Letter 3 - Unceasing PrayerMilan, July 28, 1531To the honorable Mr. Carlo Magni,38 a most upright attorney,whom I honor as a father. At St. Anthony’s,In Cremona. VERY DEAR FATHER AND BROTHER IN CHRIST, GREETINGS.I have received your letter of the 23rd of this month, and I set out to answer it only after kneeling a long time before the Crucifix on your behalf, for I think it is necessary to learn from Him what I have to teach you.  Had you not employed such a warm and amiable insistence, I would have almost preferred to keep silent; but moved by your entreaty, I will stammer out what I am unable to express clearly.Thus, dear father in Christ, since your professional activity is quite binding, taking much of your time and energy, necessity suggests choosing a fitting method of prayer.  That’s why I would like you to practice, as much as you can, the following three exercises:First, give yourself to prayer in the morning and at night, as well as at any other hour within a set schedule or not,—at any time, that is, day or night,—in any position, that is, in bed or out of it, kneeling or sitting or as you think best,—and most of all before you start your professional work, usually without any set order, for a short or a long time, as God may grant it to you.Discuss with Christ everything that may be happening to you: your doubts and your difficulties, especially the hardest ones.  Present to Him your reasons, thoroughly but as briefly as possible.  Then, only propose to Him the solution you think is the right one or, even better, ask for His opinion; for He will not refuse it if you gently insist.  I can assure you that He will let Himself be compelled to give it to you, if, again, you really want to have it.I am indeed deeply convinced that we can learn more about human laws directly from the legislator than from anybody else, especially when that legislator is himself the rule and the pattern of all things, and knows how to explain and disentangle the sophisms of the devil.  Indeed, how much more thoroughly will he be able to unravel those of men?  Needless to say, if one does not believe this truth, he believes still less that God takes such good care of us that He will not let a single hair of our heads be lost;41 and again, that He is so wise that He will show the wise of this world for what they are: fools and know-nothings.42Well, then, if in favor of those who have recourse to Him God destroys all the sophistic stratagems of modern men, who seem so intent in separating man from God, can’t you imagine how He will disperse other less complicated machinations much more easily?  And if, in a sense, one can unite himself to God, even in the midst of worldly distractions, how much more easily will he be able to unite himself to Him in circumstances more favorable to recollection?Then, my very dear father in Christ, enter into conversation with Jesus Crucified as familiarly as you would with me; and discuss with Him all or just a few of your problems, according to the time at your disposal.  Chat with Him and ask His advice on all your affairs, whatever they may be, whether spiritual or temporal, whether for yourself or for other people.If you practice this way of prayer, I can assure you that little by little you will derive from it both great spiritual profit and an ever-greater love relationship with Christ.  I am not going to add anything else, for I want experience to speak for itself.The second exercise, which will help you practice the first one and will obtain from God a greater abundance of grace, is the constant lifting up of the mind to God.  You, my dear friend, cannot do without it; for the greater the danger and the more important the matter, a steadier application and sharper sight are required from you.By nature, man finds it difficult to be recollected and, much more so, to be united with God because his spirit is naturally driven in different directions and is unable to focus on one thing.  This exer