we shall have to sin, and will give us everything we need if we ask him then. That is why the devil does all he can to prevent us from saying our morning prayers or to make us say them badly.
–Saint John Vianney (1786-1859)
When you arise…
When you arise at dawn each day, make a fresh start in every virtue and commandment of God with greatest patience, with fear and long-suffering, in the love of God, with all spiritual and physical fervor, and with much humiliation; enduring affliction of the heart and prevention, with much prayer and intercession, with groans, in purity of the tongue and custody of the eyes.
–Saint John the Dwarf (Fourth Century)
About
