On Prayer and The Contemplative Life Part 9

2. Again, prayer to those who cannot know what we pray for is idle. But G.o.d alone can know our prayers, and this because prayer is frequently a purely interior act of which G.o.d alone is cognizant, as the Apostle says: _I will pray with the spirit. I will pray also with the understanding_;[124] and also because, as S. Augustine says[125]: The dead know not, not even the Saints, what the living--not even excepting their own children--are doing.

It is true that the dead, if we consider only their natural condition, do not know what is done on earth, and especially do they not know the interior movements of the heart. But to the Blessed, as S. Gregory says,[126] manifestation is made in the Divine Word of those things which it is fitting that they should know as taking place in our regard, even the interior movements of the heart. And, indeed, it is most befitting their state of excellence that they should be cognizant of pet.i.tions addressed to them, whether vocally or mentally. Hence through G.o.d's revelation they are cognizant of the pet.i.tions which we address them.

3. Lastly, some say: if we do address prayers to any of the Saints, the sole reason for doing so lies in the fact that they are closely united to G.o.d. But we do not address prayers to people who, while still living in this world, are closely knit to G.o.d, 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 pa.s.s 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 pa.s.s their days as to lose the Day of Eternity! (_Sermon_, cxxvii. 2).

"May G.o.d have mercy on us, and bless us: may He cause the light of His countenance to s.h.i.+ne 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 G.o.d: 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 G.o.d, confess to Thee: let all the people give praise to Thee: the earth hath yielded her fruit.

May G.o.d, our G.o.d bless us, may G.o.d bless us: and all the ends of the earth fear Him."[127]

V

Should We in our Prayers ask for Anything Definite from G.o.d?

Our Lord taught the disciples to ask definitely for the things which are contained in the pet.i.tions 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 G.o.ds 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 beat.i.tude; 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 G.o.d, thus:

1. S. John Damascene defines prayer as "asking from G.o.d 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 pet.i.tioner wants. But we ought not to direct our prayers towards making G.o.d will what we will, but rather we should will what He wills--as the Gloss says on the words of Ps. x.x.xii.

1: _Rejoice in the Lord, O ye just!_ It would seem, therefore, that we ought not to ask for definite things from G.o.d 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 G.o.d, for of His will it is said: _He will have all men to be saved_.[136]

3. Lastly, evil things cannot be asked from G.o.d; 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.

G.o.d, 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 G.o.d 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. G.o.d 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 G.o.d; 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 G.o.d, 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 G.o.d 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 G.o.d, 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 G.o.d, 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. Circ.u.mcise, 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 G.o.d. 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 mult.i.tude 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 G.o.d?

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 princ.i.p.al aim or as something which we make our end, but rather as props and stays which may be of a.s.sistance to us in our striving for the possession of G.o.d; 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 G.o.d, 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 G.o.d), 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 G.o.d. 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 G.o.d.

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 G.o.d 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._ x.x.xvii. 10).

_S. Augustine:_ But all these things are the gifts of my G.o.d; 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 G.o.d! 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 G.o.d 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 G.o.d! 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 a.s.sistance 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 G.o.d's Providence. He then betook himself to his accustomed place of prayer, and for a long s.p.a.ce besought G.o.d 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 ingrat.i.tude; 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_, lx.x.x. 7).

_S. Augustine:_ Sometimes G.o.d 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 G.o.d of mercy; they flow not from His wrath but from His compa.s.sion. 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).