“Sometimes the whole soul concentrates herself within herself, and is buried in a profound silence; the admiration she is in, at what she feels and what she beholds, stifles her voice and prevents all speech; the astonished spirit keeps the senses suspended, and can only by her sighs convey to God the fervor of her desires.” The mind then remains fixed upon God, whose presence it feels; leaving reasoning aside, it keeps silence and looks with admiration; it enfolds its Well-Beloved in one long look, which, without any words, says a great deal, because it expresses the astonishment, the Joy, the charm, and the love by which the soul is fascinated. The will, plunged in God, inflamed by its union with God, expanding itself in God by a fusion full of sweetnes is not inclined to formulate a multitude of acts. It is enjoying God in a union that is calm, tranquil, and full of unction. It is reposing deliciously on the bosom of its Divine Master in a silence full of love. The whole soul, like to a mother who devours her infant with her eyes, passes into this ardent look. The more she contemplates, the more she is inflamed. The more she is inflamed; the more pleasure she takes in contemplating. She loves without saying so; but the fire of her eyes, her tears, her sighs, her attitude, the dispositions of her heart, the immobility of her astonishment, the discreet outburst of her tenderness, all speak with eloquence and ravish Him who is charming her. The intellect and will remain silently occupied with God, often during a somewhat long time; some simple and ardent acts, at the most, are made by the heart, just what is needful to sustain this loving Union. –Father Dom Vitalis Lehodey ‘The Ways of Mental Prayer’