The qualities of prayer

Our Lord promised that prayer when rightly made would be heard by God: “‘ I say to you, Ask and it shall be given you: seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you.¹ We learn from his teaching and from the nature of prayer what qualities it must have in order to be acceptable to God and heard by him. The object prayed for must be necessary, or at any rate useful for salvation. Not only spiritual blessings are proper objects of prayer but temporal blessings as well, as far as they conduce to the welfare of the soul. Prayer must be persevering: God has promised to hear prayer, but he has not promised to hear it at once. The time must be left to his wisdom and providence with due conformity to his holy will. Prayer must come from a humble heart, in which faith, hope, and charity dwell, in order to merit the promises of God. Moreover, God will not do violence to man’s free will, and so if prayer is offered for someone else, its effect to some extent depends on that person’s dispositions and free will. He may, if he pleases, put obstacles in the way, which will prevent the prayer from obtaining the precise effect wished for in his regard. ‘Theologians conclude that prayer must be made for one’s self in order to be infallibly heard by God.

¹ Luke xi 9.

The Qualities of Prayer.—(a) As to its manner, prayer is either unaccompanied or accompanied by external acts of worship, such as bodily gestures or speech. But not infrequently the thoughts are voiced in words, and we then have what is known as vocal prayer. Prayer made by a private person for himself or others may be internal; but public prayer that is offered by the ministers of the Church in the name of the Church should be vocal, since it should be manifested to the people for whom it is being offered. But the use of words or other external signs is advantageous even in private prayer, since it excites greater devotion in a person and is a help to attention.

(b) As to persistence, prayer is continuous or interrupted. Prayer should be continuous if there is question of its cause, which is prayerfulness of spirit, or desire of salvation; and in this sense may be understood the words of Scripture that command us to pray always (Luke, xviii. 1; Eph., vi. 18; I Thess., v. 17 ), But if we speak of prayer itself, it is impossible to pray unceasingly in this life, as there are many other things that have to be done and rest is a necessity.

(c) As to quantity, prayers are lengthy or brief. Our Lord rejected the belief of the pagans that the efficacy of prayer depends on many words (Matt, vi. 7), but He did not forbid long prayers, since He often spent nights in prayer. The rule about the length of private prayers is that one should pray for such a space of time as is favorable to devotion, and should cease from prayer as soon as it becomes tedious; similarly, public devotions should not be so lengthened out that those present become wearied and inattentive. The Fathers of the Desert were wont to offer many brief but ardent ejaculatory prayers, fearing that prayer long drawn out would fall away from the fervor of intention with which it began. But, if devotion continues, prayer should not easily be broken off.

The Confidence Requisite for Successful Prayer.—(a) Confidence must exclude doubt or distrust in reference to God or prayer itself: “How shall they call on Him whom they have not believed?” (Rom., X. 14); “Let not that man (that wavereth) think that he shall receive anything of the Lord” (James, i. 6, 7).

(b) Confidence does not exclude doubt about one’s own dispositions (“It is not for our justice that we present our prayers before Thee, but for the multitude of Thy tender mercies”); on the contrary, the prayer of the Pharisee was not heard, because he trusted in himself (Luke, xviii. 9). Neither does confidence in prayer mean that one may ask unconditionally for temporal things (see 2161 c).

Intention and Attention.—Attention is the voluntary application of the mind to that which is done, or the consideration or advertence of the mind given to an act. It differs from intention, which is an act, not of the reason, but of the will, consisting in the purpose to perform an act. Prayer requires both intention and attention.

(a) There must be intention, for prayer in its origin is an act of the will and it pertains to religion only because of the devotion by means of which it is elicited. A man who, while reading aloud from a novel, recites the words of a prayer contained in the novel, does not pray, for his intention is pleasure or instruction, not worship. And even one who says or answers prayers attentively during services does not really pray if his motive is not one of religion. (b) There must be attention, for prayer is of its nature an act of the mind (see 2154). A parrot or a phonograph is not said to pray when it repeats the words of the Our Father or Hail Mary.

The Intention Required in Prayer.—(a) An actual intention is had when one either expressly or implicitly wills to offer a prayer, as when one says internally; “I will now say a prayer,” or when without such express act one deliberately performs that which is a prayer, making internal acts of faith, reciting the Rosary, reading from a prayer-book, etc. This kind of intention is necessary at the beginning of prayer, and is the best that may be had during the course of prayer.

(b) A virtual intention is had when one is occupied in prayer on account of an actual intention previously formed and not retracted, but here and now, on account of human weakness, one is thinking of indifferent things impertinent to the prayer and its purpose. This kind of intention continues unless withdrawn directly by contrary intention or indirectly by the performance of acts inconsistent with prayer. Virtual intention suffices during the course of prayer, for a continuous and uninterrupted actual intention is humanly impossible. The more the mind struggles to keep the thought fixed on one object alone, the more do other thoughts arise to distract, as experience proves.

(c) An habitual intention is had when one is occupied in prayer, not on account of any actual intention previously formed, but on account of a propensity or inclination resulting from previous acts. This is not properly an intention and it does not suffice for prayer, since with it the acts performed do not proceed actually or virtually from any determination of the will. Thus, a person who is asleep or intoxicated is not said to pray when he mechanically repeats well-known words of prayer, for his will has no part in those words, any more than the will of the somnambulist has part in the dangerous walks he takes.

The Attention in Prayer.—(a) By reason of its object, attention is external or internal, according as the mind is taken up only with the externals of prayer (i.e., the exclusion of external acts inconsistent with prayer and the proper bodily posture) or with the things internal to prayer (i.e., the words, sense and purpose of the prayer). Internal attention is called verbal or superficial when it is directed only to the words, as when a person who does not understand the meaning of a prayer says it carefully so as not to mispronounce the words; it is literal, when it is directed only to the sense, as when a person who says a very obscure prayer pays close attention so as to follow its meaning; it is spiritual, when it is directed to the purpose of prayer (i.e., the worship of God by an act of religion), or to the objects of prayer (i.e., eternal salvation or the means thereto, such as grace and the virtues, the mysteries of religion, etc.).

(b) By reason of its subject, attention is either perfect or imperfect. Perfect attention excludes every distracting thought, even such as are involuntary; imperfect attention excludes voluntary but not involuntary distractions.

Acts that Exclude External Attention.—What external actions are inconsistent with external prayer and exclusive of external attention?

(a) Those acts exclude external attention which either from their nature (on account of the great mental application they demand) or from the weakness of a person’s mind (for it is not everyone who can like Julius Caesar think on several things at the same time) make it impossible to have recollection in prayer when those acts are being performed. Acts of this kind are reading about other matters, painting, writing, carrying on conversation with those around, boisterous laughing, etc. But if the one who prays engages in these acts inadvertently (e.g., if a person reciting the Breviary does not notice that he is giving considerable attention to an inscription or advertisement on an adjacent wall), the distraction is merely involuntary and inculpable.

(b) Those acts do not exclude external attention that either not at all or only in slight measure interfere with internal recollection in prayer. Such acts are slow walking, riding, looking about at the scenery, picking a flower now and then, dressing, undressing, bathing, combing the hair, etc, The Church prescribes certain prayers to be said while the priest vests for Mass, and it was an old rule among the monks to join labor and prayer.

When External Attention Is Sufficient.—Is external attention sufficient in prayer when internal attention is voluntarily excluded?

(a) In public prayers external attention is sufficient as to a number of effects. Thus, in the administration of the Sacraments the want of internal attention in the minister does not make the Sacrament invalid, since the Sacraments produce grace ex opere operato; in public suffrages the indevotion and distraction of the priest do not deprive the beneficiary of the impetratory fruit, since the public prayers are offered in the name of the Church itself; in the Divine Office merely external attention suffices to fulfill the positive obligation, according to many, because it is not certain that the Church requires more.

(b) In all prayers mere external attention is insufficient for the personal effects of impetration, merit and satisfaction. For to pray with willful indevotion is not an act deserving of remission, reward and a favorable answer, but rather of punishment (“Before prayer prepare thy soul and be not as a man that tempteth God,” Eeclus., xviii. 23); it is disrespectful to God and therefore cannot claim the benefits of an act of worship.

The Kind of Internal Attention Required in Prayer.—(a) The minimum that suffices for the personal benefits of merit and impetration is the verbal or the literal attention, and the imperfect attention that is mixed with some unwilled distractions or mind wanderings. Indeed, a person who intends to pray well, but whose whole prayer is a continual distraction in spite of his efforts to be recollected, does not lose, but rather by reason of his good will and effort increases, his merit. But for spiritual refreshment there must be freedom from distraction; for, just as a student gets no mental nourishment from a lesson if his mind is many miles away, and a listener gets no instruction from a discourse spoken in a foreign language (I Cor., xiv. 4), so one who prays with an absent mind loses the devotion and joy that are afforded by actual communion with heavenly thoughts.

(b) The maximum that should be aimed at in prayer for the greater blessing it brings is the spiritual attention fixed on the presence of God and the perfect attention that keeps away as far as possible the interruption from any vain, perverse or extraneous thoughts.

Distractions.—Just as certain external acts exclude external attention, so also certain internal states exclude internal attention. These latter are known as distractions, and may be defined as internal acts or omissions opposed to the nature or purpose of prayer, but performed during prayer.

(a) Distractions are either acts or omissions. Thus, a person who slumbers lightly or is partly asleep during prayer is inattentive or wanting by omission; while the person who thinks out plots for stories or plays during prayer time is distracted or wanting by commission.

(b) Distractions are sometimes opposed to the nature of prayer. To the nature of vocal prayer belong the words and the sense, and hence, even though one is rapt in meditation, there is no vocal prayer if words are mispronounced or left out or so changed or transposed as to make nonsense or no sense, though negligence about a word here and there does not necessarily exclude superficial attention. Those who from long familiarity with forms of prayer are able to repeat them automatically, with no thought about the words or their meaning, direct or mystical, are not distracted if their thoughts are on the motive of prayer. But it would not be fitting to observe no order in these matters, for example, to dwell always on the glorious mysteries during passiontide prayer and on the sorrowful mysteries during paschal prayers.

(c) Distractions are sometimes opposed to the purpose of prayer. The purpose of prayer itself is the union of the mind with God, while the purpose of the one who prays is the special good to which he directs his prayer. Union with God is necessary above all in prayer, and though it need not be expressly thought on, as was said above (2169), yet there must be no thought in the mind contrary to it. Thoughts, desires and imaginations are contrary to the end of prayer when they are not means to that end (e.g., sinful thoughts, idle thoughts, thoughts on lawful occupations or affections that have nothing to do with the prayer), or when they are means to that end but are perverted to a purely natural use (e.g., when verbal attention is made an exercise in voice culture, or literal attention a grammatical study, or attention to the purpose of prayer means that one is speculating on foolish questions about divinity or thinking on the money, food, or clothing, for which one is praying as if they were the ends of prayer). Scrupulous persons make attention itself a distraction, for they worry all during prayer lest their thoughts be wandering, and so they are thinking about themselves rather than about the words, meaning or purpose of prayer.

(d) Distractions occur during prayer. Hence, an interruption is not a distraction, as when one who is praying is called to attend to some business or leaves off prayer for the moment to make a note of some important thought that came to mind. Neither is the breaking off of prayer a distraction, as when one starts to pray but feels so distracted or unwell as to give over for the time being the attempt to pray.

Voluntary and Involuntary Distractions.—(a) Voluntary distractions result in the first place from purpose, as when one who is praying deliberately dozes at intervals when he feels drowsy, or deliberately turns over in his mind the points of an address he intends to give; they result in the second place from negligence, as when the person who is praying does not expressly wish to be inattentive, but hurries through his words with no pains to keep his thoughts on what he is doing or why he is doing it. Those who rarely speak or read about divine things, but give themselves much to foolish reading or talk, prepare for themselves many distractions, unless they counteract this by special aids to recollection, such as pictures or prayer books.

(b) Involuntary distractions are those that result neither from purpose nor from carelessness, but from human weakness. Thus, a person who is troubled with scruples or with a severe headache or nervous strain, who is worn out bodily or much worried mentally, or who is surrounded by noise or disturbance, is often physically unable to concentrate his mind for any length of time, no matter how much he may desire to do so. Indeed, St. Thomas says that it is hardly possible for anyone to say an Our Father without some distraction, and many persons are distracted against their will by every slight sound or movement that falls under their notice.

Sinfulness of Distraction in Prayer.—(a) Involuntary distractions are not sinful, since one is not bound to the impossible. Hence, a penitent who has nothing except these distractions to confess may not be absolved, since there is no matter for absolution in his confession.

(b) Voluntary distractions are sinful, since, though one is free to address God at any time, one is bound to do this in a respectful manner and in spirit and in truth, as God requires. Communion with God is by means of the mind, and it is disrespectful to turn the mind away to other things when the communion has been sought. Besides, lip service is displeasing to God, just as burnt offerings were not acceptable when made without love. But the sin is of its nature only venial; for the intention to pray, together with the essential moral goodness of the act, is retained, and the defect consists in the circumstance that the intention is executed remissly (see 78).

When is voluntary distraction a grave and when a venial sin? (a) It is a venial sin when one says a non-obligatory prayer, even with the express will to be inattentive, and also when one says an obligatory prayer (such as the Divine Office) with distractions due to carelessness, but without abandonment of the intention to pray. (b) It is a mortal sin when one indulges in distractions from contempt, and also when one says an obligatory prayer with distractions that last during a notable part of the prayer and that are deliberately entertained.

Distractions during Divine Office are the absence of the attention which the Church requires under grave sin for satisfaction of the canonical obligation. There are two opinions about the kind of distractions that make recitation insufficient and gravely sinful.

(a) According to the older opinion, internal attention is required, but it seems that generally those who maintain this view do not hold that internal distractions alone deprive the Office of its sufficiency. Thus, they state that one who has had voluntary distractions may consider that he has fulfilled his duty, unless he is certain that he also adverted to his state of distraction and did nothing to end it.

(b) According to the opinion of many modern authors, external attention suffices. Hence, in this view mortal sin is incurred by notable defect in external, but not in internal attention.

To be an act of virtue and an effective means of grace, prayer must have the following qualities:

I. It must be worthy of God, i. e., it must be performed with a pure, or at least with a contrite, heart. This quality is called by some theologians pietas or dignitas orationis. The efficacy of prayer, it is true, does not necessarily depend upon one’s being in the state of grace; but its supernatural meritoriousness does. The sinner, too, can pray efficaciously, and is in duty bound to pray, because prayer is a necessary factor in the process of justification and an important element of Christian morality.¹ But the prayer of an impenitent sinner is an abomination in the eyes of God.²

¹ Cfr. Pius X’s Exhortation to the Clergy.

² Prov. XXVIII, 9; Luke XVIII, 13 sqq.—One of the condemned propositions taught by Quesnel (n. 50) read as follows: “In vain he cries to God, Father mine, if the spirit of charity is not he who cries.” Another (n. 59) ran thus: “The prayer of the impious is a new sin; and what God grants them is a new judgment upon them.” (Denzinger-Bannwart, Enchiridion, n. 1400, 1409).—“The holier and fuller of holy desire anyone is,” says St. Augustine (De Civ. Dei, XX, c. 17), “the more abundant he is in praying.” (Migne, P. L., XLI, 683). Cfr. the same Saint’s Retract., I, c. 3, n. 3 (P. L., XXXII, 589) and St. Thomas, Summa Theol., 2a 2ae, qu. 83, art. 16.

II. Prayer, to be a truly virtuous act and an efficacious means of grace, must be performed with attention, i. e., the person who prays must direct his thoughts to the act he is performing.

1. Attention, according to St. Thomas, comprises three stages. In the first or lowest of these the mind reflects on the words pronounced. This is called attentio superficialis. In the second stage the mind adverts not merely to the words as such, but to their meaning. This is called attentio verbalis sive literalis. In the third stage, which is the highest, the mind is directed immediately to God and His eternal truths. This is called attentio spiritualis.³ Whenever a person has the intention to pray or to honor God by praying, any one of these species of attention is sufficient to constitute prayer a religious act, and hence to fulfil an obligation (Office, penance, etc.), though the third (attentio spiritualis) is, of course, the best and noblest.

³ St. Thomas, Summa Theol., 2a 2ae, qu. 83, art. 13: “Threefold is the attention which can be applied to vocal prayer: one, indeed, by which one attends to the words, lest one err in them; a second, by which one attends to the sense of the words; a third, by which one attends to the end of prayer, namely to God and to the thing for which one prays. This indeed is especially necessary, and even simple persons can have it; and sometimes this intention, by which the mind is borne to God, so abounds that the mind forgets all other things.”

2. To pray with attention one must withdraw the mind from profane things. This can be done by appealing to the Holy Ghost for the right disposition, by placing oneself in the presence of God, by making a good intention,⁴ by paying due regard to ecclesiastical customs and liturgical precepts, by observing a definite rule of life and order of the day, by putting the body into the proper posture, by seeking solitude and places particularly adapted to devotion, by properly employing sacred images, prayer books, and formulas of devotion, and by participating in common practices of piety, such as processions and pilgrimages.⁵

⁴ Ecclus. XVIII, 23; Luke XI, 1; Rom. VIII, 15, 26.—St. Isidore, Sent., l. III, c. 7, n. 3: “When anyone prays, he calls the Holy Spirit to himself. But whenever He comes, at once the temptations of demons, which thrust themselves into human minds, cannot endure His presence.” (Migne, P. L., LXXXIII, 672).—Catech. Rom., P. IV, c. 7, qu. 1 and 5.

⁵ Cfr. Ps. LIV, 17 sq.; Deut. VI, 10; Matt. II, 11; VI, 6; XIV, 23; XVIII, 19 sq.; XXI, 13; Mark I, 35; Acts III, 1; X, 9; XX, 36.—Among the condemned propositions of Michael de Molinos is the following (n. 18): “He who in prayer uses images, figures, species, and his own concepts, does not adore God in spirit and truth.” (Denzinger-Bannwart, n. 1238).—Saint Thomas says (Summa Theol., 2a 2ae, qu. 84, art. 2): “Through the signs of humility which we exhibit bodily, our affection is stirred to subject itself to God, because it is connatural to us to proceed through sensible things to intelligible things.”—IDEM, ibid., ad 2: “Genuflections signify our weakness in comparison with God; but when we prostrate ourselves, we profess that we are nothing of ourselves.”—IDEM, ibid., ad 3: “By the senses we cannot approach God; nevertheless through sensible signs our mind is stirred so that it may tend to God.”—IDEM, ibid., art. 3, ad 2: “A determinate place is chosen for worship, not for God’s sake, who, as He who is worshipped, is contained as if in a place, but for the sake of the worshippers themselves, and this for a threefold reason: first, because of the consecration of the place, from which a special devotion is conceived in those praying, so that they may be heard more readily, as is clear from Solomon’s prayer (1 Reg. VIII, 29); secondly because of the sacred mysteries and other signs of holiness which are contained there; thirdly because of the assembly of many worshippers, from which prayer is made more deserving of hearing (Mt. XVIII, 20).”

3. Opposed to attention is distraction (evagatio mentis sive spiritus), by which we mean the act of drawing off or diverting the mind from heavenly to earthly things.

Distraction may be involuntary or voluntary.

a) Involuntary distraction arises from human infirmity.⁶ It is not sinful and, so long as the right intention persists, does not render prayer inefficacious. When earnestly combatted, involuntary distraction even helps to make prayer more meritorious in proportion to the measure of self-denial involved. To pray entirely without distraction is a special grace which God gives only to holy persons as a reward for long practice.⁷

⁶ St. Thomas, Summa Theol., 2a 2ae, qu. 83, art. 13, ad 1: “In spirit and truth he prays, who from the instinct of the Spirit proceeds to pray, even though afterward the mind wanders through some infirmity.”—IDEM, ibid., ad 2: “The human mind on account of the infirmity of nature cannot remain aloft for long, for by the weight of human infirmity the soul is pressed down to lower things; and therefore it happens that, when the mind of one praying ascends to God through contemplation, it suddenly wanders through a certain infirmity.”—Cfr. Hense, Die Versuchungen, 3rd ed., pp. 466 sqq.

⁷ Poulain, The Graces of Interior Prayer, pp. 126, 210. Cfr. St. Augustine, Enarr. in Ps., LXXXV, n. 7: “Let each person attend and see what happens in the human heart: how very often prayers are interrupted by vain thoughts, so that scarcely does the heart stand before its God, and wish to stand there, and in some manner flee from itself and does not find bars with which to enclose itself, or certain barriers with which to hold back its wandering and roving movements, and stand joyfully before its God. There is scarcely such a prayer among many prayers.”—IDEM, ibid., CXVIII, s. 29, n. 1: “Then indeed one cries with the whole heart when nothing else is thought. Such prayers are rare among many, but frequent among few; all, indeed, whether anyone, I do not know.” (Migne, P. L., XXXVII, 1086, 1585).—St. Isidore, Sent., l. III, c. 7, n. 8: “Prayer is pure when cares of the world do not intervene in its time; but that man is far from God who in prayer is occupied with thoughts of the world. Therefore we truly pray when we think of nothing else. But very few are those who have such prayers. And granted that they are found among some, nevertheless it is difficult that they should always be such.” (P. L., LXXXIII, 673).

Canon Lejeune says truly that the trials arising from distraction would often be lessened if men took the trouble to ask God for this favor. “When,” he says, “shall we understand that the success of our prayers, the triumph over distractions, the inclination and facility for converse with God, depend first and foremost upon the frequency and fervor of our petitions? I wish that this simple question could be put to all who bewail their incessant distractions during prayer: ‘How many times a day do you ask God to free you from your distractions?’ Would not many persons be constrained to confess that they have never thought of making this request to God? And they are astonished that attention, recollection, and fervor do not descend upon them suddenly as soon as they begin to pray.”⁸

⁸ L’Oraison Rendue Facile, Paris 1904, P. III, ch. iii, p. 280; quoted by Poulain, op. cit., pp. 419 sq.

b) Distraction is voluntary when it is brought about or sustained by a free act of the will (evagatio mentis voluntaria in se), or when it owes its existence to some cause that the mind could remove if it would (evagatio mentis voluntaria in causa). Voluntary distraction consists chiefly in occupying the mind with thoughts which are incompatible with prayer. They render prayer a mere lip service (oratio labialis) and neutralize its effects.⁹ Such service does not honor God, but dishonors Him, and is therefore sinful.¹⁰ Who- ever prays with a voluntarily distracted mind is guilty of irreverence, even if the prayers which he recites are not obligatory. The fault thus incurred, however, is not a mortal sin unless it involves grave neglect of some important duty or unless the duty to pray itself obliges sub gravi and its fulfilment is essentially impaired.¹¹

⁹ St. Gregory the Great (Moral., l. XXXIII, c. 22, n. 43) says: “Although also by this, that words of power and composed for supplication are uttered, the emptiness of prayer is openly shown. For truly to pray is to resound with bitter groans in compunction and not with composed words.”

¹⁰ Is. XXIX, 13; Matt. XV, 7 sq.—St. Isidore, Sent., l. III, c. 7, n. 4: “Prayer belongs to the heart, not to the lips. For God does not attend to the words of one supplicating, but looks upon the heart of one praying. But if the heart prays silently, and the voice is still, although it may be hidden from men, it cannot be hidden from God, who is present to the conscience. It is better, moreover, to pray in the heart with silence and without the sound of the voice, than with words alone without the attention of the mind.” (Migne, P. L., LXXXIII, 672).—St. Thomas, Summa Theol., 2a 2ae, qu. 83, art. 13, ad 3: “If anyone intentionally wanders in mind in prayer, this is a sin and impedes the fruit of prayer. . . . But wandering of the mind which occurs apart from intention does not take away the fruit of prayer.”

¹¹ Gury, Comp. Theol. Mor., I, n. 253: “It is asked, how does one who is voluntarily distracted in prayer sin? Answer: Of itself he sins venially whenever he is voluntarily distracted without a just reason, even if the prayer is made without obligation, because he offers some irreverence to God.” This view is not shared by all; cfr. Noldin (Vol. II, p. 152), Lehmkuhl, Sabetti, etc.—Cfr. Tillmann, Das Gebet, I, 402 sqq.

III. Prayer must furthermore be devout. Devotion is a sincere surrender of the will to God.¹² It is not merely a matter of the intellect (thinking of God), but also, nay mainly, of the will. Devotion may exist without any sensible emotion. All that is necessary for true devotion is that we have an earnest desire to please and serve God.¹³ Hence devotion can co-exist with insensibility or aridity of mind (ariditas mentis), whereas, on the other hand, it may be absent even though the heart overflows with emotion.

¹² St. Thomas, Summa Theol., 2a 2ae, qu. 82, art. 1; Tillmann, Das Gebet, I, 386 sqq.; P. Birger, Unterweisungen über die christl. Vollkommenheit, 2nd ed., Freiburg 1905, pp. 457 sqq.

¹³ St. Augustine, Enarr. in Ps., CXVIII, s. 29, n. 1: “The cry to the Lord which is made by those praying, if it is made by the sound of the bodily voice while the heart is not intent upon God, who doubts that it is made in vain? But if it is made by the heart even while the bodily voice is silent, it can be hidden from any other man, but not from God. Therefore, whether with the voice of the flesh when that is needed, or with silence when we pray to God, we must cry out with the heart. Now the cry of the heart is a great intensity of thought; when this is present in prayer, it expresses the great affection of one desiring and asking, so that he does not despair of the effect.” (Migne, P. L., XXXVII, 1585).—IDEM, Serm., 56 (al. 48, de Div.), n. 5: “What you say with your actions, say in your hearts. Let there be the affection of one praying, and there will be the effect of One hearing.” (P. L., XXXVIII, 379).

Aridity is absence of emotion, or, more properly, desolation during prayer. It is a state in which, notwithstanding our efforts, we are unable to elicit either pious thoughts or right sentiments. The trial sometimes arises from purely natural causes, which it is in our power to remove or diminish, e. g., a dissipated life, which fills the imagination with frivolities; religious indifference; the lack of direct preparation for prayer; fatigue proceeding either from ill-health or too many occupations, etc.¹⁴ Sometimes aridity is a temptation or a punishment inflicted by God. But a man may pray efficaciously even during a state of aridity. It is the intention of the will, not emotion, that constitutes the value of prayer. To be sincerely sorry because one has no sensible devotion, is in itself a prayer.¹⁵ Hence it would be a serious mistake to omit one’s prayers because one feels no devotion.¹⁶ Fr. Poulain says we must pray to be delivered from this trial, “for otherwise we should not be making use of all the means within our power. The one that we neglect—prayer, is precisely the most powerful amongst them; still more, without it all the other remedies will generally be inefficacious, for consolation and success in prayer are graces. Now, God has ordained that prayer should be the almost necessary means of obtaining all graces.”¹⁷

¹⁴ Poulain, The Graces of Interior Prayer, pp. 423 sq.—Cfr. St. Gregory the Great, Moral., l. XXXIII, c. 22, n. 43: “For there are some within the holy Church who have lengthy prayers to the Lord, but do not have the life of those who pray; for they seek heavenly promises with petitions, but flee them by their works. They also sometimes receive tears in prayer, but when pride has struck their mind after the times of prayer, at once they swell up in the haughtiness of elation; when avarice incites, immediately they burn through the fires of greedy thought; when lust tempts, they straightway pant after unlawful desires; when anger persuades, immediately the flame of madness consumes the gentleness of the mind. Therefore, as we have said, they both begin weeping in prayer, and yet, when their prayers are finished and they are struck by the suggestion of vices, they in no way remember that they had wept from a desire for the eternal kingdom. . . . Prayer has no weight of virtue when the perseverance of continual love does not sustain it.” (Migne, P. L., LXXVI, 700).

¹⁵ St. Augustine, De Divers. Quaest. ad Simplic., l. I, n. 21: “Is not our prayer itself sometimes so lukewarm, or rather cold and almost nothing, indeed sometimes altogether so nothing, that we do not even notice this in ourselves with sorrow? For if we at least grieve over this, we are already praying.” (Migne, P. L., XL, 127).

¹⁶ Ps. XXXIII, 2; Jas. V, 13.—St. Augustine, Enarr. in Ps., XXXIII, s. 2, n. 3: “When the Lord gives these things, bless Him; and when He takes these things away, bless Him. For He gives, He takes away, but He does not take Himself away from one who blesses Him.” (Migne, P. L., XXXVI, 309).—Thomas à Kempis, Brevis Admonitio Spirit. Exerciti, “De Vigil. Matut.”: “If you do not have devotion in choir, sing with an even mind and await the grace of the Lord from heaven. Often the Lord gives at the end what He justly denied before. He wills that we labor, He wills that we wait patiently. He wills that what He has determined to give be pleasing and great to us. He wills us truly to recognize that we have nothing good from ourselves, but that the whole consists for us of His grace and mercy.” (Ed. Pohl, Vol. II, p. 424).

¹⁷ The Graces of Interior Prayer, p. 425.

According to St. Philip Neri, “The best remedy against aridity and against the torpor which paralyzes the soul, is to present ourselves before God and the saints like a poor little beggar, who humbly asks for spiritual alms.”¹⁸

¹⁸ Bolland., May 26, 2nd Life, No. 189, quoted by Poulain, l. c.

“This prayer for deliverance,” comments Fr. Poulain, “should, of course, be accompanied, like all others, by a complete abandonment to the divine will. While waiting to be heard, we must continue in a state of joyful resignation. St. Teresa says: ‘The soul which begins to walk in the way of mental prayer with resolution, and is determined not to care much, neither to rejoice nor to be greatly afflicted, whether sweetness and tenderness fail it or Our Lord grants them, has already travelled a great part of the road.’¹⁹ There are two opposite extremes to be avoided here: one, to desire so fervently that we lose our peace and conformity to God’s will; the other, to be so resigned that we no longer do anything ourselves or unite our own action to that of divine grace.”²⁰

¹⁹ Life, ch. XI, 20.

²⁰ Poulain, op. cit., p. 425.

Forcing oneself to pray when one is tired and feels no devotion, is a proof that one is well disposed, and the will power put into such an act renders it supernaturally meritorious. God never denies His aid to those who sincerely seek Him.

It is the constant teaching of the Church that the decisive factor of prayer, as in fact of all religious exercises, is resignation to the will of God. “God hears not the voice,” says St. Cyprian, “but the heart.”²¹ A famous fifteenth-century preacher, P. John Herolt, O.P., whom we have quoted several times before, says: “You must pray with sorrow for your sins and with devotion, because one Paternoster said devoutly and with a contrite heart, is more pleasing to God than ten thousand recited without devotion.”²² This is in perfect accord with the teaching of St. Thomas, that “the effect of prayer depends chiefly on devotion.”²³

²¹ De Dominica Orat., 4: “God is a hearer not of the voice, but of the heart.” (Corpus Script. Eccles. Lat. Vindob., III, I, 269).

²² Serm. de Tempore, 123: “You must pray with contrition and devotion, because one Paternoster said with a contrite heart and devoutly pleases God more than ten thousand Paternosters without devotion.”

²³ Summa Theol., 3a, Suppl., qu. 72, art. 2: “The effect of prayer depends chiefly on devotion.”

IV. Prayer must moreover be inspired by confidence (fiducia) in the omnipotence and goodness of God and the infinite merits of Jesus Christ, who is the only Mediator between God and men, through whom we approach the Father, and in whose name alone we can be saved.²⁴ It is His express command that we should offer all our prayers to the Father in His name, i. e., with special reference to His merits and in the firm confidence that we shall be heard through Him and for His sake.²⁵

²⁴ Matt. IX, 28 sq.; Mark XI, 22, 24; Luke XI, 9 sq.; John XIV, 1; Acts IV, 12; Rom. V, 2; Eph. II, 18; III, 20; 1 Tim. II, 5; Heb. IV, 16; Jas. I, 6; V, 15.—St. Isidore, Sent., l. III, c. 7, n. 15: “So great must be the affection of one praying toward God that he does not despair of the effect of the prayer. But we pray in vain if we do not have the confidence of hope. Therefore let each person ask, as the Apostle says, in faith, doubting nothing (Jas. i, 6), for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea which is borne and scattered by the wind.” (Migne, P. L., LXXXIII, 674).—St. Bernard, Serm. de Annunciat., III, n. 3: “With Thee hope alone obtains a place for mercy, nor dost Thou put the oil of mercy except in the vessel of confidence.” (P. L., CLXXXIII, 394).—IDEM, Serm. in Ct., XXXII, n. 8: “Great faith merits great things, and as far as thou shalt have extended the foot of confidence in the good things of the Lord, so far shalt thou possess.” (P. L., CLXXXIII, 950).—Tillmann, Das Gebet, I, 368 sqq.

²⁵ John XIV, 13 sq.; XVI, 23 sq.; Rom. V, 21.

In praying with confidence, therefore, we must not rely on our own merits. They do not give us a strict right to be heard, though, on the other hand, whatever merits we have will undoubtedly help to recommend our prayer to God. A life led in obedience to the divine commandments and a clear conscience justify a higher degree of confidence in God’s mercy. “If our heart do not reprehend us,” says St. John, “we have confidence towards God, and whatsoever we shall ask, we shall receive of him because we keep his commandments and do those things which are pleasing in his sight.”²⁶ Confidence based on “God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,”²⁷ and rooted in the theological virtues of faith and hope, gives to prayer great value and power, so that we may surely expect to obtain that for which we ask. It is “the confidence which we have towards Him [God], that, whatsoever we shall ask according to his will, he heareth us, and we know that he heareth us whatsoever we ask: we know that we have the petitions which we request of him.”²⁸

²⁶ 1 John III, 21 sq.

²⁷ 1 Cor. I, 2 sq.; Gal. I, 3.

²⁸ 1 John V, 14 sq.

Opposed to confidence, in point of faith, is doubt and want of faith, and in point of hope, distrust and lack of courage.²⁹

²⁹ Matt. XIV, 31; XXI, 21; Mark XI, 22, 24; Jas. I, 6–8.

V. Prayer, to be pleasing to God, must proceed from an humble heart. Therefore we should pray with submission to the will of God and with a clear realization of our own poverty and unworthiness.³⁰ Humility excludes the sinful passions of pride, anger, violence, hatred, etc.³¹ Pride in particular, and the self-righteousness to which it gives rise, prevent prayer from being efficacious and render it sterile.³² “God resisteth the proud,” says Holy Writ, “and giveth grace to the humble.”³³ St. Isidore writes: “If one prays boastfully, desirous of human praise, his prayer not only does not wipe out sin, but is itself changed into sin.”³⁴ “When we have a favor to ask of the mighty,” says the Rule of St. Benedict, “we approach them humbly and reverently; how much more should we direct our supplications to God, the Lord of the world, with humility and with a pure, undivided devotion!”³⁵

³⁰ Gen. XVIII, 27; Ex. III, 5 sq.; Is. VI, 2; Luke XVIII, 9–14.—St. Thomas, Summa Theol., 2a 2ae, qu. 83, art. 15, ad 2: “Humility is necessary on the part of the petitioner himself, because he recognizes his own need.”—St. Isidore, Sent., l. III, c. 7, n. 20: “Culpably does he extend his hands to God who boastfully discloses his deeds while praying, just as the Pharisee prayed boastfully in the temple and wished himself rather than God to be praised for his just works.” (Migne, P. L., LXXXIII, 676).—Tillmann, Das Gebet, I, 377 sqq.

³¹ Matt. V, 23 sq.; VI, 10, 14 sq.; XVIII, 23 sqq.; XXVI, 39, 42; Mark XI, 25 sq.; Luke VI, 36 sq.; 1 Tim. II, 8.

³² Matt. VI, 5; Luke XVIII, 9–14.

³³ Jas. IV, 6, 10; 1 Pet. V, 5.

³⁴ Sent., l. III, c. 7, n. 21: “The prayer of some is turned into sin, as is written of Judas the traitor (Ps. cviii, 7). For he who prays boastfully, seeking human praise, not only does not have his sin wiped out by his prayer, but the prayer itself is turned into sin.” (Migne, P. L., LXXXIII, 676).

³⁵ Regula S. Benedicti, c. 20.

VI. Prayer must, finally, be persevering, that is to say, we must pray persistently, with un- swerving purpose and unceasing effort. If we wish to be admitted to God’s presence, we must “continue knocking.”³⁶ We must pray always and never grow faint.³⁷ We must “pray without ceasing.”³⁸

³⁶ Luke XI, 5–10.

³⁷ Luke XVIII, 1 sqq.; XXI, 36; Rom. XII, 12; Eph. VI, 18; Col. IV, 2.

³⁸ 1 Thess. V, 17; cfr. Tillmann, Das Gebet, I, 442 sqq.

To repeat the same words frequently in praying is not identical with the practice of the Pharisees which our Lord censured, saying: “When you are praying, speak not much, as the heathens; for they think that in their much speaking they may be heard. . . . Woe to you . . . hypocrites, because you devour the houses of widows, praying long prayers.”³⁹ What Christ condemns is the heaping up of words without sense or meaning in the belief that “much speaking” is the essential thing.⁴⁰ “Our Lord first censured much speaking,” says St. Augustine, “lest you bring many words to God, as if you would teach Him by the use of many words. Therefore, when you pray, you must employ piety, not verbosity. . . . Do not speak much because God knows your needs.”⁴¹ And St. Isidore: “Not in much speaking are men heard by God, as if trying to persuade Him by means of many words; it is not the wordy speech of the man who prays that conciliates Him, but a pure and sincere intention.”⁴²

³⁹ Matt. VI, 7; XXIII, 14; cfr. Mark XII, 40.

⁴⁰ Cfr. Is. I, 12, 15; 1 Kings XVIII, 26 sq.; Ecclus. V, 1 sq., 6; Eccles. VII, 15.

⁴¹ Serm., 56 (al. 48, de div.), n. 4: “Our Lord first cut off much speaking, lest thou offer many words to God, as though thou wished by many words to teach God. Therefore when thou askest, there is need of piety, not verbosity. . . . Therefore do not speak much, because [God] knows what is necessary for you.” (Migne, P. L., XXXVIII, 378 sq.).

⁴² Sent., l. III, c. 7, n. 29: “Not in much speaking are men heard by God, as though by very many words they attempt to bend Him. For it is not the manifold speech of the one praying that conciliates Him, but the pure and sincere intention of prayer.” (P. L., LXXXIII, 678).

The correct view of the subject can be briefly stated in the words of St. Augustine, to wit: “Beware of much speaking when you pray, but pray much and with a fervent and constant intention.”⁴³ In laying down this rule the Saint points to the example of Christ, to which may be added that of the Apostolic Church.⁴⁴

⁴³ “Let much speaking be absent from prayer, but let not much praying be absent, if a fervent intention perseveres.” Epist., 130 (al. 121), c. 10, n. 19 sq.

⁴⁴ Acts I, 4, 13 sq.; XII, 5, 12; cfr. Luke XXIV, 49.

Opposed to perseverance in prayer is lack of confidence and, in particular, that lukewarmness which, according to Sacred Scripture, in certain circumstances is worse than sin itself.⁴⁵

⁴⁵ Apoc. III, 15 sq.; cfr. Tillmann, Das Gebet, I, 477 sqq.; Vol. II of this Handbook, p. 83.

The oft-quoted text, Ecclus. VIII, 15: “Be not full of words in a multitude of ancients, and repeat not the word in prayer,” means according to the Hebrew original: “Do not engage in conversation in the presence of princes and repeat not the word in thy prayer.” The idea is not to warn against “vain repetitions” in praying, but against showing disrespect to God. This interpretation is confirmed by the manifest parallelism between the first and the second lines. The wise Preacher evidently wishes to say: The same respect that you would show in a meeting of princes, you must show towards God when you pray. The repetition of words is mentioned merely as a sign of inattention or distraction.⁴⁶

⁴⁶ See the Theol. Quartalschrift, of Tübingen, 1906, p. 623.

On the subject of “vain repetitions” Cardinal Newman says: “Prayer consists in the intercourse between the intelligent soul and Almighty God. It is essentially an act of the mind, and not of the body; except so far as the body supplies the organs by which the words of spoken prayers are framed. Words alone do not constitute prayer, nor are they necessary to prayer, which may exist without the intervention of any human language at all. And words without the direct action of the soul, speaking through them, are not prayer at all, but ‘vain repetitions.’ If Protestants imagine that Catholics believe that words uttered by the lips, and not accompanied by the actual aspirations of the heart to God, can possibly be acceptable as prayer, we have only to request them to put the question to any Catholic of any class or any country, and they will speedily be undeceived. Such a notion was never heard of in the Church. When Catholics are guilty of these ‘vain repetitions,’ they are not praying. You must pray from the heart, or you cannot pray at all.”⁴⁷

⁴⁷ J. H. Newman, Vain Repetitions, reprinted from The Rambler, Vol. IV, No. 21 (Sept., 1855), St. Louis 1910, pp. 13 sq.

All the properties of a good prayer are contained in the petition that is directed to God in the name of Jesus. “Whatever you shall ask the Father in my name,” says our Lord, “that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”⁴⁸ We pray in the name of Jesus when we address the Father according to the intention and in the spirit of Jesus, in conformity with His will and with reference to the kingdom of celestial charity and liberty established by Him. The fact that we belong to this kingdom, that we are citizens of Heaven, gives us a claim to be heard. Every prayer that is addressed to the Heavenly Father in the name of Christ is certain of being heard. But the very condition that we must pray in the name of Jesus limits the scope of our prayers. Whatever we ask for in the name of Jesus we shall receive; but there are many things for which we may not ask in His name. Hence there are prayers and petitions which of their very nature can not and will not be heard. In the name of Jesus, says St. Augustine,⁴⁹ we may not pray for anything that is opposed to salvation. All prayers that run counter to the spirit of Christ, or do not fully agree with that spirit, will remain unheard in the kingdom of Heaven.

⁴⁸ John XIV, 13 sq.; cfr. John XV, 7; XVI, 23; 1 John V, 14 sq.

⁴⁹ Tract. in Ioa., 73, n. 3; 102, n. 1 (Migne, P. L., XXXV, 1825, 1896).

Midway between the prayers that cannot be heard because of their very nature, and those that are certain of being heard, is a third class that hovers as it were between Heaven and earth, and may be addressed to God only in a conditional way, i. e., with due subordination of man’s earthly to his heavenly interests and with absolute submission to the divine will.⁵⁰

⁵⁰ Cfr. Odilo Rottmanner, O. S. B., Predigten und Ansprachen, Vol. II, 2nd ed., p. 217.

READINGS.—St. Thomas, Summa Theol., 2a 2ae, qu. 83, art. 15.—Catechismus Romanus, P. IV, c. 1, qu. 2–4.—G. Tillmann, Das Gebet nach der Lehre der Heiligen, Vol. I, Freiburg 1874, pp. 366 sqq.—J. B. Wirthmüller, Die moralische Tugend der Religion, Freiburg 1881, pp. 65 sqq.—Th. H. Simar, Lehrbuch der Moraltheologie, 3rd ed., pp. 251 sqq.—Cardinal Newman, “Vain Repetitions,” Reprinted from Vol. IV, No. 21, of The Rambler, St. Louis 1910.

The efficacy of prayer is very great; for it produces three primary effects and several other secondary effects. The three primary effects of prayer are merit, satisfaction, and impetration; while the secondary effects are many: for prayer disposes one for grace, enlightens the intellect, nourishes faith, confirms hope and confidence, inflames charity, increases humility, produces ineffable consolations, fosters the exercise of all the virtues, etc. A few things are to be said concerning each.

349. a) The primary effects.

1. Prayer is meritorious when it is poured forth as it ought to be by a just man who is a wayfarer.¹²⁵ For prayer is a good work. Moreover, every good work of a just man who is a wayfarer, proceeding from the root of charity, is meritorious, and indeed de condigno. Such prayer merits an increase of grace and glory. Christ seems to speak of this merit when he says: "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."¹²⁶ But although only a man endowed with sanctifying grace can merit de condigno, nevertheless the prayer of a sinner made with actual grace also merits de congruo (in the broad sense) a threefold good, because a) it disposes him for sanctifying grace; b) it obtains temporal goods; c) it accustoms him to good works.¹²⁷

2. Prayer is satisfactory; for it has all the conditions required for satisfaction, since it is a good and arduous work proceeding from grace. That prayer is a good work and proceeds from grace (at least if a man is constituted in the state of sanctifying grace) is evident of itself. Daily experience proves that good prayer is an arduous work, since it is not easy to perform a good prayer. Hence the Council of Trent¹²⁸ places prayer among satisfactory works, and confessors are accustomed to impose certain prayers for sins as a salutary penance or satisfaction.

3. Prayer is impetratory, and indeed in two ways, namely insofar as it is a good work, and formally insofar as it is prayer. We do not speak of the first impetratory effect, which prayer has in common with all good works. The discussion here will presently concern only the other effect.

¹²⁵ S. theol. 2, 2, q. 83, a. 15.

¹²⁶ Matt. 6:6.

¹²⁷ Cf. St. Thomas, Suppl. q. 14, a. 4.

¹²⁸ Sess. 14, can. 13.

350. b) The secondary effects.

1. Prayer enlightens the intellect, according to the words: "Come ye to him, and be enlightened."¹²⁹ Wherefore St. Thomas always had recourse to prayer whenever he was unable to understand some difficult truth.

2. Prayer nourishes faith. For faith and prayer foster one another. Firm faith in the omnipotence, goodness, and mercy of God induces a man to pray; and fervent prayer increases faith, both because it increases grace and because it is itself an exercise of faith.

3. Prayer confirms hope and confidence on account of the salutary effects often gathered from prayer.

4. Prayer inflames charity. For "as lovers are more inflamed to love by conversation and meeting, so pious men, the more often by making prayers to God they converse, as it were, with him, are impelled with greater joy at each prayer to love and worship him more ardently."¹³⁰

5. Prayer increases humility. For one who prays, conscious of his own indigence, approaches God as a beggar.

6. Prayer produces ineffable consolations. For if conversation with a faithful friend is pleasant, what at last is to be said concerning sweet conversation with God in prayer? Hence Christ admonishes: "Ask, and you shall receive; that your joy may be full."¹³¹

7. Prayer fosters the exercise of all the virtues, according to the saying: "He who knows how to pray rightly truly knows how to live rightly." The intrinsic reason is that by prayer man approaches God. By frequent and true approach to God, man becomes like God; he flees dangerous earthly things; he restrains disordered passions; and at length he is adorned with the crown of all the virtues.

¹²⁹ Ps. 33:6.

¹³⁰ Roman Catechism, Part IV, c. 2, q. 7 (8).

¹³¹ John 16:24.

351. Proposition. Prayer furnished with the requisite conditions has, from the promise of God, an infallible efficacy for impetrating the things which are asked.

This proposition seems to be of Catholic faith on account of the manifest testimonies of Sacred Scripture: "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."¹³² Christ repeatedly promised the hearing of prayer: "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."¹³³ "Amen, amen I say to you: if you ask the Father any thing in my name, he will give it you."¹³⁴ The Holy Fathers also proclaim the efficacy of prayer very frequently. Thus St. Hilary¹³⁵ says: "It is the doctrine of our hope that God, when prayed to, both has mercy and saves." Tertullian¹³⁶ writes: "Prayer alone is that which conquers God; ... it washes away sins; repels temptations; extinguishes persecutions; consoles the fainthearted; delights the magnanimous; ... feeds the poor; governs the rich; raises the fallen; supports those falling; sustains those standing." A certain ancient author embraces the efficacy of prayer in this brief and very well-known proposition: "He who knows how to pray rightly truly knows how to live rightly."¹³⁷ Several Holy Fathers wrote entire treatises on prayer and its efficacy, which you will find enumerated in Migne, Patr. lat. 220 (Indexes), 959-960.

¹³² Ecclus. 35:21.

¹³³ Matt. 7:7f.

¹³⁴ John 16:23. Similar passages are found in Matt. 21:22; Mark 11:24; Luke 11:9; John 14:13; Jas. 1:6.

¹³⁵ Tract. in Ps. 118 (Migne, Patr. lat. 9, 544).

¹³⁶ De orat. c. 29 (ibid. 1, 1303).

¹³⁷ Sermon 55 among the spurious sermons of St. Augustine (Migne, ibid. 39, 1849).

352. The conditions required for prayer to be infallibly efficacious are considered: 1. on the part of the object which is asked; 2. on the part of him for whom it is asked; 3. on the part of the one praying.

1. On the part of the object which is asked, it is required for the infallible efficacy of prayer that it conduce to eternal salvation.

For if a man were to ask for something harmful to his eternal salvation, then the hearing of such prayer would not be a reward but a punishment. Since temporal and material goods do not always conduce to eternal salvation, but rather lead away from it, a man asking for goods of this kind is not always heard; indeed, a man cannot ask for goods of this kind in prayer except under the condition that they not be obstacles to eternal salvation, as was said above in n. 338 (c).

2. On the part of him for whom it is asked, it is necessary that he be disposed to receive the grace asked.

Hence, e.g., someone praying for the eternal salvation of another man is not always heard, namely when that man pertinaciously resists grace. Wherefore the Angelic Doctor posits as a condition of the infallible efficacy of prayer that someone pray for himself and not for another. "That one pray for oneself is posited as a condition of prayer, not indeed as necessary for the effect of meriting, but as necessary for indefectibility in impetrating. For it sometimes happens that prayer made for another does not impetrate, even if it is made piously and perseveringly and concerns things pertaining to salvation, on account of the impediment which is on the part of him for whom one prays, according to the words: 'If Moses and Samuel shall stand before me, my soul is not toward this people.'¹³⁸ Nevertheless, the prayer will be meritorious for him who prays from charity, according to the words: 'My prayer shall be turned into my bosom';¹³⁹ that is, although it does not profit them, I nevertheless am not deprived of my reward."¹⁴⁰ Therefore, although according to the opinion of St. Thomas (whom Suarez¹⁴¹ and some others contradict) prayer for the eternal salvation of another man is not infallibly efficacious, it is nevertheless often heard; whence St. James admonishes: "Pray one for another, that you may be saved; for the continual prayer of a just man availeth much."¹⁴² Such prayer is always a most excellent work of charity and very meritorious for the one praying himself.

¹³⁸ Jer. 15:1.

¹³⁹ Ps. 34:13.

¹⁴⁰ S. theol. 2, 2, q. 83, a. 7, ad 2.

¹⁴¹ De relig. tr. 4, l. 1, c. 27.

¹⁴² Jas. 5:16.

353. 3. On the part of the subject praying, the conditions required for infallible hearing are: a) the state of grace, b) humility, c) confidence, d) perseverance, e) attention.

a) The state of grace is indeed required primarily. For although God sometimes hears the prayers of sinners, as is evident from the examples of the publican, the thief, etc., nevertheless sin often greatly prevents prayers from being heard, since it makes a man an enemy of and hateful to God. On the contrary, a just man is a friend of God, by whom he is loved and from whom he receives many benefits. Hence it is said: "The eyes of the Lord are upon the just: and his ears unto their prayers."¹⁴³ "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you."¹⁴⁴ "If our heart do not reprehend us, we have confidence toward God: and whatsoever we shall ask, we shall receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things which are pleasing in his sight."¹⁴⁵

b) That humility is required for efficacious prayer is evident from the very nature of prayer, since it is an act of religion by which we acknowledge our infirmity and the excellence of God, subjecting ourselves to the majesty of God. The same is evident from Sacred Scripture: God hears the humble publican, but spurns the proud Pharisee. "God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble."¹⁴⁶ Abraham, praying, professed his humility, saying: "I will speak to my Lord, whereas I am dust and ashes."¹⁴⁷

c) Firm confidence, which entirely trusts in the promises of Christ and in divine mercy, is likewise necessary for the efficacy of prayer. Hence St. James admonishes: "But let him ask in faith [confidence], nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, which is moved and carried about by the wind. Therefore let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord."¹⁴⁸ St. Paul exhorts: "Let us go therefore with confidence to the throne of grace."¹⁴⁹ Wherefore Christ often performed miracles upon seeing the great faith or confidence of those asking, e.g., of the ruler, the Canaanite woman, the woman suffering from an issue of blood, etc.

d) Perseverance is very necessary in prayer. For although God is ready to hear the one praying at once, man himself is not at once sufficiently prepared to receive graces (but by praying perseveringly he becomes better disposed). For thus, by waiting, he perceives his own unworthiness and indigence more vividly; he esteems more highly the grace finally obtained; and after being heard he is more incited to love and thanksgiving. Christ teaches the necessity of perseverance by various parables and miracles. Thus the importunate friend asking for three loaves finally obtains that which he desires;¹⁵⁰ the Canaanite woman, not deterred by repeated repulses, finally obtains the miraculous healing of her daughter, etc.¹⁵¹ Similar to perseverance is assiduity or duration in prayer. This assiduity of prayer also is commended, although it is not altogether necessary. Of Christ himself it is said: "He passed the whole night in the prayer of God,"¹⁵² i.e., he prayed through the whole night; and: "Being in an agony, he prayed the longer."¹⁵³ Concerning the duration of prayer, the Angelic Doctor says:¹⁵⁴ "It is fitting that prayer last so long as is useful for stirring up the fervor of interior desire. But when it exceeds this measure, so that it cannot continue without weariness, prayer is not to be prolonged further."

¹⁴³ Ps. 33:16.

¹⁴⁴ John 15:7.

¹⁴⁵ 1 John 3:21f.

¹⁴⁶ Jas. 4:6.

¹⁴⁷ Gen. 18:27.

¹⁴⁸ Jas. 1:6f.

¹⁴⁹ Heb. 4:16.

¹⁵⁰ Cf. Luke 11:5ff.

¹⁵¹ Cf. Matt. 15:22ff.

¹⁵² Luke 6:12.

¹⁵³ Luke 22:43.

¹⁵⁴ S. theol. 2, 2, q. 83, a. 14.

354. e) Attention is the last condition required, and indeed not only for the efficacy of prayer but for its very essence. Attention is twofold: one external, the other internal. Since attention is opposed to distraction, external attention is that which excludes external distraction, namely all those external acts which occupy a man in such a way that the mind is no longer able to attend to the sense of the prayer. Thus, e.g., external attention is lacking if someone during vocal prayer reads a book or paints or performs some other work requiring keen advertence; but external attention is not impeded if someone during vocal prayer takes a walk or performs some other light work not requiring much consideration. External attention can be called attention in the true sense, since by it a man attends lest prayer be disturbed by external occupations. For just as a guard who attends lest wild beasts break into a flowering garden is rightly said to have attention concerning the garden, so likewise one who prays and drives away external occupations has attention concerning prayer. Internal attention excludes internal distraction or the wandering of the mind to things entirely foreign to prayer.

Internal attention is distinguished a) by reason of its object; for it can be directed to three objects,¹⁵⁵ namely: 1) to the words of the prayer taken materially, so that those words are pronounced completely and in their order; this attention is called material or superficial; 2) to the sense of the words, and then it is called literal or also intellectual; 3) to the end of prayer, namely to worshipping God himself, or to the mystery for the worship of which the prayer was instituted, etc. This third attention (which is usually called spiritual or mystical) is more perfect than the others; the second is more perfect than the first.

Internal attention is distinguished b) by reason of state into actual, virtual, and habitual. Actual attention is present if someone actually attends to the sense of the words, to the end of prayer, etc. Virtual attention exists when actual attention was previously present and was never revoked, but now is no longer present because of involuntary distractions. Habitual attention is abusively called attention, because in fact it is not true attention but only a certain inclination to attend. A man devoted to prayers has this habitual attention even in his sleep. St. Alphonsus¹⁵⁶ and others confess that they do not understand what virtual attention is. And yet the matter can be explained in a sound sense: if someone, after an actual intention and attention possessed at the beginning of prayer, is then involuntarily distracted, the attention previously possessed is not revoked; therefore it perseveres virtually in the moral sense. Certainly, in the physical sense, every distraction, even an involuntary one, destroys attention, just as cold destroys heat; but since involuntary distractions are not human acts and consequently are not even moral, no influence and no change is caused by them in the previously existing and morally persevering moral act. But at the beginning of prayer there was attention. Therefore this attention perseveres in the moral sense, notwithstanding involuntary distractions. But if voluntary distractions should supervene, then certainly the attention to prayer previously possessed is destroyed even in the moral sense, because voluntary attention and voluntary distraction are directly opposed and contrary.

The older authors of the Middle Ages are not accustomed to speak of the distinction between external and internal attention in prayer taken generally. And in fact this distinction is rather superfluous for prayer itself in the genus of morals. For, at least in the genus of morals, there is no difference whether one praying voluntarily distracts his mind by reading, writing, etc., or by deliberately thinking of something else. For in either case the one praying expressly wills to distract his mind from the object of prayer, although he perseveres in uttering the words of the prayer. The means employed for obtaining this end are of themselves indifferent. But since the canonical Hours are prescribed by the Church, which in the external forum cannot judge purely internal acts, the distinction between external and internal attention is of some moment in the recitation of the Divine Office. For the Church can judge and punish a violation of external attention, but not a defect of internal attention.

Concerning attention, two things are certain among all; but one thing is disputed.

It is certain, 1. that at least some attention, whether external or internal, is required for the essence of prayer. And indeed that which is done without any attention is not even a human act. But how can such an act performed without any attention still be called prayer, which proceeds from reason as from its subject, as was proved above in n. 335?

It is certain, 2. that some internal attention also is required for mental prayer, since mental prayer is essentially an act of the mind. Hence he who voluntarily thinks about other matters during meditation no longer meditates.

It is disputed what kind of attention is required for vocal prayer.

¹⁵⁵ Ibid., a. 13; St. Alphonsus, Theol. mor. l. 4, n. 177.

¹⁵⁶ Gran mezzo della preghiera Part I, c. 3, § 3.

355. Controversy concerning the necessity of internal attention.

Since this question concerning the attention required for prayer is so practical for the recitation of the Divine Office, theologians dispute sharply whether external attention suffices or whether at least some internal attention also is required in order that a cleric reciting the Divine Office satisfy his obligation. Cajetan,¹⁵⁷ Dominic Soto,¹⁵⁸ Wigandt,¹⁵⁹ and especially Concina,¹⁶⁰ who, according to the testimony of St. Alphonsus, maintains this opinion at length and with great learning, teach that external attention alone does not suffice; likewise Reiffenstuel,¹⁶¹ Valentia,¹⁶² Suarez,¹⁶³ Peter Ledesma,¹⁶⁴ Bartholomew de Medina,¹⁶⁵ Billuart,¹⁶⁶ who calls it certain, and St. Alphonsus,¹⁶⁷ who calls it more common and more probable. On the contrary, Durandus¹⁶⁸ seems first to have taught that external attention alone suffices for the essence of prayer and for the recitation of the Divine Office; he was followed by Lugo,¹⁶⁹ Silvester Prierias,¹⁷⁰ Tamburini,¹⁷¹ Gobat,¹⁷² Elbel,¹⁷³ Noldin,¹⁷⁴ and many modern authors. The older authors dispute this matter at great length. Especially St. Alphonsus, Lugo, Billuart, and Concina are to be consulted. Some think, not without reason, that in practice there is not so great a difference between these two opinions when rightly understood. For all require for vocal prayer (and notably for the Divine Office) material attention for pronouncing the words properly. But this material attention is already a certain internal attention. Therefore all require a certain internal attention for vocal prayer. The following things seem to be true concerning the necessity of attention both in private prayer and in the recitation of the Divine Office:

1. Without external attention, neither prayer nor a sufficient recitation of the Divine Office can subsist. Thus all teach, as was already said. Wherefore he who, during prayer or the Divine Office, performs other works requiring grave consideration no longer satisfies the obligation of reciting the Divine Office. But what works are of this kind depends not only upon the nature of the work but also upon the disposition of the one praying. For one person more easily than another loses the attention necessary for prayer.

Authors commonly teach, however, that those who during the choral Office perform works necessary for the choir, such as playing the organ, lighting candles, finding antiphons, etc., satisfy the Divine Office if, in the best manner they can, they attend and recite alternate verses of the psalms. The reason is that they labor more than the others for the choral Office, and it would be excessively harsh if, nevertheless, after completing the choral Office, they were bound to repeat the Divine Office privately. Hence for them the common maxim, "The choir supplies," holds if they cannot attend so well to the words of the Office, or even if they are compelled to omit some verses of the psalms.

2. All voluntary distractions during prayer are more or less sinful. For they violate the reverence due to God. Thus likewise all teach, if perhaps you except Caramuel,¹⁷⁵ who thinks that voluntary distractions in prayer are not even a venial sin, provided external attention is preserved.

3. In order that someone be said not to have satisfied his obligation of reciting the Divine Office because of a defect of internal attention, it is required not only that he have had voluntary distractions, but also that he noticed that he was voluntarily distracted and did nothing to eliminate the distractions. Almost all (even the authors of the first opinion) teach thus. "Therefore, so long as," Cajetan concludes, "it is not clearly established for them that they changed their purpose, or that, while noticing and knowing it, they wandered about other matters, they can believe that they satisfied their obligation."¹⁷⁶

4. No certain argument can be adduced for either the affirmative or the negative opinion from definitions or decrees of the Church. Even Concina himself, who vigorously defends the affirmative opinion, concedes that the decretal Dolentes of Innocent III,¹⁷⁷ which is often cited for the affirmative opinion, proves nothing, since it intended nothing other than to restrain the external excesses of certain clerics.

¹⁵⁷ Comm. in 2, 2, q. 83, a. 13. But Cajetan's mind is not so clearly established.

¹⁵⁸ De iure et iust. l. 10, q. 5, concl. 6.

¹⁵⁹ Tribunal confessar. tr. 10, exam. 5, nn. 82 and 83.

¹⁶⁰ In Decal. l. 2, diss. 2, c. 9.

¹⁶¹ Theol. mor. tr. 6, dist. 1, n. 43.

¹⁶² Comm. in 2, 2, disp. 6, q. 2, punct. 10.

¹⁶³ De relig. l. 4, c. 26, n. 3.

¹⁶⁴ Summa Part II, tr. 9, c. 4, concl. 20.

¹⁶⁵ Summa l. 1, c. 4, § 14.

¹⁶⁶ De relig. diss. 2, a. 8, § 8.

¹⁶⁷ Theol. mor. l. 4, n. 177.

¹⁶⁸ In IV, dist. 15, q. 12.

¹⁶⁹ De euchar. disp. 22, n. 25ff.

¹⁷⁰ Summa Summ., s.v. "Hora."

¹⁷¹ Decal. l. 4, c. 2, § 1, n. 19. This author, l.c., c. 6, n. 5, says: "Therefore, he who, while hearing Mass from a precept or performing the Divine Office, would voluntarily revolve a philosophical question in his mind, or think about his affairs, provided he had external attention, ... according to the said probable opinion would sufficiently fulfill the precept."

¹⁷² Tract. theol. iur. tr. 5, n. 821. The author, however, does not seem always to be consistent with himself.

¹⁷³ Theol. mor. Part V, conf. 123, n. 404.

¹⁷⁴ De praeceptis n. 139.

¹⁷⁵ In Theol. fund. n. 442 the author writes: "I am a man more frail than you yourself, endowed with an acute and fiery disposition. In one moment I turn toward the heavens, in another I pass to things below. No fly is moved in the oratory which is not an impediment to me; ... I do not avoid distractions, involuntary ones a thousand times, sometimes even voluntary ones; and nevertheless I am troubled by no scruple, ... because I prudently suppose that I am not bound to internal action; that to possess it is good, and to lack it is not even a light fault." But that voluntary distractions are not even a light fault is certainly a heap of laxity.

¹⁷⁶ In St. Alphonsus, Theol. mor. l. 4, n. 177.

¹⁷⁷ c. 9, X 3, 41. Concina's explanation of this decretal is worthy of being read.

356. 5. Since the opinion denying the necessity of internal attention is certainly extrinsically probable on account of the great number of authors who maintain it, no one can be accused of not having satisfied the ecclesiastical obligation of reciting the Divine Office, or of being bound to restore benefice revenues,¹⁷⁸ provided that a) he observed external attention and b) he had the intention of satisfying. For it is not certain that the Church wished to impose in the recitation of the Hours anything other than external attention. For the recitation of the Divine Office with the exclusion of external distraction and with the inclusion of the intention of satisfying the ecclesiastical precept seems to be not only an act of religion but also prayer in some measure. For those who are bound to the Divine Office do not pray in their own name, but in the name of the Church. Therefore, if they truly pronounce the words of the Office with the due intention and at least external attention, the Church seems to supply the internal attention otherwise necessary for true prayer. Therefore such a recitation of the Divine Office with external attention alone and with voluntary internal distraction has a twofold morality: the one good, because the one reciting wills to obey the precept of the Church; the other evil, because he wills to be voluntarily distracted during prayer.

¹⁷⁸ Cf. St. Alphonsus, l.c., l. 3, n. 669.

357. 6. It seems to me that the essence of private prayer cannot subsist with external attention alone and with voluntary internal distraction.¹⁷⁹ For prayer is an act of practical reason, as was said above from St. Thomas. Moreover, it seems to be an absurd contradiction that the same practical reason should at once elicit an act concerning God (prayer) and an entirely different act, for example concerning the devil (e.g., a voluntary thought about obscene things). Moreover, every prayer is an ascent of the mind to God, actual or at least virtual. Therefore, if through voluntary distraction the mind is knowingly called away from God, how can prayer then still persist? Can the human mind be at once elevated to God and at once knowingly not elevated?

¹⁷⁹ The Angelic Doctor teaches (IV, dist. 15, q. 4, a. 2, quaestiunc. 4): "Attention in prayer must always remain virtually.... But it remains virtually when someone approaches prayer with the intention of impetrating something or of rendering due worship to God, even if in the continuation of the prayer the mind is carried away to other things; unless the wandering becomes so great that the force of the first intention entirely perishes, and therefore it is necessary that a man frequently recall his heart to himself." The Angelic Doctor has similar words in S. theol. 2, 2, q. 83, a. 13, ad 3: "If someone deliberately wanders in mind during prayer, this is a sin and impedes the fruit of prayer." Therefore, if the recalling of the heart is necessary, voluntary distraction also destroys virtual attention and consequently prayer itself. Concerning the mind of St. Antoninus see St. Alphonsus, l.c., l. 4, n. 177, and Concina, In Decal. l. 2, diss. 2, c. 9.

358. Objections. The reasons which are usually brought forward for the opposite opinion are not convincing. They say: 1. Prayer is a petition to God for fitting things. But it is not repugnant that our petitions can be represented before God even with an actual wandering of the mind. Just as, if someone were to recite before a king a speech composed for obtaining some favor, he would certainly pray by reciting it before the king, even if his mind were then distracted to other things; so also one reciting a prayer, notwithstanding internal and voluntary distraction, can still pray to God. This argument is repeated by all modern authors after Lugo, but in truth it seems to be very weak. For a king hearing the speech of such a voluntarily distracted man perceives nothing except the external words, which certainly bear the appearance of a petition, and consequently perhaps they are heard by the king; on the contrary, God, hearing the words of someone praying while voluntarily distracted, is not deceived by external words, but beholds his vain heart, and therefore not only will he not hear such a voluntarily distracted prayer, but rather will punish it. Therefore the comparison between a king and God limps and proves nothing. Nevertheless, something can be conceded to this argument. If one praying reads before the king not his own petition but that of another while voluntarily distracted, the king, knowing this voluntary distraction, is indeed offended by the irreverence of the one praying, but nevertheless perhaps will hear the petition on account of the other in whose name it was presented. Thus likewise a cleric reciting the Divine Office with voluntary distraction indeed sins and will be punished on account of the irreverence committed; but since he prays not in his own name but in the name of the Church, God can accept and even hear this prayer thus distracted. Hence such a cleric satisfies his obligation of reciting the Divine Office, provided, however, that he has the intention of satisfying, as was said above.

They say: 2. Internal attention cannot belong to the essence of vocal prayer, because otherwise a priest voluntarily distracted in the administration of Extreme Unction, whose essential form is deprecatory or a true prayer, would administer this sacrament invalidly; which authors nevertheless very commonly do not admit. The response to this argument is that the sacrament of Extreme Unction is not invalidated through the voluntary distractions of the priest administering it; but this proceeds from the fact that the priest prays not in his own name but in the name of the Church, and that the form of the sacraments externally pronounced seriously with the intention of doing what the Church does always produces its effect ex opere operato. Or, more briefly: the form of the sacrament of Extreme Unction pronounced by a voluntarily distracted priest is a true physical prayer and consequently produces the effect of the sacrament, but it is not a moral prayer (of the minister himself) or an act of the virtue of religion. He who desires more concerning this controversy should consult Concina, l.c.

359. The doctrine of St. Thomas concerning the necessity of attention.

Concerning the influence of attention upon the efficacy of prayer, the Angelic Doctor notes the following:¹⁸⁰ "Concerning [vocal prayer] it must be known that something is called necessary in two ways: in one way, as that through which the end is better attained; and thus attention is absolutely necessary for prayer. In another way something is called necessary without which a thing cannot attain its effect. Now there is a threefold effect of prayer: the first is common to all acts informed by charity, which is to merit; and for this effect it is not required of necessity that attention be present to prayer throughout, but the force of the first intention with which someone approaches prayer renders the whole prayer meritorious, just as happens in other meritorious acts. The second effect of prayer is proper to it, which is to impetrate; and for this effect also the first intention, which God principally regards, suffices. But if the first intention is lacking, prayer is neither meritorious nor impetratory; for God does not hear that prayer to which he who prays does not attend. The third effect of prayer is that which it effects presently, namely a certain spiritual refreshment of the mind; and for this, attention in prayer is required of necessity." For it is established by experience that refreshment or affective devotion in prayer is not granted except to those who pray with actual attention.

¹⁸⁰ S. theol. 2, 2, q. 83, a. 13.

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. Question I. What, and how many, are the conditions of prayer? Answer. 1. A condition of prayer is that it be made with deliberate will. This deliberation must be either express or virtual. If you were to read the Psalter merely to study it, you would not be praying. If you take up the Breviary with the intention of paying to God the debt owed, although you lack an express formal intention, a virtual one is present, and suffices. 2. The condition is attention, which likewise must be either express or virtual. The Theologians distinguish a threefold attention: the first to the words, the second to the sense, the third to God. Any one of these suffices. 3. The condition is piety, which looks to this — that pious, honorable, and fitting gifts be sought from God, and for a good end. 4. There is humility, by which the one praying, with lowly soul, presents himself before the divine Majesty, to whom he manifests his extreme poverty. But I am needy and poor: help me, O God, says the royal Prophet, Psalm 69. 5. There is the fervor with which we pour out our prayers to God. For a lukewarm and cold prayer is no prayer at all. The rich themselves disdain the languid prayers of the poor, as signs of a soul that makes little of what it seeks, and cares little to be heard. 6. The condition is faith, by which we firmly believe that we shall obtain what we ask. Whatsoever you ask when you pray, believe that you shall receive. Likewise hope, or confidence, which accompanies faith. 7. There is perseverance, which the Evangelists frequently inculcate, and especially Luke 11 [recte], by the parable, or example, of the friend who at midnight asked three loaves from his friend, and who, though not by the title of friendship, at least on account of importunity, obtained them.

II. Question II. What are the effects of prayer? Answer. Three: merit, satisfaction, and impetration. Merit is owed to it insofar as it proceeds from charity, through the medium of Religion. Satisfaction accompanies any meritorious work. Impetration of the thing we ask is the proper fruit of prayer. This prayer, too, as impetrating, has its efficacy from grace, as the Angelic Doctor teaches, II-II, q. 83, art. 15: But it has efficacy from the grace of God, whom we pray to, who also induces us to pray. Four conditions are necessary for impetration: namely, 1. that one pray chiefly for himself; 2. that he ask things necessary to salvation; 3. that he ask piously; 4. that he ask perseveringly. God hears the prayers of sinners, not from justice, but from mercy, as the same Angelic Doctor says there, article 16.

III. Question III. Is God alone to be prayed to? Answer. St. Thomas affirms, II-II, q. 83, art. 4, that God alone is to be prayed to, and that indeed as triune — in this sense, that God alone is the author of grace, of glory, and the all-powerful maker and preserver of all things. For prayer is an act of Religion. But Religion regards God alone as its end, to whom it exhibits worship.

IV. Question IV. Are the Saints to be invoked? Answer. The Saints are not to be invoked as authors of divine benefits, or of grace, or of glory. Nothing under this respect is to be asked of them, as all Catholics teach. But the Saints are to be invoked that they may pray and intercede for us with God. This is the sense of all Catholics, whatever the Calvinists and the rest of the Protestants fable and calumniate. Wherefore when we sometimes break forth into such words as "St. Peter, save me," we understand nothing else than that by his intercession he may procure our salvation from God. Similarly, when we address the most holy Virgin, "Mary, protect us from the enemy," we invoke her as a mere suppliant and mediatrix. Nay, in this class of intercessors, Christ the Lord is the first and chief, our advocate and intercessor, who alone reconciled the world to God, and alone offered to God a worthy and superabundant oblation for our sins. When, then, we invoke the Saints, we ask that through the merits of Jesus Christ they intercede with God for us, and we ask that they themselves pray for that which we pray for; but because they themselves are nearer to God, and more worthy, therefore we flee to their patronage and intercession.

V. The Council of Trent, session 25, defined that it is pious and useful that the Saints, whether Angels or Men, be invoked. The Theologians dispute whether this invocation is imposed upon Catholics by force of some precept. I have treated this question at length in Tome 2 on the Decalogue, book 2, dissertation 1, chapter 8, and you may read it there.

VI. Question V. Must we pray for all wayfarers, even for the souls detained in Purgatory? Answer. All Catholics affirm it. Of those who dwell on earth, not even the Heretics call this into question. For St. James, chapter 5, says: Pray for one another, that you may be saved; and St. Paul, in 1 Timothy 2, adds: I desire, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men. We must pray, then, for all — whether friends or enemies, whether faithful or infidel, whether just or sinners. As Christ died for all, so we too ought to pray for all. We must pray for sinners, that they be converted, and for the just, that they persevere and make progress, says St. Thomas, II-II, q. 83, art. 7.

VII. From our prayers are excluded the Blessed, who are at their term, just as also the damned, who are likewise at the term of damnation, where no hope of salvation is present.

VIII. That we must pray for the souls of Purgatory all Catholics teach, against the Lutherans and Calvinists; and this they draw luminously from the second book of Maccabees, chapter 12. For Judas Maccabeus sent twelve thousand drachmas of silver to Jerusalem to have a sacrifice offered for the sins of the dead, thinking well and religiously concerning the resurrection. To free themselves from this argument, the Lutherans deny that this book is to be reckoned among the divine books. But the catholic Church, led by the Spirit of God, has defined that this book is divine. The catholic doctrine is also confirmed by reason. The Church, whether militant or triumphant, constitutes one body, whose head is Christ. Therefore all the members ought to have communion with one another, and with the head. If, then, the souls of Purgatory are members of the Church, it follows that the living ought to help these same souls, just as a member of one body helps the other members. There is added the perpetual and universal custom of the Church.

IX. Question VI. Do suffrages certainly profit the souls of Purgatory to whom they are applied? Answer. Just as it is held from the divine law that these suffrages profit the departed, so it depends upon the divine will how much, more or less, they bring help to this or that departed soul. This is certain: that suffrages offered for the dead take away, either wholly or in part, the punishment of some departed soul, because God has so disposed it. But that these suffrages bring help to this or that soul — that they take away the whole or part of the punishment — depends entirely upon the divine will.

X. Question VII. Should sinners pray? Are they heard by God? Answer. Sinners who pray in public ministries in the name of the Church are certainly bound to recite the prayers, and to obtain something from God for those for whom they pray. It is likewise certain that private sinners ought to pray. As to impetration, St. Thomas teaches, II-II, q. 83, art. 16, that if a sinner asks something of God according to the desire of sin, he is never heard from mercy, but sometimes unto vengeance. Wherefore David said, Psalm 65 [recte]: If I have looked at iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. On the contrary, sinners who detest their sins, and are affected with a pious desire, generally obtain what they implore. Thus were heard Manasses, the Publican, the sinful Woman, the Thief, and innumerable others. Nor does it stand in the way that sinners are destitute of sanctifying grace: since from this it is only inferred that their prayer is not meritorious, not that it is not impetratory, as has been indicated above. When it is sometimes said in Scripture that God does not hear sinners, this is understood of sinners insofar as they are sinners, and love sin — not of sinners who detest their sins.

XI. Finally, it is certain that the Angels and Saints reigning in heaven can pray for us, and that in very deed they do pray. They pray both by asking for what they see will profit us, and by offering our prayers to God. All wayfarers, whether just or sinners, can and ought to pray. For we are all beggars, and laboring under extreme want; therefore all of us must of necessity implore from our divine Father the daily aids we need.

That prayer is impetratory I have shown so far in question 3.

That it is also meritorious I proved in the first part of the Summa, Tract. 6. de Gratia, disput. 4. quaest. 7., where I showed that all moral works done from grace are meritorious. There I also showed that a work cannot be meritorious without also being satisfactory. Likewise, with St. Thomas and St. Bonaventure, I showed that a work cannot be satisfactory without being meritorious, against Scotus. In particular, that prayer is satisfactory I shall show in the third part, Tract. de Poenitentia, disp. 2. sect. 9. quaest. 13.

Yet I shall say something here: Philip Melanchthon, in the Augustan Confession, title de confessione, and in the Apology, article on confession, mocks those chapters in which Catholics establish satisfaction, and says they are useless ceremonies and human traditions, not commanded by God.

But Kemnitz, in the 2. p. exam., pag. 194, admits the works which are called satisfactory by Catholics, such as Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving in general; yet he says certain prayers and certain fixed almsgivings are useless.

On the contrary, all Catholics agree with the Holy Council of Trent, sess. 14. can. 13., that prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are satisfactory works. For by these there are given to God the goods of the body, of the soul, and the extrinsic goods of fortune:

I assert with St. Bonaventure that Prayer is satisfactory.

It is proved from the Holy Doctor by the first argument, first against the opponents and in the body. That moral work which is penal is satisfactory: but prayer, both vocal and mental, is penal: Therefore. The minor is proved from Ecclesiasticus 12: Frequent meditation is an affliction of the flesh.

It is proved secondly from the Holy Doctor from the usage of the Church, which imposes prayers for satisfaction.

It is proved thirdly from the Holy Doctor, because mournful prayer is that of the contrite petitioner, such as that of the Publican, Luke 18, who on that account went home justified. For this above all disposes one to grace, and therefore it pleases the Divine goodness, inasmuch as it is more a sign of a voluntary penance.

He observes first that vocal prayer, taken by itself and alone, is inferior to mental prayer; and purely vocal prayer is that in which nothing is thought; nevertheless mixed prayer is better, in which one prays with mind and mouth; mixed (I say) out of the vocal kind arousing the mind to affections; for thus mental prayer is aided by vocal prayer.

The Holy Doctor also observes the threefold end for which vocal prayer was instituted. The first is to kindle affection, whence Beda on Matthew 6 to that effect, Pater noster: It is not prayed with those words alone, but with other things contained under the same sense, by which our heart is kindled. The second is for the instruction of the intellect. Whence Beda there: He composed the prayer in brief words, in which there is no need to speak to him who knows all things, but so that he who deals with God might learn the things he should pray for, not the words he should say. The third is for easier remembrance. Whence, on that text, Nolite assimilari eis, the Gloss: With God one must deal not with words but with realities, with the intention of the heart, with simple affection; for what we say we do not teach him, but we remind ourselves of the time of praying. Therefore vocal prayer was instituted on account of mental prayer, in which the heart is more kindled to the detestation of sins and the love of God, and this above all pleases God, such as was the prayer of Manasses, 2 Paralipomenon 33. See also Bellarmine, de Poenit. l. IV. cap. 7., Valencia, disp. 6. quaest. 2. p. 4.

Note, moreover, that for satisfaction it is required that the one praying be in grace, as I shall say in the third part, Tract. de Poenitentia. Thus John 15: Si manseritis in me, et verba mea in vobis manserint: quodcumque volueritis, petetis, et fiet vobis. And 2 John 3: Si cor nostrum non reprehendit nos, fiduciam habemus ad Deum; et quodcumque petierimus, dabit nobis.

On the contrary it is said, Psalm 65: Iniquitatem si aspexi in corde meo, non exaudiet Dominus. And Isaiah 1: Cum multiplicaveritis orationem, non exaudiam: manus enim vestrae sanguine plenae sunt. John 9: Scimus quia Deus peccatores non exaudit. Isaiah 59: Peccata vestra absconderunt faciem eius a vobis, ne exaudiret. Therefore it is concluded, Judith 4: Scitote quia exaudiet preces vestras, si permanseritis. Jeremiah 29: Orabitis, et ego exaudiam vos: cum quaesieritis me in toto corde vestro; as if to say: otherwise I shall not hear you, as St. Bonaventure notes, de profectu Relig. l. 2. cap. 71., where he heaps up authorities to that effect. And on Psalm 108, on the words: Et oratio eius fiat in peccatum, he adds another splendid passage.

It is proved from the Holy Doctor, l. 2. Pharetrae, cap. 45., where St. Gregory describes prayer pleasing to God, homil. 27. in Euang.: Virtus vero orationis est celsitudo charitatis. Et tunc quisque, quod recte petit, adipiscitur, cum eius animus in petitione nec inimici odio suffocatur.

St. Chrysostom, homil. 13. of the imperfect work: As well-made incense delights a man by its fragrance, so the prayer of the just is sweet before God. But do you wish to know its dignity? As soon as it has gone forth from the mouth, the Angels receive it with their hands and offer it before God.

St. Bernard, epist. de vita solitaria: Prayer is the affection of a man cleaving to God, and a certain familiar and pious address, and the standing of an illuminated mind to enjoy God, as long as it is permitted. And serm. 7. in Cant.: We believe that the holy Angels stand by those praying, and offer to God the prayers and vows of men, when however they have perceived pure hands raised without wrath and disputation.

Next indeed the Holy Doctor, cap. 46., reports unacceptable prayer from the Fathers.

St. Gregory, lib. 10. Moral., cap. 11.: Our mind is weighed down with grave confusion in the time of its prayer: if either its own conduct still defiles it, or the grief of another's malice accuses it while under obedience. And in the Regist., ind. 4. cap. 45. l. 9.: That you may make a way to the ear of God with prayers, you must strive with watchfulness that your voices be aided by your deeds: for prayer becomes empty where action is wicked.

St. Augustine, in his sermons: With what brow do you ask what God has promised, when you do not do what God has commanded? First hear the admonitions, and then demand the promises. The same: Forgive us our debts, etc. Nor is prayer efficacious for those whose faith without works is dead; but for those whose faith works through love.

St. Jerome, epist. 14.: With what conscience, I know not, does anyone ask God with that tongue with which he either lies, or curses, or backbites. God hears holy lips, and quickly nods to those prayers which an immaculate tongue pronounces.

St. Chrysostom, homil. 15. imperfect. in Matth.: He who prays and sins does not pray to God, but mocks him.

St. Bernard, serm. 71. in Cant.: The prayer of the sinner shall be abominable; and in vain does he also offer his gift at the altar, who is conscious to himself that his brother has something against him. Finally the Lord did not respect the offerings of Cain; because he did not walk rightly with his brother. He has similar things in serm. 46., saying: I wonder greatly at the shamelessness of certain men who are among us, who, though they have disturbed us all with their singularity, and defiled us with their impatience, nevertheless dare, with an insistence of prayers, to invite the God of all purity to so foul a couch of their conscience. But as it is written in Isaiah 1: Cum extenderitis manus vestras, avertam oculos meos: et cum multiplicaveritis orationem, non exaudiam. See other things there.

Finally he adds the opinion of Seneca, epist. 10.: Then know that you are loosed from all cupidity, when you have come to this, that you ask nothing of God except what you can ask openly. But now how great is the madness of men, who whisper most shameful vows to the Gods, so that if anyone should admonish their ear, they immediately fall silent, and tell to God what they are unwilling for man to know?

The Holy Doctor enumerates many conditions of prayer here and there, that it may be acceptable to God.

The first condition for its efficacy is that which I pursued above, namely that it ought to go forth from charity, or at least from a good will of returning to God; for God does not hear obstinate sinners.

The second condition is that it be from Faith and Hope: Si habueritis fidem, et non haesitaveritis, dicetis monti, etc. Matth. 17., and Omnia quaecunque credentes petieritis, in oratione recipietis, and James 1: Postulet autem in fide, nihil haesitans.

Next indeed, in speculo disciplinae ad Novitios, p. 1. cap. 12., he requires two things beforehand for prayer, by which as it were on wings the soul is borne to God, namely meditation and knowledge of the Divine goodness and mercy, by which we are lifted up; and consideration of our own unworthiness and misery, that thus we may approach God more eagerly and humbly.

Hence, little by little, he attaches three conditions in the little work de perfectione vitae ad sorores, cap. 5. The first is that, approaching prayer with heart and body erect, you think of your own vileness, how many sins you have committed, how ungrateful you have been to God, O Soul, whither through sin you tend, toward the fires of everlasting death, that thus you may be humbled like the Publican, Luke 18., striking your breast and saying: Deus propitius esto mihi peccatori, and roar with David saying, Psal. 37: Rugiebam a gemitu cordis mei, and with Magdalene wet the feet of the Lord: Stans retro, Luke 7. Thus says St. Isidore, de summo bono l. 3. cap. 7.: When we stand before God in prayer, we ought to groan and weep, calling to mind how grave are the things we have committed, how hard the punishments of hell that we fear.

The second condition is that, acknowledging the goodness and beneficence of God, he render thanks to God, as the Apostle warns: Orationi instantes, vigilantes in ea in gratiarum actione. For nothing more disposes a man to receive new benefits than grateful remembrance of past ones. Therefore St. Augustine, epist. 57.: What better do we carry in the mind, pronounce with the mouth, and express with the pen, than thanks to God? This can neither be said more briefly, nor heard more widely, nor understood more gladly, nor done more fruitfully.

Therefore you ought, O Soul, in prayer itself, to meditate with thanksgiving, because God made you a man, a Christian; because he forgave you innumerable sins; because you would have fallen into many sins if the Lord had not kept you; because he did not permit you to die in the world; because he chose you for the highest and most perfect Religion, and feeds you without labor of your own; and because for you he was made man, circumcised, baptized, etc. See St. Bonaventure. For thanksgiving is useful in prayer, nor can any prayer avail without it; for ingratitude, as St. Bernard says, serm. 51. in Cant., is a burning wind, drying up the fountain of piety, the dew of mercy, and the streams of grace.

The third condition, that attentively your heart think on that alone which it prays for: for it is unworthy that a divided heart come to God. Whence, on that text, Psal. 118: Clamavi in toto corde meo, the Gloss says: Divisum cor non impetrat, quod petit, and this Christ urged, Matth. 6: Tu autem cum oraveris, intra in cubiculum, et clauso ostio, ora Patrem — clauso, namely the heart, says the Holy Doctor, and guarded; for Prayer, as St. Augustine says, l. de spiritu, et anima, cap. 50., is the conversion of the mind to God through a pious and humble affection. Enter with intense desire, whereby the Psalmist: Os meum aperui, attraxi spiritum: for prayer is a bucket by which the grace of the Holy Spirit is drawn up. See wondrous things in the Holy Doctor there.

Moreover, the Holy Doctor commends ad 11. Lucae perseverance in prayer, from the example of Christ, who, Luke 22: Factus in agonia, prolixius orabat: And Paul, Hebr. 5., says: Qui in diebus carnis suae, preces, supplicationesque ad eum, qui posset illum salvum facere a morte, cum clamore valido, et lacrymis offerens exauditus est pro sua reverentia. Whence, Matth. 26., he prayed three times; and he admonished the disciples to pray throughout that whole hour. And Luke 6. it is said: Erat pernoctans in oratione Dei. And cap. 18.: Oportet semper orare, et non deficere. And Eccles. 18.: Non impediaris orare semper. He considers this more subtly there, Luke 11., in that parable of the friend, to whom, in the quiet of the untimely night, the importunate man goes, asking for bread; and he, though he refused within, saying: Noli mihi molestus esse, iam ostium clausum est, et pueri mei mecum sunt in cubili — whose paternal love cannot be lost, as is said in Isaiah 49 — yet he adds: Et si perseveraverit pulsans, surget, et dabit illi, etc.

A MOST SPLENDID example also St. Bonaventure considers, cap. 18. Lucae, in that little Widow, who, often importuning the Judge, merited to obtain justice. See, I beseech you, the Holy Doctor in both places, and you will lick lips anointed with sweetness. See him also on Luke 6 there: Erat pernoctans; and serm. 4. de uno S. Confessore, where he sets down also Thessalonians: Sine intermissione orate, and the Israelites, 1 Reg. 12.: Ne cesses pro nobis orare, etc.

SPEAKING, moreover, of the Ruler whose daughter was dying, Luke 8., the Holy Doctor says: Since therefore he approached the presence of Christ with reverence, asked out of confidence, desired out of indigence, therefore his prayer was heard, according to that, Eccles. 4.: Rogationem contribulati ne abiicias: et non auertas faciem tuam ab egeno. He also comments splendidly on that text, Thren.: Non des requiem tibi, et non taceat pupilla.

AND on the fifth chapter of Luke, on these words: Ipse autem secedebat in desertum, et orabat, the Holy Doctor says: Because he did not seek but fled human glory and fame, according to that, Matth. 14: Dimissa turba ascendit in montem solus orare, in which he gave us the form of withdrawing from the world and approaching God, and therefore prayer ought to be hidden, whence Matth. 6: Intra in cubiculum, et clauso ostio, etc. And St. Bernard, serm. 46. in Cant.: O holy soul, be alone, that you may keep yourself for the one God alone, whom you have chosen for yourself from among all. Flee the public, flee, and your very domestics: Do you not know that you have truly the same Spouse, and one who by no means wishes to indulge you with his presence while others are present? Withdraw therefore, but in mind, not in body; although even in body you do not separate yourself idly, especially at the time of prayer.

THE Holy Doctor confirms these conditions of prayer from the Fathers in the places cited, and in lib. 2. Pharetrae cap. 45. et 46., especially from St. Gregory, in Regist. l. 11. indice 6. cap. 3., and l. 22. Moral. cap. 21., and homil. 27. in Euang.; from St. Augustine, epist. 121. cap. 10., and serm. 126. de temp., and l. 20. de ciuit. cap. 17.; from St. Chrysostom, Opere Imperf. homil. 13.; from St. Ambrose, in Psal. 118. octon. 8.; from St. Isidore, in synon. cap. 4., and de summo bono l. 1. cap. 23., and l. 3. cap. 7.; Damascene, l. 3. de fide, cap. 24.; Bernard, epist. de vita solut. epist. 78. et 201., and in Cantic. serm. 7. et 18., and serm. de 4. modis orandi; and other Fathers.

HENCE, gathering his sails, he infers here and there why the just are sometimes not heard. Thus on Psal. 22: Clamabo per diem et non exaudies. But the just man is not heard for a threefold cause: either because he prays for something perverse and evil. Thus Samuel, 1 Reg. 15., was not heard, praying for Saul. Secondly, on account of the manner of praying; thus, Matth. 20., the sons of Zebedee were not heard. Thirdly, by reason of a greater good; thus Paul, 2 Corinth. 12., was not heard while he prayed to be delivered from the molesting evil spirit.

The Holy Doctor adduces the same causes in l. 2. de profectu Religiosi, cap. 71. He adds others. First, if he hesitates, Iacob. 1. Second, that man may be provoked more to persist, as St. Gregory says, homil. 25. in Euang. Whence Chrysostom, homil. 30. in Genes.: God for this reason delays his benefit, that what he gives may not be cheap to us. Third, that grace may be reserved for a more opportune time: Thus, Exodi 33., Moses was not heard, that afterward he might see the face of God. Fourth, that he may ask for the suffrages of others also; thus, 4. Reg. 19. et Isa. 37., Ezechias sent to Isaias, that he might pray for himself and for the people; and cap. 22., Iosias sent to Holda; and Rom. 15: Obsecro, ut iuuetis me in orationibus vestris. Et Matth. 18: Si duo ex vobis consenserint, etc.

OTHERS, moreover, he says, are not heard because they ask badly, as is said in Iacobi 1.; and therefore he presses the question concerning what things are to be asked for.

I set out those conditions in questions 4 and 5 with which prayer must be constituted. Here I consider chiefly the condition of attention. And indeed some attention is necessary, that prayer may be efficacious. But whether attention is necessary for prayers prescribed by precept, so as to satisfy the obligation, is deferred to the first part of the second part. Treatise on the Laws, dispute 5, question 3.