sole reason for doing so lies in the fact that they are closely united
to God. But we do not address prayers to people who, while still living
in this world, are closely knit to God, nor to those who are in
Purgatory and are united to Him. There seems, then, to be no reason why
we should address prayers to the Saints in Paradise.
But they who are still in the world or in Purgatory do not as
yet enjoy the vision of the Divine Word so as to be able to know
what we think or say, hence we do not implore their help when we
pray; though when talking with living people we do ask them to
help us.
* * * * *
_S. Augustine:_ It is no great thing to live long, nor even to live for
ever; but it is indeed a great thing to live well. Oh, let us love
eternal life! And we realize how earnestly we ought to strive for that
eternal life when we note how men who love this present temporal life so
work for it--though it is to pass away--that, when the fear of death
comes, they strive all they can, not, indeed, to do away with death, but
to put death off! How men labour when death approaches! They flee from
it; they hide from it; they give all they have; they try to buy
themselves off; they work and strive; they put up with tortures and
inconveniences; they call in physicians; they do everything that lies
within their power! Yet even if they spend all their toil and their
substance, they can only secure that they may live a little longer, not
that they may live for ever! If, then, men spend such toil, such
endeavour, so much money, so much anxiety, watchfulness, and care, in
order to live only a little longer, what ought we not to do that we may
live for ever? And if we call them prudent who take every possible
precaution to stave off death, to live but a few days more, to save just
a few days, then how foolish are they who so pass their days as to lose
the Day of Eternity! (_Sermon_, cxxvii. 2).
"May God have mercy on us, and bless us: may He cause the light
of His countenance to shine upon us, and may He have mercy on
us. That we may know Thy way upon earth: Thy salvation in all
nations. Let people confess to Thee, O God: let all people give
praise to Thee. Let the nations be glad and rejoice: for Thou
judgest the people with justice, and directest the nations upon
earth. Let the people, O God, confess to Thee: let all the
people give praise to Thee: the earth hath yielded her fruit.
May God, our God bless us, may God bless us: and all the ends of
the earth fear Him."[127]
V
Should We in our Prayers ask for Anything Definite from God?
Our Lord taught the disciples to ask definitely for the things which are
contained in the petitions of the Lord's Prayer: _Thus shalt thou
pray._[128]
Maximus Valerius tells of Socrates[129] that he "maintained that nothing
further should be asked of the immortal gods save that they should give
us good things; and this on the ground that they knew well what was best
for each individual, whereas we often ask in our prayers for things
which it would be better not to have asked for." And this opinion has
some truth in it as regards those things which can turn out ill, or
which a man can use well or ill, as, for example, riches which, as the
same Socrates says, "have been to the destruction of many; or honours
which have ruined many; or the possession of kingdoms, the issues of
which are so often ill-fated; or splendid matrimonial alliances, which
have sometimes proved the ruin of families." But there are certain good
things of which a man cannot make a bad use--those, namely, which cannot
have a bad issue. And these are the things by which we are rendered
blessed and by which we merit beatitude; these are the things for which
the Saints pray unconditionally: _Show us Thy Face and we shall be
saved_;[130] and again: _Lead me along the path of Thy
commandments_.[131]
Some, however, say that we ought not in our prayers to ask for definite
things from God, thus:
1. S. John Damascene defines prayer as "asking from God things that are
fitting";[132] consequently prayer for things which are not expedient is
of no efficacy, as S. James says: _You ask and receive not, because you
ask amiss_.[133] Moreover, S. Paul says: _We know not what we should
pray for as we ought_.[134]
But it is also true that though a man cannot of himself know
what he ought to pray for, yet, as the Apostle says in the same
place: _In this the Spirit helpeth our infirmity_--namely, in
that, by inspiring us with holy desires, He makes us ask aright.
Hence Our Lord says that the true adorers _must adore in spirit
and in truth_.[135]
2. Further, he who asks from another some definite thing strives to bend
that other's will to do what the petitioner wants. But we ought not to
direct our prayers towards making God will what we will, but rather we
should will what He wills--as the Gloss says on the words of Ps. xxxii.
1: _Rejoice in the Lord, O ye just!_ It would seem, therefore, that we
ought not to ask for definite things from God when we pray.
Yet when in our prayers we ask for things which appertain to our
salvation, we are conforming our will to the will of God, for of
His will it is said: _He will have all men to be saved_.[136]
3. Lastly, evil things cannot be asked from God; and He Himself invites
us to receive good things. But it is idle for a person to ask for what
he is invited to receive.
God, it is true, invites us to receive good things; but He
wishes us to come to them--not, indeed, by the footsteps of the
body--but by pious desires and devout prayers.
* * * * *
_S. Augustine:_ Fly, then, by unwavering faith and holy habits, fly,
brethren, from those torments where the torturers never desist, and
where the tortured never die; whose death is unending, and where in
their anguish they cannot die. But burn with love for and desire of the
eternal life of the Saints where there is no longer the life of toil nor
yet wearisome repose. For the praises of God will beget no disgust,
neither will they ever cease. There will there be no weariness of the
soul, no bodily fatigue; there will there be no wants: neither wants of
your own which will call for succour, nor wants of your neighbour
demanding your speedy help. God will be all your delight; there will ye
find the abundance of that Holy City that from Him draws life and
happily and wisely lives in Him. For there, according to that promise of
His for which we hope and wait, we shall be made equal to the Angels of
God; and equally with them shall we then enjoy that vision of the Holy
Trinity in which we now but walk by faith. For we now believe what we do
not see, that so by the merits of that same faith we then may merit to
see what we believe, and may so hold fast to it that the Equality of
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and the Unity of the Trinity, may no longer
come to us under the garb of faith, nor be the subject of contentious
talk, but may rather be what we may drink in in purest and deepest
contemplation amid the silence of Eternity (_De Catechizandis Rudibus_,
xxv. 47).
_S. Augustine:_ O Lord, my God, give me what Thou biddest and then bid
what Thou wilt! Thou biddest us be continent. _And I knew_, as a certain
one says, _that I could not otherwise be continent save God gave it, and
this also was a point of wisdom to know Whose gift it was_. Now by
continence we are knit together and brought back into union with that
One from Whom we have wandered away after many things. For he loves Thee
but little who loves other things with Thee, and loves them not for
Thee! O Love that ever burnest and wilt never be extinguished! O
Charity! O Lord, my God, set me on fire! Thou dost bid continence? Then
give me what Thou biddest and bid what Thou wilt! (_Confessions_, X.
xxix.).
_S. Augustine:_ O Lord, my God, listen to my prayer and mercifully hear
my desire! For my desire burns not for myself alone, but fraternal
charity bids it be of use. And Thou seest in my heart that it is so; for
I would offer to Thee in sacrifice the service of my thoughts and of my
tongue. Grant me then what I may offer to Thee. For I am needy and poor,
and Thou art rich towards all that call upon Thee; for in peace and
tranquillity hast Thou care for us. Circumcise, then, my lips, within
and without, from all rashness and all untruthfulness. May Thy
Scriptures be my chaste delight; may I never be deceived in them nor
deceive others out of them. Attend, O Lord, and have mercy upon me, O
Lord, my God. Thou art the Light of the blind, the Strength of the weak,
and so, too, art Thou the Light of them that see and the Strength of
them that are strong. Look, then, on my soul, and hear me when I cry
from out the depths! (_Confessions_, XI. ii. 2).
"Look down from Heaven, and behold from Thy holy habitation and
the place of Thy glory: where is Thy zeal, and Thy strength, the
multitude of Thy bowels, and of Thy mercies? they have held back
themselves from me. For Thou art our Father, and Abraham hath
not known us, and Israel hath been ignorant of us: Thou, O Lord,
art our Father, our Redeemer, from everlasting is Thy
Name."[137]
VI
Ought We in our Prayers to ask for Temporal Things from God?
We have the authority of the Book of Proverbs for answering in the
affirmative, for there we read[138]: _Give me only the necessaries of
life_.
S. Augustine says to Proba[139]: "It is lawful to pray for what it is
lawful to desire." But it is lawful to desire temporal things, not
indeed as our principal aim or as something which we make our end, but
rather as props and stays which may be of assistance to us in our
striving for the possession of God; for by such things our bodily life
is sustained, and such things, as the Philosopher says, co-operate
organically to the production of virtuous acts.[140] Consequently it is
lawful to pray for temporal things. And this is what S. Augustine means
when he says to Proba: "Not unfittingly does a person desire sufficiency
for this life when he desires it and nothing more; for such sufficiency
is not sought for its own sake but for the body's health, and for a mode
of life suitable to a man's position so that he may not be a source of
inconvenience to those with whom he lives. When, then, we have these
things we must pray that we may retain them, and when we have not got
them we must pray that we may have them."[141]
Some, however, argue that we ought not to pray for temporal things,
thus:
1. What we pray for we seek. But we are forbidden to seek for temporal
things, for it is said: _Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God, and
His justice, and all these things shall be added unto you_,[142] those
temporal things, namely, which He says are not to be sought but which
are to be added to the things which we seek.
But temporal things are to be sought secondarily not primarily.
Hence S. Augustine[143]: "When He says the former is _to be
sought first_ (namely the kingdom of God), He means that the
latter (namely temporal good things) are to be sought
afterwards; not _afterwards_ in point of time, but _afterwards_
in point of importance; the former as our good, the latter as
our need."
2. Again, we only ask for things about which we are solicitous. But we
are not allowed to be solicitous about temporal concerns: _Be not
solicitous for your life, what ye shall eat_[144]....
But not all solicitude about temporal affairs is forbidden, only
such as is superfluous and out of due order.
3. Further, we ought in prayer to uplift our minds to God. But by asking
for temporal things in prayer our mind descends to things beneath it,
and this is contrary to the teaching of the Apostle: _While we look not
at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For
the things which are seen are temporal: but the things which are not
seen are eternal._[145]
When our mind is occupied with temporal affairs so as to set up
its rest in them then it remains in them, and is depressed by
them; but when the mind turns to them as a means of attaining to
eternal life it is not depressed by them, but rather uplifted by
them.
4. Lastly, men ought not to pray except for things useful and good. But
temporal possessions are at times hurtful, and this not merely
spiritually but even temporally; hence a man ought not to ask them of
God.
But it is clear that since we do not seek temporal things
primarily or for their own sake, but with reference to something
else, we consequently only ask them of God according as they may
be expedient for our salvation.
* * * * *
_S. Augustine: Lord, all my desire is before Thee, and my groaning is
not hid from Thee!_[146] It is not before men who cannot see the heart,
but _before Thee is all my desire_! And let your desires, too, be before
Him, and your Father Who seeth in secret will repay thee. For your very
desire is a prayer, and if your desire is continual your prayer, too, is
continual. Not without reason did the Apostle say: _Pray without
ceasing_.[147] Yet can we genuflect without ceasing? Can we prostrate
without ceasing? Can we lift up our hands without ceasing? How, then,
does he say: _Pray without ceasing_? If by _prayer_ he meant such things
as these then I think we could not pray without ceasing. But there is
another prayer, an interior prayer, which is without ceasing--_desire_.
Whatever else you do, if only you desire that _rest_[148] you cease not
to pray. If you wish to pray without ceasing then desire without
ceasing. Your continual desire is your continual voice; but you will be
silent if you cease to love (_Enarr. in Ps._ xxxvii. 10).
_S. Augustine:_ But all these things are the gifts of my God; I did not
give them to myself; they are good, and all these things am I. He then
is good Who made me; nay, He Himself is my Good, and in Him do I rejoice
for all the good things which I had even as a boy! But in this did I sin
that, not in Him but in His creatures did I seek myself and other
pleasures, high thoughts and truths. Thus it was that I fell into
sorrow, confusion, and error. Thanks be to Thee, my Sweetness, my Honour
and my Trust, O my God! Thanks be to Thee for Thy gifts! But do Thou
keep them for me! For so doing Thou wilt be keeping me, and those things
which Thou hast given me will be increased and perfected, and I myself
shall be with Thee, for even that I should be at all is Thy gift to me!
(_Confessions_, I. xx. 2).
_S. Augustine:_ But I forget not, neither will I keep silence regarding
the severity of Thy scourge and the wondrous swiftness of Thy mercy.
Thou didst torture me with toothache; and when the pain had become so
great that I could not even speak, it came into my mind to tell all my
friends who were there to pray to Thee for me, to Thee the God of all
manner of succour. And I wrote my request on a wax tablet and I gave it
them to read. And hardly had we bent the knee in humble prayer than the
pain fled! But what a pain it was! And how did it disappear? I was
terrified, I confess it, O Lord my God! Never in all my life had I felt
anything like it! (_Confessions_, IX. iv. 12).
It is narrated of S. Thomas that when at Paris it happened that having
to lecture at the University on a subject which he had commenced the day
before, he rose at night to pray as was his wont, but discovered that a
tooth had suddenly pushed its way through his gums in such a way that he
could not speak. His companion suggested that since it was an
inopportune time for procuring assistance a message should be sent to
the University stating what had happened and pointing out that the
lecture could not be given till the tooth had been removed by a surgeon.
But S. Thomas, reflecting upon the difficulty in which the University
would be placed, considering also the danger which might arise from the
removal of the tooth in the way suggested, said to his companion: I see
no remedy save to trust to God's Providence. He then betook himself to
his accustomed place of prayer, and for a long space besought God with
tears to grant him this favour, leaving himself entirely in His hands.
And when he had thus prayed he took the tooth between his fingers, and
it came out at once without the slightest pain or wrench, and he found
himself freed from the impediment to his speech which it had caused.
This tooth he carried about with him for a long time as a reminder of an
act of Divine loving-kindness such as he was anxious not to forget, for
forgetfulness is the mother of ingratitude; he wished it, too, to move
him to still greater confidence in the power of prayer which had on that
occasion been so quickly heard (see _Vita S. Thomae_, Bollandists, March
7, vol. i., 1865, pp. 673, 704, 712).
_S. Augustine:_ But temporal things are sometimes for our profit,
sometimes for our hurt. For many poverty was good, wealth did them harm.
For many a hidden life was best, high station did them harm. And on the
other hand money was good for some, and dignities, too, were good for
them--good, that is, for those who used them well; but such things did
harm when not taken away from those who used them ill. Consequently,
brethren, let us ask for these temporal things with moderation, being
sure that if we do receive them, He gives them Who knoweth what is best
suited to us. You have asked for something, then, and what you asked for
has not been given you? Believe in your Father Who would give it you if
it were expedient for you (_Sermon_, lxxx. 7).
_S. Augustine:_ Sometimes God in His wrath grants what you ask; at other
times in His mercy He refuses what you ask. When, then, you ask of Him
things which He praises, which He commands, things which He has promised
us in the next world, then ask in confidence and be instant in prayer as
far as in you lies, that so you may receive what you ask. For such
things as these are granted by the God of mercy; they flow not from His
wrath but from His compassion. But when you ask for temporal things,
then ask with moderation, ask with fear; leave all to Him so that if
they be for your profit He may give them you, if they be to your hurt He
may refuse them. For what is for our good and what is to our hurt the
Physician knoweth, not the patient (_Sermon_, cccliv. 8).
"Cast thy care upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee; He
shall not suffer the just to waver for ever."[149]
VII
Ought We To Pray for Others?
S. James, in his Epistle, says[150]: _Pray for one another that ye may
be saved_.
As we said above, we ought in prayer to ask for those things which we
ought to desire. But we ought to desire good things not for ourselves
only but also for others, for this belongs to that charity which we
ought to exercise towards our neighbour. Hence charity demands that we
pray for others. In accordance with this S. Chrysostom says[151]:
"Necessity compels us to pray for ourselves, fraternal charity urges us
to pray for others. But that prayer is more pleasing before God which
arises not so much from our needs as from the demands of fraternal
charity."
Some, however, urge that we ought not to pray for others, thus:
1. We are bound in our prayer to follow the norm which our Lord
delivered to us; but in the _Lord's Prayer_ we pray for ourselves and
not for others, for we say: _Give us this day our daily bread_, etc.
But S. Cyprian says:[152] "We do not say _my_ Father, but _our_
Father, neither do we say Give _me_, but give _us_; and this
because the Teacher of Unity did not wish prayer to be made
privately, viz., that each should pray for himself alone; for He
wished one to pray for all since He in His single Person had
borne all."
2. Again, we pray in order to be heard; but one of the conditions for
our prayer to be heard is that a man should pray for himself. Thus on
the words: _If ye ask the Father anything in My Name He will give it
you_,[153] S. Augustine says:[154] "All are heard for themselves, but
not for all in general, hence He does not say simply: _He will give it_,
but _He will give it you_."
But to pray for oneself is a condition attaching to prayer; not
indeed a condition affecting its merit, but a condition which is
necessary if we would ensure the attainment of what we ask. For
it sometimes happens that prayer made for another does not avail
even though it be devout and persevering and for things
pertaining to a man's salvation; and this is because of the
existence of some hindrance on the part of him for whom we pray,
as we read in Jeremias[155]: _If Moses and Samuel shall stand
before Me, My soul is not towards this people_. None the less,
such prayer will be meritorious on the part of him who prays,
for he prays out of charity; thus on the words, _And my prayer
shall be turned into my bosom_,[156] the Interlinear Gloss has:
"That is, and even though it avail not for them, yet shall I not
be without my reward."
3. Lastly, we are forbidden to pray for others if they are wicked,
according to the words: _Do not thou pray for this people ... and do not
withstand Me, for I will not hear thee_.[157] And, on the other hand, we
ought not to pray for them if they are good, for in that case they will
be heard when they pray for themselves.
But we have to pray even for sinners, that they may be
converted, and for the good, that they may persevere and make
progress. Our prayers for sinners, however, are not heard for
all, but for some. For they are heard for those who are
predestined, not for those who are foreknown as reprobate; just
in the same way as when we correct our brethren, such
corrections avail among the predestinate but not among the
reprobate, according to the words: _No man can correct whom He
hath despised._[158] Wherefore also it is said: _He that knoweth
his brother to sin a sin that is not unto death, let him ask,
and life shall be given to him who sinneth not to death._[159]
But just as we can refuse to no one, as long as he liveth on
this earth, the benefit of correction--for we cannot distinguish
between the predestinate and the reprobate, as S. Augustine
says[160]--so neither can we refuse to anyone the suffrage of
our prayers.
And for good men we have to pray, and this for a threefold reason:
firstly, because the prayers of many are more easily heard; thus on the
words: _I beseech ye therefore, help me in your prayers for me_,[161]
the Ordinary Gloss of S. Ambrose says: "Well does the Apostle ask his
inferiors to pray for him; for even the very least become great when
many in number, and when gathered together with one mind; and it is
impossible that the prayers of many should not avail" to obtain, that
is, what is obtainable. And secondly, that thanks may be returned by
many for the benefits conferred by God upon the just, for these same
benefits tend to the profit of many--as is evident from the Apostle's
words to the Corinthians.[162] And thirdly, that those who are greater
may not therefore be proud, but may realize that they need the suffrages
of their inferiors.
"Father, I will that where I am they also whom Thou hast given
Me may be with Me; that they may see My glory, which Thou hast
given Me: because Thou hast loved Me before the foundation of
the world."[163]
VIII
Ought We To Pray for Our Enemies?
_But I say to you ... pray for them that persecute and calumniate
you._[164]
To pray for others is a work of charity, as we have said above. Hence we
are bound to pray for our enemies in the same way as we are bound to
love them. We have already explained, in the _Treatise on Charity_, in
what sense we are bound to love our enemies; namely, that we are bound
to love their nature, not their fault; and that to love our enemies in
general is of precept; to love them, however, individually, is not of
precept save in the sense of being prepared to do so; a man, for
instance, is bound to be ready to love an individual enemy and to help
him in case of necessity, or if he comes to seek his pardon. But
absolutely to love our individual enemies, and to assist them, belongs
to perfection.
In the same way, then, it is necessary that in our general prayers for
others we should not exclude our enemies. But to make special prayer for
them belongs to perfection and is not necessary, save in some particular
cases.
Some, however, argue that we ought not to pray for our enemies, thus:
1. It is said in the Epistle to the Romans[165]: _What things soever
were written were written for our learning_. But in Holy Scripture we
find many imprecations against enemies; thus, for instance[166]: _Let
all my enemies be ashamed, let them be turned back and be ashamed very
speedily_. From which it would rather seem that we ought to pray against
our enemies than for them.