Article — Gury-Ballerini, Compendium of Moral Theology (8th ed., 1884)
Article II. On Prayer
- DEFINITION. Prayer, taken more broadly, is the elevation of the mind to God, or any pious affection of the soul toward God and toward supernatural things. But in the stricter sense it is a petition of fitting things from God. - St. Thom. 2. 2. qu. 83. art. 1. - St. Lig. at the beginning of this Treatise.
DIVISION. It is 1º mental or vocal, according as it is performed by the mind alone, or the concepts of the mind are also expressed by the mouth; - 2º private or public, according as it is done by a private person and in a private name, or in community or by the authority and in the name of the Church.
Principles. - I. Prayer is necessary for all adults by necessity of precept, indeed more probably by necessity of means. - 1º This is proved from innumerable passages of Sacred Scripture, for example Matt. 14. 38: Watch and pray. - Luke 18. 1: It is necessary always to pray and not to faint. - 2º Because prayer is the ordinary means established by God for obtaining necessary graces: Ask, and you shall receive. John 16. 24. - St. Lig. l. 3. n. 1.
II. The precept of praying obliges frequently, as is clear from the cited texts, yet not without interruption, which is impossible to human weakness. Therefore the words, It is necessary always to pray, according to the common interpretation of the Doctors, signify that one must pray frequently at an opportune time, and that one must never cease from weariness, torpor, or dejection of soul; or also that our actions generally must be directed to God.
III. Prayer furnished with the due conditions has infallible efficacy from the promise of Christ. Luke 11. 10: Everyone who asks, receives, etc. - John 16. 25: If you ask the Father anything in my name, he will give it to you.
But the conditions required are that it be 1º pious, devout, and attentive; - 2º with perseverance; - 3º with humility and confidence; - 4º concerning necessary or useful things.
Temporal things ought not to be asked except with at least an implicit condition, namely insofar as they can contribute to the salvation of the soul.
- Q. 1º When does the precept of prayer urge?
Resp. 1º It urges per se frequently, so that it cannot be omitted for a notable time without sin; according to the common opinion, the time of one month is reputed notable. - Suarez, Lessius, etc. The stricter say that a week suffices for grave fault. But the more lax require a whole year 1. For the rest, the Confessor, as the Doctors have it, Resp. 2º It urges per accidens 1º in grave temptation, which cannot easily be repelled in another way; 2º in manifest danger of death; 3º in public calamities; 4º whenever another precept must be fulfilled for which prayer is necessary, for example, if Sacraments are to be received; 5º whenever some special divine help seems necessary to us.
1 One must distinguish when a man is bound to pray by force of another precept, for example if it is necessary for conquering temptation, for disposing himself to justification, etc., and when he is obliged from natural right alone or from the precept of religion.
As to the first, from common doctrine, whoever, then noticing the necessity of praying, neglects prayer, sins; yet this omission does not have a malice distinct from that sin into which he falls, and this from the general principle concerning the guilt of an omitted means which was necessary for avoiding some sin.
As to the other, however, although all the Doctors affirm that from natural right one must pray at some time, nevertheless nothing among them is more uncertain than the time for fulfilling this precept. Most acknowledge frankly that the time of frequency cannot be determined sufficiently, as is also customarily said concerning the precepts of charity or penance (See Struggl, Tr. 5 q. 1. n. 23., who says this opinion is common among Theologians). - Some, besides the time of the first use of reason and the article of death, require that one pray at least once in the year. Thus with others the Salmanticenses (Tr. 21. cap. 9. n. 17.). Some think this obligation urges every month, yet adding nothing concerning the lightness or gravity of this obligation. Thus Bonacina (De Hor. Can. Disp. 1. q. 2. p. 1. n. 12.), Suarez (De Orat. lib. 1. cap. 30. n. 16.), although he speaks doubtfully (for he says: the delay of one year is not to be permitted, nor perhaps of one month), and Lessius (De Iust. et Iur. Lib. 2. cap. 37. n. 12.), who nevertheless is not firm in it, when he writes, to one month or another; and John of St. Thomas (2. 2. q. 83. art. III. n. 6.) called the opinion of these (Suarez and Lessius), conceived in the aforesaid words, sufficiently reasonable. - Progressing further, Palaus called this monthly obligation grave (Tr. 7 Disp. 1. p. 8. n. 3.), to whom the Salmanticenses (l. c.) wrongly joined John of St. Thomas; and Roncaglia (Tr. 7. Q. 1. cap. 1. q. VII.) followed him by way of opinion (I would think, he says); although the opinion of Palaus scarcely pertains here, since he expressly discusses prayer necessary for conquering temptations. Finally certain others said that this precept urges every week, thinking, that is, that the precept of hearing Mass can scarcely be satisfied unless some prayer is added: which opinion, besides the fact that it does not bear upon the matter, because it discusses prayer as a means for observing another precept, is commonly rejected both as to itself and as to the reason brought forward.
Let us conclude by recalling here the principle admitted by all, namely that a grave fault or obligation is not to be asserted unless a manifest and evident reason demands it; but it is manifestly clear that a reason of this kind is lacking with regard to grave weekly or monthly obligations, since no one has yet been able to see it. Add also the very tangled question afterward, what is necessary for avoiding grave fault, whether it is enough to have said once: God, help me, or something else. Therefore A. deservedly warns that the Confessor ought to insist more on inculcating the necessity of praying frequently than on determining the gravity of the omission. ought to be more solicitous in inculcating the necessity of praying frequently, than in determining the grave fault of omitted prayer.
- Q. 2º Does one sin who omits morning or evening prayers?
Resp. Neg. precisely per se, if they are only sometimes omitted. The reason is that there is no law which commands determined prayers on individual days and at certain hours. Yet some warn that rarely is some fault of negligence and acedia absent.
For the rest, in practice, those who more often omit them cannot be entirely excused from some fault, both because perhaps they pray very little at another time, or in another way, and thus at some time they will fail in the precept of prayer; and because, on account of the dangers which occur daily, when prayer is neglected, they will fall into many sins.
Q. 3º In what way does one sin who is voluntarily distracted in prayer?
Resp. Per se he sins venially, whenever without a just reason he is voluntarily distracted; and this holds even if prayer is made without obligation, because he inflicts some irreverence upon God. - Elbel, n. 419.
- Q. 4º For whom must one pray?
Resp. 1º For ourselves (according to the first rule of Charity); 2º for all wayfaring men, even infidels; 3º for souls detained in purgatory. It is drawn 1º from the general law of Charity; 2º from the words of St. Paul, 1 Tim. 2. 1: I beseech therefore first of all that supplications, prayers, petitions, thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings, etc.; nor are enemies to be excepted, as is clear from the words of Christ, Matt. 5. 44: Pray for those persecuting and calumniating you 2.
2 He satisfies this duty of praying for all, who, although in praying he employs no memory of others, nevertheless in prayers which are not poured forth only for himself, of which kind are the Lord's Prayer, the Angelic Salutation, etc., positively excludes no one.
Q. 5º Whom besides God can we pray to?
Resp. The Blessed Virgin Mary, as our mediatrix; Angels, as guardians of men; all the Saints and friends of God, as our intercessors before Him. Privately there can also be invoked baptized infants who died before the use of reason, and according to Less., Bellarm., Bonac., Elbel..., the same must more probably be said concerning souls detained in purgatory.
But invocation of the Saints is of counsel, not however of precept, since Trent, sess. 25., says only that it is good and useful to invoke them. Yet he who never invokes the Blessed Virgin Mary will seem very careless of his salvation, since by a peculiar and marvelous providence she has been constituted our mediatrix.