Prayer: its nature and necessity

PRAYER sometimes means any pious affection by which the mind and heart are raised to God. More strictly, it is the petitioning of God for what we stand in need of, and this is called the prayer of petition to distinguish it from the more general signification of the term.

Mental prayer is made with the internal faculties of the soul, while vocal prayer is made with the lips also.

Public prayer is offered in the name of the Church by authorized ministers in forms approved by the Church; all other is private prayer. Public worship is subject to the authority of the Church, which has regulated it by a large body of laws and decrees. Unauthorized forms of prayer may not be used in public worship, and it has been prescribed that only the litanies which are found in the Breviary and in the more recent editions of the Ritual, or such as have been specially approved by the Holy See, may be used in public. Moreover, no litanies may be published even for private use without the approbation of the Ordinary (Can. 1259).

For adults, prayer is a necessary means of obtaining salvation; for there are certain graces necessary for salvation, such as final perseverance, which God only grants in answer to prayer, as St Augustine teaches.¹1 Prayer is also of precept: “We ought always to pray and not to faint.² This precept is grave of itself, and for its fulfilment requires that we should pray frequently. Beyond saying this, it is difficult to determine precisely what neglect of prayer is required for a mortal or a venial sin, It would seem certain, however, that grave sin would be committed by altogether neglecting prayer for a whole year. The faithful rightly accuse themselves in confession when they have omitted morning or night prayers, for those times are the most suitable for fulfilling this duty, and if no prayers are said then, they will hardly be said at other times; moreover, the omission will usually be due to sloth or carelessness about spiritual things,

¹ De bono persev., c. 16.

² Luke xviii 1.

Prayer.—Prayer can be taken in various senses. (a) Thus, in the widest sense prayer is any act of religion or a holy life. St. Augustine says that a good life is the best of all prayers, and the command of Christ that we pray always has been understood to mean that we should always follow good. (b) In a less wide sense, prayer is the raising of the mind to God, in order to praise, adore, thank Him, etc. The motive of veneration here present distinguishes prayer from mere thoughts about God as when one studies or discusses theological subjects to satisfy curiosity or to impart information.

(c) In its strict sense, prayer is the asking for suitable things from God. By suitable things are meant such as are lawful and becoming, and hence it would not be a prayer, but a mockery, to ask God for help to accomplish sin or for miracles in trivial matters. We are now considering prayer in its strict and less wide senses.

The Psychology of Prayer.—(a) Prayer in its nature is an act of the reason, for it is a conversation or communication with God. It belongs, however, not to the speculative, but to the practical reason, since it is not a mere process of apprehension, judgment or reasoning, but the arrangement and presentation of requests, plans, etc., before God with a view to their acceptance by Him. By prayer, then, we do not understand thinking on God, as in meditation and contemplation (though these are known as mental prayer), but speaking to God.

(b) Prayer in its origin is an act of the will, for the practical reason presents before God only such things as are desired by him who prays. Prayer is the interpreter of desire. Indeed, God may take the will for the request and grant what has not yet been asked: “The Lord heard the desire of the poor” (Ps. ix. 17); “Before they cry I shall hear them” (Is., lxv. 24). Moreover, prayer should spring out of an inclination towards God Himself and a desire for union with Him (Ps. xli. 1. 2; Ps. xxvi. 4).

The Necessity of Prayer.—(a) Prayer is not necessary on God’s account, as though He needed to be informed of our wants, or could not be happy without our homage, or might be induced to change His plans; (b) it is necessary for our own sakes, for, although God could and sometimes does grant favors unasked, He wishes that ordinarily we should have the double benefit of the prayer and of the favor given in answer to the prayer. God could grant the crops of the fields without human cultivation, or even tools and finished articles without human invention or labor, but man would then lose the fruits that belong to labor of mind and body. Prayer is most beneficial, even when unanswered: it attracts man to perform his basic duty of honoring his Creator, to keep in use his spiritual powers, and to exercise the necessary virtues of faith, hope and charity; it gives him the privilege of speaking directly with God and with Christ and of asking for what he desires—an intimacy that must in time correct and elevate man’s whole spiritual life; then prayer is a pouring out of the heart to God the Heavenly Father, and this will afford relief in times of misfortune or peril.

The Duty of Prayer for all Adults.—(a) Prayer is necessary from divine precept, as is declared in many passages of Scripture. Thus, we are commanded to watch and pray (Matt, xxvi. 41), to pray always and not to faint (Luke, xviii. 1), to ask and to knock (Matt., vii. 7 sqq.), to pray without ceasing (I Thess., v. 17), to watch in prayers (I Peter, iv. 7). In the Mass the Lord’s Prayer is prefaced with the words: “Commanded by salutary precepts and admonished by divine instructions, we make bold to say: Our Father, etc.” There is, however, no divine precept of vocal prayer or as to the use of the form of words given by Christ, but one must pray at least mentally and in the manner indicated by Christ.

(b) Prayer is also necessary as a means (see 360), at least generally speaking; not that God could not save man without prayer, but that He has made it an indispensable condition, as is true also of Baptism, without which salvation is not conferred. This is the common opinion and it rests on strong arguments. Thus, there are certain necessary goods (such as perseverance) that cannot be had except through prayer, and there are certain necessary duties (such as the acts of faith, charity, and religion) that are not exercised apart from prayer. Then, there is the teaching of the Church and of the Fathers and Doctors that prayer is needed in order to observe the Commandments (Council of Trent), that no one is assisted who does not pray (Gennadius), that prayer is to the soul what breath is to the body (St. Benedict), that he who prays will certainly be saved, while he who prays not will surely be lost (St. Alphonsus).

862. 1. Errors. Not only atheists, pantheists, and agnostics deny both the necessity and the utility of prayer, but also most rationalists,¹ because, they say, it is foolish to ask God to change the immutable laws of nature, or decrees conceived from eternity. But the Quietists rejected prayer as something imperfect for interior souls; thus Molinos said:² "It is not fitting for one resigned to the divine will to ask anything from God; because to ask is an imperfection, since it is an act of one's own will and choice, and is to will that the divine will be conformed to ours, and not that ours be conformed to the divine; and that saying of the Gospel: Ask and you shall receive, was not said by Christ for interior souls, who do not wish to have a will; indeed souls of this kind come to such a point that they cannot ask anything from God."

¹ J. Simon, La Religion naturelle, 4th Part, ch. 2; for refuting him, see Bougaud, Le Christianisme, t. V, ch. 4; Gondal, La Religion, 1894, l. III; Tanquerey, De Veri Religione, n. 16-19.

² Proposition 14, condemned by Innocent XI, apud Denzinger, n. 1101.

863. 2. Thesis: Prayer is necessary for all adult wayfarers by necessity of precept, indeed by necessity of means, at least according to the ordinary law of God.

Here there is question of prayer properly so called, or of the petition of supernatural goods from God. This, according to all, is necessary as to adults, as long as they live, from a divine precept; but, according to the common and true opinion, it is necessary also by necessity of means, from the ordinary law, insofar as it is a means instituted by God for obtaining, in the present order of things, graces necessary for salvation.

864. (A) Scripture often inculcates the necessity of prayer, asserting that petition is an efficacious means for obtaining grace, or for overcoming temptations, and indeed in such a way that from this it can be gathered that without prayer grace cannot be obtained or temptations overcome: "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened";³ as if He were saying: petition is the means of obtaining grace; therefore, if you do not ask, it will not be given to you. Again Christ says:⁴ "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation." The Apostles likewise command the faithful to be instant in prayer,⁵ and to watch in prayers.⁶ These things indeed, taken all together, suppose not only a precept, but a necessity of means; for the exhortation to pray that we may obtain grace and overcome temptations supposes that we cannot, at least from the ordinary law of God, attain either without prayer.

³ Matt. 7:7-8; cf. Luke 11:9-10.

⁴ Matt. 26:41.

⁵ Rom. 12:12; Col. 4:2.

⁶ 1 Pet. 4:7.

865. (B) The Fathers likewise often attribute victory against temptations and perseverance in good to prayer, as if it were a means necessary for this. Their doctrine is thus summarized by the author of the book On Ecclesiastical Dogmas, who very probably is Gennadius of Marseilles (flourished in the year 495): "We believe that no one comes to salvation unless God invites him; that no one invited works out his salvation unless God helps him; that no one merits help unless he prays."⁷ Augustine especially taught this, asserting that the gift of perseverance is given only to those praying,⁸ and that God does not command impossibilities; since He admonishes "both to do what you can, and to ask what you cannot."⁹ Trent made these words its own:¹⁰ "For God does not command impossibilities, but by commanding admonishes both to do what you can, and to ask what you cannot; and He helps that you may be able." Manifestly therefore the Council supposes that certain things are impossible, if the grace by which they can be done is not asked.

⁷ De ecclesiasticis Dogmatibus, c. 56, P. L., LVIII, 995.

⁸ "Indeed, since it is clear that God has prepared some things to be given even to those not praying, as the beginning of faith; but others only to those praying, as perseverance unto the end, certainly he who thinks he has this from himself does not pray that he may have it" (De dono perseverantiae, c. 16, n. 39, P. L., XLV, 1017).

⁹ De natura et gratia, c. 43, n. 50, P. L., XLIV, 271.

¹⁰ Sess. VI, ch. 11, Denzinger, n. 686.

866. (C) The matter indeed depends upon the will of God, who could, if He wished, grant grace even to those not praying. Nevertheless it was altogether fitting that grace should be given only to those asking. For it is consonant with reason that man himself, who needs grace for salvation, should concur, as he can, at least by prayer, in coming to the aid of his own necessity. The Catechism of the Council of Trent declares this thus:¹¹ "For, since God owes nothing to anyone, it surely remains that the things which we need should be sought from Him by prayers; and He gave these prayers to us as a necessary instrument for obtaining that which we should desire: especially since it is clear that there are certain things which it is not permitted to obtain except by His help." Afterwards it explains the utility of prayer: (a) by praying we exhibit honor to God; for thus we profess that we are subject to Him, whom we acknowledge as the author of all goods, in whom alone we hope, whom alone we have as the refuge and protection of safety and salvation. (b) By praying we also exercise the virtues of the soul: faith, because the more studiously we pray, the greater and more certain faith we have in divine care and providence; hope, because we ought to ask grace only with confidence; charity, since it is necessary to contemplate the divine goodness in prayer, and, besides, by frequent conversation with God we are enkindled to His love; humility, since, in order to pray, we ought to be conscious of our own need. - Therefore it was most fitting that at least certain goods should be granted only to those asking.

¹¹ Catechism of the Council of Trent, P. IV, c. I, n. 3.

867. (D) From this the difficulties proposed by the Quietists already remain solved: for an act commanded by God, which otherwise carries with it such great utility, cannot be imperfect. - Nor do the arguments of the Rationalists have greater force.

They indeed object that God cannot acquiesce in our petitions unless He changes His counsels. St. Thomas had already anticipated this difficulty; for, as he rightly observes,¹² God indeed decreed all things from all eternity, but, in disposing the present order of things, He foresaw our prayers, and could so order secondary causes that effects consonant with our petitions would be produced at the due time. Hence, when we pray to God, we do not pray for this purpose, that we may change the divine disposition, but that we may obtain that which God disposed to be fulfilled through prayers, namely, that in time we may receive what almighty God disposed before the ages to give to us. - In vain likewise do they add that our prayers cannot be heard without the laws of nature perishing. For this is first of all false when we ask spiritual goods: if we pray God that He help us to do good, by enlightening the intellect or strengthening the will, we by no means demand that our liberty be destroyed, but rather that it be strengthened. The same can be said of temporal goods: when we ask for health, we do not ask that physiological laws cease, but only that God so dispose secondary causes that, these being rightly applied, we can be cured from illness.

¹² St. Thomas, Summa Theologiae, II-II, q. 83, a. 2.

Nor does it help to say that prayer is not necessary because God, who knows all things, does not need that we set forth our necessities to Him, as Kant said, reheating an old objection; for, as St. Thomas rightly says,¹³ "it is not necessary that we offer prayers to God in order to manifest to Him our needs or desires, but that we ourselves may consider that in these things recourse must be had to divine help"; for thus we better acknowledge our weakness, conceive greater confidence toward God, and concur with Him by greater effort in acting well.

¹³ Ibid., a. 2, ad 1.

868. 3. Practical corollaries. (A) The law of praying, like the precept concerning faith, hope, and charity (above, nn. 644, 718, 754), obliges either by itself or by accident:

(a) By itself, rather frequently in life, though the time cannot be mathematically determined. Hence the faithful are to be exhorted to pray daily, especially in the morning, to ask the helps which they need for that day, and in the evening, to give thanks for benefits received, to elicit penitence for sins, and to hand over their soul to God before they take sleep. Those who omit morning and evening prayers do not indeed sin directly; but experience shows that those who do not recite them, other things being equal, fall into sin more frequently than those who pray daily.

(b) By accident, as often as some duty of Christian life cannot be fulfilled, or a temptation overcome, without prayer. Hence the faithful are to be exhorted to have recourse to prayer whenever some more arduous duty presses, some business of greater moment, or a more dangerous temptation.

869. (B) Prayer must indeed be made in spirit and truth: for God, to whom the hidden thoughts of men lie open, hears prayers even if they are not uttered by the mouth. Yet vocal prayer has its own utility:¹⁴ (a) for stirring up interior devotion, by which the mind is more easily elevated to God, because through external signs internal affection is suggested and rendered more intense; (b) for rendering more perfect service to God, namely that man may serve God according to that whole which he has received from Him, not only by the mind, but also by the body, and thus offer the accumulated sacrifice of soul and body.

¹⁴ St. Thomas, Summa Theologiae, II-II, q. 83, a. 12; Catechism of the Council of Trent, l. c., n. 28.

Yet one must not indulge in much speaking, by which the mind is often distracted; for it is better to recite fewer and shorter prayers attentively and devoutly than more extended ones with almost no attention or mediocre devotion: "And when you are praying, speak not much, as the heathens. For they think that in their much speaking they may be heard. Be not you therefore like to them. For your Father knoweth what is needful for you, before you ask Him."¹⁵ - Especially to be avoided is the vain display of hypocrites:¹⁶ "And when ye pray, ye shall not be as the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men... But thou, when thou shalt pray, enter into thy chamber, and having shut the door, pray to thy Father in secret; and thy Father who seeth in secret will repay thee." The chamber of which there is question here "can be referred to the heart of man, which it is not enough to enter, but which, besides, ought to be closed, lest anything break in or flow into souls from without, by which the integrity of prayer could be violated."¹⁷

¹⁵ Matt. 6:7-8.

¹⁶ Matt. 6:5-6.

¹⁷ Catechism of the Council of Trent, n. 28.

870. (C) Therefore prayer ought to be attentive; for it would be foolish to ask God that He kindly lend an ear to our prayers, if we ourselves do not attend to what we say. For since prayer is an ascent of the mind to God, the words of prayer are poured forth rashly and irreverently if the mind voluntarily wanders from God, and no effort is applied to dispel distractions. - Nor does external attention suffice for true prayer, by which only every action by its nature incompatible with internal attention is excluded; but, more probably, internal attention, or application of the mind to God, is required.¹

¹ Yet according to Lugo (De Eucharistia, disp. XXII, n. 25-41), probably internal attention is not required for the essence of prayer, but external attention suffices, provided prayer is begun with the intention of praying and attention of mind, and attention perseveres virtually. - But it is difficult to conceive how attention virtually remains in one who is fully distracted, as is said below.

(a) Attention, on the part of the object, can be diverse: if the mind is occupied with rightly pronouncing the words, it is called superficial, or verbal; if with rightly understanding the words, it is called literal, or intellectual; when attention is given to worshiping God Himself, or to a particular mystery, or to the good which is asked, spiritual, or mystical, attention is had; and this is more perfect than the rest, provided however that the mind is truly attentive and does not wander in vain thoughts.

On the part of the subject, attention is more or less perfect and intense or remiss, directed to one object, or divided among several. - Some distinguish between actual attention, which is actually exercised, and virtual attention, which perseveres in virtue as long as it has not been retracted. But this distinction by no means pleases St. Alphonsus, and deservedly: for it is difficult to conceive how attention, which is an act of the mind, remains virtually in one who is distracted, even involuntarily. The matter is otherwise with intention, which, since it belongs to the will, perseveres virtually in the effect. But he who has his mind occupied elsewhere, even if involuntarily distracted, cannot be called attentive even virtually, since he by no means attends to the things which he recites.

871. (b) For the validity of prayer any internal attention suffices, even superficial and remiss. For, the intention of praying being posited, which we suppose to have been elicited from the beginning of prayer and not retracted, as soon as attention is present, even verbal and remiss, there is true speech with God, and a pious petition to Him, as is clear from comparison with men who recite words which they do not understand well, but nevertheless will to express all those things which are contained in the writing.

872. (c) Voluntary distractions in themselves or in their cause, admitted without a sufficient motive, are a venial sin by their nature, because they imply a certain irreverence against God; but they are not a mortal sin, unless otherwise gravely evil or shameful; involuntary distractions, however, even many and long-lasting, constitute no sin.

They are voluntary in themselves when one actually gives consent to them; in their cause, when, before prayer, vain thoughts are freely admitted which are foreseen to be a cause of distractions. They are involuntary when we apply ordinary diligence to forestall or expel them. - Voluntary distractions are venial sins, even in prayers which are not from precept, unless they are excused by a sufficient motive: because, as soon as we will to speak with God, we are bound to do this reverently. But if, while praying, a useful thought occurs, to turn it over for some time is not even a venial sin, provided a proportionately sufficient reason is present.

Distractions, even voluntary ones, do not destroy the substance of prayer; for, notwithstanding these distractions, the soul can remain turned toward God, and sincerely desire to obtain graces; but God, who has known our frame and is prone to mercy, deigns to hear prayers, even if they are infected by certain light faults. - Nor are certain external actions incompatible with true prayer, such as walking, working with the hands, etc., which by no means impede the elevation of the mind to God. Wherefore it is altogether expedient to pray while walking or working; nor is it to be feared that the distractions which then naturally occur are sins: for to admit useful distractions while someone recites certain prayers among manual labors is no sin; for who will accuse as guilty of irreverence him who, among common actions, strives to rise in mind to God, although several times he admits other thoughts even voluntarily? The rigid Concina indeed did not hesitate to assert this, but in this he was deservedly reproved by the other theologians.²

² Concina, In Decalogum, lib. II, diss. 2, c. 9, § 3, n. 8-9; Bouquillon, n. 219, refutes him.

873. (D) We ought to pray, from charity, not only for ourselves, but also for the neighbor, and indeed preserving the order described above, n. 805: for prayer is one of the principal means by which we can help him spiritually. We are not bound to pray specially for determined persons, unless these are constituted in grave or very grave necessity, or are joined to us by a special bond of blood or office. It is not licit to exclude enemies from common prayers.

Nor should the souls detained in Purgatory be passed over, since they are joined to us by a peculiar bond, as we explained in the Treatise on God the Rewarder, n. 49.

874. The effect of prayer is threefold: meritorious, insofar as it can obtain sanctifying grace and its increase, the conditions required for merit being posited, above, n. 199-200; satisfactory, because, since it is an arduous work, it can satisfy for sins; impetratory, insofar as it has the power of obtaining the actual graces which are asked from God, the conditions enumerated below being posited. Since the first two effects have been treated elsewhere (above, n. 196, and De Poenitentia, dogmatic part, n. 75-79), it remains here to speak of the last: 1. whether and in what sense prayer is efficacious; and 2. by what conditions?

875. Thesis: Prayer, clothed with the due conditions, has the power of obtaining, with moral infallibility, what is asked from God.

It is explained. This infallibility is not absolute, but conditioned, nor does it arise from the dignity of prayer alone, but from the superadded promise of God. For if only the dignity of prayer in itself is considered, it indeed has a certain aptitude for obtaining those things which are asked, namely from the goodness and mercy of God; but it does not have infallible efficacy, because of itself it introduces no necessity, since God remains free in such a case to exercise or not to exercise His mercy. But when the divine promise accedes, God owes it to Himself to bestow those things which He has promised, not indeed from strict justice, nor from mere liberality, but from fidelity. Wherefore the infallibility is not absolute, but conditioned and moral, namely provided that the thing asked is necessary or very useful for salvation (below, n. 879-883). For the primary reason on account of which God promised to hear prayers is that He wills us to attain our supernatural end, since all temporal and spiritual goods are finally referred to this end. Hence, if, according to His wisdom, He foresees that some grace in particular, all things considered, will be more harmful than useful, He is not bound by force of His promise to grant it, but will give another more useful or more opportune one.

876. It is proved. (A) Scripture many times proclaims the efficacy of prayer.

(a) An example is had in the prayer of Abraham, who by repeated prayers obtained that wicked Sodom would be spared if ten just men were found in that city;³ in the preservation of the city of Segor, which was saved only by the prayers of Lot;⁴ in the case of the Israelite people, which, when it had deserved to be destroyed, was able to escape ruin by the intercession of Moses.⁵ Besides, Ecclesiasticus thus describes the wondrous effect of prayer:⁶ "The prayer of him that humbleth himself shall pierce the clouds; and till it come nigh he will not be comforted; and he will not depart till the Most High behold... My son, in thy sickness neglect not thyself: but pray to the Lord, and He shall heal thee." The angel of Tobias declares the same poetically:⁷ "When thou didst pray with tears and didst bury the dead... I offered thy prayer to the Lord." - Likewise, in the Gospel, the publican who poured forth a humble prayer went down justified to his house.⁸

³ Gen. 18:16-33.

⁴ Gen. 19:18-22.

⁵ Exod. 32:7-14; cf. Ps. 105:23.

⁶ Eccli. 35:21; 38:9.

⁷ Tob. 12:12.

⁸ Luke 18:14.

877. (b) But the promises of Christ, repeated rather often, have special force:⁹ "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there among you, of whom if his son shall ask bread, will he reach him a stone?... If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him!" - This is true especially of prayer made in the name of Christ, that is, through Him, and with Him, and in Him, insofar as we trust not in our merits, but in His: "And whatsoever you shall ask the Father in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you shall ask Me anything in My name, that I will do¹⁰... Amen, amen I say to you, if you ask the Father anything in My name, He will give it you. Hitherto you have not asked anything in My name. Ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full."¹¹

⁹ Matt. 7:7-11.

¹⁰ John 14:13-14.

¹¹ John 16:23-24.

(c) Truly, promises of this kind have been proved true by the event. One of the thieves who hung from the cross with Christ prayed thus: "Lord, remember me when Thou shalt come into Thy kingdom. And Jesus said to him: Amen I say to thee, this day thou shalt be with Me in paradise."¹² - The Apostles in the cenacle "were persevering with one mind in prayer, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus";¹³ and on the day of Pentecost, "they were all filled with the Holy Spirit."¹⁴ - Stephen the protomartyr prays for his persecutors: "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge,"¹⁵ and soon Saul is converted. - Cornelius the centurion prays earnestly, and thus obtains the gift of true faith: "Thy prayers and thy alms are ascended for a memorial in the sight of God."¹⁶ - Peter, prince of the apostles, is kept in prison: "Prayer was made without ceasing by the Church unto God for him";¹⁷ soon an angel leads him out of prison. - Paul and Silas, who had preached the Gospel at Philippi, are sent into prison; but there "praying, they praised God,"¹⁸ and soon they are divinely delivered. - And many other such facts could be alleged from ecclesiastical history, by which the truth of the promises of Christ would be confirmed.

¹² Luke 23:42-43.

¹³ Acts 1:14.

¹⁴ Acts 2:4.

¹⁵ Acts 7:60.

¹⁶ Acts 10:4.

¹⁷ Acts 12:5.

¹⁸ Acts 16:25.

878. (B) The Fathers often inculcate the same, not a few of whom wrote entire treatises on prayer.

(a) Thus, among others, Tertullian concludes his book On Prayer thus:¹⁹ "For what has God denied to prayer from spirit and truth, He who requires it? We read and hear and believe how great are the proofs of its efficacy. Ancient prayer indeed delivered from fires, and from beasts, and from hunger, and yet it had not received its form from Christ. But by how much more fully is the prayer of Christians prayed! It does not station an angel of dew in the midst of fires, nor close the mouths of lions... but it instructs those suffering, and feeling, and grieving, with endurance; it enlarges grace with virtue, so that faith may know what it obtains from the Lord, understanding what it suffers for the name of God... But now the prayer of justice turns away all the wrath of God, keeps watch for enemies, supplicates for persecutors... It also washes away faults, repels temptations, extinguishes persecutions, consoles the fainthearted, delights the magnanimous, leads travelers, calms waves, stupefies robbers, feeds the poor, rules the rich, raises the fallen, supports those falling, holds those standing. Prayer is the wall of faith, our arms and weapons against the man who watches us on every side." St. Cyprian has similar things in the book On the Lord's Prayer.²⁰

¹⁹ Tertullian, Liber de Oratione, c. 29, P. L., I, 1195-1196.

²⁰ Apud Migne, P. L., IV, 520-544.

(b) Among the Greeks, let Gregory of Nyssa be heard:²¹ "Prayer is the defense and safeguard of chastity, the moderation of anger, the calming and repressing of pride, the cleansing away of the tenacious memory of injuries, the routing of envy, the removal of injustice, the correction of impiety. Prayer is the strength of bodies, the abundance of the home, the right constitution of law and statutes in the city, the strength of the kingdom, the trophy of war, the security of peace, the reconciliation of those dissenting, the preservation of those joined together. Prayer is the seal of virginity, the fidelity of marriage, a shield for travelers, the guardian of those sleeping, the confidence of those watching, fertility for farmers, safety for sailors. Prayer is the advocate of the accused and of those pleading a cause, the relaxation and loosening of the guilty and of chains, rest for the weary, consolation of the sorrowing, delight of the soul for the rejoicing, solace of those mourning, the crown of those contracting marriage, the celebration of a birthday feast, the funeral of the dying." Our Gregory proceeds, enumerating very many facts from which the efficacy of prayer is clear.

²¹ De oratione dominica, Orat. I, P. G., XLIV, 1123.

1. NATURE OF PRAYER.—Prayer (εὐχή, προσευχή, oratio) may be broadly defined as the act of raising the mind to God. All intelligent creatures are bound to think of God now and then and hold converse with Him in order to exercise their faith, hope, and charity.¹ This converse may be mental (verbum mentis) or vocal, i.e., expressed in words (verbum oris).²

¹ St. Augustine, Enchiridion, c. 7: “Faith believes; hope and charity pray. But without faith they cannot exist, and by this very fact faith also prays.” (Migne, P. L., XL, 234).—IDEM, Epist., 130 (al. 121), c. 9, n. 18: “In faith, hope, and charity themselves, we always pray with continual desire. But for this reason, at fixed intervals of hours and times, we also ask God in words, so that by signs of things we may admonish ourselves, may make known to ourselves how much progress we have made in this desire, and may stir ourselves more ardently to increase it. For a more worthy effect will follow when a more fervent affection precedes it.” (P. L., XXXIII, 501).

² Ps. XXIV, 1.—St. John Chrysostom, Homil. in Gen., XXX, c. 7: “Prayer is discourse with God.” (Migne, P. G., LIII, 280).—St. John Damascene, De Fide Orth., l. III, n. 24: “Prayer is an ascent of the mind to God or a request of fitting things from God.” (P. G., XCIV, 1089).—St. Augustine, Enarr. in Ps., LXXXV, n. 7: “Your prayer is speech to God: when you read, God speaks to you; when you pray, you speak to God.” (P. L., XXXVII, 1086).—Gury, Comp. Theol. Mor., Vol. I, n. 250: “Prayer, taken broadly, is an elevation of the mind to God, or any pious affection of the soul toward God and supernatural things. In the stricter sense, however, it is a request of fitting things from God.”—A. Poulain, S.J., The Graces of Interior Prayer, 2nd ed., pp. 1 sqq.

Prayer in all its forms—adoration, praise, petition, thanksgiving—constitutes an act of divine worship, because when a man prays he honors and reveres God and acknowledges Him to be the author of all goodness. Prayer is, therefore, not merely man’s voluntary acknowledgment of his entire dependence on God, but likewise the first and most immediate act of worship, and consequently an essential element of that natural religion which is found among all nations, even the most degraded savages.³

³ E. v. Lasaulx, Studien des klassischen Altertums, Ratisbon 1854, pp. 137 sqq.; J. Döllinger, Heidentum und Judentum, Ratisbon 1857, pp. 199 sq., 369, 526 sq.; W. Schneider, Die Naturvölker, Vol. II, pp. 269 sq., 347 sqq.; C. Ausfeld, De Graecorum Precationibus, Leipsic 1903.

Prayer attains its highest and most perfect development in the Catholic Church, which teaches that we must “adore the Father in spirit and in truth,”⁴ and assures us that we have in Christ a Mediator through whom we shall receive whatever we ask for in His name.⁵

⁴ John IV, 24.

⁵ John XV, 16; cfr. Matt. VI, 9; Mark I, 35; Luke XI, 1 sqq.; John XIV, 13 sq.; XVI, 23; Heb. V, 7; VII, 25.

In Gen. IV, 26 we read that Enos, the son of Seth, “began to call upon the name of the Lord.” This rather obscure text can not mean, as some pretend, that Enos invented prayer or was the first to introduce public worship. The former hypothesis is unlikely on a priori grounds, while the second is refuted by the fact, attested by the same holy Book, that long before Enos was born, Cain and Abel publicly “offered gifts to God.” As to what the passage does mean, exegetes are not agreed. Some think it marks the institution of solemn public sacrifice. Others regard it as a testimony to the ancient use of the name “Yahweh,” thinking that Enos began to worship God by that name. A third group maintains that in the days of Enos the pious Sethites began to be known as children of Yahweh, in opposition to the wicked descendants of Cain, who called themselves “sons of men.” The last-mentioned assumption derives plausibility from the fact that in Gen. VI, 2 the Sethites are called simply “sons of God.” However, we rather incline to the opinion that Gen. IV, 26 was originally a gloss, explaining that before Enos it was forbidden to pronounce the name of God, and that this gloss, through an error made by some careless copyist, slipped into the sacred text.⁶

⁶ Cfr. A. B. Ehrlich, Randglossen zur hebräischen Bibel, Vol. I, Leipsic 1908, pp. 25 sq.

2. EFFICACY OF PRAYER.—Christ said: “Your Father who is in heaven, [will] give good things to them that ask him.”⁷ This oft-repeated promise can have but one meaning, namely, that the right kind of prayer is sure to be heard by God. Prayer, in other words, is absolutely certain in its effects. Moreover, it strengthens man’s friendly relations with God, confirms faith, invigorates hope, kindles love, enlightens the intellect, steels the will, purifies the heart, and thus disposes the soul for the fruitful reception of grace.⁸

⁷ Matt. VII, 11; cfr. XVIII, 19 sq.; Jas. V, 16.

⁸ Ps. XLIX, 15; John XVI, 24; cfr. Tertullian, De Orat., c. 24: “Prayer alone is what conquers God. . . . Prayer is the wall of faith, our arms and weapons against the man who watches us from every side. Therefore let us never walk unarmed. By day let us remember our station, by night our vigil. Under the arms of prayer let us guard the standard of our emperor; let us await the angel’s trumpet while praying.” (Ed. Leopold, P. II, 16).—St. John Chrysostom, Homil. in Gen., XXX, n. 5: “For prayer is truly a great thing, a great security, a great treasure, a great harbor, an inviolate place.” (Migne, P. G., LIII, 279).—Pseudo-Augustine, Append. Serm., 47 (al. 226 de Temp.): “The prayer of the just is the key of heaven. Prayer ascends and God’s mercy descends. Although the earth is low and heaven high, God nevertheless hears the tongue of a man, if he has a clean conscience.” (Migne, P. L., XXXIX, 1838).—Serm., 55 (al. 4 ex Homil., 50), n. 1: “He truly knows how to live rightly who knows how to pray rightly.” (P. L., XXXIX, 1849).—On Luther’s teaching concerning the efficacy of “right prayer” (oratio vera) see Denifle, Luther und Luthertum, Vol. I, 2nd ed., pp. 109 sqq. (Eng. tr. by R. Volz, Luther and Lutherdom, Vol. I, Part I, Somerset, O., 1917, pp. 113 sqq.)

Besides these general effects, prayer has a very special one, namely, to obtain for us the things for which we ask, provided, of course, we pray in the right spirit, i.e., with due regard to God’s honor and the salvation of souls. It is in this sense that Christ says: “All things whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.”⁹

⁹ Matt. XXI, 22; cfr. Matt. VI, 5 sqq.; VII, 7 sq.; XVIII, 19 sq.; XXVI, 39, 42; Mark XI, 24 sq.; John XIV, 13 sq.; XV, 7, 16; XVI, 23; cfr. 1 Kings III, 18.—F. Schmid, Die Wirksamkeit des Bittgebetes, Brixen, 1895.

When St. Monica grieved for her wayward son Augustine, a bishop advised her “to pray for him to the Lord” and consoled her with the assurance: “It is impossible for a son of so many tears to be lost.”¹⁰

¹⁰ “It cannot happen that the son of so many tears should perish.” St. Augustine, Confessiones, III, c. 12 (Migne, P. L., XXXII, 691).

The objections usually made against the efficacy of prayer are inspired by Pantheistic or Deistic prepossessions and cannot stand the clear white light of Christian revelation.¹¹ Prayer is not incompatible with belief in God and the immutability of His Providence. We do not appeal to God to tell Him our needs, which He knows better than we, but to recall to our own minds the truth that He is the Author of all goodness and that we depend entirely on His bounty.¹² When we pray we do not mean to persuade God to change His eternal decrees; on the contrary, our prayers have entered into those decrees, as secondary causes, from all eternity.¹³

¹¹ Cfr. St. Thomas, Summa Theol., 2a 2ae, qu. 83, art. 2.—IDEM, Contra Gentiles, III, c. 95 sq.—V. Cathrein, S. J., Moralphilosophie, Vol. II, 4th ed., pp. 36 sq.

¹² Matt. VI, 8, 32.—St. Augustine, Serm., 56 (al. 48 de Divers.), c. 3, n. 4: “Lest perhaps someone say here: If [God] knows what is necessary for us, why do we say even a few words? Why do we pray? He Himself knows what He knows to be necessary for us. But for this reason He wished you to pray, that He might give to one who desires, lest what He gives be held cheap, because He Himself has inspired the desire itself.” (Migne, P. L., XXXVIII, 379).—IDEM, Epist., 130 (al. 121), n. 17: “What reason He does this, who knew what was necessary for us before we ask Him, can stir the mind, unless we understand that our Lord and God wishes our will, which He cannot be ignorant of, to become known to ourselves, but our desire, by which we may be able to receive what He prepares to give, to be exercised in prayers.”—IDEM, ibid., n. 18: “Hence also that which the Apostle says (Phil. IV, 6) is not so to be understood as though [our petitions] became known to God, who indeed knew them before they existed, but that through patience they should become known to us before God, not through boastfulness before men.” (P. L., XXXVIII, 500 sq.).—St. Thomas, Summa Theol., 2a 2ae, qu. 83, art. 2, ad 1: “It is not necessary for us to address prayers to God so that we may manifest our needs or desires to Him, but so that we ourselves may consider that in these matters recourse must be had to divine aid.”—IDEM, ibid., ad 3: “God out of His liberality bestows many things upon us even when not asked, but He wills to bestow certain things upon us when we ask, and this is for our benefit, namely, that we may acquire a certain confidence in having recourse to God and that we may recognize Him as the author of our goods.”—Catech. Rom., P. IV, c. 2, qu. 7.

¹³ Matt. XXIV, 20.—Conc. Vatic., Sess. III, c. 1: “This one true God, by His goodness and almighty power . . . by a most free counsel, at once from the beginning of time fashioned out of nothing both creatures, the spiritual and the corporeal. . . . But all things which He created, God by His providence protects and governs, reaching mightily from end to end and ordering all things sweetly. For all things are naked and open to His eyes (Heb. IV, 13), even those which will come to pass by the free action of creatures.”—St. Thomas, Summa Theol., 2a 2ae, qu. 83, art. 2: “By divine providence it is disposed not only which effects shall occur, but also from which causes and in what order they shall proceed. Now among the other causes the causes of certain things are human acts. Hence men must do certain things, not that by their acts they may change the divine disposition, but that by their acts they may fulfill certain effects according to the order arranged by God; and the same is also true in natural causes. And it is similar also regarding prayer; for we do not pray in order to change the divine disposition, but that we may obtain that which God disposed to be fulfilled through prayers.”

St. Thomas says: “All mistakes in this matter arise from failing to note the difference between the system of the universe and any particular system (universalem ordinem et particularem). There is nothing to hinder any particular system being changed, whether by prayer or by any other means; for there is that existing beyond the bounds of the system which is capable of changing it. But beyond the system that embraces all things nothing can be posited whereby such system could possibly be changed, depending as it does on the universal cause. Therefore the Stoics laid it down that the system established by God could nowise be changed. But they failed in a right appreciation of this general system in supposing that prayers were useless, which was taking for granted that the wills of men, and their desires whence their prayers proceed, are not comprehended in that general system. For when they say that the same effect follows whether prayers are put up or not,—follows, that is, as part of the universal system of things,—they manifestly reserve and except prayers as not entering into that general system. Supposing prayers included in the system, then effects will follow from them by divine appointment as from other causes. One might as well exclude the effects of other every-day causes as exclude the effect of prayer. And if the immutability of the divine plan does not withdraw the effects of other causes, neither does it take away the efficacy of prayer. Prayers, then, avail, not as changing a system arranged from eternity, but as being themselves part of that system. And there is no difficulty in the efficacy of prayer changing the particular system of some inferior cause, by the doing of God, who overpasses all causes, and who consequently is not bound by the necessity of any system depending on any cause; but, on the contrary, every necessity of system dependent on any inferior cause is checked by Him, as having been instituted by Him. Inasmuch, then, as pious prayers avail to alter some points of the system of inferior causes that was established by God, God is said to ‘turn’ or ‘repent.’ Hence St. Gregory says that God does not change His counsel, though He sometimes changes His sentence,—not the sentence which declares His eternal arrangements, but the sentence which declares the order of inferior causes, according to which Ezechias was to die, or some nation to be punished for its sins. Such change of sentence is called in metaphorical language ‘repentance,’ inasmuch as God behaves like one repentant, to whom it belongs to change what He has done. In the same way God is said metaphorically to be ‘angry,’ inasmuch as by punishing He produces the effect of anger.”¹⁴

¹⁴ Summa contra Gentiles, III, c. 96 (Rickaby, God and His Creatures, pp. 258 sq.). In the above passage, according to Fr. Jos. Rickaby, S.J., whose free translation we have adopted (God and His Creatures, London 1905, p. 259), St. Thomas admirably, though perhaps inadvertently, “hits off the real meaning of what he and Aristotle called ‘contingent’ in reference to a ‘particular system,’ but (apart from the doings of free will) every event is ‘necessary’ in the ‘general system,’ on the hypothesis of that system being. The killing of a sheep by lightning is a contingency unprovided for in the ovine economy, but pre-arranged in the general economy of the universe, in which general system it is an hypothetical necessity: it must be, if the system is to stand as it is.”

3. THE OBJECT OF PRAYER.—Whatever man may legitimately desire, he may also pray for. “It is permitted to pray for what it is permitted to desire.”¹⁵ The opinion that we are permitted only to pray in a general way that God’s “will be done on earth as it is in Heaven,” is contrary to Revelation. Both the Old and the New Testament, especially the Epistles of St. Paul, contain numerous instances of prayer offered for specific objects. Christ Himself prayed not only for the salvation of mankind in general, but for particular favors, of which the very prayer He taught His disciples enumerates no less than seven. St. Paul says: “Be nothing solicitous, but in every thing,¹⁶ by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your petitions¹⁷ be made known to God.”¹⁸

¹⁵ St. Thomas, Summa Theol., 2a 2ae, qu. 83, art. 6.—St. Augustine, Serm., 56 (al. 48 de Div.), n. 2: “Many ask for what they ought not to ask, being ignorant of what is expedient for them. Therefore he who invokes must guard against two things: lest he ask for what he ought not, and lest he ask it from one from whom he ought not.”—IDEM, ibid., n. 4: “The words which our Lord Jesus Christ taught in the [Lord’s] Prayer are a form of desires. You are not permitted to ask for anything other than what is written there.” (Migne, P. L., XXXVIII, 378, 379).—IDEM, Epist., 130 (al. 121), n. 23: “Therefore let there at least be shame in asking for things which one is not ashamed to covet.” (P. L., XXXIII, 503).

¹⁶ ἐν παντί.

¹⁷ τὰ αἰτήματα ὑμῶν.

¹⁸ Phil. IV, 6; cfr. Matt. VI, 9 sqq.; Luke XXII, 32; XXIII, 34.—St. Thomas, Summa Theol., 2a 2ae, qu. 83, art. 5.

a) Unconditionally we should pray for the supernatural graces of the moral order and for sanctification, i.e., eternal beatitude and whatever is required to attain it,—sufficient and efficacious grace, the gifts of the Holy Ghost, and the higher graces of the interior life. Conditionally we may pray for such favors and blessings as do not immediately serve the purpose of self-sanctification, e.g., the charismata, visions, miracles, revelations,—provided, namely, that the circumstances of the case are not such as to render our prayer a tentatio Dei. Conditionally we may and should also petition God for the good things of the natural order. The condition is that we do not desiderate these temporal blessings inordinately, i. e., for their own sake, but with due subordination to our supernatural destiny and the kingdom of God. A superabundance of temporal goods entails many temptations and dangers, and therefore, generally speaking, man should not desire or pray for wealth unless it is probable that he will employ it well, and even in that case he should exclude all inordinate desire by adding to his prayer the condition: “Provided it will help me to save my soul.”¹⁹

¹⁹ Prov. XXX, 8 sq.; Matt. VI, 33; XIII, 22; XXIV, 20; 1 Tim. VI, 8–10; Jas. IV, 3, 15; V, 17 sq.—Prop. Damnat. Mich. de Molinos, n. 14 sq. (Denzinger-Bannwart, n. 1234 sq.).

b) It is wrong and strictly forbidden to pray for anything that would surely prove detrimental to one’s own salvation or the salvation of others (mala ordinis moralis), e.g., for the withdrawal of some indispensable grace, or that some one might sin, even if it were only as a means of humiliation and reform.²⁰

²⁰ Cfr. Rom. III, 8; Gal. II, 17.—St. Augustine, Serm., 56 (al. 48 de Div.), n. 3: “In the holy Psalms you have read that the one who speaks in the Psalms seems to call down many evils upon his enemies. And indeed, someone says, the one who speaks in the Psalms is just; why, then, does he wish such evils upon his enemies? He does not wish them, but foresees them: it is the prophecy of one who foretells, not the desire of one who curses. For in the spirit they knew to whom evil was to happen and to whom good; and through prophecy they spoke as though they wished for what they foresaw. But you, how do you know whether the one upon whom you now call down evil will not become better than you? But I know that he is wicked, you say. And do you know that you are wicked? Although perhaps you dare to judge concerning another’s heart, which you do not know, yet you do know that you are wicked.” (Migne, P. L., XXXVIII, 378).

Evils of the natural order (mala physica), on the other hand, may be made the object of prayer in so far as they are licit means for the attainment of a higher end.

READINGS.—Bl. Albertus Magnus, Tract. de Forma Orandi, ed. A. Wimmer, Ratisbon 1902.—St. Bonaventure, Breviloquium, P. V., c. 10 (ed. 2a, Vicetia, pp. 434 sqq.).—St. Thomas, Summa Theol., 2a 2ae, qu. 83.—St. Alphonsus de’ Liguori, Prayer, the Great Means of Salvation, tr. by J. B. Coyle, C.SS.R., London 1922.—G. Tillmann, Das Gebet nach der Lehre der Heiligen, Vol. I, Freiburg 1874.—A. Stöckl, Das Christentum und die modernen Irrtümer, Mayence 1886, pp. 140 sqq.—J. B. Wirthmüller, Die moralische Tugend der Religion, pp. 31 sqq.—L. Lemme, Die Macht des Gebetes, Barmen 1887.—O. Lefranc, La Prière, Paris 1904.—I. M. L. Monsabré, La Prière. Paris 1906.—S. Schiffini, S.J., Tractatus de Virtutibus Infusis, pp. 574 sqq.—H. Noldin, S.J., Summa Theol. Mor., Vol. II, 11th ed., pp. 151 sq., 157 sqq.—Thos. Slater, S.J., A Manual of Moral Theology, Vol. I, pp. 209 sqq.—Ad. Tanquerey, Synopsis Theol. Mor. et Pastoral., Vol. II, pp. 497 sq., 505 sqq.—A. Lehmkuhl, S.J., Theol. Mor., Vol. I, 11th ed., pp. 269 sqq.—J. J. Wynne, S.J., in the Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. XII, pp. 345 sqq.—Fisher, A Treatise on Prayer, London 1885.—Jos. Egger, S.J., Are Our Prayers Heard? London 1910.—Aug. Poulain, S.J., The Graces of Interior Prayer (tr. by L. Yorke Smith, 4th ed., London, s. a.).—Pohle-Preuss, Grace, Actual and Habitual, 5th ed., St. Louis 1924, pp. 43, 91, 127 sqq., 133, 142 sq., 266 sqq., 431, 433, 435.—C. Pesch, S.J., Praelectiones Dogmaticae, Vol. IX.

1. 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.

³ Matt. XXVI, 41.

⁴ Mark I, 35.

⁵ Luke XI, 9 sqq.

⁶ Luke XVIII, 1.

⁷ Luke XXII, 40 sqq.

⁸ Luke XXII, 43.

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.

“Even to the baptized and to the saints prayer for divine assistance is always necessary,” says the second Council of Orange, “in order that they may be enabled to attain a happy end or persevere in good works.”¹⁷

¹⁷ Conc. Arausic. II, can. 10; cfr. Vol. II, of this Handbook, p. 101, note 9.

2. 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).

3. 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.

4. 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.

331. Name. The name prayer is employed in one way by profane writers and in another in theology. St. Jerome writes concerning this matter: "According to grammarians, oratio is every discourse of those speaking, whose etymology they explain thus: Oratio is the reason of the mouth. But in the sacred Scriptures we rarely read oratio according to this sense, but rather that which pertains to prayers and supplications."¹⁹ St. Thomas aptly explains from this etymological derivation of oratio, as though oratio were the reason of the mouth,²⁰ how prayer taken in the theological sense is an act of reason, and thence he deduces its real definition.²¹

¹⁹ Ep. ad Cypr. 139 (140); in Migne, Patr. lat. 22, 1168.

²⁰ Reason of the mouth (Vernunft des Mundes).

²¹ S. theol. 2, 2, q. 83, a. 1 and a. 17 ad 3.

332. Definition. In the theological sense, prayer is ordinarily taken in three ways:

1. In the general sense, for any act of religion, and indeed for the whole religious life. Hence that saying of St. Augustine: The best prayer is a just life. Thus also the Ordinary Gloss²² explains the admonition of Christ and the Apostle, "Pray without ceasing," saying: "Always live justly; for the just man never ceases to pray unless he ceases to be just; therefore he always prays who always acts well." Prayer accepted in this general sense has been called vital prayer, concerning which St. Catherine of Siena treats well.²³

2. In the broad sense, for every pious movement of the mind toward God. In this sense the holy Fathers often speak concerning prayer, e.g., St. Gregory of Nyssa:²⁴ "Prayer is converse and conversation with God"; St. John Chrysostom:²⁵ "Prayer is speech to God"; St. Augustine:²⁶ "What is prayer except the ascent of the soul from earthly things to heavenly things, the seeking of things above, and the desire of invisible things?" and: "Prayer is the conversion of the mind to God through a pious and humble affection."²⁷ The words of St. John Damascene²⁸ are most well known: "Prayer is the ascent of the mind to God." In this broad sense of prayer he also prays who elicits acts of faith, hope, and charity; who meditates on the divine mysteries; who praises God; who gives thanks to God for benefits conferred, etc. But not every elevation of the mind to God is prayer in this sense; for he who thinks about divine things solely for the sake of learning or teaching does not pray. Therefore a pious movement of the mind toward God is always required for prayer, namely, one which is made for the sake of venerating him.

3. In the strict sense, for deprecatory prayer. In this sense there is the almost classical and most well-known definition likewise given by St. John Damascene:²⁹ "Prayer is the petition of fitting things from God." St. Thomas³⁰ also adopts this definition, and St. Bruno the Carthusian aptly explains it, saying: "Prayer is the reason of the mouth which we, bowed down, offer, laying open our desires."³¹ But in order that our petition directed to God be true prayer, it is required that it concern things which are fitting and lawful. For prayer is an act of religion or of the worship of God. But he who would ask indecent and illicit things from the most holy God would not worship God, but mock him.

Prayer is an act of religion. It is not difficult to prove that prayer accepted in the second and third senses is truly an act of the virtue of religion. For by praying we acknowledge the divine power and goodness and profess our need and dependence upon God. All these things constitute true worship of God. The Angelic Doctor writes to the point:³² "It belongs properly to religion to offer reverence and honor to God; and therefore all those things through which reverence is offered to God belong to religion. But through prayer man offers reverence to God, insofar, namely, as he subjects himself to him and, by praying, professes that he needs him as the author of his goods. Hence it is manifest that prayer is properly an act of religion." Therefore we aptly pray: "Let my prayer be directed as incense in thy sight."³³ For good prayer is sweet-smelling incense before the divine majesty.

From these things it follows that the principal end of every prayer ought to be divine worship. Therefore when someone prays, e.g., for health to be recovered, he ought first and principally to intend divine worship and his own subjection under God; secondarily, however, he can desire his health. Hence at least implicitly he ought to say to himself: I ask health from the best and greatest God, provided this is the good pleasure of his adorable providence. For the rest, in practice any prayer made with true confidence includes by that very fact this due veneration of God. For no one would pray with confidence unless he were inwardly convinced of the divine omnipotence and goodness and unless he felt his own need.

²² On 1 Thess. 5:17; cf. Ecclus. 18:23 and Luke 18:1.

²³ Dialogue, c. 66.

²⁴ Orat. 1 de orat. dominic. (Migne, Patr. graec. 44, 1125).

²⁵ In Gen. hom. 30, n. 5 (Migne, l.c. 53, 280).

²⁶ Sermon 73. This text is frequently cited by both ancient and modern authors, but it is listed by Migne among the spurious sermons of St. Augustine.

²⁷ Lib. de spiritu et anima (Migne, Patr. lat. 39, 1887).

²⁸ De fide l. 3, c. 24 (Migne, Patr. graec. 94, 1090).

²⁹ L.c.

³⁰ S. theol. 2, 2, q. 83, a. 1.

³¹ In Migne, Patr. lat. 142, 169.

³² S. theol., l.c., a. 3.

³³ Ps. 140:2.

333. What do we intend by praying? It must be kept before the eyes that in deprecatory prayers we by no means intend to manifest our necessities to God, since the omniscient God knows them even before our manifestation. Nor do we wish by our prayers to change the decrees of divine providence, since this is impossible because of God's immutability. The nearly primary end of our deprecatory prayer, besides divine worship, is to remove the obstacles existing in ourselves which impede the fulfillment of our desire.³⁴ For through prayer clothed with due conditions we are rendered fit to receive divine benefits.

For in praying we exercise nearly all the virtues: humility, by professing that we are weak and totally dependent upon God; faith, by believing in God's omnipotence and goodness; hope, by hoping for his assistance; charity, by tending toward a close union with God. Hence Hugh of St. Victor³⁵ rightly says: "Prayer is the devotion of the mind, i.e., a conversion to God through a humble and pious affection supported by faith, hope, and charity." And the Roman Catechism³⁶ teaches: "God therefore wishes us to employ this exercise of prayer, so that, burning with zeal for asking what we desire, we may advance by such assiduity and desire to the point that we are worthy that those benefits be conferred upon us which our soul, previously empty and confined, was unable to receive."

Since good and salutary prayer is so excellent a means both of our eternal salvation and of obtaining other goods, we need the grace of God in order to pray well. Hence the words: "The Spirit helpeth our infirmity; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit himself asketh," i.e., causes us to ask, "for us with unspeakable groanings."³⁷

To explain the essence of prayer still better, it is useful to note certain things concerning the remote and proximate subject of prayer.

³⁴ St. Augustine expresses this beautifully: "The rational creature offers prayers to God ... that it itself may be built up, not that God may be instructed" (De gratia N. Testam. c. 29, in Migne, Patr. lat. 33, 568). Cf. S. theol. 2, 2, q. 83, a. 2, and Summa c. gent. III, 96.

³⁵ De modo orandi c. 1 (Migne, Patr. lat. 176, 979).

³⁶ Part 4, c. 2, q. 9.

³⁷ Rom. 8:26.

334. The remote subject of prayer is the same as the remote subject of religion, since prayer is an act of the virtue of religion. It can be said generally: All those are the remote subject of prayer, or can truly pray, who can and wish with pious affection to subject themselves to the divine majesty, acknowledging their own need and dependence. Hence the following cannot pray rightly:

1. Those in whom all true humility is lacking. Therefore it is related concerning the giants of the Old Testament: "The ancient giants did not obtain pardon for their sins, who were destroyed trusting to their own strength."³⁸

2. The demons and the damned. But if Satan asked from God permission to tempt Job, or if the demons cast out from the Gerasenes asked to enter the swine, or if the rich man who rejected Lazarus, buried in hell, asked that his tongue be cooled with water, or if the same man asked that Lazarus be sent to his father's house to warn his brothers, all these petitions are not true prayers which worship God, but only desires manifested.

On the contrary, the following can pray:

1. All sinners and even men who are not predestined. The contrary opinion of John Wycliffe and Pasquier Quesnel was condemned.³⁹

2. Christ as man,⁴⁰ all the angels and saints. For all these most perfectly acknowledge their own dependence and God's dominion. Christ prayed most fervently in the garden of Olives; the saints and angels pray both for their own accidental glory and for our salvation. Nor let anyone say that the citizens of heaven cannot pray because even before prayer they see in the essence of God whether the thing requested will occur or not. For this foreknowledge is not so certain,⁴¹ and although it is present, it does not impede prayer. For Christ, who most certainly knew all future events, prayed to the Father in the garden of Olives that the chalice of the Passion might pass. Therefore, just as Christ in the garden asked for deliverance from the Passion in order to show the repugnance and affection of his human nature, which manifestation was joined with the most perfect subjection and reverence toward God the Father, so the citizens of heaven can pray to God from a simple affection of charity toward those living on this earth, nevertheless subjecting this affection to the efficacious divine will.⁴²

3. The souls in purgatory also can more probably pray both for themselves and for those living on this earth. Theologians by no means agree concerning this matter, nor to this day has the Church defined anything. The older theologians seem more commonly to deny to the souls in purgatory the power of praying, at least in a deprecatory manner. Thus, e.g., St. Thomas⁴³ writes: "Those who are in purgatory ... are not in the state of praying, but rather of being prayed for." From the sixteenth century onward, however, several authors defend the affirmative opinion. John Medina⁴⁴ (d. 1546) seems to have been the first who taught thus. He is followed by Valentia,⁴⁵ Sylvius,⁴⁶ Bellarmine,⁴⁷ Bonacina,⁴⁸ Elbel,⁴⁹ nearly all modern authors, e.g., Lehmkuhl,⁵⁰ Noldin,⁵¹ Christian Pesch,⁵² Wirthmüller,⁵³ etc. Truly convincing arguments, however, can be brought forward for neither opinion. St. Thomas seems to speak only of deprecatory prayer. And indeed it is difficult to understand what these souls can ask for themselves, or how they know the necessities of men on this earth. On the other hand, since these souls are not idle and do not lack perfect subjection to God and acknowledgment of the divine excellence, prayer of praise and thanksgiving and general deprecation for the Church militant is not to be denied to them.⁵⁴

³⁸ Ecclus. 16:8.

³⁹ The Council of Constance condemned proposition 26 of Wycliffe: "The prayer of one foreknown," i.e., not predestined, "avails nothing" (Denz. n. 606). Clement XI proscribed the propositions of Pasquier Quesnel: proposition 50, "In vain do we cry to God: My Father, if the spirit of charity is not that which cries"; proposition 59, "The prayer of the impious is a new sin; and what God grants them is a new judgment upon them" (Denz. nn. 1400, 1409).

⁴⁰ Cf. S. theol. 3, q. 21, a. 1.

⁴¹ Cf. ibid. 1, 2, q. 113, a. 8.

⁴² Cf. ibid. 2, 2, q. 83, a. 11.

⁴³ Ibid., ad 3 and a. 4 ad 3; cf. also John of St. Thomas, disp. 26.

⁴⁴ De orat. q. 5. Gabriel Biel (d. 1495) is sometimes alleged as the first who taught thus.

⁴⁵ T. III, disp. 6, q. 2, p. 7.

⁴⁶ Comm. in 2, 2, q. 83, a. 11.

⁴⁷ De purgat. l. 2, c. 15.

⁴⁸ De hor. can. disp. 192, p. 1, n. 8.

⁴⁹ Theol. mor. II, n. 398.

⁵⁰ Theol. mor. I, n. 482.

⁵¹ De praeceptis n. 141.

⁵² Prael. dogm. IX, n. 324.

⁵³ Die moralische Tugend der Religion § 11.

⁵⁴ Cf. below, n. 344.

335. The proximate subject of prayer is not the will, but practical reason. Thus St. Thomas,⁵⁵ and it is manifestly evident from the definition of prayer, which is the ascent of the mind to God, or the petition of fitting things from God. For to pray is to speak to God, to intimate and manifest one's desire. But these acts belong to practical reason. Since, however, the desire of the will also operates in prayer, the will incites to the act of prayer. Therefore, although prayer is an act of the virtue of religion residing in the will, nevertheless it is formally elicited by reason. Nor is this a contradiction. For in order that an act be called elicited by some virtue, it is not necessary that it be in the same power in which the virtue itself is; but it suffices that through this virtue it be directed to its proper end, with no other virtue mediating. Thus, e.g., we say that the external confession of faith is an act elicited by faith in the intellect, although this confession is made by another power.⁵⁶

⁵⁵ L.c., a. 1. John Medina (De orat. q. 2) and certain Scotists teach that prayer is an act of the will.

⁵⁶ Cf. Billuart, De orat. a. 2, and Cajetan, Comm. in 2, 2, q. 81, a. 4.

336. Division of prayer. The divisions of prayer are not assigned in the same manner by diverse authors. The principal divisions are the following:

1. Mental or internal prayer and vocal or external prayer.

Mental prayer is perfected by acts of the intellect and will alone. In this prayer we recall with fervent zeal, e.g., the divine attributes, such as goodness and clemency, the infinite benefits conferred upon us by God, the Christian virtues, our poverty, etc.; and in this manner affections of love, desires for heavenly things, and resolutions to lead a perfectly Christian life are caused in us. The highest degree of this prayer is called contemplation,⁵⁷ by which the mind beholds and admires God himself and his perfections with a pure eye, without discourse and disturbance, and is joined to him by a certain sweet bond of most fervent love. Therefore in contemplation three things meet: the consideration of truth without discourse, admiration, and spiritual delight. Hence Pseudo-Augustine⁵⁸ says most acutely: "Contemplation is the joyful admiration of clearly perceived truth." Contemplation is by no means sterile and idle, as the Quietists dreamed, but on the contrary becomes the fruitful parent of all Christian virtues, which indeed are often exercised in a truly heroic degree. The lower degree of mental prayer is simple meditation, which consists in the pious and discursive consideration of religious truths for the purpose of drawing from them good resolutions for the moral life. Therefore the essential difference between contemplation and meditation consists in this, that contemplation is intuitive, but meditation is discursive.⁵⁹ Meditation is very necessary for every Christian man who wishes to make progress in the spiritual life.

Vocal prayer is that which is perfected by the mind and words and other external acts. St. Paul speaks concerning it: "By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise always to God, that is to say, the fruit of lips confessing to his name."⁶⁰ Vocal prayer ought to express in words that which has been conceived inwardly. This expression indeed is not necessary in order that our desires become known to God, but so that our interior devotion may thereby be more greatly excited, so that the whole man, i.e., consisting of soul and body, may pray, and finally so that public prayer may be more greatly fostered. From the beginning, not only of Christianity but of the whole human race, vocal prayers have been offered to God. Christ himself also frequently, but especially in his Passion, uttered vocal prayers. From what has been said it follows that vocal prayer does not consist in words alone, but necessarily requires at least some operation of the mind. What attention of mind is necessary for every prayer, however, will be said below, n. 354.

⁵⁷ The word contemplation is taken in diverse senses by mystical and ascetical authors. Cf. Poulain, Des grâces d'oraison (1909), c. 5.

⁵⁸ De spiritu et anima c. 32 (Migne, Patr. lat. 40, 802).

⁵⁹ St. Thomas, S. theol. 2, 2, q. 180, a. 3 ad 1.

⁶⁰ Heb. 13:15.

337. 2. Public and private prayer.

Public prayer is uttered by a public minister of the Church and is performed in the name of the Church for the salvation of the people. Private prayer is performed mentally or vocally in the name and by the proper authority of the one praying. Therefore three things are required for public prayer: 1. that such a prayer be instituted by the Church; 2. that such a prayer be made in the name of the Church; 3. that such a prayer be made by persons legitimately deputed for this.⁶¹ If even one of these is lacking, the prayer is private. Hence a priest privately reciting the Divine Office, to which he is bound by a precept of the Church, performs public prayer; but the same priest saying the Rosary from his own devotion performs private prayer. Public prayer, which is also sometimes called common, always ought to be vocal, as St. Thomas⁶² teaches: "Prayer is twofold: common and individual. Common prayer is that which is offered to God by the ministers of the Church in the person of the whole faithful people; and therefore it is necessary that such prayer become known to the whole people for whom it is uttered, which could not be done unless it were vocal. And therefore it is reasonably instituted that the ministers of the Church pronounce prayers of this kind even in a loud voice, so that they can come to the knowledge of all. But individual prayer is that which is offered by an individual person praying, whether for himself or for others; and it is not of the necessity of prayer of this kind that it be oral." Since all the prayers of the Divine Office and of the liturgy are public prayers, clerics consequently ought to pronounce these prayers orally; otherwise they do not satisfy the ecclesiastical precept, as will be said specifically below, n. 376, concerning the canonical hours.

3. Prayer is divided into supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings.

This division is taken from the epistle of St. Paul, who says: "I desire therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men."⁶³ These four parts are explained in this manner by the Angelic Doctor:⁶⁴ "Three things are required for prayer, the first of which is that the one praying approach God, whom he prays to: this is signified by the name prayer, because prayer is the ascent of the intellect to God. Secondly, petition is required, which is signified by the name petition, whether the petition is proposed determinately, which some properly call a petition, or indeterminately, as when someone asks to be helped by God, which they call supplication.... Thirdly, a reason for obtaining what is asked is required; and this is either on the part of God or on the part of the petitioner. The reason for obtaining on the part of God is his holiness, on account of which we ask to be heard ... and to this pertains supplication, which is a sacred appeal, as when we say: Through thy nativity, deliver us, O Lord. But the reason for obtaining on the part of the petitioner is thanksgiving, because by giving thanks for benefits received we merit to receive greater ones.... In several collects of the Church also these four can be observed, as in the collect of the Trinity: what is said, Almighty eternal God, pertains to the ascent of prayer to God; what is said, who hast given to thy servants, etc., pertains to thanksgiving; what is said, grant, we beseech thee, etc., pertains to petition; what is placed at the end, Through our Lord, etc., pertains to supplication." Other explanations of the words of St. Paul are also offered by other authors.

4. By reason of the end toward which the man praying proximately tends, prayer is sometimes divided into adoration, thanksgiving, and petition.

If the one praying intends the acknowledgment of the supreme divine excellence and of his own subjection, adoration or praise of God takes place; if by praying he intends to give thanks for benefits received, it is thanksgiving; but if by praying he wishes to obtain new graces, it is petition or deprecatory prayer, to which are also referred propitiatory prayer, by which someone asks remission of sins and punishments, and intercession, by which someone asks goods for other men.

⁶¹ Cf. Code of Canon Law, canon 1256.

⁶² S. theol. 2, 2, q. 83, a. 12.

⁶³ 1 Tim. 2:1.

⁶⁴ L.c., a. 17.

346. Proposition. Prayer is not only useful and fitting for all adults, but is also necessary by a necessity of precept, and indeed commonly also by a necessity of means.

That prayer is useful and fitting is evident a) from the fact that it is so excellent an act of religion, and b) from the fact that it procures such signal benefits.

The necessity of prayer has indeed been exaggerated too much by some, namely by the Euchites,¹⁰³ who taught that nothing else is required, but prayer alone suffices for eternal salvation; but it has been diminished too much by many, especially by those who deny divine providence (the Deists), or who assert that all things are ruled by a rigid fate (the Fatalists).

1. That prayer is necessary for all adults by a necessity of precept is evident from many texts of Sacred Scripture. Thus, e.g., Christ admonishes: "Watch ye, and pray."¹⁰⁴ "We ought always to pray, and not to faint."¹⁰⁵ "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened."¹⁰⁶ The Apostles likewise inculcate prayer: "Pray without ceasing."¹⁰⁷ "Be instant in prayer; watching in it."¹⁰⁸ "Be prudent therefore, and watch in prayers."¹⁰⁹ The Holy Fathers and theologians hand down the same thing with unanimous opinion. Hence the Church also manifests this necessity in the Mass, where the Lord's Prayer is introduced: "Admonished by saving precepts and formed by divine instruction, we dare to say: Our Father," etc.

2. That prayer is also necessary for all adults by a necessity of means (at least commonly and by ordinary law) is the far more common and more probable opinion. Nevertheless, the sense of this proposition is not that God bestows no graces unless he is first entreated by us; for it is manifest that God confers upon us many actual graces without any preceding prayer. Thus, e.g., the grace of conversion was bestowed upon Saul, certainly not praying but persecuting the Church. Therefore the absolute necessity of prayer is asserted only in this sense: that God, in view of the order of present providence and considering the infirmity and indigence of human nature, does not confer final perseverance in grace unless an adult man has at some time poured forth pious prayers. The proposition thus understood is easily proved both a) by authority and b) by reason.

a) By authorities. The author of the book On Ecclesiastical Dogmas¹¹⁰ writes: "We believe that no one comes to salvation unless God invites him; that no one merits assistance unless he prays." St. Augustine¹¹¹ teaches the same thing, asserting that God does not command impossible things, and consequently that you, a man, ought "to do what you can, and to ask for what you cannot." The Council of Trent¹¹² made these words its own: "God does not command impossible things, but by commanding he admonishes you both to do what you can and to ask for what you cannot." The Commented Rule of St. Benedict¹¹³ beautifully expresses this necessity of praying: "As breath is always necessary to us for the life of the flesh, so continual prayer is altogether necessary for the health of the mind"; and: "I would more easily believe that a man could subsist without a soul than that a perfect religious could subsist without prayer." The same St. Thomas¹¹⁴ teaches: "Every [adult] man is bound to prayer from the very fact that he is bound to procure spiritual goods for himself, which are given only by God; whence they cannot be procured in any other way than that they be asked from him." The Roman Catechism¹¹⁵ also upholds the same doctrine: "Since God owes nothing to anyone, it assuredly remains that we ask of him by prayers the things which we need; which prayers he has given us as a necessary instrument for obtaining that which we desire, especially since it is certain that there are some things which it is not possible to obtain without his assistance." John of St. Thomas,¹¹⁶ Sylvius,¹¹⁷ Sporer,¹¹⁸ St. Alphonsus,¹¹⁹ and almost all theologians teach the same opinion.

b) By theological reasons. 1. Acts of faith and charity are necessary for an adult by a necessity of means, as was proved above in I, nn. 496 and 561. But prayer on the part of man is necessarily joined with these acts, especially when he is placed in necessity. For he who believes in God omnipotent and merciful; who truly loves this God above all things; and who, finally, intimately senses his own necessities and miseries, necessarily raises his mind to God with pious affection, asking assistance. But such a pious affection is prayer. 2. It is necessary to worship the divine majesty. But it is impossible to worship God without a pious affection of the mind toward God; and this is prayer, at least in the broad sense. 3. No nation has ever existed without religion. But the principal act of religion is prayer. Hence no nation has existed which did not pour forth prayers to the Deity. This, moreover, is a sign that the act of prayer arises from the very condition of human nature and consequently that it is absolutely necessary. Yet it does not follow from this that God cannot save an adult man who has not prayed. For this would be false. Nothing prevents God from conferring sanctifying grace upon an adult pagan and then causing him to die at once, without time for praying being present.¹²⁰ This alone is asserted with St. Alphonsus:¹²¹ according to the ordinary course of things, no adult is in fact saved who has not prayed.

¹⁰³ On the Euchites and Messalians cf. Wetzer and Welte, Kirchenlex. II, 1309, s.v. "Messalianer."

¹⁰⁴ Matt. 26:41.

¹⁰⁵ Luke 18:1.

¹⁰⁶ Matt. 7:7f.

¹⁰⁷ 1 Thess. 5:17.

¹⁰⁸ Col. 4:2.

¹⁰⁹ 1 Pet. 4:7.

¹¹⁰ More probably this author is Gennadius of Marseilles, about the year 495 (Migne, Patr. lat. 58, 995). Several other texts of the Holy Fathers are adduced by Concina, l.c., c. 5, where the reasons of the few authors who do not admit that prayer is necessary by a necessity of means are also refuted.

¹¹¹ De natura et gratia c. 43 (Migne, Patr. lat. 44, 271).

¹¹² Sess. 6, c. 11 (Denz. n. 804).

¹¹³ In Migne, Patr. lat. 66, 329.

¹¹⁴ IV Sent., dist. 15, q. 4, a. 1, sol. 3.

¹¹⁵ Part IV, c. 1, q. 3f.

¹¹⁶ Comm. in 2, 2, q. 83, disp. 36, a. 3.

¹¹⁷ Comm. in 2, 2, q. 83, a. 2.

¹¹⁸ De praec. Decal. tr. 2, c. 7.

¹¹⁹ Theol. mor. l. 3 at the beginning; Gran mezzo della preghiera Part II, c. 4 at the end, where the Holy Doctor says according to the German translation: "I assert and repeat it, and I shall continue to repeat it until my last breath, that our salvation depends entirely upon prayer. Therefore all writers in their books, all preachers in their sermons, and all confessors in the administration of the sacrament of penance ought to impress nothing upon the faithful so emphatically as praying without ceasing. Unceasingly they ought to admonish them and cry out to them: 'Pray, pray, and do not cease to pray! For if you pray, your salvation is secure; but if you cease to pray, your perdition is equally certain.' ... From all that we have said, the conclusion is to be drawn that he who prays will certainly be saved, and that he who does not pray will certainly be damned." Cf. also Tillmann, Das Gebet nach der Lehre der Heiligen, 136ff.

¹²⁰ Cf. Billuart, De gratia diss. 6, a. 3.

¹²¹ L.c.

347. The time of obligation. Once the necessity of prayer has been established, the question immediately arises: When does this precept of praying oblige?

The response is: The precept of praying obliges (just as also the precept of eliciting faith, hope, and charity) per se and per accidens.

This precept obliges per se several times in life; but it cannot be determined precisely how often we ought to pray by divine law.

Theologians commonly teach that this precept obliges per se: 1. At the beginning of the moral life, namely when a man, having attained the full use of reason, ought to turn himself to God.¹²² For this turning to God is already prayer. 2. In danger of death. For then also a man ought to turn himself with pious affection to God, asking his assistance for having a happy death. 3. Several times in life. There are some who say that the precept of praying obliges per se every week; others, with St. Alphonsus,¹²³ every month or certainly every two months; others think that this precept (at least under grave sin) does not oblige except every year. All these opinions cannot be strictly proved; hence let it suffice to say that the precept of praying obliges per se several times in life. Meanwhile, however, the faithful are most earnestly to be admonished to pour forth at least some pious prayers every day. For the rest, good Catholics ought not to be anxious about the fulfillment of this divine precept, since it is already sufficiently observed by hearing Mass on Sundays and feast days.

Note. Since the divine precept of praying obliges per se several times in life, penitents who for a long time have neither received the sacraments nor heard Mass are to be asked in confession whether throughout that time they also neglected prayer. The reason is that negligence of this kind is a special sin (at least objectively speaking).

¹²² Cf. above I, nn. 502 and 563.

¹²³ Gran mezzo della preghiera Part I, c. 3, § 3.

348. The precept of praying obliges per accidens: 1. whenever another precept presses which cannot be fulfilled without prayer, e.g., hearing Sunday Mass; 2. when a grave temptation to sin arises, especially a temptation against the virtue of chastity. For it is certain from experience that some temptations cannot be conquered without prayer; 3. in grave calamities, especially public ones. For charity demands that we then have recourse to the most efficacious assistance of prayer.

No common law is found anywhere prescribing morning and evening prayers or prayers before and after a meal; and therefore the omission of such prayers is not of itself a sin, either mortal or venial, and consequently is not even sufficient matter for absolution.¹²⁴ In practice, however, to omit these prayers without sufficient reason is almost always a venial sin, because it manifests sloth and deprives one of graces necessary for daily life. Hence the faithful are to be exhorted not to omit these prayers (which were already customary among Christians from the first centuries of the Church). Not praying before and after a meal in public inns is indeed not a sin of itself; nevertheless it is usually much better if the faithful also make brief prayers in such places as a sign of religion.

¹²⁴ Thus the Salmanticenses, Curs. theol. mor. tr. 21, c. 9, n. 17. Concina treats this matter well, In Decal. l. 2, diss. 1, c. 5.

S. Th., q. 83, a. 2, 7, 8, 14, 15, 16.

676. Principle I. Prayer is necessary for all adults for salvation by necessity of means. - It is theologically certain, against the Deists and Fatalists who deny Providence.

Prayer is not necessary from the nature of the thing, but from the positive institution of God, according to the ordinary law of saving men: exceptionally, indeed, God sometimes saves those who do not pray. The reason is that God is not accustomed to grant actual graces necessary for salvation, and especially the gift of perseverance, except to those who pray. The Scriptures often inculcate this necessity, holding prayer as a condition without which necessary grace and salvation are not granted (Mt. VII, 7; XXVI, 41; Lk. XI, 9; John XVI, 24; Jas. IV, 2-3); likewise St. Augustine, St. Thomas, in IV Sent., d. 15, q. 4, a. 1, and theologians commonly; the Council of Trent hints at it, sess. 6, c. 11.

677. Principle II. Prayer is necessary by necessity of precept. - That is, there is a precept of praying, both from divine law, as is plain from Scripture: Eccli. XVIII, 22; Lk. XVIII, 1; Col. IV, 2; Eph. VI, 17-18; I Thess. V, 17; and from natural law, because, given the ordering of divine providence of which we spoke in the preceding number, prayer is a necessary means to salvation. - Moreover, it is a precept of religion: for the intrinsic and proper end of prayer is to profess our need and subjection to God, and therefore God ordained prayer as a means to salvation, so that men would be compelled in their necessities to have recourse to the worship of God.

That precept obliges under grave obligation several times in life; some determine this by saying: at least once in a year; others, in individual months, or even weeks; finally, others more probably: at least several times in a year.

Per accidens, by reason of a special circumstance or of another precept, we are also obliged to pray: 1. when a temptation arises which is not hoped to be overcome otherwise; 2. when one must rise from the state of mortal sin, for example, in order to receive a sacrament or at the moment of death; 3. if charity toward neighbor requires it, for example, if a grave necessity urges, especially a public one; 4. when someone wishes to pray vocally, or is bound to this by an ecclesiastical precept, for example, in the canonical hours; otherwise he would be a hypocrite. In these cases, if prayer is omitted, it is not a sin against the precept of praying, but against another precept or virtue, for the fulfilling of which, or for the exercise of which, prayer was necessary.

678. Observations. - 1. Prayer ought to be assiduous or continual, not considered according to itself, because sometimes one must be occupied with other works; but a) according to the power of the cause from which it ought to proceed, namely, the desire of charity, which ought to be continuous in us according to its power, insofar as we ought to do all works from the power of this desire, and the desire of eternal life, which is the principle of prayer, should remain in all good works (a. 14); b) also in this sense, that someone should not omit praying at the appointed time. And therefore he always, that is, often and frequently, prays, so that prayer perseveres morally through his whole life (ad 4).

2. Prayer commanded by precept ought to be at least internal; public vocal prayer is also prescribed, so that what is done for all may be known to all, but private vocal prayer is not prescribed (a. 13).

3. Per se he does not sin who omits morning prayers, evening prayers, or prayers before principal meals; in practice, however, this omission, made without a sufficient reason, often includes some venial fault of negligence, sensuality, sloth, or fear or human respect. But if someone often or always neglects them, it will frequently be a sign that he omits all prayer, or lives in an evil state.

4. We ought to pray for others, that is, for all wayfarers and the souls of purgatory, in the same way as we ought to love them, namely, in general, so that we exclude no one from prayer; in particular, we are not bound to pray for others unless there is grave necessity, or a special conjunction with them (a. 8).

5. It is not proved that there is a strict precept expressly of invoking the saints: for the Council of Trent says only that "it is good and useful suppliantly to invoke them" (sess. 25); nevertheless, in practice, one who never prayed to them, and especially to the B. M. V., would deprive himself of an excellent means and would not seem easily to be excused from every venial fault of sloth; indeed, one who studiously excluded the B. V. from prayer would rightly be judged to act from grave contempt or heretical error.

679. Effect of prayer. - Prayer, besides the spiritual consolation or refreshment which it procures for one praying devoutly and attentively, and which wandering of mind impedes, has a threefold force or efficacy: meritorious, satisfactory for sins, and impetratory. This last is proper to prayer, and is the force inherent in it of moving God to grant the benefits which are asked, not on account of merits, but solely on account of the mercy of God, because it is consonant with the divine goodness to give to those who ask. Nevertheless, that force from the dignity of prayer alone does not necessarily and infallibly produce the effect; but infallibility comes from the divine promise (Mt. VII, 7, 8; Lk. XI, 9, 13; John XIV, 13-14; XVI, 24; I John V, 14; Ps. XLIX, 15).

But that prayer may efficaciously obtain, four conditions are required:

1. that it be pious, that is, that it proceed from faith, lean upon hope, and be made with humility accompanying it, from the intention of worshiping God (Jas. I, 6; Mt. XXI, 22; Mk. XI, 24; Rom. X, 13; Heb. IV, 16);

2. that things necessary for salvation be asked (Mt. VII, 11; Lk. XI, 13), which however is probably to be understood of all things useful for salvation (I John V, 14);

3. that one ask for oneself, for if he asks for another, the latter can be badly disposed and place an impediment to the benefits asked from God (John XVI, 23; I John V, 16; Is. I, 15); besides, from its nature and from the divine promises, prayer tends to obtaining for those who ask. But whether prayer made for another who is well disposed is infallible is disputed;

4. that it be persevering, so that meanwhile through prayer we may be better disposed to receive those things which we ask, or especially that our dispositions may be tested; according to Lk. XI, 5; XVIII, 1, and Mt. XV, 22 (a. 15 and ad 2; a. 7, ad 2 and 3).

Some add: that it be made in the state of grace, but undeservedly. For such a condition is opposed to the universality of the promises which God has made to prayer, and would render the prayers of sinners inefficacious.¹

¹ St. Thomas openly teaches that even the prayers of sinners are infallibly heard, given the required conditions: "In a sinner two things are to be considered, namely, the nature which God loves, and the fault which He hates. Therefore if a sinner by praying asks for something insofar as he is a sinner, that is, according to the desire of sin, in this he is not heard by God from mercy, but sometimes he is heard unto vengeance, while God permits the sinner to fall still more deeply into sins... But God hears the prayer of a sinner proceeding from a good desire of nature (under the influence of actual grace, as is said in a. 15, ad 1), not as from justice, because the sinner does not merit this, but from pure mercy, yet with the four conditions mentioned above observed, namely, that he ask for himself, things necessary for salvation, piously and perseveringly" (a. 16).

For prayer to be meritorious or satisfactory, there are required the conditions necessary for every meritorious or satisfactory work, among which is the state of grace; as respectively is usually explained in the treatise on Human Acts, and in the treatise on Penance.

From these things it is plain that prayer can be impetratory without being meritorious or satisfactory, as in a sinner; or contrariwise, as in a just man asking for what would not profit salvation (a. 15, ad 2, and a. 16).

680. Objection: God cannot acquiesce in our prayers unless by changing His counsels or by performing miracles. But the divine counsels are immutable; indeed, all things happen from necessity.

Resp. God, by hearing prayers, in no way changes His counsel. From eternity He disposes that certain effects should be obtained through our prayers, and should happen dependently upon them. Namely, He foresaw and ordained prayers as means by which we would obtain His graces, or as a condition that second causes should produce effects consonant with our prayers at the due times. Therefore by praying we do not ask that the dispositions of the divine counsel be changed, but that the counsel be fulfilled, and that what God from eternity disposed to be fulfilled through prayers may happen. A fortiori, we do not ask for a miracle; but that God should will to lavish His graces according to the ordinary rules of His providence, and procure for us temporal goods, such as health, but dependently upon their natural causes.

Fittingly St. Thomas, a. 2: "For the evidence of this, therefore, it must be considered that by divine providence not only is it disposed what effects should happen, but also from what causes and in what order they should proceed. Now among other causes human acts also are causes of certain things. Hence it is necessary that men do certain things, not that by their acts they may change the divine disposition, but that by their acts they may fulfill certain effects according to the order disposed by God; and the same is also true in natural causes. And it is similar also concerning prayer: for we do not pray for this, that we may change the divine disposition, but that we may obtain that which God disposed to be fulfilled through prayers; namely, that men by asking may merit to receive what almighty God disposed before the ages to give them."

I Say 1st. Prayer is certainly necessary for all adults by necessity of precept, as is proved from many places of Scripture, for example, Matt. xiv, 38: "Watch and pray": and Luke xviii, 1: "It is necessary always to pray and not to fail." Moreover, according to many, prayer is also necessary by necessity of means, because it is the ordinary means established by God for obtaining necessary graces. - Cf. St. Alphonsus, n. 1.

I Say 2nd. 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, by the common interpretation of the 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 generally are to be directed toward God.

I. Another act of Religion is prayer, which St. Thomas thus defines, from Damascene, II-II, q. 83, art. 1: Prayer is a petition of fitting things from God. The word petition holds the place of the genus; the other clause indicates that fitting things are to be sought in prayer; the last clause, from God, constitutes prayer an act of Religion. For from God both natural and supernatural gifts must be sought. By this petition we confess God the principle of all things, revere his excellence, subject ourselves to him, and implore from him the succors of our need. Prayer is an act of the intellect, although Religion resides in the will.

II. Prayer is one interior, or mental; the other exterior, or vocal. Holy Scripture commends each. Of the former the royal Prophet says, Psalm 38: In my meditation a fire shall flame out. This prayer is by no means placed in a certain mental idleness, or in a mere suspension of the intellect and in a certain passive inertness, as the Quietists contended; but in acts of the intellect and of the will, by which we recall with fervent zeal the divine attributes — his goodness, clemency, justice, and the infinite benefits which God confers upon us — and by which we weigh our own weakness, need, and poverty: in acts of love, desire, confidence, and other pious affections by which we long for heavenly things, it shines forth entire. The other prayer is vocal, which is accomplished by mind and words together. Of this St. Paul speaks, Hebrews 13: By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise always to God, that is to say, the fruit of lips confessing to his name. Although words are not absolutely necessary, since nothing is hidden from God, and he knows our weakness; nevertheless these exterior signs are necessary — both because man consists of mind and body, and according to both parts he ought to subject himself to God and serve him; and because not the soul alone, but the body also, needs divine aids; and finally because these exterior words kindle interior affections the more easily, and foster them, and entice the neighbor's reason to devotion.

III. Question I. Is prayer necessary with the necessity of means? Answer. St. Thomas affirms it, II-II, q. 83, art. 2, ad 1, and on the fourth book, distinction 15, question 4, article 1, to whom the graver Theologians subscribe. The Angelic Doctor drew this doctrine from Gennadius, who, book On ecclesiastical dogmas, chapter 56, says: We believe that no one comes to salvation unless invited by God; that no one who has been invited works his salvation unless God aids him; that no one deserves aid unless he prays. Finally the Council of Trent confirms our opinion, session 6, chapter 11, saying: God commands not impossible things; but by commanding, he admonishes you both to do what you can, and to ask for what you cannot, and he aids you that you may be able.

IV. This necessity is also drawn from the very weakness of human nature. For so great is the rebellion of human appetites against reason, and so great the struggle, that without grace we can scarcely fight, much less conquer. Now this is the order instituted by divine providence, that this grace not be granted unless it be entreated by prior prayers. That God can give his gifts to those who do not ask, who is there who could call this into controversy? But at present our discourse is of the necessity of prayer, the order of divine providence being regarded. Does not the very instinct of nature excite both the beggar to the petition of alms, and the sick man to imploring medicine from the Physician? Finally, the conjunction between God and man, and their mutual commerce, proves it. For if God distributed his gifts to the slothful and the mute, men, prone to earthly things, would scarcely remember their divine Benefactor. Wherefore the mercy of God shines forth greatly in this very burden imposed of asking for his gifts, since this burden looks to this end: that men be bound to God by a stricter bond, a perpetual tie, and a mutual conjunction.

V. God forestalled Paul, not praying, but persecuting Christ. What follows from this? We freely confess that God bestows the first illuminations, and the first prevenient and stirring grace, without prayers. But we defend the necessity of prayer for obtaining the second grace, for persevering in it, and for obtaining glory.

VI. Question II. Is there a precept of praying? Answer. All affirm it, and the holy Scriptures show it luminously: Watch ye, and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: Matthew 26 [recte]; and St. Luke, chapter 18: We ought always to pray, and not to faint; and St. Paul: Pray without ceasing: to the Thessalonians [recte], chapter 5; and again to Timothy, chapter 2: I will therefore that men pray in every place ... in like manner women also. This precept St. Thomas thus explains, II-II, q. 83, art. 3, ad 2: Not only to ask what we desire, but also to desire something rightly, falls under precept; but to desire indeed falls under the precept of charity, while to ask falls under the precept of Religion: which indeed is set down, Matthew 7: Ask, and you shall receive. The reason is plain from what has been said. Prayer is necessary with the necessity of means, as has been said; therefore, by a stronger right, it is necessary with the necessity of precept.

VII. Question III. At what determinate time does the precept of prayer press? Answer. All the Fathers, in accordance with the oracles of the divine Scripture, persuade that we pray continually. Not a few recent Casuists, with their petty distinctions, all but take away the precept of praying from the midst. They distinguish an obligation of itself and an obligation by accident; directly, and indirectly. And, that I may not seem to impose upon them, let us hear Tamburini, easily the prince of the more benign Casuists, who, book 2 on the Decalogue, chapter 4, § 2, number 4, writes this: I hold here what I said above, chapter 1, § 1, number 8, concerning the precept of faith, hope, and charity: namely, that there is no certain and determinate time at which it obliges directly; but that it is that time at which it obliges indirectly — namely, when the necessity presses of acquiring some good, or of a threatening evil, or of a temptation to be averted, which we then perceive we cannot acquire or avert without the help of God. The doctrine of this author concerning faith, hope, and charity — to which he refers back this his opinion on the precept of prayer — has been proscribed, unless everything deceives me, by Alexander VII in the first thesis: A man is at no time of his life whatever bound to elicit an act of faith, etc.; and by Innocent XI in the sixth thesis: It is probable that the precept of charity towards God does not, of itself, rigorously oblige even once in every five years. That the obligation of prayer is the same as that of the said precepts, Tamburini himself confesses. The former opinion has been proscribed; therefore so has the second. From this doctrine of Tamburini it follows that Christians are of necessity exempt, of themselves, from the precept of Religion of worshipping God. For the primary act of Religion is prayer. If...

Christians were absolutely, directly, and of themselves not bound to invoke God and to give him thanks for benefits received, it is established that Religion is of itself and directly reduced to nothing: for, the primary act of Religion being taken away, Religion itself must needs fail.

VIII. Setting aside, then, the lax doctrine of Tamburini and of others like him, all the Fathers and the graver Theologians affirm that the precept of prayer obliges of itself. The more recent Theologians are divided in designating the time at which this precept presses. Many defend the position, as do the Salmanticenses and others, that it obliges only once in a year. This opinion I reject as evidently false. Others teach that it obliges once each month — an opinion which the Salmanticenses and others disapprove as harsh and hard. But even in this censure they are shamefully deceived.

IX. These opinions set aside, the doctrine of the divine Scriptures must be kept, which commands us to pray without ceasing. Does he pray without ceasing who prays only once, either in a year or in a month? Continually, then, must we pray — not physically, but morally. This moral continuation consists in this, that we pray frequently. But how great and what kind of frequency is required, that prayer be morally continuous, cannot be precisely defined. I set down what is certain.

X. That the precept of praying presses on every Lord's day is certain to me. For the precept of sanctifying the Sabbath, and now the Lord's day, is divine. It cannot be sanctified without prayer. Therefore, by the same worship with which we ought to honor the Lord's day, we are bound to pray on such a day, since without an elevation of the mind to God, that is, without prayer, the precept cannot be kept. Does the institution of feast days pertain to this — that Christians dissolve in idleness, and devote their effort to vain solaces and recreations? Christians, then, are bound by a twofold precept of praying to God: one natural and divine; the other ecclesiastical, by force of which, on feast days, while they assist at the sacrifice of the Mass, they ought to add their own prayers to the prayers of the Priests, as St. Thomas teaches on the fourth book, distinction 15, question 4, article 1, question 3 [recte]: Prayer falls under precept both determinately and indeterminately. Determinately indeed to certain prayers are bound by precept those who by office are constituted mediators between God and the people, as the ministers of the Church: whence it lies upon them by office to pour forth prayers to God in the person of the Church; and therefore by the statute of the Church they are bound to recite the canonical hours. But indeterminately anyone is bound to prayer from this very fact, that he is bound to procure for himself spiritual goods, which are given only from on high; whence they cannot be procured in another way except by being asked of him: and also from this very fact, that by the precept of charity one is bound to love his Neighbor as himself, he is bound to be beneficent to him in necessity, not only through corporal alms, but also through spiritual ones, of which one is prayer, as has been said before. But upon all, even those who do not exercise the ministry of the Church, a determinate time of praying seems to have been established by the Church, since by the statute of the canons they are bound, on feast days, to be present at the divine offices, that they may conform their intention to that of the ministers praying for the people.

XI. Certain men will obtrude the specter of Rigorism. But that I may stop their mouths, I ask: what burden, I pray, do we impose upon Christians, which in very deed even sinning Christians themselves — not to speak of the well-mannered — do not render? What Christian, illumined by the light of nature alone, would not count it a fault in himself, if on the Lord's day, if throughout an entire week, he poured out no prayers to God? What of the fact that even sinners themselves accuse themselves in sacramental confession, as I have frequently heard, of omitted daily prayers, and reckon themselves guilty of fault, when they do not recite the Lord's prayer and the apostles' creed daily? Christians instructed in the best morals pray to God every day, not once, but at least twice a day. Beggarly, proud, sick, and stupid Christians, who on any given day do not remember God, nor implore the aids by which they might decline the continual floods of temptations, wallow in the continual mire of vices, and frequently violate the precept of praying. For who would not be accused of pride, folly, and blindness, if, pressed by extreme necessity, they were unwilling to open their lips to demand the medicines and aids necessary for relieving their own infirmity?

XII. Hence you may gather that this doctrine contains nothing of severity, but interprets the holy Scriptures sincerely and in their obvious sense. God commands that we pray without ceasing. This continuation of prayer is not physical but moral, as I have said — namely, at a fitting time. This affirmative precept admits the exception of parvity of matter. Wherefore Christians ought not to torment themselves with any scruples as to whether they have gravely offended against the precept of praying; but let them busy themselves in correcting their negligence, and in kindling the fervor of prayer. Nor ought Confessors, if they find some lukewarm and negligent in praying, straightway condemn them of grave fault; but let them instruct them to pray frequently, to raise their mind to God at least twice a day, namely in the morning and in the evening. All the precepts of Christ are most sweet to those who observe them, who in very deed bear the yoke of the Law. But the yoke is rough and hard only to those who are unwilling to carry it, and who, after the manner of beasts, are the slaves of shameful deeds.

XIII. Question IV. Does he sin against the virtue of Religion who, assailed by a grave temptation, neglects to pray to God? Answer. Someone suffers a most grave temptation, for example, against chastity. He neglects to implore divine aid, and consents to the temptation. Does he here perpetrate two crimes — one against chastity, the other against the virtue of Religion? Lessius, Villalobos, Prado, the Salmanticenses, and others deny it. Graver Theologians, with St. Thomas, affirm it. This opinion is more probable to me, and true. For the precept of praying obliges of itself several times at least in a year; and, according to the adversaries themselves, it presses by accident at the time of a most grave temptation. Therefore it is violated when prayer is neglected in such an event. Therefore this Christian commits two sins: one against chastity, the other against the virtue of Religion. The precept of praying to God at a time of grave or most grave temptation regards not only this — that the temptation be overcome — but also that the worship due to God be offered. For this order seems to have been instituted by divine providence for this reason: that the tempests of tribulations, and the floods of temptations, compel us to flee to God, and to worship him, and to call upon him for our help and defense. Would not a poor man be accused of a cruelty of grave fault against himself, if, pressed by extreme misery, he neglected to implore alms from one ready to give them? And will not he be guilty of grave fault who, about to perish eternally, refuses to ask the necessary defense from a God most ready to succor him? For the Lord says: Ask, and you shall receive. Do you multiply sins? you will say. Nay, that sins may not be multiplied, I press the precept of applying the remedies by which sins are prevented. For this is why men frequently fall into sins: because they refuse to apply the remedies of not sinning; because they neglect fervently to ask for the grace by which they may come off victors over temptations. Without a peculiar grace of God we cannot overcome the gravest temptations; therefore the precept of praying is equal to the precept of overcoming temptations. Those multiply sins who whittle down the precept of prayer, who take out of the way the remedies against sins established by the divine Physician, who deny the frequent obligation of praying. Let Confessors, then, admonish their penitents that they fall frequently into shameful deeds for this reason: because they neglect to pray sincerely to God, because they wear away and squander in idle conversations, in vain solaces, the time which they ought to consecrate to prayer. For the life of Christians is a life of prayer, and of perpetual commerce and dealing with God, from whom arms and defenses against the devil, the flesh, and the world must be sought.

LEST anyone wonder at so great a variety of descriptions of Prayer; since this is a distinguished act, it is best completed out of the concurrence of several entire causes; the Doctors composed descriptions from many of these conditions.

The Saintly Doctor brings many descriptions of Prayer, 3. part. centil. sect. 46. The first from D. Augustine lib. de spiritu, et anima, cap. 50. Prayer is the direction of pious affection to God. For prayer ought to proceed from a pious affection, that it be of valid origin. Therefore the same S. Augustine also, serm. 130. de tempore: What is prayer, but the ascent of the mind from earthly things to heavenly, the inquiry into things above, the desire of things invisible.

D. DAMASCENUS lib. 3. de fide cap. 24. Prayer is the ascent of the mind to God. For it is necessary that the soul of the one praying fly from earthly things to God.

The Saintly Doctor brings ANOTHER description from Damascene, in the place cited: Prayer is the expression of desire directed to God for the sake of obtaining a good, or removing an evil, formed by the word within, and without; or it is, a petition of fitting things from God.

MAGISTERIALLY, however, he says it can be defined thus: Prayer is the showing forth of our will to him from whom we hope to obtain that which we desire. Which alludes to the definition of D. Basil, homil. 5. de variis: Prayer is a petition of a certain good, which is poured forth to God by the pious.

VALENTIA says this definition, together with that adduced from Damascene, is optimal, disput. 6. quaest. 2. puncto 3. The Saintly Doctor adds another from D. Gregory lib. 33. moral. cap. 21. which rather described a certain perfection of prayer: To pray truly is to sound forth groans in the compunction of love, and not composed words.

IN the explanation of the terms of Theology, the Saintly Doctor adds that common description of prayer: It is the ascent of the mind to God, (explaining) or it is the expression of desire directed to God, for obtaining a good, or removing an evil, formed by the word within, and without.

IN the Diaeta salutis, tit. 2. cap. 5. he brings that definition of Prayer from Damascene 3. de fide, cap. 24. which Valentia calls optimal: Prayer is a petition of fitting things, and he adds the other one brought above.

HE EXPLAINS, however, on those words of Luke 6. He went out into the mount to pray: And he was passing the night in the Prayer of God, why prayer is described as the ascent of the mind to God, from Damascene in the place cited, namely, because the one praying ought to be separated from the earth, and from noise. Therefore the saints seek solitudes, and mountains. Thus Christ: He went out into the mount. Therefore Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill, Exodi 17. and Christ Matth. 14. Having dismissed the crowd, he went up into the mount alone to pray, and Abraham Genes. 22. said to the boys: wait here with the ass (that is, in the Valley:) But I and the boy, hastening thither, after we have worshiped, will return to you. Thus also Iudith, cap. 12. She went out by night into the valley of Bethulia, and baptized herself in the fountain of water, and as she came up, she prayed to the Lord God of Israel.

The Saintly Doctor ADNOTES, however, ad cap. 18. sap. on those words: For hastening to deprecate for the people, an allusion to Num. 16. where Aaron, running to the multitude, which he saw being slain by God, interceded. To deprecate, therefore, he says is properly for removing evils; but to pray is for obtaining goods, yet he says one is often confused with the other.

He EXPLAINS also in 3. dist. 17. art. 2. quaest. 1. ad 3. in what way Prayer is understood to be an ascent to God, namely, because we beseech God, who is above us, asking for mercy, which is above us, or revealing misery, which is below us, that he may free us from this, and raise us to that. He explains also another elevation, which is not intrinsic to prayer, namely, by which we climb, or ascend, from one consideration to another, to the consideration of God, and from the consideration of the creature to the consideration of the Creator.

From the definition of Prayer gather first, that Prayer is an act of the practical intellect, as the Saintly Doctor often indicates, while he defines it the elevation of the intellect, as it is called postulation, or petition, which is the expression of the practical intellect; for it is thus described by D. Augustine lib. de verbis Domini, serm. 5. Therefore epist. 121. he says: Let much speaking be far from Prayer, but let much praying not be lacking, if fervent intention perseveres. For to speak much in praying, is to spend on superfluous words a necessary thing. But to pray much, is to knock at the door of God, whom we beseech, with a long and pious excitation of the heart. For often this business is transacted more with groans than with speeches: more with weeping than with breath, as D. Bonavent. relates, lib. 2. Pharetrae, cap. 45.

HENCE he says also that affection concurs to render Prayer efficacious. S. Augustine indicates this, serm. 126. de tempore, cited by D. Bonavent. in the place cited, while he says: What is prayer, but the ascent of the soul from earthly things to heavenly, the inquiry into things above, the desire of things invisible?

YET it proceeds from the mouth pronouncing, or from the heart, as Chrystost. says in the imperfect work on Matth. homil. 13. and prayer from the heart is better expressed than from the mouth, as D. Isidorus says lib. 3. cap. 7. sent. 4. and cap. 8. sent. 2. When we pray, we speak with God; when we read, God speaks with us. Speech indeed is of the intellect. Hence by him prayer is also called oris ratio, on Psalm 38.

D. Bernardus concludes BOTH in Prayer, epist. de vita solitaria: Prayer is the affection of man adhering to God, and a certain familiar and pious address, and the state of an illumined mind for enjoying God as long as it is permitted. The Saintly Doctor relates this and other things in the Pharetra, in the place cited.

HENCE see that the question is about the name, while it is contended: Whether ratio (oration) is an act of the intellect, as the Holy Doctors teach, Caietanus ad art. 1. D. Thomae, Valentia puncto 1. and others; but not rather of the will, as some Nominales think, and Medina quaest. 1. de Oratione.

From the same definition the Saintly Doctor gathers secondly, in 3. the place cited, ad 2. et 4., that Prayer is of the inferior to the superior, whence it comes about that Christ, inasmuch as he is God, did not pray; but inasmuch as Pontiff he asked according to human nature; and inasmuch as King, God heard: Against certain heretics, whom P. P. consutani Tract. 2. disp. 1. quaest. 7.

GATHER thirdly, that Prayer is an act of Religion; because while we pray, we protest that we have the greatest need of God, as of our principle, and author, in whom we exhibit to him the greatest cult, and honor, which is the duty of the virtue of Religion, as S. Bonavent. teaches in the places to be cited in p. p. Brevil. cap. ult.

THE SUBJECT of this is the proper theme of the Seraphic Doctor, for he everywhere mingles prayer, everywhere says something about it, or indicates it.

HE DIVIDES prayer, in the little work on the six wings of the Seraph, on the side of those who pray, into public prayer and private. Public is that which is made by the Church in choirs, which was also customary in the ancient Church; as appears from 1 Paral. 25, that we may imitate the Church triumphant, as I said in disputation 2.

PRIVATE prayer is that which is made privately through the familiar recitation of Psalms, the Rosary, Litanies; this he taught to each one, Matth. 6. When you pray, say: Our Father. Likewise it is exercised in solitary meditations and soliloquies, Psalm 76. I meditated in the night with my heart.

On private prayer the holy Fathers have much, cited by D. Bonaventure, book 2 of the Pharetra, cap. 45 and 46.

On public prayer D. Bernard discourses there, epistle 78.

SECONDLY S. Thomas the Doctor divides prayer on the side of the act into Vocal and Mental; the latter is that which is completed by the mere affection of the mind, thus Psalm 26. My heart hath said to thee, etc. Vocal is that which is also expressed by the voice, of which Psalm 141. With my voice I cried to the Lord, with my voice I made supplication to the Lord, which words the Seraphic Patriarch Francis uttered in singing on the last day of his life, as D. Bonaventure relates in his Legend.

THE INSTITUTION of this twofold prayer S. Thomas the Doctor ascribes to God, 5 part of the Breviloquium, cap. 10. For since the first principle is no less good than true; hence it is that he most willingly communicates his gifts. But since with this he is at the same time just, therefore he does not give gifts except to one willing and desiring; he does not give grace except to one giving thanks; he does not bestow mercy except on one acknowledging his misery, so that the liberty of the will may be safe, and the nobility of the gift not cheapened, and the worship of divine honor may remain intact. Hence it is that God wills to be prayed to, that he may bestow gifts. Again, since for desire to tend upward it is necessary that our affection be fervent, and thought gathered into one, and our expectation certain; and since our heart is frequently tepid, frequently dispersed, frequently fearful, hence it is that God willed us to pray not only mentally but also vocally, for the excitation of our affection through words, and for the recollection of thoughts through the sense of the words. He willed also that we pray through the saints, and the saints for us, to give confidence to the fearful, so that what they do not dare, or cannot, obtain by themselves, they may obtain through the efficacious petitions of others; and through this humility is preserved in those who pray; the dignity of the saints is declared in their interceding; and in all the members of Christ Charity and unity are shown forth.

THIRDLY he divides prayer in book 2 de profectu religiosi, cap. 60, into vocal prayers, Psalms e. g. through composed words; into soliloquies through words breaking forth from affection and necessity; and cap. 62 he adds thanksgiving and the voice of praise. He explains, moreover, in cap. 63 the benefits by which we are moved to thanksgiving.

FOURTHLY it is divided by D. Bonaventure in the place cited above, and from the Breviloquium, into obsecration, prayer, postulation, deprecation, and thanksgiving, according to that, 1 Timot. 2. I desire therefore first of all that obsecrations, prayers, postulations, and thanksgivings be made for all men. Of these more fully, opusc. de profectu Relig. book 2, cap. 60.

OBSECRATION, as D. Thomas explains, art. 17, is a prayer by which something is asked with some reason proposed, drawn from some sacred thing on account of which what is asked is obtained, as from the divine goodness, or the passion; Through the cross, etc. So also D. Bonaventure on Psalm 141.

THIS explanation agrees with that interpretation of S. Thomas which D. Bonaventure used in the exposition of the Mass, at those words of the Canon: Da propitius pacem, from D. Augustine epist. 49 to Paulinus, question 5, that the Apostle under the name of obsecration commended those prayers which the Church is accustomed to use in the celebration of the sacrifice of the Mass and the other Sacraments.

IN ANOTHER WAY also S. Thomas the Doctor explains above, that deprecation is intercession for sins; but prayer of postulation for graces and other goods. Cassian does not depart far, collat. 9, cap. 11 and following.

S. THOMAS the Doctor also divides it in the little work de profectu Religiosi, book 2, cap. 73 and following, according to the different motives, as I said in disputation 2. Then according to the different gifts of God, of revelations and visions, of which Alvarez treats at length Tom. 3, and D. Thom. question 175, and we shall treat, when on the Contemplative Life.

HERETICS, who hate the mean of virtue, are wont to be drawn to extremes. The Massilians indeed, according to Damascene, heresy 80, held that Prayer suffices for salvation even without the Sacraments; on the other hand, the Pelagians, according to D. Augustine heresy 88, said that prayer is useless. This error was most ancient, of which Ecclus. 16. The ancient giants did not pray for their sins, who were destroyed, trusting in their own strength.

THE SAME error was followed by the Albigenses, according to Bernard of Luxembourg, who took away the divine Providence, and also others who admitted providence, but said it introduces an absolute necessity into things, badly understanding that which D. Gregory discusses in the Dialogues, book 1, cap. 8, according to D. Bonaventure book 2 of the Pharetra, cap. 45, where he says: Those things can by no means be obtained by prayer which were not predestined. For he explains himself sufficiently, adding: but those things which holy men accomplish by praying are so predestined that they are obtained through prayers. Therefore the divine Providence is not changed by prayer; as some murmur according to D. Thomas.

THE SAME error was followed also by John Wycliffe, according to Waldensis Tom. 3, cap. 1. Luther indeed, who asserts the same necessity, nevertheless admits prayers.

FOR truly he sometimes, in order to exalt faith, destroys prayer, as Valentia relates, disput. 6, question 2, puncto 3.

I ASSERT first, that Prayer is useful for salvation.

IT IS PROVED most abundantly by D. Bonaventure, de profectu Religiosi, book 2, cap. 66, and eleven others.

FOR it placates the anger of God, Exodi 32, where Moses placated God by Prayer. It obtains the forgiveness of sins, Matth. 18. I forgave thee all thy debt, because thou didst ask me. Matth. 6. Forgive us our debts. It removes scourges. Num. 11. Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire was swallowed up, which was done as a figure, that it might also show that the fires of temptations are extinguished by prayer. It drives out the vices of the heart, Psalm 58. Disperse them in thy strength. It liberates those placed in dangers, Psalm 49. Call upon me in the day of tribulation. It defends from dangers, Matth. 24. Pray that your flight be not in the winter, or on the Sabbath. It vindicates against the enemies of the faith, 2 Paral. 32. Ezechias and Isaias prayed against Senacherib, and the Hebrews were delivered. It makes difficult things easy, Iosue 6. While the people shouted, the walls of Jericho fell down: It procures familiarity with God, Psalm 144. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him. Isa. 58. Thou shalt cry, and he shall say: Behold, I am here. It obtains the gifts of the Holy Ghost, Act. 2. They were all filled with the Holy Ghost. Lucae 11. The Father will give the good spirit to them that ask him. Likewise the gift of wisdom, Iacobi 1. If any of you want wisdom, let him ask of God, etc. Likewise the grace of preaching, Ephes. 6. Praying for me, that speech may be given me in the opening of my mouth. Likewise the revelation of secrets. Hierem. 33. Call to me, and I will declare to thee great and firm things. Likewise the power of miracles, Isa. 5. Elias prayed that it might not rain. Likewise for the raising of a child, 3 Reg. 17. It confers temporal succors, Psal. 144. The eyes of all hope in thee, O Lord, and thou givest them meat in due season. It relieves from miseries, 3 Reg. 8. If famine should arise, or pestilence, etc. It gives all useful and necessary things, Rom. 8. For what we should pray for as we ought, etc. It confers eternal life, Rom. 10. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Briefly (says S. Bonaventure) it represses all things contrary to salvation, and confers, preserves, and perfects what is necessary. For God wills not only to be prayed to for that which he himself has beforehand disposed to give, but he wills that we merit more by praying, through faith, whereby we believe what we see not; through hope, whereby we trust to obtain the things asked; through charity, whereby we love the hearer more abundantly, according to that Psalm 114. I have loved, because the Lord will hear the voice of my prayer.

HE CONCLUDES that prayer is as it were a mirror, in which our defects and progress may be seen. See S. Thomas the Doctor.

PRAYER finally (says S. Bonaventure) raises and draws the mind away from earthly things more than the other actions; because while those act with Martha amid frequent ministry, this with Mary adhering to the feet of the Lord entreats him alone to be propitious to her.