ORATION (ASCETICAL). —
I. DEFINITION
Communion of the soul with God and the saints, or pious elevation of the mind to God (St. John Damascene, De Fide, III, 24: PG 94, 1090). It may be mental or vocal. Although in Latin « oratio » indicates both, among the French and Italians the distinction between « oration » and « prayer » (v.) has now become customary. The former is commonly reserved to signify the various forms of mental elevation, the latter for vocal prayer (especially prayers of petition), although there are authors who still follow the classical usage, according to which o. embraces all forms of intimate communi-cation of the soul with God. Since the natural means of communication proper to man is speech, o. is sometimes also called « a conversation » with God (« oratio est conversatio sermocinatioque cum Deo »: St. Gregory of Nyssa, De orat. dom., Orat. I: PG 44, 1125). St. Paul enumerates various forms of o.: petitions δεύσεις; praises προσθυμεί; supplications ἐντεύξεις; thanksgivings εὐχαρισνίαι (I Tim. 2, 1). Sacred Scripture ordinarily speaks of impetratory or petitionary o. (Ps. 4, 2; 16, 1; 38, 13), which God grants (Mt. 7, 7; Lc. 11, 5-13; Io. 16, 24). St. John Damascene defines o. as petitio decentium a Deo (De Fide, loc. cit.): cf. St. Thomas (Sum. Theol., 2a-2ac, q. 83, a. 1).
O. is an act belonging to the virtue of religion, because it is an implicit acknowledgment of all the attributes of God, particularly of his goodness and power and of the creature’s dependence upon him. O., especially petitionary prayer, is the common and ordinary means for attaining the justification of adults (S. Schiffini, De Gratia, n. 315); no other means is more readily available to all, whether just or sinners, faithful or unbelievers, for obtaining the graces necessary for salvation. For this reason Leo XIII exhorted not only Catholics but also Protestants to pray for the attainment of the unity of the Faith (Acta Leonis XIII, VI, p. 36 ff.). The supernatural dignity of one member of the Church redounds in a certain way to the benefit of the others, so that the holiest souls have greater efficacy in their o. for the benefit of their neighbor (Prümmer, Theol. mor., I, n. 340). For their prayers to be salutary, they require the assistance of Grace and must proceed from Faith and theological Hope (Rom. 10, 14; Iac. 1, 6). The Holy Spirit helps souls to pray, especially in cases involving graces particularly necessary for the fulfillment of God’s hidden designs concerning the governance of souls and of the world (R. Cornely, In Rom. 8, 26).
II. MEDITATIVE AND CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER
Mental prayer, which may be methodical-discursive (v. MEDITAZIONE) or contemplative (v. CONTEMPLAZIONE), has a broader scope than purely vocal prayer. To it belong the affective prayer of simplicity, of recollection, of the simple gaze, of quiet, and of union,Affective is, by its nature, every prayer. Before prayer, in fact, the soul should prepare itself by thinking of God with whom it is about to speak; hence a feeling of recollection in the presence of the Lord and of fervor is necessary—that is, of humility and dedication, whereby the heart and all the faculties are united in seeking God who is present and doing what he inspires. Since it is essential to prayer to remain with God, prayer should begin with a divestment of every other thought, in order to seek him alone. Moreover, in prayer the soul must seek above all the will of God, so as to adhere to it with all its affection; indeed, it should come to feel within itself the will of God and to savor II. God, in fact, is accustomed to draw the created will in such a way that the soul adheres to him. In its total desire to unite itself with God, to abandon itself in him, and to savor the divine will, the soul easily passes to elevation in God (B. de Canfield, La Règle de perfection, II, 1, pp. 199-200). Therefore, spiritual masters advise that prayer should pass to the affections. When the soul already has a constant practice of prayer, it should dwell predominantly in such acts toward God, that is, in expressions of faith, praise, adoration, admiration, gratitude, hope, contrition, and above all love. s. Ignazio too recommends that one should not be eager to proceed in prayer, but remain where one finds devotion, «poiché non è l'abbondanza della scienza che sazia l'anima, ma il gustare le cose internamente» (Exerc. spir. adnot., 2).
Such prayer, in which the affections predominate, has been called affective prayer. In it the work of the mind diminishes, though it is not suppressed. It does not yet exclude discursive activity, but intuition of the truth largely takes its place. Affective prayer has particular advantages. The difficulty of practicing the virtues, in fact, usually arises less from a lack of knowledge than from a lack of faith, hope, and love, and from the fact that the will is languid. Now the repetition of affections—that is, acts of the will and of desire—activates and invigorates the spiritual life; this is especially so when frequent imitative affections are expressed, namely, desires to practice the virtues admired in God, in Gesù, and in the saints. Moreover, union with God, which makes man holy, is above all union of wills; and therefore a method of prayer in which acts of the will are more numerous leads more rapidly to perfection.
Affective prayer, however, should not be recommended immediately to beginners, since, in order to produce good fruits, it is fitting that the person who practices it should already be well instructed in the faith and in the duties of the spiritual life, and should possess strong convictions and an entirely supernatural mentality; only then is it possible for the person, without many reasonings, to have present in the spirit those principles that must regulate the affections. For beginners it is better to begin with meditation; when, however, their minds have been sufficiently nourished with good thoughts, it is fitting that they rest in the truths they already possess, giving free rein to their affections. Sacred Scripture contains many examples of affective vocal prayer: both of souls tried by spiritual desolation, as in the prayer of Tobia (Tob. 3, 1-6), of Sara (ibid. 3, 13-23), and of Cristo in Gethsemani (Mt. 26, 39-42; Lc. 22, 42 etc.); and of others at moments of joy and exultation, as in the canticle of Mosè (Es. 15, 1-8), in the prayer of Salomone (I Reg. 8, 23-26), of Azaria (Dan. 3, 26-45), and of the three young men in the furnace (ibid. 3, 52-90). Many Psalms contain affections for other states of the spirit (Ps. 50, 102, 118, 127, 135, 148 etc.).
III. PRAYER OF SIMPLICITY
Just as affective prayer is ordinary prayer simplified in the operations of the intellect, so prayer of simplicity is prayer simplified also in its affections. While these abound greatly in affective prayer and are ordinarily very varied, in prayer of simplicity the affections are reduced to a few. One finds enjoyment and devotion by remaining with the same affection and repeating it for a long time, so that there are many distinct acts, but the affections do not vary: thus s. Francesco d'Assisi spent an entire night repeating « Deus meus et omnia ». The prolonged repetition of the same affection conforms to psychological laws, and occurs easily when one is seized by a strong passion. Finally, even expressions cease and give way to simple aspirations of the heart. Thus mothers who desire their children sometimes renew the same acts of maternal delight for hours. In a further process of simplification, the soul, besides simplifying its concepts and affections, goes on to simplify the object as well, that is, it tends to fix itself upon a single point or spiritual subject. After some years of prayer, certain saints dwelt almost exclusively upon the Passion of Christ, others upon the Eucharist, or upon the indwelling of the Most Holy Trinity, etc. Such concentration has the advantage of bringing greater actuality to all the intellectual and affective energies. Souls very advanced in the interior life and nourished by good thoughts love to rest in the truths they already possess. P. Lancizio, in his booklet De causis et remediis ariditatis in oratione (chaps. 2 and 14), suggests repeating the same ejaculation many times, or different ejaculations in a certain order. Such simplicity of affections is found in the majority of the saints. S. Filippo Neri was very familiar with the ejaculation: Virgin Mother of God, pray to Jesus for me, which he used to repeat while continually carrying the rosary in his hand. Similarly, s. Giuseppe B. Cottolengo prayed: Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus, make us saints! S. Francesco Saverio, dying, said incessantly: Jesu, fili David, miserere mei. S. Giovanni Battista de la Salle observes that this progressive simplification of the soul is a normal occurrence, that «discursive and multiply reasoned interior conversations suit beginners; rarer reflections, continued for a long time, suit those making progress; and simple attention, the advanced» (Explicitation de la méthode d'oraison, p. 11, chap. 1, § 1). S. Giovanni della Croce observes, with regard to the passage from meditation to contemplation, that the Lord leads souls not only to be unable to meditate any longer, but almost to keep silent, secretly and tranquilly pouring wisdom and light into the soul, without its making many further distinct, formulated, or repeated acts (Fiamma viva, st. 3, verse 3, §§ 5, 6). S. Pietro d'Alcantara likewise recommends not only speaking, but listening to God (Trattato, d'o. e meditazione, avviso 11). In this way one arrives at the prayer of recollection, of simple sight and of union.IV. PRAYER OF RECOLLECTION
Although terminology and classification are not always uniform, prayer of recollection is commonly understood as that form of prayer in which the soul concentrates and is penetrated by the intimate awareness of God’s presence, which it savors through acts of love; theologians debate whether it is acquired or infused in nature. When this knowledge is experiential and perceived in the ineffable manner described by the mystics, one is certainly in the first stages of the mystical life. Indeed, according to the expression of the ven. Giovanni di Santo Sansone, taken in its essence, the mystical life is none other than God ineffably perceived (Maximes, I, Paris 1658, chap. 21). From prayer of recollection one easily passes to the prayer of quiet, which, as its name indicates, is a kind of repose of the soul in God. All discourse or reasoning ceases; the soul remains before him and gently savors being in him, loved by him. This is certainly of a mystical order (G. B. Scaramelli, Direttorio mistico, treatise 3, nos. 26–32). The soul experiences this repose and this interior sweetness not simply because it believes in God’s presence, but because it savors and intimately senses it through the very love of God present within it (J. Nouet, La conduite de l'homme d'oraison, I, IV, chap. 6).V. O. DI SEMPLICE SGUARDO. - It too may be acquired or infused. In the former case, it is the fruit of a long life of prayer, through which the soul, by now experienced and filled with supernatural wisdom, no longer dwells on reasoning, but simply rests with its mind in the truth. At times its attention is directed toward God, present and loving, and it remains thus, adhering to him in a prolonged act of silent love. Much more often, however, such prayer is passive and mystical. The metaphor of the “gaze” is drawn from the analogy with what occurs in sensory sight, when a person rests in the simple contemplation of some beauty present before him and perceived.
VI. O. DI UNIONE. - L'o. di unione nel senso ascetico è quella forma di o. semplice e profonda in cui l'anima senza moltiplicare gli affetti aderisce a Dio con un amplesso intimo d'amore prolungato; nel senso mistico, oltre ad essere un effetto di Dio speciale, ricevuto passivamente e sentito sperimentalmente con la cosiddetta esperienza mistica, è una sospensione dell'esercizio delle potenze dell'anima le quali sono tutte simultaneamente occupate in Dio, incapaci d'altro. Lo spirito in quel momento è totalmente ed assolutamente estraneo a tutte le cose del mondo, ed è interamente immerso in Dio. ESTASI (v.) non è che questione di maggior intensità (s. Teresa, Castello, 5, capp. 1 e 2), l'unione piena è inferiore negli effetti all'estasi, nella quale l'anima viene arricchita ordinariamente di straordinarie visioni, sia di Dio, S.ma Trinità, suoi attributi (s. Giovanni della Croce, Salita, I, II, cap. 26), sia di segreti divini (s. Teresa, Castello, 6, capp. 4-5-10); e di particolare illuminazione ed illustrazioni dell'intelligenza (s. Ignazio di Loyola, Vita scritta dal Ribadeneira, I, I, cap. 6). Per l'unione trasformante e gli altri gradi d'o. infusa: V. MISTICA.
J. M. Perrin, L'oraison apostolique, in Vie spirituelle, 79 (1948), pp. 110-123; L. M. G., Valeur apostolique de la vie contemplative, ibid., pp. 271-84; A. Simonet, Qu'est-ce-que l'oraison, in Rev. dioc. de Namur, 1949, pp. 242-50. Arnaldo M. Lanz
VII. CONSOLATIONS AND ARIDITY
The crowning manifestation of the salutary influence of Grace during our earthly existence is the operation by which God nourishes the supernatural love that sanctifying Grace causes to spring spontaneously from the faithful heart: the divine goldsmith blows on the furnace after having kindled it (Sap. 3, 6). This direct cooperation, or inspiration of Grace, corresponds to the promised mission of the Spirit of Consolation (Io. 14, 26). Authentic spiritual consolation is, in various ways and degrees, a notable intensification of this action, in a normally transitory passive accentuation of the soul’s fervor (Lc. 24, 32): a favor ordinarily experienced at intervals by devout souls, whether already advanced or still at the beginning, each according to its dispositions. Consolation is among the first effects of the Eucharist worthily received. At times it presents itself as the sweetness of God (I Pt. 2, 2-3), an experience of his Goodness that eases moral weariness (Mt. 11, 28), pacifies the heart, and renews the inner man (II Cor. 4, 16); at other times it arises as a sudden flame of divine love, which for the moment no longer permits one to love anything apart from God (Ps. 72, 23-28), or as a living light of faith (Eph. 1, 17-19), a rejoicing of the heart that hastens holy action (Ps. 118, 32), or a kind of spiritual intoxication that pours itself out in divine praises (Eph. 5, 18-19), such as the Magnificat.This converting influence is substantially produced by a form of God’s presence superimposed upon that by which God gives us existence and elevates us to sanctifying Grace (s. Giovanni della Croce, Cantico B, strofa 11ª): it is a polarizing action, analogous to that of the sun upon the flower, which awakens, attracts, and suspends the heart in God. The deepest consolation is manifested not only in a sweet emotion of the will, but also allows this loving presence of God to shine through to a greater or lesser degree; so that the faithful person then becomes aware of not being alone.
This divine action is also called “consolation” because it constitutes a first compensation for the abandonment of earthly joys, for anxiety about salvation, and for the struggle sustained against concupiscence, the world, and the devil. It is also called a “visitation” because by its nature it is not permanent, unlike “indwelling.”
Consolation adapts itself to the state of the soul that enjoys II. When the soul still deals with God on the sensible plane of the spiritual life, consolation manifests itself in the sensible part, and is therefore doubly subject to change: because on the sensible plane euphoria is necessarily fleeting, and is ordinarily followed by a phase of collapse in the nervous “tone” to which Grace adapts its action. In perfect contemplative union, consolation is represented by periods of total or “qualified” union, during which the enjoyment of God, which ordinarily continues almost inaudibly in the depths of the soul, rises into the internal faculties in the manner of a heavenly festivity (s. Agostino, Enarratio in Ps., 41, n. 9).
The creature can often be the secondary or occasional cause of divine consolation. Angelic consolations are distinguished from others that are entirely natural; even the devil can produce analogous states, in order better to deceive the soul.
The spiritual masters recommend keeping the soul in such a state that it can receive consolation without fixing its attention or affection upon it, but taking advantage of it to increase substantial devotion, which the fervent soul always seeks, whether the visitations of Grace become more frequent or more rare (De Imitat. Christi, IV, cap. 15).
Desolation is opposed to consolation as a contrary state of mind, marking a phase of painful affective isolation, inner turmoil, and temptations. Aridity is simply the exhaustion of the consoling action: the fructifying clouds of sensible devotion have evaporated, and the inner impression responds to the words of the Psalmist: “In a desert land, parched and without water, so I appeared before You in the sanctuary” (Ps. 62, 2).
In this affective torpor, the functioning of the inner sensible powers (indispensable, in discursive prayer, to the mental elaboration of salutary considerations and to the blossoming of the spiritual feelings that at that time nourish devotion) becomes heavy, difficult, even impossible; the soul suffers from this sterility, like the roots of a plant during drought. Aridity, compared to the absence of rain, is therefore a superficial phenomenon in the spiritual life: it chiefly affects beginners, still “carnal,” that is, susceptible to being moved by sensible impressions, whom Scripture compares to grass (I Pt. 1, 24). Advanced souls, “spiritual,” rooted in depth, no longer depend upon the sensible and drink from a devotion that comes from within, through a secret, permanent, inexhaustible infusion. The “tree planted beside the water” defies seasonal droughts (Ps. 1, 3).
Aridity can often be interpreted as a fatherly correction from God, a backlash of dissipation; it can also be caused by psychic depression. It may likewise be maintained by the heavenly Gardener (I Cor. 3, 9) for the benefit of the soul, in order to make it produce better fruit: rain benefits the vineyard in April, but no longer in June. In certain souls, aridity harmonizes with thirst for God and rekindles invocation. When it becomes permanent, despite spiritual fervor, it is one of the indications that the contemplative state is unfolding. V. PURIFICAZIONI PASSIVE.
The guidance to be given with regard to aridity will therefore vary according to the circumstances; it will recommend stricter mortification, more assiduous prayer, or rather psychological relaxation, serene and trusting patience, and a purer joy in deeper recollection.
BIBLI.: s. Ignazio, Esercizi spirituali. Regole per il discernimento degli spiriti; s. Giovanni della Croce, Opere, passim. Michele Ledrus