e mind to what is read is another help to pious
recitation. It seems to be a useless repetition of an obvious fact that
to apply the mind to the prayers read, helps to ward off and to drive
away distractions. Such a practice is natural for a person of
intelligence, and the Church wishes and expects such intelligent and
heartfelt prayer. God said to the Jewish priests what applies to the
Christian priesthood, too: "And now, O ye priests, this commandment is
to you, if you will not hear, if you will not lay it to heart to give
glory to My name, saith the Lord of Hosts, I will curse your blessings,
because you have not laid it to heart" (Mal. ii. 1-2). Christ complained
about the Jewish people who honoured Him with their lips, but had their
hearts far from Him. And God's great servants realized this fully. St.
Paul said, "And he that speaketh by a tongue (the gift of speaking
strange tongues) let him pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in a
tongue my spirit prayeth, _but my understanding is without fruit_. What
is it then? I will pray with the spirit. I will pray also with the
understanding. I will sing with the spirit, I will sing also with the
understanding" (I. Cor. xiv. 13-15). St. Gregory the Great said that
true prayer consists not only in the articulation of the words, but also
in the attention of the heart; for to obtain the divine graces our good
desires have greater efficacy than mere words (_Moral, lib_. 22. _cap_.
13). Peter de Blois wrote of the priests of his time, "_Labia sunt in
canticis et animus in patinis_! Their lips are in the psalms, but their
heart is in the dishes!" (_Selva_). "_Age quod agis_," says the
_Imitation of Christ_.

VI. It is advisable not to dwell on the literary excellence of the
Breviary during the recitation of the Office. It is a useful thing that
priests should recognise the authorship of the psalms recited, their
probable dates, the circumstances of their composition, the sublimity of
their thought, the peculiarity of their Hebrew style, the rhythm and
poetry of the Hebrews. But the _dwelling_ on these thoughts leads to
distractions. Again, some priests, like the clerics of the Renaissance
and post-Renaissance times, despise and dislike the Breviary for its
alleged barbarous style. These unworthy and foolish sentiments are met
with, very rarely. They are opposed to the priestly spirit, which should
love and respect the Scripture extracts, God's inspired words. The
homilies f