" 95
20 January 1955
... I have barely managed to get down to writing to you. Old age interferes - I was in hospital eleven days. They helped me greatly, for the Lord heals through doctors: the Lord created the physician, says Holy Scripture. When you address your prayer to the Saviour or the Mother of God or some saint, all these denizens of heaven hear you - have no doubt of this. Pray like this: do not make any sensory representations in your mind of the Saviour, the Mother of God, or the saints, but you should keep your mind in the words of the prayer, and your attention on the upper part of your chest. I repeat: let your attention descend from your head to the verbal region of your chest. As I said above, that is the best way to pray, and may you always use it. Of course it will be difficult at first to descend from your head to your chest, but then your attention will no longer be difficult to keep in your chest. It would be good to have a personal conversation about this. Write to me what you do not understand about prayer and I shall explain.
I wish you peace, love and concord from the Lord. "
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Again Father John speaks of turning the concentration out of the head into the chest.
I am not good at concentrating during prayer and find my thoughts go everywhere. For the most part I can be good at sticking to it and even in this I fall short but as to concentration, I am very deficient here.
I have not made a concerted effort to follow his advice about the concentration in the chest so I can offer no words. If, however, anyone reading this prays regularly and has done what Father John suggests, I would be happy to hear how you do it and what results you have experienced.
And should your method be other than what he suggests, please feel free to write about it.
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