Therefore unceasing prayer is not difficult. If it is rare, that is because many hearts are not well disposed and are not sufficiently generous and faithful so as to persevere in it. No one enters into this state of prayer until he has totally abandoned himself to God. However, a few souls thus give themselves without reserve, for in the very act of giving, there are usually some secret reservations of self-love which manifest themselves later. When the giving of self is complete and sincere, God rewards it immediately by giving Himself in return. He establishes Himself in the heart and there He fashions that continuous prayer which consists in peace, recollection, and attention to God within us, even in the midst of ordinary occupations. This recollection is sensible in the beginning; it is enjoyed and recognized. Later on, it becomes entirely spiritual and is possessed without one's sensing it, and if one should grieve at losing the former sweet awareness and consolation, that is because of self-love.
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Fr. Jean Nicolas Grou, Manuel, pp. 224 f., quoted in J.G. Arintero, The Mystical Evolution, trans. Jordan Aumann (Rockford, IL: TAN Books, 1978), 2:45.
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