The Q & A Guide to Mental Prayer

by Connie Rossini

What's the difference between vocal prayer and mental prayer? Is contemplation for all or only a few? What is the dark night of the soul? Should you know what spiritual stage you are in? Do lay people need spiritual directors? Find answers to 125 common questions on prayer from a Catholic perspective. With Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Francis de Sales, and Church documents as a background, best-selling author Connie Rossini gives clear and concrete responses. This book will encourage you in times of dryness, inspire you to greater heights, and deepen your knowledge of true Catholic spirituality. You'll learn about problematic prayer practices, how to overcome distractions, and how to begin to meditate on Scripture.Connie Rossini has been studying and practicing Carmelite spirituality for nearly 30 years. The questions in this book come from the 11,000 members of her Facebook group Authentic Contemplative Prayer, as well as the many people who contact her privately through her blog, social media, or at conferences. She is known for both her orthodoxy and her ability to make difficult concepts understandable for the average person. Whatever stage of prayer you are at, you will likely learn something new from reading The Q & A Guide to Mental Prayer.

Genres: Spirituality, Prayer

182 pages, Paperback

Published July 4, 2019

About the author

Connie Rossini gives whole families practical help to grow in holiness. She is the author of Trusting God with St. Therese, the series A Spiritual Growth Plan for Your Children, and Is Centering Prayer Catholic? The Contemplative Rosary, co-written with Daniel Burke, is due out in October 2017. Connie writes a column on prayer for The Catholic Voice of the Diocese of Omaha, and she blogs at Contemplative Homeschool. She is also a columnist for SpiritualDirection.com. She and her husband Dan have four young sons.

Reviews

[Vee Salazar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best guide on prayer written to date. Easy to understand, accesible to all and addressing common questions on the prayer life and progress towards union with God. This book will answer questions on prayer and the prayer life that you always wanted to ask, but never knew who to ask or where to look for the answers. Best selling Catholic author Connie Rossini draws wisdom from the Bible, the Catechism and the teaching of the mystical Doctors of the Church. If you want to deepen your relationship with God, if you feel you want to progress in your prayer life but don’t know how, grab a copy of this book today!

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hands down the best book I’ve read on how to establish and maintain a life of deep prayer. Connie takes the teachings of St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, and other saints and explains them in a way that is understandable to anyone. This book is a great reference to keep on hand as one’s prayer life grows and questions come up. It is the most accessible introduction to Christian meditation and contemplation that you’ll find; a must-have for anyone wanting to learn about growing towards union with God through mental prayer.

[Bice · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent resource on Mental Prayer. I liked the numbered Q and A format. I usually make a lot of notes when I read nonfiction. This format will help me quickly look up the notes and topics I want to revisit. Connie Rossini is an author I trust to be very orthodox and recommend this and her other books highly.

[Cody Hawkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend this book to any Catholic interested in deepening their prayer life

[Isaac Butterworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I am not myself a Roman Catholic, I consider Connie Rossini's book, The Q & A Guide to Mental Prayer, a valuable resource for advancing in holiness. Written in reply to some 125 questions about prayer, Rossini's Guide demonstrates an impressive grasp of Catholic spirituality. The questions follow a logical pattern, moving from the most basic inquiry, "What is prayer?" to more complex issues like, for example, "What does one experience when transitioning from meditation to contemplation?" The book constitutes a brief course on prayer and, actually, on spirituality as well. If I were to summarize its contents in the fewest possible words, I might say something like, "God calls us all to progress in holiness through prayer." If that statement indeed could stand as the thesis of the book, what Rossini does is explain to the reader how to advance in holiness. She definitely has a grasp of her subject, and she is gifted at bringing clarity to topics that could be obscure.

There are so many strengths to Rossini's book that I don't know where to begin. Let me start with her care in defining her terms. For years, I have heard of concepts like vocal prayer and mental prayer but haven't been sure about the distinction. Rossini infuses these ideas and many others with clarity.

Another strength is the author's anticipation of what question the reader might need answered next. The sequence of topics, as I said earlier, is logical and progressive. (Rossini does have a "catch-all" chapter at the end of the book for miscellaneous questions.)

Strength number three: Rossini's mastery of the the works of classical authors on prayer and the spiritual life: John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, Francis de Sales, and others. She quotes freely from the "experts," as she calls them, and the citations are most helpful.

Fourth, the author introduces the reader to other writers that are wisely consulted. Dan Burke, who heads up the Avila Institute for Spiritual Formation, is one example.

I read Rossini's Guide straight through, but it is not a book you simply read and then set aside. Another of its strengths is the fact that you can pull it off the shelf (or call it up on the screen) and consult it when you have a question about prayer or your progress in the faith.

I highly recommend this book, not only for its answers to the reader's questions about prayer but also for its value as a guide to growing in intimacy with the Triune God.

[Judith Merryfield Judy Merryfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Book of Mental Prayer. Is not and out dated book. It is a book on contemplation, and walks you through on how to pray. There are many ways to pray and prayer. Prayer for believers, like the four steps, to Lectio Divnia is a how to on concentrating on how prayer, lectio, meditio, oratio, complativi, it takes great interest in how you communicate with scriptures, meditate into your life, like your whole being, body, soul, strength, and might.How you relate that in prayer to God, and contemplate into a lifestyle. Whether you choose this method, or other prayer forms this is a good way to learn about all prayers in yesterday's, today's, and tomorrow's, churches. I recommend it for all. If you want to find the way to illumination.