Untitled - Saints' Books

462 Appendix.
Without Mental Prayer
it is Impossible for the Priest
to Attain Perfection.
We now enter upon the second point, in which we
must consider that, as it is difficult for a priest to save
his soul without mental prayer, so it is
impossible for
him to attain perfection.
I
suppose that, without dwelling specially on this
point, every priest well knows the obligation under
which he is of striving to attain perfection. Let us
therefore come to the point.
Observe, says the Holy Spirit to us, that the trees
planted far from the water, dry up, grow but little, or
do not grow straight, while those that are found on the
banks of a stream are vigorous, straight, and high. Thus
men of mental prayer show themselves full of life and
strength :
n.
they are straight, having only God before their
eyes; they attain a great height, growing always in vir
tue: Like a tree which is
planted near the running waters,
which shall bring forth
its
fruit in due season- and his leaf
shall not fall off.
1
will not lose a moment of their life,
They will not lose a leaf, that is, they
because either actu
ally or virtually they always advance in perfection or in
divine love, holy charity, which is the cause of per
fection in our soul, as St. Paul says: Have charity, which
is the bond ofperfection? The sweet furnace in which
souls are inflamed by this celestial fire, with which the
saints on earth and the blessed in heaven are burning,
is mental prayer: In my meditation a fire shall flame out,
says David. 3
1 "
Tamquam lignum quod plantatum est secus decursus aquarum,
quod fructum suum dabit in tempore suo; et folium ejus non defluet."
Ps. i. 3.
2 "
Charitatem habete, quod est vinculum perfectionis." Col. iii. 14.
3 "
In meditatione mea exardescet ignis."
Ps. xxxviii. 4.