The Consideration
“Open Thou my eyes, and I will consider the wondrous things of Thy law.” – Psalm 118:18
We have divided the second part of Mental Prayer into three points: the consideration, the affections, and the resolutions. Let us speak first of all about the Consideration. This is nothing else than an operation of the understanding on the subject which we have chosen, or which has been given us for meditation, looking into it and examining all the motives capable of inciting us to the practice of virtue.
There are three ways of making the Consideration:
The first studies the reasons which can incline the will to some good movement. For example, those who wish to have a great love of chastity will consider the motives capable of inciting us to practise this virtue – namely, that God holds it in such great esteem that He willed to be born of a Virgin; that virgins are His beloved spouses; that virginity is crowned in heaven with a special aureola; and that chastity makes us like unto the Angels.
The second way is to devote oneself to the consideration of all the circumstances of a mystery. For example, if we are meditating on the Poverty of Jesus Christ at His birth, we shall rest our thoughts on the miserable stable in which He chose to come into the world; after that we shall consider the circumstance of the country, far away from His Mother’s ordinary home, where she could have more easily obtained the necessary things which were wanting at Bethlehem; then, the poverty of the swaddling-clothes in which His sacred members were wrapped; and, finally, our Divine Saviour’s being born in the presence of two stupid, clumsy animals, and His being visited by poor shepherds.
The third way takes a different line; it steadily considers one object alone, weighs it and examines it at length, until the heart feels keenly moved by it. For example, he who would meditate on eternity will give all his attention to this reflection; time flies with rapidity; accumulated millions and millions of years have always an end, whereas eternity has not, for it exceeds all time; it is a measure which has no limit, a number which has no end; and just as God, by reason of His Eternity, can never cease to exist, so eternity itself can never finish. O Eternity, how long thou art! O eternal pains, how endless! Pleasure only lasts a moment, says Saint Augustine, pain for ever: Momentaneum quod delectat, ceterum quod crucial.
It must be noticed here that the operations of the understanding ought always to lead to affections of the will, whether we are trying to reason on some special subject, or are examining the circumstances of a mystery, or are attentively reflecting upon one single truth. This is why we ought only to apply ourselves to the Consideration in so far as necessary to understand well the truth on which we are meditating; for as soon as the feeling of devotion enters into our heart, we must stop the activity of the mind and allow the will to rouse and stimulate this good impulse more and more. Otherwise, if we spend the whole time of Mental Prayer in making the Consideration, it will be a study, properly so called, rather than a meditation.
For the same reason we must avoid in our Consideration all dry and barren thoughts, such as the subtleties of philosophy, moral applications beside the point, theological speculations and all that serves only to distract the mind and give satisfaction to our understanding. The Consideration, then, which we must make, should be devout and holy, and calculated to touch the heart.* Whence it follows that if the soul does not find its will moved by one consideration, it should pass on to another which will encourage and enkindle it more, stopping at the moment that the heart is really animated and strengthened. So much so, that if in the beginning of the Meditation, the Holy Spirit fills its heart, it should in that case stop the Consideration, and enjoy the sweetness which the Divine Paraclete allows it to taste; but after these moments of fervour have passed, it must return again to the Consideration, according to the length of time which can be devoted to the Prayer.
An Example of the Consideration
“In the morning I will stand before Thee and will see, because Thou art not a God that wiliest iniquity.” – Psalm 5:5
My Lord, I realise that I shall never please Thy Divine Majesty unless I am truly obedient. Arouse thyself, then, 0 my soul, and consider all the creatures of the universe, and reflect upon the splendid example which they give thee by their obedience – with promptitude and punctuality, all follow the orders and the ways which God has prescribed for them. The sun rises every morning because its Creator has thus ordained; it sets every evening because such is the good pleasure of God. If the sun was at liberty to have its own way, doubtless it would never send forth a single ray upon us; but because God has commanded this, it gives its light without distinction to the just and to sinners.
Learn, then, my soul, from a creature which is not gifted with reason, how thou oughtest to obey. Admire the stars, consider the times and the seasons of the year which follow one another in conformity to the orders of God. Look at the animals which obey their masters. Examine carefully the plants, the stones, the earth and all the elements, and be ashamed before their obedience. But, above all, rest thy thoughts specially upon the first and most excellent model of all perfection, upon Jesus Christ, Who, being God, submitted Himself for love of us to men and to the law; and Who, to honour obedience, willed to sacrifice His life on the infamous wood of the Cross. “He became obedient unto death,” says Saint Paul, “even unto the death of the Cross”.