The Prayer of Recollection: Part I Preparation

Preparation for Prayer of Recollection (Mental/Interior) Prayer

The Prayer of Recollection

“This prayer is called ‘recollection,’ because the soul collects its faculties together and enters within itself to be with its God.”— St. Teresa of Avila, The Way of Perfection, 28.4

“Prayer... means taking time frequently to be alone with the One who we know loves us.”— St. Teresa of Avila

Preparation for Prayer of Recollection and also applicable for Reflection Time after Discursive Prayer ( In the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius or in daily Mass readings using Lectio Divina).

1.              Posture

Sit in a comfortable chair with your body in a neutral, relaxed position. Let your hands rest gently, allowing your feet to be grounded, with shoulders loosen.

2.              Close Your Eyes

Why? This helps with focusing during the process of introspection. Closing your eyes reduces the amount of visual input sent to the brain. This shift can lead to decreased activity in areas associated with external attention (e.g., the occipital and parietal lobes), thus increasing one's internal processing. With fewer external distractions, the mind/brain can easily turn inward—though it can bring up a noticing of bodily sensations (that we may not become aware of otherwise) and one's inner thought processes.

3.              Quiet the Body

Breathe Prep

Take three deep breaths: inhale slowly to a count of 3, and exhale gently to a count of 6 (1-2 ratio). Why? The longer exhale activates the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), which supports rest, calm, and physiological balance.

Why 3 times?  Repeating this three times is just a suggestion—it may serve as a contemplative reminder of the Trinity. A suggestion: on each breath cycle, pray, “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.”

In St. Ignatius of Loyola's Third Method of Prayer, as detailed in The Spiritual Exercises, he integrates rhythmic breathing with prayer to foster what we call today 'mindfulness' for a deeper connection with God. This method of prayer was designed to slow down to integrate the body's natural rhythm of breathing, which underscores the incarnational aspect of Christian spirituality and reinforces the reality of the human person, who is body/soul: for prayer is not solely a mental exercise but involves the whole person in communion with God.

4.              Begin to Quiet the Mind.

Start with a prayer of "Prayer of Self-Offering," Here is a prayer rooted in the teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola: "Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will. All I have and call my own. You have given all to me. To you, Lord, I return it. Everything is yours; do with it what you will. Give me only your love and your grace; that is enough for me."

This prayer, rooted in the teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola,  invites a practical and deeply personal act of the gift of surrender. It encourages you to gather the tasks, worries, and concerns that occupy your mind and to place them before the Lord because He desires you to give them to Him.

Within your request of "Take, Lord…" begin by gathering the list of what is at the forefront of your mind—the to-dos, the worries, the burdens. Offer them to the Lord, asking Him to hold them in your name. Trust that in time; they will be returned to you—not as heavy burdens but renewed by grace, insight, and strength to carry them anew.

By consciously acknowledging these burdens and entrusting them to God, you place them into His care.  This act of surrender of gift shifts one's perspective—to see challenges not as insurmountable obstacles but as opportunities for spiritual growth and deeper reliance on God's love (spiritual poverty). Remembering that what we offer for Him to hold, He may bring it up in prayer.

5.              A Note on Mind Wandering

We need to remember that our brain operates continuously, even during sleep, processing billions of bits of information through rapid electrical and chemical signaling, managing automatic functions like heartbeat and breathing, as well as processes such as emotional regulation and cognition. It integrates sensory information, coordinates motor output, and regulates involuntary systems, such as digestion, the immune response, and hormonal balance.

It is the central control system of our entire bodily operations; while the mind, which uses its facilities of the soul, operates through the brain, it seems to have a mind of its own..

Mind wandering is a natural and common mental phenomenon in which our attention drifts away from the present task to thoughts unrelated to the moment at hand. It often arises spontaneously and unintentionally, manifesting in experiences such as daydreaming, replaying memories (sometimes repetitively, as in rumination), or planning for the future. Since the brain is inherently anticipatory, it tends to bypass the present by moving backward into the past or leaping forward into future scenarios. While mind-wandering frequently occurs during low-demand tasks, it can also be triggered by internal states such as anxiety or by a backlog of unresolved concerns that remain active in the subconscious. This mental drifting engages the brain’s Default Mode Network (DMN)—a set of brain regions associated with self-referential thinking, memory recall, envisioning the future, and emotional regulation.

Recognizing when mind wandering arises and how it relates to our inner state can help us become more attentive and compassionate toward ourselves.

Importance of offering what is on our ‘mental plate’ when we come to prayer allows God to hold them for us. Remembering when He gives them back to us it is with the grace to handle whatever tasks we have before us.

To Notice: When something “pops up” during prayer or reflection that seems not to be merely a passing distraction—such as a to-do list item—but arises with a certain weight or heaviness, it may be an invitation to pause and ask, “Jesus, is this something we can talk about today?”

Ignoring something that carries significance or emotional charge means we may be dismissing a part of ourselves. It can be like saying, “Be quiet; I’m talking to God. ” We need to consider God may be the very one desiring to share something that stimulates that thought or felt-feeling to rise to the surface as a point of encounter.

6.     To remain attentive. Consider a Phrase Carefully

Choose a phrase that reflects the spiritual truth of God’s constant presence.

For example: “My Lord and my God.” This affirms God’s presence and invites you to acknowledge this reality.

Be mindful of what words we use. Repeating “Come, Lord Jesus” may create subtle cognitive dissonance, as it suggests the absence of God when, in truth, God is already present. It is our attention that is elsewhere. Our body and soul are always present to God. Select a phrase that awakens our attention to the God who is already with us, revealed in the Trinity.

*The Three Faculties of the Soul

Capacities given by God to help us relate to Him in prayer:

Memory – The ability to recall past experiences

Intellect – The capacity for rational thought and understanding

Will – The freedom to choose and direct our actions