and we shall surely obtain all that we ask. 'Mental prayer,' said a holy soul, 'is the breathing of the soul; as in corporal breathing the air is first inhaled and then exhaled, so in mental prayer the soul first receives light and other grades from God, and then by acts of self-offering and love, it gives itself wholly to Him.'
"Before concluding the meditation, we should make some specified good resolution, appropriate as far as possible to the subject of our meditation. This resolution should be directed to the shunning of some sin, of some occasion of sin, to the correction of some defect, or to the practice of some act of virtue during the day.
"The preparation of our meditation consists of (1) an act of faith in the presence of God, and of adoration; (2) an act of humility and of contrition, and (3) an act of petition for light. We should then recommend ourselves to the Blessed Virgin Mary by reciting a Hail Mary, and also to St. Joseph, to our Guardian Angel, and to our holy patrons. These acts should be brief but very earnest and fervent.
"The conclusion of our meditation consists of these three acts: (1) thanksgiving to God for the light He imparted to us; (2) purposing to fulfil our good resolutions at once; and (3) beseeching the eternal Father, for the love of Jesus and Mary, to grant us the grace and strength to put them into practice. Before finishing our meditation let us never omit to recommend to God the souls in purgatory and poor sinners. In concluding our mental prayer let us, after the advice of St. Francis of Sales, pick out a thought or an affection from our mental prayer in order to reflect on it or repeat it from time to time during the day.
