If You Want to Leave in the Middle of Prayer...

                              'Take no notice of that feeling you get

                              of wanting to leave off in the middle of your prayer, 

                              but praise the Lord for the desire you have to pray.  

                              That, you may be sure, comes from your will 

                              which loves to be with God.  

                              It is just melancholy that oppresses you 

                              and gives you the feeling of constraint.
           
                             Try occasionally, 

                             when you feel yourself oppressed in that way, 

                             to go to some place where you can see the sky, 

                             and walk up and down a little... 

                             It is essential that the soul be led gently.' 

                                St. Teresa of Avila

                             Painting:  George Hitchcock, Calypso