PRAYER OF THE HEART

What is difficult is that there tends to be a small fragment of ourselves that we hold back in our giving over of ourselves to Jesus. There is an inevitable remnant of self-love that poisons the purity of the offering. And so the struggle is on to eradicate that little bit of ourselves that we refuse to surrender to God. Grou (1905) counsels that when that surrender is complete, “God rewards it [the soul] at once by the gift of Himself; He establishes Himself in the heart, and forms there that continual prayer which consists in peace, in recollection, in a constant attention to God in the interior of the soul.” Old Testament writings confirm this belief to be part of old Judaic traditions. This belief is grounded in the faith, is founded on the principle that God will provide for his people if they remain faithful to the laws. Can we make that surrender through our own strength, through our own will? We can desire it through our will; we can aspire to it by our intellect; you can yearn to do it in your heart, but unless God’s love is in you, the grace may not be given. But then, who is loved by God? The true lover of God; the one who follows God’s commandments. Saint John gives a clear indication: “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my father’s commandments and remain in his love [John 15:10] Douay-Rheims. Old Testament writings confirm this belief to be part of old Judaic traditions. This belief, grounded in the faith, is founded on the principle that God will provide for his people if they remain faithful to the laws. “If you live in accordance with my precepts and are careful to observe my commandments, I will give you rain in due season, so that the land will bear its crops, and the trees their fruits…” [Leviticus, 26:3-5] Douay-Rheims.