“Dear children, today I am calling you: return to God, return to prayer, so that you may become carriers of peace. Pray, little children, for peace that is in danger; and may prayer begin to flow anew from your hearts and from your families, so that, in joy, you may feel the voice of Jesus in your hearts: ‘Peace be with you.’ Be, little children, carriers of peace and prayer for all those who do not pray. I am with you and I pray for you before my Son Jesus. Thank you for having responded to my call.” -Our Lady of Medjugorje, in private revelation given to Marija Pavlovic-Lunetti, on August 25, 2026
From “Catechism of Mental Prayer” by Father Joseph Simler:
32. What are the chief obstacles that prevent us from performing mental prayer well?
Dissipation and faults against silence, attachment to sin, and slavery to the senses and passions.
33. What means should be taken to remove these obstacles?
The following:
1. Recollection and silence.
2. Purity of heart, which consists in abstaining from all sin committed with full deliberation.
3. Exterior and interior mortification.
47. In reference to what four attributes may we consider God in mental prayer?
We may consider God:
1. As our Creator, in order to adore Him with profound humility.
2. As our Savior and Judge, to ask pardon for our offenses.
3. As our Benefactor, to thank Him.
4. Above all, as our Father, to invoke Him with an entirely filial confidence.
149. What are illusions?
Illusions are false ideas which Satan endeavors to plant in our mind in order to make us eventually abandon meditation.
150. Mention some illusions.
1. To believe that mental prayer is too difficult, and that we shall never succeed in performing it well.
2. To believe that it is useless to apply ourselves to mental prayer, since we do not make any progress in virtue anyhow.
3. To judge of the value of our meditation by the consolations or good sentiments we experience.
153. In order to make plain the falsity of the third illusion, state by what we should judge of the value of our meditations.
We should judge the value of our meditations especially by the firm determination of our will to reform our lives, to be less selfish, to be more charitable, more submissive to God’s Holy Will, more obedient, more pure, and more humble.
An excerpt from “Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light: The Private Writings of the Saint of Calcutta”:
(from a letter to Eileen Egan, on March 20, 1962)
Daily we pray “let them look up and see only Jesus,” but how often we look in and see only Jesus in us? Do we see Him in using our eyes, mind, and heart, as His own? Are we so given to Him that we find His eyes look through ours, His tongue speaking, His hands working, His feet walking, His Heart loving? Do we really see only Jesus in us?
You have to be in the world and yet not of the world (cf. John 15:19). The light you give must be so pure, the love you love with must be so burning—the faith you believe with must be so convincing—that in seeing you they really see only Jesus. Your apostolate is so beautiful to give Jesus. You can give Him only if you have surrendered yourself totally to Him. Often, very often, I pray for you—that you may be the fruit of Christ’s love in the world—that you may grow in holiness—so that in you Christ’s joy may be fulfilled. In our Society we often tell our Lady she is the Cause of our Joy—because she gave us Jesus. Would that we become the cause of her joy—because we give Jesus to others. Keep close to Jesus with a smiling face.
From “Revelations of Divine Love” by Saint Julian of Norwich:
Suddenly our Lord said these words in my mind: “I am the foundation of your prayer: first I will that you pray; I move you to will to pray; finally you pray. So why would anyone not pray?”
This comforted me greatly: saying, “you pray,” shows how prayer pleases Him greatly and will be rewarded. Asking, “why would anyone not pray?” shows how not praying for mercy and grace is foolish, for our good Lord ordains and moves us to entreat Him for everything. Clearly our prayer doesn’t cause God’s goodness; instead His sweet words, “I am the foundation…” lets His lovers on earth know this is so as to pray all the more; this is what our Lord meant.
Prayer is the sweet inward work of the Holy Spirit united and binding the soul’s true and gracious will to our Lord’s. Gratefully our Lord takes our prayer, as I saw it, to enjoy it in the heavenly treasury where it never perishes but is continually received before God and all His saints, to meet our needs, increasing our joy and bliss in endless glory and thanksgiving.
Prayer pleases our Lord Whose grace makes us like Himself through it, as He says: “Pray, even if you don’t get anything out of it, or even if you feel that you can’t pray, for it is profitable. For if dry or barren, or in sickness or weakness, or you get little out of it, prayer is very pleasing.” He desires and rewards with endless thanks our believing and continuous prayer. God accepts His servant’s goodwill and travail, despite how we feel. It pleases Him that we work at our prayers and at being good by grace and reasonable discretion, directing our powers to possess Jesus, Whom we seek, in the fullness of joy.
