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Meditation. 
M EDITATION, that is contemplative prayer, consists in dwelling upon 
the truths of religion, in order to awaken within our minds good 
resolutions. 
Costly spices give out their aroma most freely when they are bruised 
in a mortar; so the truths of religion have most influence upon the soul that 
ponders on them. One who meditates upon holy things is like a man strik¬ 
ing fire with flint and steel; he strikes the stony heart with the keen edge 
of the understanding until sparks fly out, that is, good resolutions are elic¬ 
ited from the will. By means of meditation we obtain many actual graces; 
for as we receive light and warmth when we stand by a fire, so by medita¬ 
tion upon the truths of religion the mind is enlightened , and the heart is 
inflamed with the love of justice. It is a furnace wherein the fire of divine 
charity is kindled, a door whereby divine grace enters into the heart of man. 
A soul that practices meditation is like a cultivated field which produces 
abundant fruit, a well-watered garden in which flowers bloom luxuriantly. 
“Happy is the man ” says therefore the Scripture, “who delights (medi¬ 
tates) in the law of the Lord. lie shall he like a tree planted hy the water¬ 
sidehearing excellent fruit, and whose foliage shall not wither. 
