I can see that I have gone over the 1st five chapters of Louis de Ponte's Dux Spiritualis very cursorily.
I will, therefore, go back to the beginning of the Dux Spiritualis and add some more material from the earlier chapters.
I hope this will be helpful to readers in their prayer life.
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Extracts from the Dux Spiritualis by the Venerable Louis
de Ponte SJ
Section 4 – Titles and claims to be adduced on the side
of God
Page 189 – Thou art what Thou art, because it
belongs to Thy greatness and majesty and to the glory of Thy name to manifest
Thy liberality and Thy immense mercy to the world; and for the truth [page 190]
and fidelity Thou dost always observe in fulfilling Thy promises. Arise, O
God, says David, judge Thy own cause [Ps. lxxiii, 22}; succour me in
the troubles by which I am oppressed : for being what Thou art it belongs to
Thee alone to help and deliver me.
Although this concerns my profit rather than Thine, yet
it is also Thine, since it will be greatly to Thy glory to help me.
For Thy name’s sake, O Lord, Thou wilt pardon
my sins, for it is great [Ps. xxiv, 11]. Because my sins are so
grievous, Thou wilt gain greater glory from forgiving them.
Extracts from the Dux Spiritualis by the Venerable Louis
de Ponte SJ
Section 3 – Of those petitions that are made by bringing
forth claims
Page 188 - There remains a 3rd mode of asking, much more
expeditious and in general use: this is to ask God our Lord to free us from
some particular evil or to communicate to us some special blessing, expressing
formally the thing desired and the claims we would allege, as well as anything
else our devotion may suggest: this may be called the rhetoric of the Holy Spirit
and a kind of celestial eloquence which is able to conquer Him who is invincible.
Many beautiful examples of such prayers may be found in
Holy Scripture.
Sometimes it is well to begin with the praises of God, as
if to gain His good will before proffering our request…… At other times we may
enter straightaway upon our petitions, as one sees himself in imminent peril.
But in all alike should be included some claim or reason why we hope for a
favourable answer.
To this mode of prayer the Apostle gives the name of
supplication; it is particularly well suited to the poor, as Solomon tells us:
the poor will speak with supplications [Proverbs xviii, 23].
Page 189 - By means of such supplications thy humility will strike
deeper roots, and thou will realise thy own indigence and how little thou dost
deserve to be answered unless thou… multiply thy prayers and intercessions.
At the same time thy confidence will increase, and thou
will learn to rely on it much more than thy own merits.
Since for our own part we have no claims to allege but
our utter misery and indigence, we must perforce borrow some from God Himself, from
Christ our Lord, and from the Saints: combining them with those based on our
own wretchedness, and so by all these induce Him to show us mercy.
Extracts from the Dux Spiritualis by the Venerable Louis
de Ponte SJ
Section 2 – Of petitions by way of Insinuation
Page 185 - The 2nd Mode of asking anything from
God, as S. Thomas teaches, is by way of insinuation; in which, with the fewest
possible words, a man lays open his needs, insinuating his desire for a remedy
without asking for anything in particular, except perhaps in the most general
terms.
It is wont to arise, says Hugh of S. Victor, from two very
different principles.
The 1st is a very reverent kind of fear,
either on account of the majesty of Him to whom we pray, or because of the
greatness of what we ask, together with the consideration of our lowliness,
which so humbles us that we dare not ask for any express remedy, but only
insinuate our need and its urgency.
The 2nd cause is diametrically opposed to this
and proceeds from a confidence far from being presumptuous but heroic and
excellent. This trust comes either from our great love for Him to whom we pray,
and His for us, or from the thing itself which, however great it may be,
presents no difficulty to His omnipotence.
For we know that if it is expedient that our petition
will be granted, it will be sufficient to lay before Him our necessity and
desire.
For this benevolent Master does not know how to forsake anyone
whom He loves: on the contrary, he will do the will of them that fear Him:
and keep all of them that love Him [cf. Ps. xcliv, 19, 20 ].
Page 187 - Since this kind of prayer, whether its
insinuations arise from great confidence or intense love, is always accompanied
by complete resignation, it is well received and answered by God. It is
therefore very useful frequently and fervently to employ this manner of
petition; to this its facility and brevity, as well as the liberality of God in
answering, invite us; but in each tacit request we should include some one or
other of the names of God, or express some motive of confidence either on His
side or on our own, in some such manner as the following:
O
true light, if Thou wilt, in one moment Thou can dispel my darkness; Supreme
might, it is easy for Thee to uphold my weakness; Infinite mercy, look upon my
great misery; my Creator, I, who am the work of Thy hands, am persecuted by Thy
enemies; the soul which Thou hast created in Thy own image is greatly
disfigured by sin; Thou who cares for the whole world look upon my poverty;
Thou who feedest the birds, I perish with hunger; Thou who dost clothe the
lilies of the field, cloth my nakedness, Thou who art the joy of all creatures,
I am overwhelmed with sorrow.
Father
of orphans, see how I am abandoned by all;
Redeemer
of the world, behold in prison once whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy precious
Blood.
My
God and My All! What am I without Thee?
My mercy and my refuge, my support and my deliverer
[Ps. cxliii, 2], look upon me and protect me.
In such fashion thou may form many little prayers, or
aspirations, which are like the breathings [page 188] of the soul, spiritual
messengers winging their way to God, arrows shot up to Heaven.
Although they use few words, they abound in meaning, for
their love speaks through their silence.
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].
Extracts from the Dux Spiritualis by the Venerable Louis de Ponte SJ
Page 180 – Let us now come to that mode of speaking and
treating with God to which, more than to any other, is given the name of
PRAYER, in which we put up petitions for all we desire and all we need.
Page 181 – God desires us to lay before Him all these
miseries, not because He who knows all things is ignorant of them, but for our
own humiliation and to confess that of ourselves we can do nothing to remedy
them, for this humility and diffidence in ourselves impels us to pray with
great affection and earnestness.
He often makes as though He did not hear us until we have
learnt by experience our utter incapacity to repair our defects and needs, and
to pour them out before Him.
