La meditación es el medio para llegar a la contemplación . Aunque el camino resulte duro y exija esfuerzo, es mucho el fruto que obtiene quien la practica. Tras ponderar sus ventajas, el autor ofrece dos series de meditaciones para cada día de la semana sobre la fe y la Pasión de Cristo. Luego expone con lucidez las partes de la oración, algunos consejos para obtener fruto y los obstáculos que suelen presentarse. El Tratado contiene gran parte de su doctrina espiritual.
Saint Peter of Alcantara, O.F.M. (Spanish: San Pedro de Alcántara) (1499 – October 18, 1562), was a Spanish Franciscan friar canonized in 1699.
He was a man of remarkable austerity and poverty who travelled throughout Spain preaching the Gospel to the poor. He wrote a Treatise on Prayer and Meditation, which was considered a masterpiece by St. Teresa, St. Francis de Sales and Louis of Granada.
While in prayer and contemplation, he was often seen in ecstasies and levitation. In his deathbed, he was offered a glass of water which he refused, saying that "Even my Lord Jesus Christ thirsted on the Cross..." He died while on his knees in prayer on October 18, 1562 in a monastery at Arenas (now Arenas de San Pedro, Province of Ávila, Old Castile).
Finished in one sitting on Good Friday. This fortifying guide on how to properly indulge in mental prayer was written by St. Peter Alcantara and first published in 1558. I read the French 1962 version that was issued in honour of his four-centenary anniversary. It was very good, explaining in rich details the different steps of mental prayer and devotion.