In the Interior Castle, IV, ch 1, #6, Saint Teresa describes souls who, in their previous states of prayer, were doing most of the work themselves, with their mind, with their effort, with their concentration, by moving thoughts from here to there, piece-by-piece – who are now being led to or becoming able to perform more simpler forms of prayer:
For the most part the souls in the previous dwelling places are the ones who have these devout feelings, for these souls work almost exclusively with the intellect, engaging in discursive thought and meditation. And they do well because nothing further has been given them; although they would be right if they engaged for a while in making acts of love, praising God, rejoicing in His goodness, that He is who he is, and in desiring His honour and glory.
She says people would be right to let their “discursive thought and meditation” lead into “acts of love”, praise, and more simplicity. Then she quickly goes on to say that, not only would it be right, it should be done “insofar as possible”:
These acts should be made insofar as possible, for they are great awakeners of the will. Such souls would be well advised when the Lord gives them these acts not to abandon them for the sake of finishing the usual meditation.
There is definite parallel to the advice of other Doctors of the Church; for example, Saint Catherine of Siena has God the Father say,
The moment she feels her mind disposed by My visitation… she should abandon vocal prayer; then, My visitation past, if there be time, she can resume the vocal prayers which she had resolved to say; but if she has not time to complete them, she ought not on that account to be troubled…
And Saint Francis de Sales says,
If, while saying vocal prayers, your heart feels drawn to mental prayer, do not resist it, but calmly let your mind fall into that channel, without troubling because you have not finished your appointed vocal prayers. The mental prayer you have substituted for them is more acceptable to God, and more profitable to your soul…
Saint Catherine and Saint Francis say not to resist movements to mental prayer by choosing to finish meditative exercises instead.* Saint Teresa says not to resist movements to acts of love by choosing to finish meditative exercises instead.
This is a pretty constant in the teaching of the Doctors of the Church: Meditation is at the service of acts that are more simple, acts that are more contemplative, more simply a union of our will and God’s, more simply loving God with his own love. That is where they belong. That is their value. If contemplation begins to, in any small way, simplify our relationship with God, it is OK to take it. Indeed, it’s what the Doctors teach us to do.
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* They both make exceptions for those obliged by vocation to say the Divine office, of course. One might also think of family obligations to prayer as a parallel example. If one has such an obligation of state, then one must say those prayers.
Some related posts:
Contemplative in the Mud 