I occasionally read at the Bellarmine Forums and I had to share this response on a thread I saw there that I think is excellent. The thread was started by John Lane, the forum owner, and is called "Learning Sacred Doctrine." He opens the thread by giving a solid, long-term plan, including studying philosophy, catechisms, and theology manuals. A few posts later, a member named Pascual posts this gem:

Sometime ago a friend and I were discussing this topic, and one of the things that was mentioned in the conversation was the moral necessity of having a prudent and devout Spiritual Director, who would guide the individual in the cultivation and progress of the interior life and the ways of prayer, whilst the individual endeavors to learn sacred doctrine as outlined above by Mr. Lane.

Although the exigencies and limitations of present day circuмstances would make it difficult to have a good Priest provide constant and systematic private tutelage in sacred doctrine to an individual (especially one not called to Sacred Orders), nevertheless one may have access to a Priest in the Confessional on a regular basis and from time to time have sessions of spiritual counseling. Such a Father Confessor can guide the individual so that he does not succuмb to pride, delusion, error, etc., to which many layfolk surrender themselves whilst endeavoring to study these sacred matters, and thus help him build a strong foundation of prayer and good works whereupon the edifice of sound erudition may be built.

This is a point that is often forgotten and neglected. It often happens that certain souls neglect prayer for the sake of study, and this is often a dangerous delusion which can ultimately imperil the salvation of the individual. So many have been the heresies, errors and dissensions that have had their ultimate origin in such a diabolical disorientation. It is as has been written above:

Quote:
Do all of the above in the spirit of prayer, asking God for the graces necessary and to enlighten you as far as He deigns, for the good of your soul.


Prayer should be the primal concern of the student of sacred doctrine. There is a certain prayer that I would especially recommend: the sublime prayer of St. Thomas, to be said before study (Enchiridion Indulgentiarum: n. 738), which is richly indulged, perhaps in order to promote and sanctify the study of sacred doctrine:

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This was taken from the tome Breviary Prayers from the Roman Breviary: A Translation of the Communion and Occasional Prayers (Boston, Mass.: Society for the Propagation of the Faith, 1943).

The Holy Rosary is above all the school of contemplation, wherein the Mysteries of the Faith shine forth before the eyes of the soul with a supernal effulgence that dispels the darkness of sin and ignorance and illumines the soul with a vivifying light that harmonizes prayer with study, and makes the interior and exterior life of the student correspond with these elements that enlighten and strengthen one another.

In my personal experience, a well-meditated and well-said Rosary has in some instances taught me more regarding certain truths than the Manuals and treatises of sacred theology, perhaps because in the course of meditating upon the Rosary Mysteries certain theological principles taken on a profundity and immensity that overwhelm and thrill the amplitude of the soul, so that in due time discursive reasoning at times gives way to the simple and prolonged gaze of the soul rapt in mute veneration and devout dread before the inexhaustible riches of the wisdom and goodness of God. If this continues, and the soul begins to be purified passively (having already been purged actively by the penance and self-abnegation characteristic of the purgative way) and becomes more detached from self and more docile to the Holy Ghost, then the soul enters the ethereal, transluminous realm of the mystical ways of prayer.

Such is the power of the Holy Rosary, and why it was so recommended by Our Lady at Fatima and elsewhere, and so richly indulged and promoted by the Supreme Pontiffs and lauded by Saints and spiritual authors. For the student of sacred doctrine the Holy Rosary is truly the path not only to sacred knowledge, but to holy contemplation, the plenitude of infused faith which is the object of theology.

To conclude: a student of sacred doctrine must be given over to prayer first and foremost, and must frequent the holy Sacraments and avail himself of the spiritual direction of a devout and learned Priest (either personally or by correspondence if a Priest is not accessible because of the times). Availing oneself of the divinely-ordained patronage and tutelage of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Sedes sapientiae, by means of the devotion of the Holy Rosary is morally indispensable for the fruitful study of sacred doctrine, for the greater glory of Our Lord and for the salvation and edification of souls.

These are at least my personal impressions and opinions.

(The bold-face in the above quote is my own addition.)

A real beauty, right? Unfortunately, the quote from St, Thomas didn't come out but here is the link: http://strobertbellarmine.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=986