Prayer: Its Necessity, Its Power, Its Conditions

Preface

It needs no very great powers of observation to see that we are living in times of profound spiritual unrest, of abnormal nervous tension, of unsatisfied desires and of feverish activities. Judged in the light of God’s revelation, this lavish expenditure of human energy is, for the most part, sadly misplaced and, we may add, criminally wasted. For, to our times certainly apply the words of the Apostle St. John, by which he characterizes the times in which he himself was living: “All that is in the world, is the concupiscence of the flesh, the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life.” I St. John 2. 16.

To-day, perhaps more than ever, this triple spirit of Sensuality, of Avarice and of Pride is gaining control over the hearts of men, urging them on to a life of unbridled indulgence in the pleasures of sense, to a mad pursuit of money and wealth, and to a grossly exaggerated idea of self-importance that, while eager to lord it over others, brooks no subordination to authority. A further result of this utterly unchristian and downright pagan spirit, as exemplified in the lives of its votaries, is a growing spirit of religious indifference, a dense ignorance in matters spiritual, a forgetfulness of God and a disregard of man’s eternal interests, that are simply appalling, and, in some quarters, a positive aversion for, and a brazen denial of everything revealed and supernatural. In a word, men seem to be so immersed in the things of earth, that they no longer feel the need of seeking, as the Apostle bids us do, “the things that are above.” Col. 3. 1.

Such being the case, need we wonder that the Apostle St. Paul, Rom. 12. 2., warns the Christians of Rome “not to conform themselves to the spirit of this world”? Need we wonder that the Apostle St. John I. 5-19, tells us that “the whole world is seated in wickedness?” And, again, need we wonder that men who permit themselves to become so immersed in things temporal and material as to forget God and the things eternal, need we wonder that, sooner or later, they become restless and supremely unhappy, and that at last, disillusioned as was Solomon of old, they are forced to cry out: “Vanity of vanities, and all is vanity and vexation of spirit”? Eccles. 1. 2-16. For, how could the result be otherwise? God who created us and who gave us an immortal, imperishable soul, fashioned in His own divine image and likeness, God could not have created us to be satisfied with the perishable and transitory things of this fleeting world; He must have created us for something higher, for something nobler and more enduring. As St. Augustine beautifully expresses it: “For Thyself, O Lord, hast Thou created us, and, therefore, our hearts will be restless until they rest in Thee.” And long before St. Augustine, the Holy Ghost by the mouth of the Prophet declared: “I have created man, I have formed and made him, for My glory.” Isai. 43. 7. And the Son of God, made man to become our Saviour and our Model, He too, both by His word and by His example, taught us what is our true destiny. He led a life of detachment from the honors, riches and pleasures of this world, a life of poverty, suffering and humiliation, but a life entirely devoted to the interests and glory of His heavenly Father. And to those who would follow in His footsteps He says: “Blessed are the poor in spirit!” “Blessed are the clean of heart!” “Deny thyself and take up thy daily cross!” “Learn of Me because I am meek and humble of heart, and thou shalt find rest for thy soul!”—And all this He tells us, we should do from a motive of love for Himself and in order to please Him. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart and with thy whole soul.” Luke 10. 27. “The Lord thy God, thou shalt adore and Him alone shalt thou serve.” Luke 4. 8. “This do,” He adds, “and thou shalt live.” Luke 10. 28. This do, “and thou shalt enter into the joy of thy Lord.” Math. 25. 21.

This precise and comprehensive teaching of our Divine Lord, namely, that we are here, not for the enjoyment of the perishable goods of this world, but for the one and only purpose of knowing, loving and serving God, and by so doing to merit the everlasting vision and possession of God, this sublime teaching has been re-echoed, with unmistakable clearness and with constant insistency, throughout the ages, by Christ’s infallible Church. Millions of her children, heeding her teaching and acting as true followers of Christ, have learned and are learning by experience, that only in a life lived according to God’s Holy Will, and, for love of Him, kept free from inordinate creature-attachments, can be found that true peace and happiness which “the world cannot give,” but which “surpasses all understanding.” Phil. 2. 7,—that happiness which consists in the possession of God’s grace and friendship here below, and in the everlasting Vision and possession of God in the world to come.

To attain to the Vision and possession of the Eternal God is to attain to the final end of our creation, and this is what is meant by saving our immortal soul. To do what God requires us to do here below, in order that we may merit the everlasting vision and possession of Himself, this is what we mean by working out, or laboring for our soul’s salvation.

Now, by faith in God’s revelation and in the teachings of God’s infallible Church, we know with absolute certainty that, in order to be saved, we must love God, at least in such a degree, that for love of Him we keep his Commandments, at least, in all serious matters, that, for love of Him, we refrain from committing mortal sin, which consists in the serious and wilful transgression of His Commandments, that for love of Him, we overcome all temptations and resist all inclinations to commit mortal sin, or, if we have fallen into mortal sin, that, for love of Him, we repent with true, supernatural contrition, and, finally, that, for love of Him, we persevere in His grace and friendship until death.

But, again, it is a truth revealed by God and taught by His Church, that of ourselves, and without the aid of a special grace of God, we can do none of the things demanded of us for the salvation of our soul. Without the aid of a special grace of God, we cannot keep His Commandments, nor can we overcome the strong temptations to break the commandments, nor can we preserve the grace already received, nor continue in it for a long time, without falling into mortal sin. To be convinced of this, we need only reflect on the words of our Divine Lord when He said: “Without Me you can do nothing,”—John 15. 5. And on the words of the Apostle: “All our sufficiency is from God.”—II Cor. 3. 5. And on the words of the prophets: “Thou art thy destruction, O Jerusalem; but thy help is only in Me.”—Osee 13. 9. “I will put My spirit in the midst of you, and I will cause you to walk in My commandments.”—Ezech. 36. 27.

But this is not all. What for us is of the greatest practical importance, is the further teaching of God’s holy Church, that, at least ordinarily speaking, God grants the special helps of His grace only to those who ask for them,—in other words, that in the ordinary course of God’s Providence, prayer, that is to say, the prayer of petition, is the key to the treasury of God’s special graces,—that it is the condition laid down by God for the granting of all the special graces necessary to enable us to keep the divine commandments, to conquer temptations, to avoid falling into grievous sin, to repent as we ought, after having fallen, to practise virtue, and, above all, to persevere in God’s grace to the end of our life. This teaching of God’s Church that must be held as of Faith, is based on the words of our Divine Lord: “We ought always to pray.”—Luke 18. 1. It is based especially on His words in which He gives us the reason for constantly praying: “Ask and you shall receive.”—John 16. 24. “Ask and it shall be given unto you; for every one that asketh, receiveth.”—Luke 11. 19.—words in which He declares that He will give His special lights and strengthening graces to no one who does not pray. This same reason for praying without ceasing is proclaimed by the prophets of old: “Cry to Me and I will hear thee.”—Jerem. 33. 3. “Call on Me in the day of tribulation, and I will deliver thee.”—Ps. 49. 14. And, perhaps, most forcefully of all, that reason is proclaimed by the Apostle St. James when, writing to some of the first Christians who, it seems, had been complaining about their inability to keep all the commandments, he said: “You have not the strength you need, because you ask not; or if you ask and receive not, it is because you ask amiss.”—James 4. 2.

From the above words of our Lord and of His inspired prophets and of the Apostle St. James, clearly and conclusively follows the absolute necessity of the Prayer of Petition as a means of Salvation for all those who are able to pray.

Right here, it is of the utmost importance to bear in mind that it is precisely through the Prayer of Petition that our eternal salvation is placed in our own power, having been made dependent by God on our consent, on our free acceptance of the grace of prayer gratuitously offered to us, and on the good use we make of it. For it must be well remembered that the grace to pray, like the grace to begin to believe and to begin to repent, is given us by God, without our having to ask Him for it. That God must give us the grace to pray in this manner, that is to say, without the need of any effort on our part to obtain it, is evident from the fact that God commands us to pray, and even to pray always. But if God did not give us the grace to pray without our asking for it, prayer would be impossible and, hence, God would be commanding us to do the impossible, a thing which the infinite goodness of God precludes. The grace to pray is, therefore, at all times at our disposal, so that at all times we can actually pray, if we choose to do so, or, in other words, if we have the good will to exert ourselves to pray. All, therefore, that now remains for us to do, is to accept and to coöperate with the grace of prayer, and by its assiduous and persevering practice, to obtain from God the further and special graces which we need in order to be able to do the more difficult things necessary for salvation, such as the observance of the commandments, the avoidance of sin, victory over temptations, true repentance after our fall, and perseverance in God’s grace to the end. For we have God’s infallible word for it, that Prayer, humble and persevering Prayer of Petition, is the wonderful key, placed by God in our hands, that will infallibly open to us the treasury that contains all the special graces of God.

But if this is so, then it follows further and with irresistible logic that if any one is eternally lost, he will have no one to blame for it but himself, because, in the last instance, it will be owing entirely to his neglect of prayer. St. Alphonsus, doctor of the Church, thus pithily expresses this primary and fundamental truth of our holy Faith: “Pray well and your eternal salvation is assured. Neglect prayer and you will certainly be lost.” “All reprobates,” he continues, “have been damned in consequence of their neglect of prayer; for had they prayed, they would not be lost. All the Saints, on the other hand, have become saints by prayer; had they neglected prayer, they would not have become saints, and would not even be saved.”

After what has been said, it will be easy to understand the supreme importance of the admirable treatise on Prayer to which these lines are serving as a preface. The great St. Alphonsus who may well be called the “Apostle of Prayer,” because of his luminous system on Grace, in which the grace to pray figures as the well-fitting keystone in a perfect arch,—St. Alphonsus was accustomed to say that of all the sermons that are preached and of all the spiritual books that are printed, none are more valuable and useful than the sermons and books that are calculated to foster and encourage in souls the spirit and love of prayer, and to kindle in them the desire to exert themselves more and to be more assiduous in the practice of prayer.

May, then, this little work on Prayer which is now sent forth on its mission of love, disseminate in the hearts of the faithful an ardent spirit of prayer, a lively confidence in God, and a most childlike and tender reliance on Mary’s power with her Divine Son! May it meet with a widespread and cordial reception! It makes its appearance just as its venerable author approaches the golden sunset of an industrious, unselfish and self-sacrificing life, a life whose years have been employed wholly for God and the salvation of immortal souls. On May the 27th. of this present year the author will have rounded out the 60th. year of his religious profession in the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, 60 years of indefatigable labor in the Holy Ministry, and unswerving fidelity to the sacred obligations of the Religious Vows. We implore the pious readers of this work to include the author in their devout mementos, so that, when the Master calls, prayer may be the mystic key that will open unto him the Portals of Life Eternal.

Thos. P. Brown, C.SS.R., Sup. Prov. of St. Louis.

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Chapter I. Introduction

“GOD will have all men to be saved” (I Tim. 2. 4).

Eternal salvation is the end of every man. It is the only object obtainable by every man. It is the only object which he can be infallibly sure to attain, if only he is willing to make use of the necessary means. God, our Father in heaven, has destined a special place in heaven, His kingdom, for every man and will, moreover, give every man who earnestly strives to attain it all the necessary means for doing so.

But how different is the case with earthly aims. No man, however great his ability, however great and constant his exertions, can have the certainty of attaining his object. How many are disappointed in their plans for enjoying an easy and comfortable life, for amassing wealth, or acquiring learning, honors, prominence, influence, fame, for securing a life of domestic happiness, for indulging their passions! Experience tells us that many a man fails in his worldly aspirations, in his worldly aims. The hopes, the expectations of very many are frequently shattered by circumstances beyond their control. This fact of experience is a clear proof that the end of man is not to be found on earth, nor in this life. Moreover, the possession and enjoyment of the goods of this world are insufficient to satisfy man’s desire for happiness, for with their possession and enjoyment are connected anxiety, cares, feelings of emptiness, of a void in the heart which they cannot fill, and even feelings of weariness and disgust, and unattainable desires for things more substantial, less debasing, more uplifting and noble. King Solomon had enjoyed all that wealth, power and learning could procure, and he acknowledged that everything on earth is but vanity and fails to satisfy the cravings of the human heart for happiness. “I surpassed in riches all that were before me in Jerusalem . . . whatsoever my eyes desired, I refused them not; and I withheld not my heart from enjoying every pleasure. . . . I saw in all things vanity and vexation of mind” (Eccles. 2. 9, 10, 11).

On the other hand, God, our Creator and most loving Father, has destined for each of us a special place in heaven, that abode of pure, inconceivable and everlasting delights, of perfect, unalloyed happiness, a happiness that will fill every desire and leave nothing more to be desired; a happiness that can never be lost or diminished; a happiness which it is in our power to attain, and which we can be sure to attain, if we only use the means God offers us for this. Should we not, therefore, ardently desire and long for it, and willingly make every effort to gain possession of it? The object of this little book is to make known to every reader and, at the same time, to prevail upon him to make use of the means necessary to gain possession of his place in heaven.

To induce ourselves to profit by the means which God so lovingly offers us of attaining “our place in heaven,” let us often turn our thoughts to “our place in heaven,” especially when we recite that most beautiful and comprehensive of prayers, the Lord’s Prayer. Its first words, “Our Father, who art in heaven,” remind us vividly that we are destined to live in heaven with God, our Father, forever to share His happiness. Let us also turn our thoughts to “our place in heaven” near our heavenly Father, whenever we are assailed by troubles, adversity, suffering; whenever our heart feels oppressed or despondent; whenever we find it difficult to overcome temptation, to conquer our evil passions, to make some necessary painful sacrifice. On such occasions let us raise our eyes and our thoughts heavenward and say: O Heaven, O Paradise, Abode of delights ineffable! where my heavenly Father has prepared near Him a special place for me; where I shall forever behold face to face Him, who is infinite Beauty, and where I shall always love Him and be most tenderly beloved by Him. O beautiful Heaven, where I shall forever be perfectly happy, participating in God’s own happiness; where I shall be free from all sin, from all sorrow and suffering, and shall enjoy in glory beyond all conception a perpetual feast with all the heavenly host and the saints of God. When will it be granted to me clearly to see what I believe, to find what I seek, to possess forever what I love? O Heaven, dear object of my expectation! Here on earth everything becomes bitter to me, wearies and worries me; and yet when I turn my thoughts to my place in heaven, all this becomes my consolation, my hope, my joy, because I perceive that all this is necessary to enable me to deserve and secure my place in heaven. Whatever is transitory shall soon pass from me, all sufferings shall end, all pain shall cease, all anguish and bitterness shall disappear, all darkness shall be dissipated, and then I shall for all eternity occupy my place in the beautiful, bright and glorious Heaven. O short trials and crosses, strenuous efforts and hardships, pleasant thorns along the way, precious exile, salutary disappointments and bitterness of this life, how dear you are to me, for you enable me to merit and secure my place in Heaven!

My God, all that Thou willest, as Thou willest, as long as Thou willest! I accept all; I will devote myself to it all; I will bear it all; I will cheerfully do it all, in order to obtain my place in Heaven!

What is the earth to me, and all it contains, its goods, its honors, its pleasures! What are to me the esteem, admiration and affection of worldlings! I will, I seek, I desire but one thing, which surpasses all earthly goods and combines all real and lasting goods! I desire, I long to obtain my place in Heaven, where I shall find God, my Father, where I shall behold my God face to face; where I shall possess my God, forever love Him and be loved by Him!

O Mary, my Mother, Queen of the elect, my guiding Star on the stormy sea of this transitory life, my Gate of Heaven at the end of my voyage, open to me this glorious dwelling and lead me to my Place in Heaven!

O beautiful Heaven! were we always to think on thee, we would never hesitate to bear all, to suffer all, to sacrifice all for thy possession!

We are made for heavenly bliss, and nevertheless, of ourselves we can do nothing to gain it, to merit it, to attain the place destined for us in Heaven, for our divine Saviour expressly declares: “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15. 5). And St. Paul tells us that without God’s help we cannot of ourselves have even a good, meritorious thought: “Not that we are sufficient to think anything of ourselves, as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God” (II Cor. 12. 3). We cannot meritoriously invoke the holy Name of Jesus, except through the grace of the Holy Ghost, for St. Paul says also: “No man can say, the Lord Jesus, but by the Holy Ghost” (I Cor. 12. 3). Much less, therefore, can we merit and obtain “our place in Heaven” without the assistance of divine grace. But if God Himself assists us with His all-powerful grace, we can assuredly gain, deserve and reach “our place in Heaven” and forever enjoy its ineffable bliss, according to the express saying of St. Paul: “I can do all things in Him who giveth me strength” (Phil. 4. 13). And here we should from our inmost heart thank the boundless mercy, goodness and love of our Father in heaven, who will most willingly help us, if we but pray to Him and invoke His help in our wants, in all that conduces to our gaining possession of “our place in Heaven.” This proves the absolute necessity of prayer for our salvation. Unless we pray God to help us, we cannot reckon on God’s indispensable grace or help in the work of our salvation; but if we pray to Him to help us to save our soul, to gain “our place in Heaven,” God’s necessary help will be given us and will enable us to perform all that is necessary for our salvation. Prayer thus becomes, as it were, the instrument of our salvation, the key of Heaven.

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