ARTICLE II: ON THE ACTS OF THE VIRTUE OF RELIGION IN SPECIES

The principal acts of Religion are adoration, prayer, sacrifice, vow, oath, and the sanctification of certain days.... Of the last three there will be discussion under the second and third precepts. Of sacrifice, in the Treatise on the Eucharist. Of adoration, there was discussion in the article immediately preceding, I. Therefore here there is treatment only:

330. Definition. - Prayer, taken more broadly, is the elevation of the mind to God, or any pious affection of the soul toward God and supernatural things. But in the stricter sense it is the petition of becoming things from God. - St. Thom.⁴

Division. It is 1° mental or vocal, according as it is performed by the mind alone, or the concepts of the mind are also expressed by the mouth; - 2° private or public, according as it is made by a private person and in a private name, or in community or by the authority and name of the Church. Yet that which is made in community is not by this very fact and in this sense public, so that it can be called liturgical (n. 322).

Principles. - I. Prayer is necessary for all adults by necessity of precept, indeed also by necessity of means. - 1° This is evinced from innumerable places of Sacred Scripture, for example, "Watch ye and pray."¹ - "It is necessary always to pray and not to faint."² - 2° Because prayer is the ordinary means established by God for obtaining necessary graces: "Ask, and you shall receive."³ - St. Alph.⁴

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 Doctors, signify that one must pray frequently at an opportune time, and never cease from weariness, torpor, or dejection of soul; or also that our actions are generally to be directed to God.

III. Prayer which someone performs for himself, or, according to many,⁵ for others not placing an obstacle, endowed with the due conditions, has infallible efficacy from the promise of Christ. "Every one that asketh receiveth,"⁶ etc. - "If you ask the Father anything in my name, he will give it you."⁷

But the necessary conditions are that it be made: 1° piously, devoutly, and attentively; - 2° with perseverance; - 3° with humility and confidence; - 4° about things necessary or useful.

Temporal things ought not to be asked except with a condition, at least implicit, namely insofar as they can contribute to the salvation of the soul.

331. Questions. - Quaer. 1° When does the necessity of prayer urge?

Resp. 1° It urges of itself frequently, so that it cannot be omitted for a notable time without grave sin; the time of one or certainly of two months is reputed notable. - Suarez, Lessius, etc. 2° At the instant of the use of reason. 3° At the article of death. Besides, the confessor, as Doctors hold, ought to be more solicitous in inculcating the necessity of praying frequently than in determining the grave fault of omitted prayer.

Resp. 2° It urges by accident: 1° in grave temptation which cannot easily be repelled in another way; 2° in public calamities; 3° as often as another precept is to be fulfilled for which prayer is necessary, for example if Sacraments are to be received; 4° as often as some special divine help seems necessary to us.

332. • Quaer. 2° Does he sin who omits morning or evening prayers?

Resp. Negatively, precisely of itself, if they are omitted only sometimes. The reason is that there is no law which prescribes determined prayers on individual days and at certain hours. Yet some observe that rarely is some fault of negligence and sloth absent.

Besides, in practice those who rather often omit those prayers cannot be excused altogether from some fault, both because perhaps they in no way pray at another time or in another mode, and thus they will sometimes be lacking to the precept of prayer; and because, on account of the dangers which occur daily, when prayer is neglected, they fall into many sins.

Quaer. 3° In what way does one distracted voluntarily in prayer sin?

Resp. Of itself he sins venially as often as he is voluntarily distracted without a just reason, and this holds even if the prayer is made without obligation; because he inflicts some irreverence on God. - Elbel.¹

333. • Quaer. 4° For whom must one pray?

Resp. 1° For ourselves; 2° for all men, wayfarers, even infidels; 3° for souls detained in purgatory. This is derived 1° from the general law of Charity; 2° from the words of St. Paul:² "I desire therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings," etc.; ... nor are enemies to be excepted, as is clear from the words of Christ:³ "Pray for them that persecute and calumniate you."

Quaer. 5° Whom besides God can we pray to?

Resp. The Blessed Virgin Mary, as our mediatrix; the Angels, as guardians of men; all the Saints and friends of God, as our intercessors before Him. Privately, baptized infants and those dead before the use of reason can also be invoked; and the same must more probably be said of souls detained in purgatory.

But the invocation of Saints is of counsel, not of precept, since Trent¹ only says that it is good and useful to invoke them. Yet he will seem very careless of his salvation who never invokes the Blessed Virgin Mary, since by a peculiar and wonderful providence she has been constituted our mediatrix.

Note. - On 16 June 1880 "the Sacred Congregation of Rites considered it of its office to warn the Most Reverend Ordinaries of places that they not allow other Litanies to be recited publicly except" those of the Most Holy Name, those of the Blessed Virgin Mary called the Lauretane, and those of the Saints, "or others, if any have been recognized and approved by the Sacred Roman and Universal Inquisition; and at the same time they should beware" (be cautious) "of subjoining their approbation for printing to those books in which Litanies are found lacking apostolic sanction." - According to the periodical of Innsbruck "fur kath. Theol." for 1881, p. 573, the Sacred Congregation responded to some Bishops of Germany inquiring about the sense of this Monitum, that it had wished to keep Litanies not approved by the Holy See away only from Liturgical offices, not, however, to prohibit their approbation by Bishops, nor the custom of some places of reciting publicly (that is, commonly indeed in church, yet outside Liturgical offices) Litanies approved by the Ordinaries.