St. Gregory the Great
Dialogues
The Fourth Book › Chapter Fifty-nine: How We Ought to Procure Sorrow of Heart, at the Time of the Holy Mysteries: And of the Custody of Our Soul After Contrition.
Chapter Fifty-nine: how we ought to procure sorrow of heart, at the time of the holy mysteries: and of the custody of our soul after contrition.
But necessary it is that, when we do these things, we should also, by contrition of heart, sacrifice ourselves unto almighty God: for when we celebrate the mystery of our Lord's passion, we ought to imitate what we then do: for then shall it truly be a sacrifice for us unto God, if we offer ourselves also to him in sacrifice. Careful also must we be, that after we have bestowed some time in prayer, that, as much as we can by God's grace, we keep our mind fixed in him, so that no vain thoughts make us to fall unto dissolution, nor any foolish mirth enter into our heart: lest the soul, by reason of such transitory thoughts, lose all that which it gained by former contrition. For so Anne deserved to obtain that which she craved at God's hand, because after her tears, she preserved herself in the former force of her soul: for of her thus it is written: And her looks were not any more changed to divers things.[4:87] She therefore, that forgot not what she desired, was not deprived of that gift which she requested.
Edition notes (Gardner / P.W.)
[4:87] 1 1 Kings 1. 18.
Source: Dialogues (Tertullian.org)