these ascensions of the heart and will toward God, in order to go on and begin to reason upon another point. Indeed, if the soul is thus roused at the commencement, when the picture of the mystery is proposed to the imagination, she should stop there, until her affections begin to flag, when she can go on further. You need have no fear of being unfaithful by following this rule.
Another thing. Sometimes it so happens that both the imagination and reason seem to be paralyzed, so that after faithfully trying to begin and go on with the meditation for a little while, the soul finds itself so stupid and dull, as to be able to imagine or reason upon nothing. Let her not be discouraged. Let her make simple acts of the will, however hard and dry they may seem to be. Let her spend the time saying to God such things as, "O my God, I love you. O my God, I offer my mind and body to you; take me. O my God, I give my will up to your will — I submit to this dryness and dulness — and other such simple, dry acts. There may be no sensible fervor in them, they may seem to the soul perfectly stupid: yet such acts of the will, done, at the same time, with great calmness and interior stillness, without hurry or anxiety, will be of the greatest value to the soul in the eyes of God. You will make more progress during that hour, than in many others when the reason was bright and the affections came gushing forth like a fountain. But perhaps the heart may be so dull that even these simple acts can not be made without turmoil and disturbance of mind. In that case, remain quietly before God in perfect calmness, submitting yourself to His will in this. Occupy yourself simply in keeping peace.
Another thing is, to make all your spiritual exercises, daily or otherwise, whatever manner of prayer you may be using, with the greatest peace, calmness, and stillness of heart. There is nothing worse in prayer than anxiety, fear, fretfulness, hurry, over-eagerness to do it right, or any overstraining of the soul. All should be
