Chapter — Koch–Preuss
Chapter II: The Necessity of Prayer and the Duty of Praying
- THE NECESSITY OF PRAYER.—Prayer is necessary for every adult human being because without it no one can be saved. It is necessary by virtue of a positive divine command (necessitate praecepti), as may be gathered from many passages of Sacred Scripture; but it is also necessary as a means to attain salvation (necessitate medii) because prayer is the ordinary instrument which God has provided for obtaining the graces without which no man can save his soul.1
1 Cfr. Gury, Compendium Theol. Mor., I, n. 251: “Prayer is necessary for all adults by necessity of precept, indeed more probably by necessity of means. The former is proved from numerous passages of Sacred Scripture, e.g. Mt. XXVI, 41, Lc. XVIII, 1. The reason for the latter is that prayer is the ordinary means established by God for obtaining necessary graces (Io. XVI, 24).” Cfr. Cat. Rom., P. IV, c. 1, qu. 2–4.
Christ Himself inculcated the duty of prayer by word and example. “Thus therefore shall you pray,” He says: “Our Father who art in heaven,” etc.2 “Watch ye, and pray that ye enter not into temptation.”3 “Going out, he went into a desert place: and there he prayed.”4 “And I say to you, ask; and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.”5 “He spoke a parable to them, that we ought always to pray.”6 “He said to them: Pray, lest ye enter into temptation.”7 “And being in agony, He prayed the longer.”8
2 Matt. VI, 9 sqq.
4 Mark I, 35.
5 Luke XI, 9 sqq.
7 Luke XXII, 40 sqq.
The Apostles faithfully echo the teaching and reinforce the example of their Master. “Let us rejoice in hope,” says St. Paul, and be “patient in tribulation, instant in prayer.”9 “By all prayer and supplication praying at all times in the spirit.”10 “Pray without ceasing.”11 Saint Peter writes: “Be prudent, therefore, and watch in prayers.”12 St. John assures us that “whatsoever we shall ask according to his will, he heareth us.”13
9 Rom. XII, 12; cfr. Col. IV, 2.
10 Eph. VI, 18.
11 1 Thess. V, 17.
12 1 Pet. IV, 7.
13 1 John V, 14.
The Fathers of the Church again and again insist on the necessity of prayer. Thus St. Cyprian says: “The Lord taught us to pray, not only by words, but also in deed, praying frequently Himself and thus showing us by His example what our duty is. . . . If He who was without sin prayed, how much more must sinners pray? If He spent the whole night in watching and praying, how much more should we pray and watch!”14 Saint Ambrose writes: “The Lord Himself spent all night in prayer, in order to invite you by His example to pray.”15 And St. Augustine: “Christ, who was the only-begotten Son, co-eternal with the Father, appeared in the form of a servant, and as such could have prayed silently; but He desired to appear petitioning the Father in such a way as to remember that He was our teacher,” i. e., in whatever He did, He never forgot that He was our teacher.16
14 De Dom. Orat., c. 29: “The Lord taught us to pray, not only by words, but also in deed, praying frequently Himself and entreating and showing by the testimony of His example what it behooved us to do. . . . But if He who was without sin prayed, how much more does it behoove sinners to pray! And if He watched throughout the whole night praying with continual prayers, how much more ought we to watch at night in frequent prayer.” (Corpus Script. Eccles. Lat. Vindob., Vol. III, I, 288).
15 Expos. in Ps., 118, s. 8, n. 45: “The Lord Himself spent the night in prayer, that He might invite you by His own example to pray.”—Cfr. the same Father’s Expos. in Lucam, l. V, n. 10: “The Lord also is first said to have prayed (Lc. V, 16), certainly not for aid, but for example; for He gave a model for imitation, not seeking influence to obtain something.” (Migne, P. L., XV, 1313, 1638).
16 Tract. in Ioan., 104, n. 2: “The Lord, the only-begotten and co-eternal with the Father, could, in the form of a servant and from the form of a servant, if this were necessary, pray in silence; but He willed so to present Himself to the Father as a petitioner that He remembered He was our teacher.” (Migne, P. L., XXXV, 1902).
In view of these and many other similar texts we may say without exaggeration that it is the unanimous teaching of Sacred Scripture and tradition that no adult who has the use of reason can be saved without prayer, and that whoever habitually neglects this indispensable means of grace, forfeits his soul’s salvation.
- WHAT IT MEANS TO PRAY WITHOUT CEASING.—In saying that we ought to pray “always” and “without ceasing,”18 Sacred Scripture does not, of course, mean that we must be continually engaged in actual prayer, but that we should have that habitual or virtual disposition which the theologians call “a good intention” and through which man’s whole life becomes, as it were, one continuous prayer or act of divine worship. “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do, do all to the glory of God,” says the Apostle.19 “Whatever you do,” writes St. Augustine, “do with a good intention, and you will be praising God.”20
18 Luke XVIII, 1; XXI, 36; 1 Thess. V, 17; cfr. Eph. VI, 18.
19 1 Cor. X, 31.
20 Enarr. in Ps., XXXIV, s. 2, n. 16: “Who can endure praising God all day? I suggest a remedy whereby you may praise God all day, if you wish. Whatever you do, do well and you have praised God. When you sing a hymn, you praise God: what is your tongue doing unless your conscience also praises Him? You have ceased singing the hymn and depart to refresh yourself? Do not get drunk, and you have praised God. You depart to sleep? Do not rise up to curse, and you have praised God. You conduct business? Do not commit fraud, and you have praised God. You cultivate a field? Do not stir up strife, and you have praised God. By the innocence of your works prepare yourself to praise God all day.” (Migne, P. L., XXXVI, 341).
Gury tersely explains the duty of prayer as follows: “The command to pray obliges frequently, but not without intermission, because to pray without intermission is impossible on account of human weakness. The words, ‘pray al- ways,’ or ‘pray without ceasing,’ therefore, according to the common interpretation of theologians, mean that we must pray frequently, whenever an occasion offers, and never cease to pray because of disgust, sloth, or discouragement; in other words, that we must direct all our actions to God.”21
21 Compend. Theol. Mor., I, n. 251: “The precept of praying obliges frequently, but not without intermission, which is impossible for human weakness. The words, therefore, ‘we ought always to pray,’ signify, according to the common interpretation of the doctors, that one must pray frequently at an opportune time and never cease because of weariness, sluggishness, dejection of spirit, or even that our actions generally must be directed to God.”
What we may call the moral continuity of prayer consists in preserving the virtue of charity, which is the true source of all prayer. We should pour out our soul before God, as it were, frequently and in the most ardent manner of which we are capable. This is the sense of the maxim: “Pray often, but briefly,” which governed the conduct of so many saints.22
22 Cfr. St. Augustine, Enarr. in Ps., XXXVII, n. 14: “Your desire is your prayer, and if the desire is continuous, the prayer is continuous. For the Apostle did not say in vain: ‘Pray without intermission’ (1 Thess. V, 17). Do we bend the knee without intermission, prostrate the body, or raise the hands, that he may say: ‘Pray without intermission’? Or if we say that we pray thus, I think we cannot do this without intermission. There is another interior prayer without intermission, which is desire. Whatever else you do, if you desire that sabbath, you do not cease to pray. If you do not wish to cease praying, do not cease desiring. Your continuous desire is your continuous voice. You will be silent if you cease loving.” (Migne, P. L., XXXVI, 404).
“When charity grows cold,” says St. Augustine, “the heart becomes silent; when love burns warmly, the heart calls to God. If charity glows always, your heart prays, and if you pray always, you desire always, and if you desire, you think of Heaven.”23
23 IDEM, ibid.: “The coldness of charity is the silence of the heart; the burning of charity is the cry of the heart. If charity always remains, you always cry, you always desire; if you desire, you remember rest.”
“The cause of prayer,” says St. Thomas, “is the desire of the heart, from which prayer must proceed, and which must be continuous in us, either actually or virtually, for the power of this desire is in everything that we do out of charity. Now we must ‘do all to the glory of God,’ as the Apostle says; and therefore our prayer must be continuous. ‘Through faith, hope, and charity,’ as St. Augustine puts it, ‘we pray incessantly with a continuous desire.’”24
24 Summa Theol., 2a 2ae, qu. 83, art. 14: “The cause of prayer is the desire of charity, from which prayer must proceed; and this must be continuous in us, either actually or virtually, for the power of this desire remains in all things which we do from charity. But we ought to do all things for the glory of God, as is said in 1 Cor. X, 31. And according to this prayer ought to be continuous. Hence Augustine says: Through faith and hope and charity we always pray with a continuous desire.”
By entertaining such a desire habitually, and with the aid of short and ardent exclamations known as ejaculatory prayers (preces iaculatoriae sive iaculatae), we can comply almost literally with the command to pray without ceasing.25
25 St. Augustine, Epist., 130 (al. 121), c. 10, n. 20: “The brothers in Egypt are said indeed to have frequent prayers, but nevertheless very brief ones and as if hurriedly ejaculated, lest that watchfully raised intention, which is most necessary for prayer, vanish and grow dull through longer delays. And by this they also show sufficiently that this intention, just as it must not be blunted if it cannot last, so if it does last, must not quickly be broken off.” (Migne, P. L., XXXII, 501).—Cfr. P. Bürger, Unterweisungen über die christl. Vollkommenheit, 2nd ed., Freiburg 1905, pp. 325, 344 sq.
Christ Himself gave us the most effective ex- ample of continuous prayer. He was able to say: “You ought to pray always,” for His life was one long, uninterrupted prayer. In all He does thoughts of eternity flash through the veil of His sacred humanity. In Him all things are consecrated and brought nearer to God, because all are envisaged from the vantage point of eternity. While His days are devoted to labor for the glory of God and the benefit of His fellowmen, His nights are given to watching and praying.26
26 Cfr. Hettinger-Müller, Apologie des Christentums, Vol. II, 9th ed., p. 468.
Continuous praying does not necessarily involve the use of many words. “To make many words,” says St. Augustine, “is one thing, to have lasting devotion, another. It is written of our Lord that He spent whole nights in prayer and that He prayed for a long time. Of the brethren in Egypt we are told that they often prayed, but their prayers were very short and, as it were, stealthily ejaculated,27 in order that the carefully nurtured devotion which is most necessary for prayer, should not disappear or be weakened in consequence of the length of time. By this they show that they do not allow their devotion to become dulled, if it cannot be continuous, and, on the other hand, do not stop short when it continues. Therefore, do not employ many words when you pray, but pray much when you have devotion. To employ many words when praying means to waste words in a necessary matter; but to pray much means to knock constantly and with pious insistence at the door of Him to whom we direct our petitions. For here sighing and weeping is always better than much talking.”28 In this passage St. Augustine gives the name of orationes iaculatae to those short and oft repeated prayers which are so effective if they come straight from the heart and are practiced habitually. He compares them with arrows shot to Heaven. An early example occurs in Numb. XII, 13: “Moses cried to the Lord, saying: O God, I beseech thee, heal her [Miriam].” This brief ejaculation is described by the Talmud as a model prayer.29
27 “They had frequent prayers, but nevertheless very brief ones and as it were ejaculated.”
28 See note 25, supra.
29 Berachoth, 34a. On ejaculatory prayers a modern theologian says: “Short prayers are greatly to be commended to the faithful, namely, brief petitions by which we beseech good things from God for ourselves or others, and pious aspirations by which we briefly elicit acts of charity, confidence, sorrow for sins, or others. They provide great usefulness, inasmuch as by them many graces are obtained, virtues increased, temptations most easily conquered, the intellect imbued with heavenly light, affection lifted up, will inflamed, whatever earthly attachment and deformity is in us gradually cleansed, and in a certain way we emulate the blessed themselves in heaven. They can be made day and night, at home and abroad, and are hindered by no business; rather they make all business easier. Some aspirations are more fitting for beginners, others for those advancing, others for the very pious or perfect. But let each person elicit the affections to which, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, he feels himself drawn. Above all, it is profitable to elicit acts of charity frequently and, while supplicating, to offer oneself and one’s own to the most Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.” (E. Müller, Theol. Mor., Vol. III, Vienna 1884, p. 520).
- THE DUTY OF PRAYING.—No detailed rules can be given for guiding the individual in complying with the duty of prayer, properly so called. Beyond a few general precepts all is left to custom and personal inclination and necessity. Certain definite prayers are prescribed for divine service, in the administration of the Sacraments, in the use of sacramentals, etc. Custom requires the saying of morning and evening prayers and grace before and after meals.30 Though this custom does not entail a universally binding precept, one who would not pray at all, either because of neglect or indifference, could hardly escape sinning, and continued neglect of prayer is a sure indication of lukewarmness and spiritual sloth.31
30 Ps. LIV, 17 sq.; LXIII, 7; Wisd. XVI, 28; Eccles. XXXII, 17; Deut. VI, 10; Matt. XIV, 19; XV, 36; XXVI, 26; John VI, 11; Rom. XIV, 6; 1 Tim. IV, 3–5.—Doctrina XII Apost., c. 8: “Pray thus three times a day.” (Funk, Patres Apost., Vol. I, 2nd ed., p. 21).—Constitut. Apost., l. VII, c. 47–49 (ed. Funk, I, 455 sqq.).—Tertullian, De Orat., c. 10: “How rash it is either to pass the day without prayer (Eph. IV, 26), while you cease to make satisfaction to your brother, or to lose the prayer through persevering anger.” (Ed. Leopold, P. II, 7).—IDEM, ibid., c. 20: “But neither to take food before, nor to approach the bath before, interposing prayer, befits the faithful. The refreshments and foods of the spirit are to be held before those of the flesh, and heavenly things before earthly.” (Ed. Leopold, II, 14).—IDEM, Apol., c. 39: “We do not recline at table before prayer has first tasted of God. . . . In like manner prayer ends the banquet.” (Ed. Leopold, I, 112).—St. Jerome, Epist., XXII, n. 37: “Let food not be taken unless prayer has been offered beforehand, nor let one depart from the table unless thanks are returned to the Creator.” (Migne, P. L., XXII, 421).
31 Cfr. Gury, Compend., I, n. 253: “It is asked whether one sins who omits morning or evening prayers. 1. The answer is negative precisely in itself, if they are omitted only now and then. The reason is that there is no law commanding set prayers on each day and at certain hours. Many nevertheless say that it is venial by reason of the general custom of the faithful. But in practice those who omit them more frequently cannot be excused, both because they do not pray more at another time or in another way and so frequently fail the precept of prayer, and because on account of the dangers which occur daily, when prayer is neglected they fall into more sins. The preacher or catechist, however, will act more prudently if he abstains from expounding that controversy.”
Man has special need of prayer when he is exposed to temptations and dangers, whether of body or soul, or beset by tribulations and trials.32 It would be a mistake to pray only when the soul is favorably disposed, for it is precisely in the state of spiritual dryness that we stand most in need of grace. We must, therefore, cultivate a prayerful disposition and try to preserve it by frequently raising the mind to God and leading a good Christian life.
32 Ps. CXIX, 1; Matt. VI, 13; XVII, 20; XXVI, 41.
- THE DIVINE OFFICE.—Clerics in higher orders are bound by the law of the Church to recite the Divine Office.
“All men,” says a recent writer, “should be constantly prostrate before the Divine Majesty to offer Him their praises and thanks, to implore the forgiveness of their sins and the helps necessary to salvation. But since the laity, distracted by earthly cares, acquit themselves but very imperfectly of this great duty, God has charged His Church to supply their inability and neglect. The Church, in fact, supplies this by the holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which is constantly and uninterruptedly offered throughout the whole day, and also by the Divine Office, which is the appendix of the Sacramental Sacrifice. . . .
“The Church is a perfectly organized society, the members of which are conjointly responsible for one another. From this relation arise social duties which are superior to mere individual obligations, just as the general good predominates over the individual. Among the social duties the Liturgical Prayer occupies the first place, and is therefore the most important social work of the priest. The spiritual progress of each member of the Church depends, before all, on his fervor in prayer. In like manner, the increase and prosperity of the Church, and consequently the salvation of the world, depends on the piety with which the priests acquit themselves of their function of official intercessors, both in the Mass and in the Divine Office. Their official intercession . . . en- joys a far greater power than their private prayers can possibly attain. . . .
“The solution of the important, troublesome, and perplexing problems now agitating human society, depends, even in the purely economic and social domain, on the principles of moral theology, and they cannot be properly settled without the coöperation of the clergy. The present increase of exterior activity, on our [the clergy’s] part, obliges us so much the more to insist on the primal importance of the interior life and of union with God. Prayer, and especially the Liturgical Prayer, is in itself the most fertile social work, for without it all the others would be barren of results. It is prayer that will regulate our zeal and inspire the choice of means, willed by God and endowed with His grace. Prayer will animate and sustain our courage and enable us to persevere in our holy undertakings. Prayer will duly prepare our field of labor, by drawing heavenly blessings upon it; and prayer alone will impart fecundity to all our labors and exertions. Blessed Gabriel Perboyre was wont to say: ‘It is only through prayer that we are able to benefit souls.’ If the Apostles wrought wonders in converting nations, it was because they were united to God, prayed without ceasing, and acted only through the powerful influence of the Holy Ghost. We can, therefore, perceive the deplorable error of those who regret, as it were, the time devoted to the Divine Office, under the plea that it could be more profitably employed in works of zeal. Nothing is more disastrous to the Apostolic laborer than such practical Pelagianism, which pretends it has no need of divine grace to succeed in its labors. Such is not the calm, arduous, and fertile activity of men of God; it is nothing more than an inordinate and sterile agitation, inspired by earthly views and aims, and subject to the impressions of the moment; it chokes the interior life and terminates in provoking wearisomeness, apathy, and dislike for earnest labor. Experience shows that the priests who are miserly of their time in reciting the Divine Office, are very prodigal of it when there is question of labors and amusements foreign to true sacerdotal zeal.”33
33 Willi-Girardey, C.SS.R., The Priest’s Canonical Prayer, St. Louis 1919, pp. 13, 24, 25 sqq.—Cfr. St. Alphonsus, Theol. Mor. l. IV, n. 140–179 (ed. Gaudé, II, 560 sqq.); M. Wittmann, De Horar. Canonic. Utilitate Morali, Augustae Vindel., 1810; E. J. Quigley, The Divine Office, Dublin 1920.
The Divine Office is known popularly by the name of Breviary. This term, in liturgical language, designates a book which contains the regulations for the recitation of the canonical office. The Roman Breviary, which, with rare exceptions, is now used throughout the Latin Church, is divided into four parts according to the seasons of the year: winter, spring, summer, and autumn. It consists of the following elements: (1) the Psalter; (2) the Proper of the season; (3) the Proper of the Saints; (4) the Common; (5) certain special offices. The Psalter is divided according to a special plan. The Proper of the season contains the office of the different liturgical seasons,—Advent, Christmastide, Septuagesima, Lent, Holy Week, the Paschaltide, and the time after Pentecost. The Proper of the Saints contains the lessons, antiphons, and other liturgical formularies used on the feasts of the saints. Under the designation “Common” come all the lessons, gospels, antiphons, responsories, and versicles which are not reserved to a special occasion, but may be employed for a whole group of saints,—Apostles, evangelists, martyrs, confessors, pontiffs, confessors who were not pontiffs, abbots, virgins, and holy women.
Each day of the year has its own office. In fact, it would be correct to say that each hour of the day has its own office, for, liturgically, the day is divided into hours, founded on the ancient Roman divisions of three hours apiece, namely, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, and the night Vigils. In conformity with this arrangement the Office is portioned out into the prayers of the night vigils, that is to say, Matins and Lauds. Matins is divided ordinarily into three nocturns, to correspond with the three watches of the night, nine o’clock, midnight, and three o’clock in the morning. The day offices correspond more or less to the following hours: Prime to 6 A. M., Terce to 9 A. M.; Sext to midday; None to 3 P. M.; Vespers to 6 P. M. The Office of Compline, which falls somewhat outside the above division, and is of more recent origin, was recited at nightfall.34
34 F. Cabrol, O.S.B., in the Cath. Encyclopedia, Vol. II, pp. 768 sqq.
The obligation of reciting the Breviary, as stated above, binds all clerics in major orders, even those suspended, excommunicated, or interdicted. Only those who by permission of the Supreme Pontiff have been reduced to the lay state are excused from this duty.
By special privilege the office may be commuted into other prayers. The “Ordo Divini Officii Recitandi,” which differs in different dioceses as well as in religious communities, indicates the office to be said day by day by those for whom this particular order is prescribed either iussu praesulum or otherwise.
The obligation of reciting the Divine Office begins on the day of the reception of the subdiaconate, and on the hour that corresponds to the time of ordination. Thus one who is ordained subdeacon before nine o’clock in the morning, must begin with the Prime, whereas one ordained after that hour, i. e., towards noon, is bound to recite the office of the day from Sext.
The obligation of saying the Divine Office binds under pain of mortal sin (ex genere suo gravis), for two reasons: first, because its end and object, namely, the worship of God, is a grave obligation and the Divine Office is an important means of attaining the same. Hence, a cleric, who, without sufficient cause, omits to say the entire Office, or a notable part of the Office of the day, commits a mortal sin.
By a notable part of the Divine Office the theologians understand one of the little hours in its entirety (integra hora parva) or any other portion of the Office equal to it. Hence it is a mortal sin to omit a whole nocturn with its lessons, or to recite only a very small portion of one of the little hours, omitting the rest; or to omit nine lessons with their responses; or to omit from several hours sufficiently large portions to equal a little hour.
The whole office for each day forms the matter of a single ecclesiastical precept, and consequently, whoever makes up his mind to omit the whole office, by this act of the will and its subsequent execution commits but one sin.
The obligation of reciting the Divine Office is attached to the day for which the Office is prescribed and cannot be supplied or made up after the day has passed.35
35 H. Noldin, S.J., Summa Theol. Mor., Vol. II, pp. 791 sqq. We refer to the same author (op. cit., pp. 793 sq.) for an explanation of the obligatio restituendi fructus ob neglectam recitationem.
Matins, Lauds, Prime and Tierce should be recited before noon, Sext and None before or after noon, Vespers and Compline in the afternoon (sed sub levi tantum).
An admirable rule for all who are obliged to recite the Breviary is couched in the medieval saying: “To pray before the hour is prudence, after the hour negligence, at the hour obedience.”36
36 Elbel-Bierbaum, Theol. Mor., Vol. III, 3rd ed., pp. 159 sq.: “It is asked whether a priest sins by celebrating before Matins and Lauds? The answer is: Probably venially. The reason is taken from the minor rubrics (tit. I de praep. sacerd.; De defect., tit. 10, n. 1), where this is numbered among sinful defects. Nevertheless, if this is done for a reasonable cause, even if not entirely weighty and grave, for example because he intends to study more conveniently later, or to do other labors, or is accustomed to pray after the Sacred rite with greater devotion, it will be free from all fault, as Sanchez, Facundez, Lessius, Castropalao, Illsung rightly teach. Nor should certain older rigorists be heard, who condemn of mortal sin a priest celebrating without cause before Matins and Lauds, since no command gravely obliging is found regarding this, nor is any special connection or dependency of the Mass upon these prayers apparent from anywhere. Cfr. Gury, Compend. Theol. Mor., II, n. 32 sq.”
- Where should men pray? No particular place is prescribed for private devotions, and consequently a man may pray wherever necessity dictates or opportunity permits. The church, which is preëminently “the house of prayer,” is, of course, better adapted than any other place for praying, because it directs the attention to God and thus excites and fosters devotion.37
37 Cfr. Matt. VI, 6; XIV, 23; XXI, 13; Mark I, 35; 1 Tim. II, 8.—Tertullian, De Orat., c. 18 says: “Concerning times of prayer nothing at all is prescribed, except plainly to pray at every time and place.” And again (ibid., c. 19): “But how in every place, when we are forbidden in public? In every place, he says (1 Tim. II, 8), which opportunity or even necessity would bring. For the deed of the Apostles, who prayed in prison while the guards listened and sang to God, and that of Paul (Acts XXVII, 35), who celebrated the Eucharist on the sea before everyone, is not counted against the precept.” (Ed. Leopold, P. II, 14).—St. Jerome, Ep., XXII, n. 37: “Although the Apostle commands us always to pray and although the very sleep of the saints is prayer, nevertheless we ought to have appointed hours for praying, so that if perchance we have been detained by some work, the time itself may admonish us to the duty. But no one does not know the third, sixth, ninth hours, dawn, and evening.” (Migne, P. L., XXII, 421).
READINGS.—J. Margreth, Das Gebetsleben Jesu Christi des Sohnes Gottes, Münster 1902.—H. Noldin, S.J., Summa Theol. Mor., Vol. II, 11th ed., pp. 160 sq.—Ad. Tanquerey, Synopsis Theol. Mor. et Pastor., Vol. II, pp. 498 sqq.—A. Lehmkuhl, S.J., Theol. Mor., Vol. I, 11th ed., pp. 269, 272 sq.—E. J. Quigley, The Divine Office, Dublin 1920.—St. Alphonsus, Breve Trattato della Necessità della Preghiera, Turin 1830 (Opera Dogm., ed. A. Walter, II, Rome 1903, 631 sqq.).