Chapter XX: Prayer

I HAVE several times treated of prayer in my other spiritual works: in a little treatise at the end of the volume that contains the Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament, in the Preparation for Death, and especially in a book that I have written on prayer, entitled the Great Means of Prayer, in which I have spoken of the necessity of prayer for all, in order to obtain salvation.

In this place I will only collect the principal reflections on prayer. We shall see, in the first place, the necessity of prayer; in the second place, its efficacy before God to obtain every grace; and in the third place, we shall treat of the manner in which we must pray.

I. With regard to the necessity of prayer: it is necessary to be persuaded that we cannot perform any good action without the actual graces of God. But the Lord declares that these graces he gives only to those who ask them of him: Ask and it shall be given you.¹ He, then, says St. Teresa, who does not ask, will not receive.

For adults, prayer is necessary, as a matter of strict precept. We ought, says Jesus Christ, always to pray.”² Pray, lest ye enter into temptation.³ Ask, and you shall receive.⁴ The words, we ought, pray, ask, according to St. Thomas, and the generality of theologians, imply a strict precept that binds under pain of grievous sin. “Every man,” says the angelic Doctor, “is bound to pray, because he is bound to procure spiritual goods, which cannot be obtained unless they are asked.”¹ A person is obliged to pray, particularly in three cases: first, when he finds himself in the state of sin; secondly, when he is in danger of death; thirdly, when he is assailed by any violent temptation. Theologians teach, that ordinarily he who neglects prayer for a month, or at most for two months, is guilty of a mortal sin.²

Prayer is necessary, not only as a matter of strict precept, but, according to St. Basil, St. Augustine, St. John Chrysostom, Clement of Alexandria, and others, it is also necessary as a means of salvation, without which it is absolutely impossible for us to preserve ourselves in the grace of God, and to be saved. “It is simply impossible,” says St. John Chrysostom, “to lead, without the aid of prayer, a virtuous life.”³ Hence, Lessius concludes that it must be held as of faith, that prayer is necessary for adults, as appears from the Scriptures.⁴

The angelic Doctor teaches the same: “After baptism,” he says, “continual prayer is necessary for a man, in order to enter heaven.”⁵ Because, adds the saint, though sins are cancelled by baptism, we still have temptations to conquer, which we shall not have strength to overcome without prayer. Hence he says in another place: “After a person is justified by grace, he requires to ask of God the gift of perseverance, that he may be preserved from evil to the end of life.”⁶

¹ “Petite, et accipietis.”—John, xvi. 24.

² “Oportet semper orare.”—Luke, xviii. 1.

³ “Orate ut non intretis in tentationem.”—Mark, xiv. 38.

⁴ “Petite, et dabitur vobis.”—Matt. vii. 7.

¹ “Everyone is bound to prayer by the very fact that he is bound to procure spiritual goods for himself; these cannot be procured unless they are asked from God.”—In 4 Sent. d. 15, q. 4, a. 1.

² Lessius, De Inst. l. 2, c. 37, d. 3.

³ “Simpliciter impossibile est, absque precationis præsidio, cum virtute degere.”—De or. Deo, l. 1.

⁴ “Fide tenendum est orationem adultis ad salutem esse necessariam.”—Loco cit.

⁵ “After Baptism, however, continual prayer is necessary for a man, in order that he may enter heaven.”—P. 3, q. 39, a. 5.

⁶ “After someone has been justified by grace, he needs to ask God for the gift of perseverance, so that he may be preserved from evil until the end of life.”—1. 2, q. 109, a. 10.

To understand the reason of this doctrine, it is necessary to know, first, that without a special aid from God we cannot continue for a long time in his grace without falling into mortal sin. For we have so many enemies that continually combat against us, and we are at the same time so weak, that if God does not assist us with special helps, or if he gives us only the common graces given to all, we shall not have strength to resist. This is even a dogma of faith defined by the Council of Trent in the following words: “If any one shall say that a person who has been justified can, without special aid from God, persevere in the justice which he has received, or cannot persevere with such aid, let him be anathema.”¹ It is necessary to know, secondly, that this special aid to persevere in grace (at least, ordinarily speaking) is given only to those who ask it. “It is evident,” says St. Augustine, “that God gives, even to those that do not pray, some gifts, such as the beginning of faith; and that he prepares other graces, such as perseverance to the end, only for those who ask them.”² In a word, the holy Doctor says, that except the first graces, such as vocation to the faith or to repentance, all other graces, and particularly perseverance, God gives only to him who prays for them.

Let us, then, from all that has been said, infer the strict necessity of prayer for the attainment of salvation. All the reprobate have been damned in consequence of their neglect of prayer; had they prayed they should not be lost; and all the saints have become saints by prayer; had they neglected prayer, they would not have become saints, and should not be saved. We must live in the persuasion, St. John Chrysostom says, that to neglect prayer, and to lose the life of the soul, or the grace of God, are one and the same thing.¹ The ancient Fathers held a conference in order to determine what exercise is most necessary for a Christian, in order to obtain salvation, and they came to the conclusion that it consists in continually repeating the prayer of David: Incline unto my aid, O God; O Lord, make haste to help me.² Lord assist me, and hasten to my aid, for if Thou delay Thy assistance, I shall fall, and lose Thy grace. If we do this, we shall be certainly saved; if we neglect to do it, we shall be certainly lost.

II. In the second place, it is necessary to examine the efficacy of prayer. Theodoret says that prayer is one, but can obtain all blessings: “Prayer, though one, can do all things.” He that prays, obtains whatsoever he wishes. And in this it appears to me that God displays the immense love that he bears us, and his ardent desire to promote our welfare. What greater love can a person show to a friend than to say to him, Friend, ask what you wish from me, and I will grant your petition. This God says to each of us: Ask, and it shall be given you.³ He makes no exception: You shall ask whatever you will, and it shall be done unto you.⁴ He tells us to ask whatsoever we desire, and promises that our prayer shall be heard. St. John Climacus asserts that prayer is so powerful before God, that it, as it were, constrains him to give us all the graces we ask.⁵ Devout prayer does violence to God. We are, as David says, poor mendicants: But I am a beggar and poor.¹ But to be rich depends on ourselves: let us ask graces of God, and they shall be given us: let us ask them frequently, and they shall be poured upon us abundantly. David blessed the Lord in a special manner for his goodness in always uniting his mercy to our prayers. Blessed be God, who hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.² St. Augustine explains this passage in these words: “When you see that your prayer has not been turned away, be assured that the mercy of God is not turned away from you.”³ When you see that you pray, be certain that the divine mercy will not fail to assist you. And St. John Chrysostom says that when we pray, the Lord hears us before the conclusion of our prayers.⁴ For this, we have even God’s own promise: As they are yet speaking I will hear.⁵

III. Let us, in the third place, examine what is of the greatest importance, the conditions with which it is necessary to pray. 1.

It is necessary, in the first place, to pray with humility. God, says St. James, resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.⁶ God rejects the prayers of the proud, and does not listen to them; their pride is a wall that hinders the Lord to hear their petitions. But, on the other hand, Ecclesiasticus says that the prayer of him that humbleth himself shall pierce the clouds, . . . and he will not depart till the Most High behold.¹ The prayer of an humble soul that esteems itself unworthy of being heard penetrates the heavens, and is presented at the throne of God; and it departs not till God beholds and hears its petitions. When, therefore, we ask the divine graces, we must first cast a glance at our own unworthiness, particularly at the frequent infidelities into which, because we trusted too much in our own strength, we have fallen, after so many resolutions and promises. And, full of diffidence in ourselves, we should pray and implore of the divine mercy the aid of which we stand in need. 2.

It is necessary to pray with confidence. Ecclesiasticus says that no one has ever trusted in the Lord and has been confounded or not heard. No one hath hoped in the Lord, and hath been confounded.² We should, as St. James says, pray without wavering, and with a secure confidence of being heard. Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.³ The Apostle adds: For he that wavereth, is like a wave of the sea, which is moved and carried about by the wind. Therefore, let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord.⁴ He says that the man that prays with a doubt of being heard, being tossed like a wave of the sea, encouraged by one thought and disheartened by another, shall receive nothing from the Lord. We must, then, trust in the divine mercy, and believe that if we pray we shall certainly receive the graces that we ask; our prayer will then be certainly heard, and, as our Saviour assures us, the objects of our petitions will surely be granted. All things whatsoever you ask when ye pray, believe that you shall receive: and they shall come unto you.¹ But, says St. Augustine, how can we fear that our prayers will not be heard when God (who is truth itself) has promised to hear all who pray to him?² In another place the saint asks, how can that God, who so frequently exhorts us in the Scriptures to pray for his graces, refuse what we ask of him?³ No; this is impossible, adds the holy Doctor, for by his promises the Lord has obliged himself to grant us the graces that we ask of him. “By his promises he made himself a debtor.”⁴ But, you will say, I

am a sinner, I deserve chastisement and not favors; and therefore I am afraid, because I am not worthy to be heard. But St. Thomas answers that the efficacy of prayer to obtain the divine graces depends not on our merits, but on the mercy of God.⁵ Hence Jesus Christ has said: Ask and it shall be given you; . . . for every one that asketh receiveth.⁶ “Every one,” says the author of the “Imperfect Work,” “whether he be a just man or a sinner.”⁷ The Lord has promised to hear the prayers of all, not only of the just, but also of sinners. But to remove every apprehension, our loving Redeemer has said in another place: Amen, amen, I say to you, if you ask the Father anything in my name, he will give it you.⁸ As if he said, Sinners, you have no claim to be heard by my Father; ask his graces, then, in my name; that is, through my merits, and I promise that he will give whatsoever you ask. How consoling the words of St. James: If any want wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men abundantly, and upbraideth not.¹ If, says the Apostle, any of you want wisdom, that is, the divine love, what is he to do? Let him ask it of God, who usually dispenses his graces with a liberal hand; that is, he bestows greater favors than are asked of him. He adds, and he upbraideth not²; that is, when we ask of God his gifts he does not reject our petition, and upbraid us with the insults we have offered to him, but appears then to forget all our ingratitude; he accepts our homage and hears our prayer. 3.

It is finally necessary to pray with perseverance. St. Hilary says that to obtain the divine graces depends on our continuance in prayer.³ The Lord wishes to hear some the first time, others the second, and others the third time. Hence, since we know not how often we are to present our supplications in order to be heard, we must always continue to ask the graces of which we stand in need, and particularly the gift of final perseverance, which (as the Council of Trent teaches⁴) we cannot merit. But St. Augustine says that it may be merited in a certain manner by prayer; that is, by praying for it, it is infallibly obtained.⁵ But to obtain this gift and to be saved, it is, as St. Thomas observes, necessary for every one to ask it continually of God. “In order to enter heaven, continual prayer is necessary.”⁶ And before him, our Saviour said the same: We ought to pray always, and not to faint.¹ And the Apostle says, pray without ceasing.”² It is not enough, says Cardinal Bellarmine, to ask the gift of perseverance once, or a few times; in order to obtain it every day, we must ask it every day.³ On the day we neglect to ask it, we may fall into sin and be lost.

St. Gregory teaches that God wishes to give us perseverance, but in order to give it, he wishes to be importuned, and as it were forced by our prayers. “God,” says the holy Doctor, “wishes to be asked, he wishes to be forced, he wishes, in a certain manner, to be overcome by importunity.”⁴ This appears from the repeated exhortations of our Lord: Ask and you shall receive; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you.”⁵ Ask, seek, knock: this is necessary, particularly to obtain strength to conquer violent temptations; we must pray and multiply prayers until we are freed from the temptations. Let us continually repeat: My Jesus, mercy; Lord assist me; do not permit me to be separated from Thee.

It is also necessary to ask always the spirit of prayer, or the grace to pray continually—that great gift that God had promised to the family of David. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of prayers.”⁶ Mark the words, of grace, and of prayers; which mean, that prayer is always united to the grace we desire. He who perseveres in prayer will always be certain of not being taken in the snares of his enemies. A net is spread in vain before the eyes of them that have wings.¹ In vain, says the Wise Man, is the net cast before the eyes of the bird; for it instantly flies away and escapes the snare. Thus, they that pray escape all temptations; for by prayer they instantly fly to God, and he delivers them.

And here let us remember that there never can be any excuse for a sinner, who says that he fell because he had not strength to resist; for the Council of Trent has declared that “God does not command impossibilities, but by his precepts he admonishes you to do what you can, and to ask what you cannot do, and he assists you that you may be able to do it.”² God does not command impossibilities; but in giving us his precepts, he admonishes us to do what we can with the ordinary grace that he gives to all; and in order to be able to do what we cannot do with the ordinary grace, he admonishes us to ask the additional helps of which we stand in need; and whenever we ask them, he is ready to grant them.

The Lord then hears the prayers of all, because he has promised to hear them; but it is necessary to know that this promise does not extend to temporal favors—such as bodily health, the acquisition of wealth, or the attainment of a post of honor, and the like. For God frequently, and justly, refuses these gifts, because he knows that they would be injurious to the soul. “The physician,” says St. Augustine, “knows better than the patient what is useful for him.”³ It is not the sick man, but the physician that cures his malady, that knows what is most conducive to his recovery. If these temporal favors be the object of prayer, they should be asked with resignation, and on condition that they will be conducive to our eternal salvation; if we ask them without this resignation, the Lord will not listen to our prayers. But in praying for spiritual blessings, we must pray not conditionally, but absolutely, and with a firm confidence of obtaining them. Behold how our Saviour encourages us to ask such graces: If you then, he says, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father from heaven give the good spirit to them that ask it!¹ If you, said our Lord, who are evil, and full of self-love, cannot refuse your children what they ask, how much more will your heavenly Father, who loves you more tenderly than the fondest parent loves an only son, grant the good spirit, that is, the graces that are profitable to the soul, whenever you ask them from him?

O God, how often are the prayers of certain persons offered for temporal graces only. The time of prayer, says St. Teresa,² is not a time for treating with God on matters of little importance. Let us ask for virtues, for the divine light in order to fulfil the divine will: let us ask for meekness, for patience under crosses, for perseverance, and for divine love, which, as St. Francis de Sales says, contains all other good gifts: let us ask the grace to pray always, and to recommend ourselves continually to God. “If,” says St. Augustine, “Thou dost not hear these prayers of Thy servants, what wilt Thou hear?”³ O my Lord, what petition wilt Thou grant, if Thou neglect these that are so pleasing to Thee? Ah! the Lord desires ardently to enrich us with his gifts, because he is Infinite Goodness! So great is his desire that, as St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi says, when we ask his graces, he, in a certain manner, considers himself under an obligation to us, and thanks us, because we then give him an opportunity of satisfying his desire of promoting our welfare. If he does not bestow his graces upon us, the fault is ours; it is because we do not ask them of him. He, then, that remains in his poverty, is undeserving of compassion: he is poor because he does not wish to ask of God the graces that are necessary for him. Hence, St. Teresa used to say, that she would have wished to ascend a mountain, from which she could be heard by all men, and from which she would continually exclaim: O men, pray! pray! pray!

I will not dilate more on this subject, because, as I have said in the beginning, I have written at length on it in several places, and particularly in the little book on prayer (which is now in the hands of many), and therefore I will not weary those who have read it, by repeating the same things.

But I would wish to do nothing else than write, and speak always on this great means of prayer: for, on the one hand, I see that the Scriptures, the Old as well as the New Testament, exhort us so often to pray, to ask, and cry out, if we wish for the divine graces. Cry to me and I will hear thee.¹ Call on me . . . and I will deliver thee.² Ask and it shall be given you.³ All things whatsoever you ask when you pray, believe that you shall receive; and they shall come unto you.⁴ You shall ask whatsoever you will, and it shall be done unto you.⁵ If you shall ask me anything in my name, that I will do.¹ There are a thousand similar passages I know not how the Lord could better declare his desire to bestow his graces upon us, or the necessity we are under of asking them, if we wish to obtain them. The holy Fathers, also, continually exhort us to pray.

And to speak the truth, I complain of preachers, of confessors, and of spiritual writers, because I see that neither preachers, nor confessors, nor spiritual writers speak as much as they ought of the great means of prayer. And in so many courses of Lenten sermons, that have been published, where shall we find a discourse on prayer? Scarcely do we find a few passing words on it.

I have therefore written at length on this subject in so many of my little works; and when I preach, I do nothing else than say and repeat: Pray! pray! if you wish to be saved, and to become saints. It is true that to become saints we must have all virtues, mortification, humility, obedience, and principally holy charity; and to acquire these virtues, other means besides prayer are necessary—such as meditation, Communion, holy resolutions; but unless we pray, all our meditations, Communions, and resolutions will not make us practise mortification, humility, or obedience: we shall neither love God, nor resist temptation; in a word, we shall do no good. Hence, St. Paul, after having enumerated many virtues necessary for a Christian, tells us to be instant in prayer,² in order, as St. Thomas says³ to show that for the attainment of the virtues of which we stand in need it is necessary to attend to constant prayer, because without it we shall not have the divine aid, which is necessary for the practice of virtue.

Let us conclude. Dear sister in the Lord, if you wish to be saved, and to become a saint, recommend yourself always to Jesus Christ, to his divine mother, to your angel guardian, and to your holy advocates. Keep your mouth always open, and your heart always vigilant, saying: My God, assist me; my God, assist me; most holy Mary, pray for me; my holy angel guardian, and my holy advocates, assist me. The great servant of God, and the great missionary, Father Leonard of Port Maurice (who died a few years since at Rome, with the reputation of a saint), used to say that we should not allow a moment to pass without repeating with the tongue, or in the mind, the little prayer, My Jesus, mercy! My Jesus, mercy! These words (he would say) contain an act of sorrow, and a prayer for grace to sin no more. He relates, in his most beautiful little work, The Sacred Manual for Nuns, that he knew a holy man who always repeated these words, My Jesus, mercy! so that he sometimes repeated them three hundred times in a quarter of an hour. I advise you to do the same; endeavor to repeat this prayer as often as you remember it; when you awake, at your meditations, after Communion, at your work, at your recreations, at table, and at the grate, repeat continually: My Jesus, mercy! My Jesus, mercy! And in repeating it, let your intention be to say: My Jesus, by my sins I would deserve hell, but trusting in Thy mercy I hope for pardon, and the grace to love Thee always: my Jesus, assist me. And do not forget to recommend yourself to the divine Mother, who is called the treasurer and dispensator of the divine graces. Hence, St. Bernard says: “Let us ask grace, and let us ask it through Mary; for what she seeks she finds, and she cannot be disappointed.”¹ Prayer. (It would be advisable to recite the following prayer every day.)

Eternal Father, Thy Son has promised that Thou wilt grant us all the graces that we shall ask of Thee in his name. Trusting then, in this great promise, I, in the name and through the merits of Jesus Christ, ask of Thee the following graces; and what I ask for myself, I intend to ask for all men. First, I ask

the pardon of all the offences I have offered to Thee, for which I am sorry, above all things, with my whole heart, because I have despised Thy infinite goodness; and I purpose to die a thousand times rather than ever more offend Thee.

Secondly, I ask Thy divine light, which will make me see the vanity of all the goods of this earth, and Thy infinite greatness and goodness.

Thirdly, I ask Thy holy love, which will detach me from all creatures, and particularly from myself, that I may love nothing but Thee, and Thy most holy will. Kindle the fire of Thy love in my heart.¹

Fourthly, give me confidence in the merits of Jesus Christ, and in the patronage of Mary. Fifthly, I

ask holy perseverance in Thy grace. Lord, Thou knowest my weakness, and my frequent infidelities after so many promises; if Thou do not constantly assist me with Thy aid, I will again miserably lose Thy graces: my God, do not permit this: do not permit me to be separated from Thee:² do not permit me to be separated from Thee. I purpose, in all my temptations and necessities, to have recourse to Thee; and I am certain that as often as I recommend myself to Thee, I shall receive Thy aid; but I fear that I shall neglect to have recourse to Thee, and that this neglect may be the cause of my ruin. Ah! eternal Father, through the love which Thou dost bear to Jesus Christ, grant me the grace of prayer, that is, the grace to pray to Thee always for Thy aid, always repeating, My God, assist me: my Jesus, mercy: Mary, my mother, pray for me.

To thee, in fine, I turn, O Mary, my advocate and hope; thou dost obtain from God whatsoever thou askest. I entreat thee, through the love that thou bearest to Jesus Christ, to obtain for me holy perseverance, and the grace to recommend myself always to thy Son, and to thee,

¹ “If anyone shall say that a justified person can persevere in the justice received without the special help of God, or cannot persevere with it, let him be anathema.”—Sess. 6, can. 22.

² “It is evident that God gives some things even to those who do not pray, such as the beginning of faith; other things he has prepared only for those who pray, such as perseverance to the end.”—De Dono pers. c. 16.

¹ “Persuasum habeamus quod animæ mors sit, non provolvi ad Dei genua.”—De or. Deo, l. 1.

² “Deus, in adjutorium meum intende; Domine ad adjuvandum me festina.”—Ps. lxix. 1.

³ “Petite, et dabitur vobis.”—Luke, xi. 9.

⁴ “Quodcumque volueritis, petetis, et fiet vobis.”—John, xv. 7.

⁵ “Oratio pia Deo vim infert.”—Scal. par. gr. 28.

¹ “Ego autem mendicus sum et pauper.”—Ps. xxxix. 18.

² “Benedictus Deus, qui non amovit orationem meam et misericordiam suam a me.”—Ps. lxv. 20.

³ “When you see that your supplication has not been taken away from you, be assured that his mercy has not been taken away from you.”

⁴ “Semper obtinetur, etiam dum adhuc oramus.”

⁵ “Adhuc illis loquentibus, ego audiam.”—Is. lxv. 24.

⁶ “Deus superbis resistit; humilibus autem dat gratiam.”—James, iv. 6.

¹ “The prayer of one who humbles himself will pierce the clouds, . . . and will not depart until the Most High looks upon it.”—Ecclus. xxxv. 21.

² “Nullus speravit in Domino, et confusus est.”—Ecclus. ii. 11.

³ “Postulet autem in fide, nihil hæsitans.”—James, i. 6.

⁴ “For he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, which is moved and driven about by the wind; therefore let that man not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord.”—Ibid. 6, 7.

¹ “Omnia quæcumque orantes petitis, credite quia accipietis, et evenient vobis.”—Mark, xi. 24.

² “Quis falli timeat, cum promittit Veritas?”—Conf. l. 12, c. 1.

³ “Hortatur ut petas; negabit quod petis?”—Serm. 61, E. B.

⁴ “Promittendo, debitorem se Deus fecit.”—Serm. 110, E. B.

⁵ “Oratio, in impetrando, non innititur merito, sed divinæ misericordiæ.”—2. 2, q. 178, a. 2.

⁶ “Petite, et dabitur vobis; . . . omnis enim qui petit, accipit.”—Luke, xi. 9.

⁷ “Omnis, sive justus, sive peccator sit.”—In Matt. hom. 18.

⁸ “Amen, amen dico vobis: si quid petieritis Patrem in nomine meo, dabit vobis.”—John, xvi. 23.

² “Non improperat.”—Ibid.

³ “Obtinere, in sola precum mora est.”—In Matt. can. 6.

⁴ Sess. 6, cap. 13.

⁵ “Hoc Dei donum suppliciter emereri potest.”—De Dono pers. c. 6.

⁶ “Necessaria est homini jugis oratio, ad hoc quod cœlum introeat.”—P. 3, q. 39, a. 5.

¹ “Oportet semper orare, et non deficere.”—Luke, xviii. 1.

² “Sine intermissione orate.”—1 Thess. v. 17.

³ “Quotidie petenda est, ut quotidie obtineatur.”

⁴ “Vult Deus rogari, vult cogi, vult quadam importunitate vinci.”—In Ps. pœnit. vi.

⁵ “Petite, et dabitur vobis; quærite, et invenietis; pulsate, et aperietur vobis.”—Luke, xi. 9.

⁶ “Effundam super domum David, et super habitatores Jerusalem, spiritum gratiæ et precum.”—Zach. xii. 10.

¹ “Frustra jacitur rete ante oculos pennatorum.”—Prov. i. 17.

² “God does not command impossibilities; but by commanding he admonishes you both to do what you can and to ask for what you cannot; and he helps you so that you may be able.”—Sess. 6, cap. 11.

³ “Quid infirmo sit utile, magis novit medicus, quam ægrotus.”—Ap. S. Prosp. sent. 212.

¹ “If you, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father from heaven give the good spirit to those who ask him!”—Luke, xi. 13.

² Way of Perf. ch. 1.

³ “Quas tuorum preces exaudis, si has non exaudis?”—De Civ. D. l. 22, c. 8.

¹ “Clama ad me, et exaudiam te.”—Jer. xxxiii. 3.

² “Invoca me, . . . eruam te.”—Ps. xlix. 15.

³ “Petite, et dabitur vobis.”—Matt. vii. 7.

⁴ “Omnia quæcumque orantes petitis, credite quia accipietis, et evenient vobis.”—Mark, xi. 24.

⁵ “Quodcumque volueritis, petetis, et fiet vobis.”—John, xv. 7.

¹ “Si quid petieritis me in nomine meo, hoc faciam.”—John, xiv. 14.

² “Orationi instantes.”—Rom. xii. 12.

³ In Rom. xii. lect. 2.

¹ “Let us seek grace, and let us seek it through Mary; for what she seeks she finds, and she cannot be frustrated.”—De Aquæd.

¹ “Tui amoris in corde meo ignem accende.”

² “Ne permittas me separari a te.”

1 “Si quis autem vestrum indiget sapientia, postulet a Deo, qui dat omnibus affluenter.”—James, i. 5.