Of the thridde maner of praier, oonli in herte withouten speche.
The Prayer of the Heart
The author introduces the third kind of prayer, which is an interior, wordless communion with God that transcends mere vocal recitation.
The third kind of prayer happens only in the heart, without words, in a state of deep rest for both body and soul. Anyone who would pray well in this way needs a clean heart, for this prayer belongs to such men and women who, by long bodily and spiritual labor, or else by such sharp strokes of love as I said before, come into rest of spirit, so that their affection is turned into spiritual savor, and they can almost continually pray in their heart, and love and praise God, without great hindrance from temptations or vanities, as I said before in the second part of contemplation. Saint Paul says this about this kind of prayer: 'For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.'✦ What then?✦ 'I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the mind also' (1 Corinthians 14:15).✦ This means something like this: If I pray only with my tongue, through the will of the spirit and personal effort, the prayer is meritorious, but my soul isn't fed because it doesn't feel the fruit of spiritual sweetness through understanding.1 What should I do then? says Saint Paul.
The Fire of Divine Love
Using the Old Testament image of the altar fire, the author explains how the soul must continually nourish the flame of love through prayer and desire.
He answers and says: I will pray through labor and spiritual desire, and I will also pray more inwardly in my spirit without labor, through the feeling of spiritual savor, the sweetness of love, and the sight of God—by which sight and feeling of love my soul will be fed. This is how, as I understand it, Saint Paul could pray. Our Lord speaks of this kind of prayer in Holy Scripture using a metaphor: Fire shall always burn on my altar, and every day the priest, rising in the morning, shall lay wood under it so that the fire is not put out (Leviticus 6:12).✦2 This means something like this: The fire of love shall always be lit in the soul of a devout man or woman, which is the altar of our Lord, and the priest shall every morning lay on wood and nourish the fire. In other words, this person shall, by holy psalms, clean thoughts, and fervent desires, nourish the fire of love in their heart so that it never goes out. Our Lord gives this rest to some of His servants as a kind of reward for their labor and a shadow of the love they will have in the bliss of heaven.3
Read the original Latin
The thridde maner of praier is oonli in herte withoute speche, bi grete reste of the bodi and of soule. A clene herte him bihoveth for to have that schulde prai wel thus, for it is of sich men and women that bi longe travaile bodili and goostli, or ellis bi swich smert smytynges of love, as I bifore seide, comen into reste of spirit, so that here affeccioun is turnyd into goostli savoure, that thei moun neer contynueli praie in here herte, and love and praise God withoutyn grete lettynge of temptacions or of vanitees, as I bifore seide in the secunde partie of contemplacioun. Of this maner of preier seith Seynt Poul thus: Nam si orem lingua, spiritus meus orat, mens autem mea sine fructu est. Quid ergo? Orabo spiritu, orabo et mente, psallam spiritu, psallam et mente (1 Corinthians 14:15). This is thus mykil for to seie: Yif y praie with my tunge oonli, bi wille of spirit and bi traveil, the preier is meedful, but my soule is not fed, for it felith not the frughte of goostli swettenesse bi undirstondynge. What schal y thanne doo? seith Seynt Poul.
And he answereth and seith: I schal praie bi travaile and bi desire of the spirit, and I schal pray also more inward in my spirit withouten travaile, bi felinge of goosteli savour and the swettenesse of the love and the sight of God, bi the whiche sight and felynge of love my soule schal be fed. Thus, as y undirstonde, Seynt Poul cowde preie. Of this maner of preier speketh oure Lord in Holi Writ bi figure thus: Ignis in altari meo semper ardebit, et cotidie sacerdos surgens mane subiciet ligna, ut ignis non extinguatur (Leviticus 6:12). This is for to seie thus mykil: The fier of love schal be ay light in the soule of a devoute man or woman, the whiche is the autier of oure Lord, and the prest schal every dai at morwe lei to stikkes and norissch the fier. That is to seie, this man schal bi hooli psalmes, clene thoughtes, fervent desires, norische the fier of love in his herte, that it goo not out noo tyme. This reste oure Lord geveth to summe of Hise servauntis, as it were for a reward of here traveyle and a shadwe of the love whiche thei shullen have in the blisse of hevene.
Scripture echoes
- ↩1Cor.14.14 — For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.
- ↩1Cor.14.15 — What then shall I do? I will pray with the Spirit, and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the Spirit, and I will sing with the mind also.
- ↩1Cor.14.15 — What then shall I do? I will pray with the Spirit, and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the Spirit, and I will sing with the mind also.
- ↩Lev.6.12 — And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
Notes
- 1 ↩meedful rendered as meritorious (reward-bearing), not merely useful; traveil as effort/labor in prayer rather than physical hardship alone.
- 2 ↩Hilton quotes the Vulgate Leviticus figure in Latin; rendered here into modern English for readability while preserving his supplied citation. Verse numbering follows the source's Leviticus 6:12 label.
- 3 ↩shadwe is rendered as 'shadow' in the sense of a faint earthly image or foretaste of heavenly love, not mere darkness.
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