Chapter 87

Never Read Prayers Hastily

You prepare yourself to complete your rule. Good! In fulfilling your rule, do not think that you only need to recite all that is appointed, but that you must awaken and strengthen a prayerful movement in your soul. For this to happen,

1) never read hastily, but read as if chanting, something like that. In ancient times all the prayers that were read came from the Psalms. But nowhere do I find the word “read,” but everywhere: “sing”;

2) into every word penetrate with thought, and do not merely reproduce the thought of what is being read in your consciousness, but also awaken the corresponding feeling;

3) to cut off the urge toward hasty reading, do not set yourself to “recite this and that,” but determine to stand in prayer-reading for a quarter hour, half an hour, an hour—as long as you usually stand—and then do not worry how many prayers you will read; do so once the time comes; if you no longer wish to stand, stop reading;

4) having set this aside, do not, however, watch the clock, but stand as if to stand without end: your thoughts will not run ahead;

5) to help awaken prayerful feelings, in your free time reread and reconsider all the prayers that make up your rule—and reconsider their feeling, so that when you stand at your rule and read them, you will already know beforehand what feeling should be awakened in your heart;

6) never read prayers without interruption, but always interrupt them with your own prayer and prostrations, whether this happens in the middle of the prayers or at the end. As soon as something stirs your heart, stop reading at once and make prostrations. This last little rule—is the most necessary and most essential for nurturing a spirit of prayer. If sometimes a feeling takes hold very strongly, remain with it and make prostrations, and abandon reading—right through to the end of the appointed time.

Do not make your prayers in the morning and evening only, but throughout the day often make a few prostrations, without fixing any hours for them.

Do what is mentioned in points 5 and 6 first for your morning and evening prayers alone. Perhaps nothing else will be necessary to read.

(Letter 773. Vol. 5, p. 31–33)