Course XLVII - Teaching 31: Loving the Divine Mother (April 6th, 1957)

Our main task is to life the inner life, and this is impossible without prayer. So, prayer is our main purpose and duty.
When the Initiate Knight is before the Divine Mother for the Mystical Wedding, he asks, Where were you, My Beloved? And She replies, I was hidden in your heart. For you I have created the Universe and I have suffered and struggled. I did all for you.
If our life does not exclude work and duties, all this is nothing worth compared with the divine exercise of being united with the Divine Mother.
All these are attributes, but our only work is prayer, because She made all to dwell in our heart. This does not mean that there are two lives: one for work and one for prayer; one for activity and one for refusal of activity. The main thing is to live within, all the rest is an outcome of this inner state.
Our life is inspired by this divine work of love and prayer. Our task is to love the Divine Mother. In the beginning of the Spiritual Path we learn how to pray and to practice meditation, and we reach peace and inner life by means of these efforts.
Following the advice of our Spiritual Director, we leave this exercise, because seemingly our prayer is loftier, but sometimes we forget this exercise.
But you should keep in mind that nature is weak, and our prayer is weaker when we work and are busy.
But our life is totally spiritual, and we have a schedule to come into contact with the Divine Mother. But, what happens? We waste time, fall asleep, and struggle against temptation of our will. What a pity! We lose the ring that links us with the Eternal Ladder! The Mother wants to give us a Light, an especial illumination, and she gives this not to forget this exercise later, but to activate and perfect it more and more. This exercise educates our will and teaches us how to be simple and humble; so we shall conquer what once we have lost.
Do not relinquish this exercise because you consider it unnecessary; it is always good to go down some ladders in order to go up again, and to become little: so the Mother shall raise us toward Her.
This exercise is staff and support of the human moments. Moreover, you should rather refuse any contemplation, and if you practice rightly this exercise and if your contemplation is true, it shall be like a fire that will come in spite of all.
The Mother expects only one thing: our humility; we should consider ourselves little. You should never start your meditation without preparation. Saint Therese never started her meditation without her book of prayers.
You should have your own steps, a simple fit method to our souls, but without wanderings (the Regulation recommends the method: “We shall get inner discipline through outer discipline”). You should have a general plan, weekly or fortnightly (according to your present work).
The Knight Great Master divides meditation into three general points:

1. Invocation: Ask and you shall be given. The one that does ask bread of God has not the right of his daily bread. To ask is in se a movement of humility, and this opens the doors to prayer. In regard to the mission of discarnate souls: Ask of the Mother her permission to see these suffering souls. One knows very little, and just the Mother can teach and show us this great suffering of those in the hereafter.
   Our way to pray and ask should be spontaneous and sincere. Our mind understands the importance of this mission, but forgets easily because is human and weak.
2. Imaginative Picture: Later, enter the Imaginative Picture: Do not look for colors or images. All should be easy. Look Sensations in order to be quick, because our thirty minutes fly and we have “to take the bread out of the furnace”.
   Picture: I see myself in the street, a car is coming, and I feel it will knock me down; I am scared. I am afraid being in my room by night. A friend comes, touches me, but I do not see him and I experience as shock. This is my working tool.
   Since the Divine Mother is helping me, I bring to them patience, humility, mortification and what I did during the day.
   For instance: you can take care of the work of those souls that you should guide.
   You cannot say that you have no will and that you spend your time making nothing. You should have a method.
   Sleep: true prayer removes sleep; it is as if we read an interesting book; then we do not fall asleep; but if this book bores us, then we fall asleep.
   The Mother is in our heart, claiming for our minutes and life. We should not waste time. She asks efforts of us; it is the only thing that we can give, and later She well come with her light and understanding to raise us.
   Do not forget: Do not leave the Meditation exercise. If the Knight Great Master recommends quietness, sometimes one has to come back to the exercise when this occurs.
   Be strenuous and tenacious. If the Mother gives 10, she will give 100, 1000, and much more.