Monthly Osuna: Letter O
Three Forms of Prayer
This is a monthly series on Francisco de Osuna’s The Third Spiritual Alphabet.1 In each post, we reflect on one letter from his Alphabet. The Alphabet was written as an aid to recollection. Recollection (being recollected in God) is both a form of prayer and a way of being in the world. This month’s letter is O.
This Letter Teaches Us How We Are to Sleep, Saying: Pray Before Sleep and Return to It Immediately Afterward (SA 337). Oració antes del sueño ten, y después torna presto.
Three Kinds of Prayer
“In order to explain prayer in intelligible terms so that everyone can participate in it and avail themselves of the present letter, let us note that there are three kinds of prayer, which correspond to the three states of those who practice it: beginners, proficient, and those who are greatly experienced in prayer.” (SA 337)
“The first prayer is like a letter we send to a friend by messenger; the second, as if we sent a friend who is very close to us; the third, as if we went in person. The first is the kiss on the feet. The second is the kiss on the hands. The third kiss is on the mouth. The first converts us to faith, which is to be proclaimed by mouth. The second converts us to hope, which we should hold in our heart. The third connects us to love, which we are to demonstrate in works.” (SA 351)
In this letter, Osuna discusses three forms of prayer: vocal, silent, and recollection. He claims these prayer forms correspond to three states through which the contemplative progresses: the beginner, the proficient, and the greatly experienced. This tri-part, mystical itinerary has an esteemed place in the history of Christian spirituality, but it’s not as helpful as one might hope.
Osuna admits that anyone, regardless of how long they have sustained a practice or how experienced they might be, can experience any of these states. That being the case, the supposed correspondence between the three states and the three prayer forms also breaks down. Someone who is beginning a practice can experience moments of contemplation. Whereas the one experienced in contemplation can sometimes feel the need to vocalize their prayer. It really depends on the person and what is needed in the present moment. Osuna goes on to state that “all three manners of praying are suitable to each state” (SA 351).
Let’s consider each form.
Vocal Prayer
“The first form or manner of prayer is vocal…Of all vocal prayers the most blessed prayer of the Pater Noster is preeminent…” (SA 338)
Osuna offers a couple suggestions when using vocal prayer. Firstly, he suggests taking a single line from the Lord’s Prayer that fits the present situation and repeating it. We can liken this to how one might use a prayer word or how the hesychasts use the Jesus prayer (see here and here). The idea is to find a line that fits the present situation and repeat it as a way of recollecting the attention of our heart.
If I am anxious about an injustice, I might prayerfully repeat, “Thy kingdom come” as way to raise my lament to God. Or I might repeat that same line if I am concerned about a sick friend. However, unlike Osuna, I am not convinced that there is at least one line in the Lord’s Prayer that fits every possible situation in which we might find ourselves. Still, I do find that repeating a line like “Thy will be done” can be a helpful way to recollect.
Secondly, Osuna suggests that we should speak with God as we would a friend. I find this simple suggestion to be extremely helpful. God is always present and loves us. Why would we not speak with God in a familiar way? Nonetheless, if we have been taught certain patterns of prayer and that is how we usually pray, it can be liberating to approach God without constraint, speaking to God as we would a close friend.
But do either of these practices need to be vocal? I don’t think so. As far as vocal prayer is concerned, it really depends on the person and the situation. For myself, I rarely pray vocally if I am alone, but I often will in liturgical/worship settings. For others, vocal prayer might be the form of prayer that is most comfortable. There is no hard and fast rule. Whatever form we use, the most important aspect is that we try and pray with the desire of our heart, which brings us to silent prayer.
Silent Prayer
“The second kind of prayer is that within our hearts, wherein we do not pronounce the words vocally with the mouth. We pray like this when our hearts speak alone with the Lord and we beseech him from within for everything we need.” (SA 345)
When I think of silently speaking with God, pouring out the desire of my heart as one would to a friend, I am reminding of Brother Lawrence. Brother Lawrence, a 17th century Carmelite, was unique in his approach to recollection. Apparently, Brother Lawrence tried all the suggested methods, even silent recollection, and none of them seemed to work. In his struggle to reject wandering thoughts, he decided to practice the presence of God by keeping an ongoing, silent conversation with God. Whatever he did, he would speak to God about the present moment. Sometimes he would ask for guidance. At other times, he would give thanks. His intention was to offer everything he did as a loving service to his Creator. In time, everything he did, even in the noise of a monastery kitchen, became prayer. Here is a contemporary describing Brother Lawrence’s recollection at work:
“As it was observed that in the greatest hurry of business in the kitchen, he still preserved his recollection and heavenly mindedness. He was never hasty nor loitering, but did each thing in its season, with an even, uninterrupted composure and tranquility of spirit. “The time of business,” said he, “does not differ from the time of prayer; and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the blessed sacrament.” (PPG 16)2
I know what you’re probably thinking: Is it possible to keep a conversation ongoing like that? I honestly don’t know; I haven’t tried. What I can say is there are times when silently speaking my heart in a familiar, conversational way helps me become recollected. I do think this kind of prayer, whether it is done silently or vocally, can help focus the desire of our heart, and it can help remind us that God is present and listening.
Recollection/Contemplative Prayer
“The third kind of prayer is…spiritual prayer in which the highest part of the soul is lifted more purely and affectionately to God on the wings of desire and pious affection strengthened by love.” (SA 349)
“Desires that embrace God without corporeal similarity and in his naked, uncorporeal being and love is unconcerned about words to pray to God with greatest purity, more spiritually, and more immediately, for the soul praying in this fashion utters no words except those of the Canticle: “My beloved to me and I to my beloved.” No words could be more spiritual, more recollected, more comprehensive, nor could they more effectively express the purpose of prayer to those who experience it.” (SA 350)
For Osuna, recollection is a form of prayer where our love “withdraws from creatures and becomes recollected with God” (SA 349). This way of framing the practice of recollection is one we have encountered in previous posts (see here and here). The idea is that we pray without words or mental images. Words and mental images are “creaturely” in that they are informed by our experience in the world. But, as we have seen in prior posts, the “naked, uncorporeal being” of the divine presence transcends any particulars in the world with which we are familiar. Hence, recollection is prayer of the heart wrapped not in images or words but in stillness and silence.
Although I started this post downplaying the traditional itinerary of contemplative practice, it is important to say that there will be situations where one form of prayer works better than another. There can come a point in one’s practice where recollection will not be a choice so much as the only way one can pray. Osuna goes so far as to say that vocal prayer can become harmful when recollection is the form most fitting for the moment.
There can be times when vocal and silent prayer feel far too inadequate. There can be moments when the heart is so connected that words and images get in the way because they are inadequate. But, for better or worse, those moments will pass, and vocal or silent prayer will become helpful again. The point being, once you have an established practice, feel free to use whatever form feels right for that moment because it probably is right for that moment.
Recollection and Sleep
What does this discussion on prayer forms have to do with the title of this letter? As is sometimes the case, Osuna’s discussion reaches far from the presumed subject. Nonetheless, he ends this letter with some thoughts on recollection and sleep. His main exhortation, as always, is that we try to keep ourselves recollected. To that end, Osuna encourages us “to rest in the prayer of recollection and afterwards will come the sweetness of sleep that follows prayer, and on awakening, at whatever hour, you are to return immediately to recollection and not forget to watch your heart, so it does not wander about in various concerns” (SA 353).
I’ll close with a reminder that recollection is not just a practice of prayer but a way of being in the world. I like the contrast between Osuna’s practice and one like Brother Lawrence’s because it reminds us that these spiritual practices are just methods. One method is not somehow better than another. And, although they are different, they have the same goal of cultivating our awareness of the One in whom we all live and move and have our being. It is a blessing to live in the divine presence with mutual awareness and to allow that mutual awareness to transform us. But one can hardly be rooted in the fertile ground of the divine presence and not produce fruit worthy of the gift. As Osuna says in the opening of this letter, recollection “connects us to love, which we are to demonstrate in works” (SA 351).
Francisco de Osuna The Third Spiritual Alphabet (Trans. Mary E. Giles; Preface Kieran Kavanaugh; Paulist Press, 1981)
The Practice of the Presence of God (Martino Publishing, 2016)