Extracts from the Dux Spiritualis by the Venerable Louis
de Ponte SJ
Section 1 – Of petition by desire only
Page 182 - The 1st mode of asking anything from
God is, as soon as we realise our great misery, to lay it open in His sight
with an intense desire for its relief: yet without uttering a word.
For he, says David, has heard the desire of the poor [Ps.
Ix, 38 (x. 17)]; therefore He judges it sufficient if they say: Lord, all my
desire is before Thee, and my groaning is not hid from Thee [Ps. Xxxvii,
10].
Saint Augustine [In Ps. Xxxvii] makes the same assertion:
thy desire, he says, is thy prayer; whatever thou art doing, if thou hast a fervent
desire of God, thou prays continually, fulfilling the Apostle’s behest: Pray
without ceasing [1 Thess. v 17].
Page 183 – tepidity and want of love make the heart
silent before God, but fervour is a continual cry in His ears.
…. When thy soul is oppressed by any affliction, have
recourse to God by a lively desire for His presence and the remedy He alone can
bring; saying with David: I opened my mouth and panted: because I longed for
Thy commandments [Ps. Cxviii, 131], to fulfil them.
Page 184: Prayer
Most Holy Spirit, whose inspiration is the breath of my
soul, without which it cannot live: the desire of my heart forces me to open my
mouth in Thy presence: hear my cry, and fill me with Thy grace, that I may
preserve this happy life: Before I call, I will hear [cf. Isaias lxv,24];
because our desire cries out before Thee: grant me Thy good spirit, who will
satisfy all my desires.
Place thyself in the presence of God like one wounded and
ulcerated, poor and sick, showing thy ulcers with a deep realisation of their
cause, with desire of health and remedy. For this alone will suffice to secure
help form the Divine mercy.
Exercise this spiritual mendicity, says Gerson, show
thyself to God as a beggar: for the poor and the mendicant praise Him when they
confess that He alone can help and deliver them. Say then with great confidence
those words of David: I am needy and poor. O God, Help me! [Ps. lxix, 6]. And
again: I am a beggar and poor, the Lord is careful for me [Ps. xxxix, 18].
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