I have a bad habit of “praying” before I’m ready. I’ll dive into the rosary before I’ve even reminded myself what day it is, let alone what mystery I should be reflecting on. I’ll start to mindlessly spout off my morning offering before I’ve barely even sat down on the couch. “Well, let’s get this over with so I can get on with my day,” I might as well be saying to God, because that’s certainly what my hurried attitude towards prayer implies.
It only gets worse when summer hits. With a more relaxed schedule, activity-filled days, and often overnights guests, my morning prayer is rushed, when I make the time to pray at all. This summer, however, I’m worrying less about ticking off the boxes and getting my morning prayer “over with” so I can get on with the rest of my day, and focusing instead on slowing down, quieting my heart, and entering into prayer with mindfulness and intention, and it’s all thanks to St. Francis de Sales. In his Introduction to the Devout Life, he suggests that, before we being to pray, we should stop, and place ourselves in God’s Presence. That’s easier said than done, for those of us who have a tendency to carelessly dive right in, but lucky for us, St. Francis proposes four ways (each with its own simple motto!) to slow down, and start our prayer by entering into the Presence of God.
- Know that God is Here
“Just as birds, wherever they fly, always meet with the air, so we, wherever we go, or wherever we are, shall always find God present.” – St. Francis de Sales
We know that God is omnipresent, here with us wherever we are, but it’s easy enough to forget. Jacob expresses this forgetfulness, this unawareness of God perfectly in the book of Genesis: “Indeed, the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not.” Indeed, He’s here, I just forgot. The first way to enter into the Presence of God is simply to remind ourselves that He is Here.
The motto that St. Francis de Sales suggests to help us remember God’s omnipresence is this: “O my heart! Be attentive, for God is truly here!”
- Know that God is in Your Heart.
“In Him we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:28
While God is omnipresent, present everywhere and in everything, St. Francis de Sales reminds us that God resides in a special way in our heart of hearts, in the very center of our being, in the very truth of who we are. He is not only present, but intimately so. The second way to enter into God’s Presence is to try to enter into the intimacy of His company.
The motto St. Francis de Sale suggests comes from Psalm 73: “You are the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever!”
- Accept the gaze of Christ
“Although we see Him not, He beholds us from above.” – St. Francis de Sales
St. Francis de Sales reminds us that Jesus never stops watching over us, never stops holding us in His gaze, even though we don’t see Him, and even when we forget to seek Him. This method of entering into the Presence of God is the act of accepting Jesus’ loving gaze.
The motto that St. Francis de Sales proposes comes from Song of Songs: “Behold, he standeth behind our wall, gazing through the windows, looking through the lattices.” However, if you find the image of Jesus peering at you through the lattice more creepy than comforting, you might try this as a prompt instead: “O my God, why do I not turn my eyes towards You, as You always look on me?”
- Imagine His Sacred Humanity
“Jesus, the very thought of Thee
With sweetness fills the breast;
But sweeter far Thy face to see,
And in Thy presence rest.”
– St. Bernard de Clairvaux
In this last method of entering the Presence of God, St. Francis invites us simply to use our imagination, picturing Christ, in the flesh, truly human, present in this space.
The motto that St. Francis suggests is “Methinks I see him!” and if you can say that with a straight face, go for it. Otherwise, might I suggest something from Psalm 139: “Yahweh, I know You are near.”
Of course, you don’t need to use all of these methods every single time you pray. “Employ then some of these four means of placing yourself in the presence of God before prayer,” suggests St. Francis, “in as concise and simple a manner as possible.” Let these methods, with their accompanying prompts, help you to slow your prayer this summer, And, if after following St. Francis’ advice, and applying his methods, you still don’t feel the presence of God, don’t worry. Even though we see or feel Him not, and even if our summer prayer doesn’t look and feel like we think it should, God is always truly here.
