for us, we therefore call upon them by the names they bore when
here below, and by which they are best known to us; and we do
this, too, in order to show our faith in the Resurrection, in
accordance with the words _I am the God of Abraham_.[197]
* * * * *
_Cajetan:_ The question arises: how could Jeremias, who in the days of
the Maccabees was not yet in our Fatherland but still in the Limbo of
the Fathers, pray for Jerusalem?
But if we carefully consider what it is at root which makes the prayers
of the Saints in the Fatherland avail for us, we shall find that the
same reason holds for the Saints who were in Limbo as for those who
enjoy the Beatific Vision. For it is their charity in their state of
absolute superiority to us which is the reason for their praying for us.
Hence, in the reply to the third difficulty, those who are in Purgatory
are excluded from the number of those who pray for us because they are
not altogether our superiors, but by reason of their sufferings are
inferior to us, and need our prayers.
But the Fathers in Limbo were, it is clear, confirmed in charity and
were incapable of sin, neither were they liable to any peculiar or fresh
suffering. For while the pain of loss was common to them and to the
sojourners on earth, the former were free from all pain of sense, hence
they could pray for us. There is, however, this difference to be noted
between them and the Saints in the Fatherland--viz., that whereas the
former had it in common with the latter to pray for those sojourning on
earth, it is given only to the Saints in the Fatherland to see the
prayers of us sojourners addressed to them. Hence Jeremias is here said
to pray, he is not said to have heard their prayers or supplications
(_on_ 2. 2. 83. 11).
XII
Should Prayer be Vocal?
_I cried to the Lord with my voice, with my voice I made supplication to
the Lord._[198]
Prayer is of two kinds: public and private. _Public_ or common prayer is
that which is offered to God by the Church's ministers in the person of
the whole body of the faithful. And it is necessary that such prayer
should be known to the body of the faithful for whom it is offered;
this, however, could not be unless it were vocal; consequently it is
reasonably enacted that the Church's ministers should pronounce such
prayers in a loud voice so as to reach the ears of all.
_Private_ prayer, on the contrary, is that which is offered by private
individuals, whether for themselves or for others; and its nature does
not demand that it should be vocal. At the same time, we can use our
voices in this kind of prayer, and this for three reasons: Firstly, in
order to excite interior devotion whereby our minds may, when we pray,
be lifted up to God; for men's minds are moved by external
signs--whether words or acts--to understand, and, by consequence, also
to feel. Wherefore S. Augustine says to Proba[199]: "By words and other
signs we vehemently stir ourselves up so as to increase our holy
desires." Hence in private prayer we must make such use of words and
other signs as shall avail to rouse our minds interiorly. But if, on the
other hand, such things only serve to distract the mind, or prove in any
way a hindrance, then we must cease from them; this is especially the
case with those whose minds are sufficiently prepared for devotion
without such incentives. Thus the Psalmist says: _My heart hath said to
Thee, My face hath sought Thee[200];_ and of Anna we are told that _she
spoke within her heart_.[201]
And secondly, we make use of vocal prayer in payment, as it were, of a
just debt--in order, that is, to serve God with the entirety of what we
have received from Him; consequently not with our mind alone but with
our body as well; and this, as the Prophet Osee says, is especially
suitable to prayer considered as a satisfaction for our sins: _Take away
all iniquity and receive the good, and we will render the calves of our
lips_.[202]
And thirdly, we sometimes make use of vocal prayer because the soul
overflows, as it were, on to the body by reason of the vehemence of our
feelings, as it is written: _My heart hath been glad, and my tongue hath
rejoiced_.[203]
But it seems to some that prayer should not be vocal, thus:
1. Prayer is, as we have said, principally directed to God, and God
knows the heart's speech. Consequently to add vocal prayer is idle.
But vocal prayer is not employed in order to manifest to God
something which He did not know, but to stir up the mind of him
who prays, and of others, too, towards God.
2. Again, man's mind is meant to rise by prayer towards God; but words,
and other things pertaining to the senses, keep back a man from the
ascent of contemplation.
Words appertaining to other things than God do indeed distract
the mind and hinder the devotion of him who prays; but
devotional words stir up the mind, especially if it be less
devout.
3. Lastly, prayer ought to be offered to God in secret, according to the
words: _But thou when thou shalt pray, enter into thy chamber, and
having shut the door, pray to thy Father in secret_;[204] whereas to
pray vocally means to publish it abroad.
But, as S. Chrysostom says[205]: "The Lord forbade us to pray in
public with a view to being seen by the public. Consequently,
when we pray we should do nothing novel to attract men's
attention, whether by uttering cries which may be heard by them,
or by openly beating our breasts, or by spreading out our hands,
for the crowd to see us." While, on the other hand, as S.
Augustine remarks[206]: "To be seen by men is not wrong, but to
do things to be seen by men."
* * * * *
_Cajetan:_ Note carefully, ye who murmur at the Church's services, these
three points: the different kinds of vocal prayer, its necessity, and
the conditions attaching to it. For vocal prayer is divided into that
which is in common and that which is private or individual.
The general necessity of vocal prayer arises from the fact that it is
offered in the person of the Church. For since the Church is composed of
created beings dependent on the senses, prayer made through the medium
of the senses--_i.e._, vocal prayer--must needs be offered by its
ministers; else we should not know whether the worship of prayer was
being offered by God's ministers, nor should we be conscious of the gift
to God which was being offered by them in prayer; for the Church only
judges from the things that appear externally.
Our individual need of vocal prayer arises from the necessity of
stirring up our own devotion, and preserving it.
The conditions of prayer in common are twofold: it must be vocal, and it
must be out loud. Hence those who say private Masses in such a low
tone--and that consciously--as to be unintelligible to their hearers,
appear to act unreasonably and are inexcusable, unless it should happen
by accident that no one is present; in this case it is sufficient if
they can be heard by the server who is close at hand. This will also
show us what use we are to make of chant, or of recitation without
chant, in prayer in common: it must be governed by our common devotion.
And in whatever fashion such prayer may be made this rule must always be
observed: it must be said so intelligibly that the meaning of the words
may be distinctly perceived both by the reciters and by others, that so
the Church's devotion may be aroused.
And reason tells us what conditions attach to our private prayer: viz.,
our own private devotion. This shews, too, the error of those who, in
order to complete the tale of a large number of private vocal prayers
each day, lay aside meditation and mental prayer. They neglect the end
for the means (_on_ 2. 2. 83. 12).
_S. Augustine:_ Oh! How I lifted up my voice to Thee, O Lord, when I
sang the Psalms of David, those songs full of faith, those strains full
of piety which soothed my swelling spirit! And I was then but
uninstructed in Thy true love; a catechumen spending my leisure with
Alypius, another catechumen. And my mother stayed with us: clad indeed
in woman's garb, but with a man's faith, with a matron's calm, with a
mother's love, with a Christian's piety. Oh! How I lifted up my voice in
those Psalms! How they inflamed my heart! How I yearned to recite them,
if I could, to the whole world--as an answer to the pride of the human
race! Though, indeed, they are sung throughout the world, and none can
hide himself from Thy heat! (_Confess._, IX. iv. 8).
_S. Augustine:_ Sometimes, indeed, through immoderate fear of this
mistake I err by excessive severity; nay, sometimes, though it is but
rarely, I could almost wish to shut out from my ears and even from the
Church itself all those sweet-sounding melodies used in the
accompaniment of David's Psalms. Sometimes it seems to me as though it
would be safer to do as I have often heard that Athanasius, the Bishop
of Alexandria, did, for he made the reader of the Psalms so modulate his
voice that he came to be rather speaking than singing. Yet, on the other
hand, when I remember the tears which I shed when I heard the Church's
chant in the early days of my regaining the faith, and when I notice
that even now I am stirred--not so much by the chant as by the things
that are chanted--when, that is, they are chanted with clear intonation
and suitable modulation, then once more I recognize the great value of
this appointed fashion (_Confess._, X. xxxiii. 50).
_S. Augustine: I have cried with my whole heart, hear me, O Lord!_[207]
Who can question but that when men pray their cry to the Lord is vain if
it be nought but the sound of the corporeal voice and their heart be not
intent upon God? But if their prayer come from the heart, then, even
though the voice of the body be silent, it may be hidden from all men,
yet not from God. Whether, then, we pray to God with our voice--at times
when such prayer is necessary--or whether we pray in silence, it is our
heart that must send forth the cry. But the heart's cry is the earnest
application of our minds. And when this accompanies our prayer it
expresses the deep affections of him who yearns and asks and so despairs
not of his request. And further, a man cries _with his whole heart_ when
he has no other thought. Such prayers with many are rare; with few are
they frequent; I know not whether anyone's prayers are always so
(_Enarr. in Ps._ cxviii., _Sermon_, xxix. 1).
"Incline Thy ear, O Lord, and hear me; for I am needy and poor.
Preserve my soul, for I am holy: save Thy servant, O my God,
that trusteth in Thee. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I have
cried to Thee all the day. Give joy to the soul of Thy servant,
for to Thee, O Lord, I have lifted up my soul. For Thou, O Lord,
art sweet and mild; and plenteous in mercy to all that call upon
Thee."[208]
XIII
Must Prayer necessarily be Attentive?
That even holy men sometimes suffer distraction of mind when at prayer
is clear from the words: _My heart hath forsaken me!_[209]
This question particularly concerns vocal prayer. And for its solution
we must know that a thing is said to be necessary in two senses:
firstly, in the sense that by it a certain end is _more readily_
attained, and in this sense attention is absolutely requisite in prayer.
But a thing is said to be necessary also because without it a certain
thing cannot attain its object _at all_. Now the effect or object of
prayer is threefold. Its first effect--an effect, indeed, which is
common to all acts springing from charity--is _merit_; but to secure
this effect it is not necessarily required that attention should be kept
up throughout the prayer, but the initial intention with which a man
comes to prayer renders the whole prayer meritorious, as, indeed, is the
case in all other meritorious acts.
The second effect of prayer is peculiar to it, and that is to _obtain
favours_; and for this, too, the primary intention suffices, and to it
God principally looks. But if the primary intention is wanting, prayer
is not meritorious, neither can it win favours; for, as S. Gregory says,
God hears not the prayer of a man who when he prays does not give heed
to God.[210]
The third effect of prayer is that which it immediately and actually
brings about, namely, the _spiritual refreshment of the soul_; and to
attain this end attention is necessarily required in prayer. Whence it
is said, _If I pray in a tongue my understanding is without fruit_.[211]
At the same time, we must remember that there is a threefold species of
attention which may find place in our vocal prayer: one by which a man
attends to the words he recites, and is careful to make no mistake in
them; another by which he attends to the meaning of the words; and a
third by which he attends to the end of all prayer--namely, God
Himself--and to the object for which he is praying. And this species of
attention is the most necessary of all, and one which even uninstructed
folk can have; sometimes, indeed, the intensity with which the mind is
borne towards God is, as says Hugh of S. Victor, so overwhelming that
the mind is oblivious of all else.[212]
Some, however, argue that prayer must of necessity be attentive, thus:
1. It is said in S. John's Gospel[213]: _God is a spirit, and they that
adore Him must adore Him in spirit and truth_. But inattentive prayer is
not _in spirit_.
But he prays _in spirit and in truth_ who comes to pray moved by
the impulse of the Spirit, even though, owing to human
infirmity, his mind afterwards wanders.
2. But again, prayer is "the ascent of the mind towards God." But when
prayer is inattentive the mind does not ascend towards God.
But the human mind cannot, owing to Nature's weakness, long
remain on high, for the soul is dragged down to lower things by
the weight of human infirmity; and hence it happens that when
the mind of one who prays ascends towards God in contemplation
it suddenly wanders away from Him owing to his infirmity.
3. Lastly, prayer must needs be without sin. But not without sin does a
man suffer distraction of mind when he prays, for he seems to mock God,
just as if one were to speak with his fellow-man and not attend to what
he said. Consequently S. Basil says[214]: "The Divine assistance is to
be implored, not remissly, nor with a mind that wanders here and there;
for such a one not only will not obtain what he asks, but will rather be
mocking God."
Of course, if a man purposely allowed his mind to wander in
prayer, he would commit a sin and hinder the fruit of his
prayer. Against such S. Augustine says in his _Rule_[215]: "When
you pray to God in Psalms and hymns, entertain your heart with
what your lips are reciting." But that distraction of mind which
is unintentional does not destroy the fruit of prayer.
Hence S. Basil also says: "But if through the weakness of sinful
nature you cannot pray with attention, restrain your imagination
as far as you can, and God will pardon you, inasmuch as it is
not from negligence but from weakness that you are unable to
occupy yourself with Him as you should."
* * * * *
_Cajetan:_ Does a man satisfy the precept of the Church if, being bound
to the recitation of the Divine Office, he sets out with the intention
of meditating upon the Divine Goodness or upon the Passion of Christ,
and thus keeping his mind firmly fixed upon God? Clearly a man who
strives to keep his mind occupied during the whole of the Divine Office
with contemplation of and devout affections towards God and Divine
things fully satisfies his obligation. So, too, a man who aims at
meditation on the Passion of Christ and devout affections on it during
the whole Office, undoubtedly satisfies his obligation, for he is making
use of a better means for keeping in touch with the Divinity than if he
merely dwelt upon the meaning of the words. At the same time, he must be
ready to lay this aside if in the course of the Office he finds himself
uplifted to Divine things, for at this he must primarily aim. One who so
prays, then, must make the Passion of Christ a means and not an end; he
must, that is, be prepared to ascend thereby, if God grants it, to
Divine things. In short, we may make use of any one of the species of
attention enumerated above provided we do not exclude the higher forms.
Thus, for example, if a man feels that it is more suited to his small
capacity to aim simply at making no mistakes, and habitually makes use
of this form of attention, he must still use it as a means only; he
must, that is, be at God's disposition, for God may have mercy upon him
and grant him, by reason of his dispositions, some better form of
attention.
Again, when a person prays for things needful for his support in life he
must not be so occupied with the thought of these things as to appear to
subordinate Divine things to human, as though prayer was but a means and
his daily living the end. We must bear in mind the doctrine laid down
above[216]--viz., that _all our prayers should tend to the attainment of
grace and glory_. We must occupy ourselves with the thought of eternal
glory, or of the glory of the adoption of sons during this life, or with
the virtues as means to arriving at our eternal home, and as the
adornment of the inhabitants of heaven, and the commencement here of
heavenly "conversation"; such things as these must be counted as the
highest forms of attention (_on_ 2. 2. 83. 13).
_S. Augustine: Give joy to the soul of Thy servant, for to Thee, O Lord,
I have lifted up my soul. For Thou, O Lord, art sweet and mild._[217] It
seems to me that he calls God "mild" because He endures all our
vagaries, and only awaits our prayers that He may perfect us. And when
we offer Him our prayers He accepts them gratefully and hears them.
Neither does He reflect on the careless way in which we pour them out,
He even accepts prayers of which we are hardly conscious! For, Brethren,
what man is there who would put up with it if a friend of his began a
conversation with him, and yet, just when he was ready to reply to what
his friend said, should discover that he was paying no attention to him
but was saying something to someone else? Or supposing you were to
appeal to a judge and were to appoint a place for him to hear your
appeal, and then suddenly, while you were talking with him, were to put
him aside and begin to gossip with a friend! How long would he put up
with you? And yet God puts up with the hearts of so many who pray to Him
and who yet are thinking of other things, even evil things, even wicked
things, things hateful to God; for even to think of unnecessary things
is an insult to Him with Whom you have begun to talk. For your prayer is
a conversation with God. When you read, God speaks to you; when you
pray, you speak to God.... And you may picture God saying to you: "You
forget how often you have stood before Me and have thought of such idle
and superfluous things and have so rarely poured out to Me an attentive
and definite prayer!" But _Thou, O Lord, art sweet and mild_! Thou art
sweet, bearing with me! It is from weakness that I slip away! Heal me
and I shall stand; strengthen me and I shall be firm! But until Thou
dost so, bear with me, for _Thou, O Lord, art sweet and mild_ (_Enarr.
in Ps._ lxxxv. 7).
_S. Augustine: Praise the Lord, O my soul!_[218] What mean these words,
Brethren? Do we not praise the Lord? Do we not sing hymns day by day? Do
not our mouths, each according to their measure, sound forth day by day
the praises of God? And what is it we praise? It is a great Thing that
we praise, but that wherewith we praise is weak as yet. When does the
singer fill up the praises of Him Whom he sings? A man stands and sings
before God, often for a long space; but oftentimes, whilst his lips move
to frame the words of his song, his thoughts fly away to I know not what
desires! And so, too, our mind has sometimes been fixed on praising God
in a definite manner, but our soul has flitted away, led hither and
thither by divers desires and anxious cares. And then our mind, as
though from up above, has looked down upon the soul as it flitted to and
fro, and has seemed to turn to it and address its uneasy
wanderings--saying to it: _Praise the Lord, O my soul!_ Why art thou
anxious about other things than Him? Why busy thyself with the mortal
things of earth? And then our soul, as though weighed down and unable to
stand firm as it should, replies to our mind: _I will praise the Lord in
my life!_ Why does it say _in my life_? Why? Because now I am in my
death!
Rouse yourself, then, and say: _Praise the Lord, O my soul!_ And your
soul will reply to you: "I praise Him as much as I can, though it is but
weakly, in small measure, and with little strength." But why so? Because
_while we are in the body we are absent from the Lord_.[219] And why do
you thus praise the Lord so imperfectly and with so little fixity of
attention? Ask Holy Scripture: _The corruptible body weigheth down the
soul, and the earthly_ _habitation presseth down the mind that museth
upon many things._[220] O take away, then, my body which weigheth down
the soul, and then will I praise the Lord! Take away my earthly
habitation which presseth down the mind that museth upon many things, so
that, instead of many things I may be occupied with One Thing alone, and
may praise the Lord! But as long as I am as I am, I cannot, for I am
weighed down! What then? Wilt thou be silent? Wilt thou never perfectly
praise the Lord? _I will praise the Lord in my life!_ (_Enarr in Ps._
cxlv. 1).
"My spirit is in anguish within me; my heart within me is
troubled. I remembered the days of old, I meditated on all Thy
works; I meditated upon the works of Thy hands. I stretched
forth my hands to Thee; my soul is as earth without water unto
Thee. Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit hath fainted
away."[221]
_S. Thomas:_ The fruits of prayer are twofold. For first there is the
merit which thereby accrues to a man; and, secondly, there is the
spiritual consolation and devotion which is begotten of prayer. And he
who does not attend to, or does not understand his prayer, loses that
fruit which is spiritual consolation; but we cannot say that he loses
that fruit which is merit, for then we should have to say that very many
prayers were without merit since a man can hardly say the _Lord's
Prayer_ without some distraction of mind. Hence we must rather say that
when a person is praying and is sometimes distracted from what he is
saying, or--more generally--when a person is occupied with some
meritorious work and does not continuously and at every moment reflect
that he is doing it for God, his work does not cease to be meritorious.
And the reason is that in meritorious acts directed to a right end it is
not requisite that our intention should be referred to that end at every
moment, but the influence of the intention with which we begun persists
throughout even though we now and again be distracted in some particular
point; and the influence of this initial intention renders the whole
body of what we do meritorious unless it be broken off by reason of some
contrary affection intruding itself and diverting us from the end we had
first in view to some other end contrary to it.
And it must be remembered that there are three kinds of attention. The
first is attention to the words we are actually saying; and sometimes
this is harmful, for it may hinder devotion. The second is attention to
the meaning of the words, and this, too, may be harmful, though not
gravely so. The third is attention to the goal of our prayer, and this
better and almost necessary (_Commentary on 1 Cor._ xiv. 14).
XIV
Should our Prayers be Long?
It would seem that we ought to pray continuously, for our Lord said: _We
ought always to pray and not to faint[222];_ so also S. Paul: _Pray
without ceasing_.[223]
But we must notice that when we speak of prayer we can mean either
prayer _considered in itself_ or the _cause of prayer_. Now the _cause
of prayer_ is the desire of the love of God; and all prayer ought to
spring from this desire which is, indeed, continuous in us, whether
actually or virtually, since this desire virtually remains in everything
which we do from charity. But we ought to do all things for the glory of
God: _whether you eat or whether you drink, or whatsoever else you do,
do all to the glory of God_.[224] In this sense, then, prayer ought to
be continual. Hence S. Augustine says to Proba: "Therefore by our faith,
by our hope, and by our charity, we are always praying, for our desire
is continued."