Summa Theologica Part III (Secunda Secundae) Part 132

Wherefore it is said of Christ (Heb. 7:25): "Going to G.o.d by His own power ... to make intercession for us" [*Vulg.: 'He is able to save for ever them that come to G.o.d by Him, always living to make intercession for us.']. Hence Jerome says (Cont. Vigilant. 6): "If the apostles and martyrs while yet in the body and having to be solicitous for themselves, can pray for others, how much more now that they have the crown of victory and triumph."

Reply Obj. 1: The saints in heaven, since they are blessed, have no lack of bliss, save that of the body's glory, and for this they pray.

But they pray for us who lack the ultimate perfection of bliss: and their prayers are efficacious in impetrating through their previous merits and through G.o.d's acceptance.

Reply Obj. 2: The saints impetrate what ever G.o.d wishes to take place through their prayers: and they pray for that which they deem will be granted through their prayers according to G.o.d's will.

Reply Obj. 3: Those who are in Purgatory though they are above us on account of their impeccability, yet they are below us as to the pains which they suffer: and in this respect they are not in a condition to pray, but rather in a condition that requires us to pray for them.

Reply Obj. 4: It is G.o.d's will that inferior beings should be helped by all those that are above them, wherefore we ought to pray not only to the higher but also to the lower saints; else we should have to implore the mercy of G.o.d alone. Nevertheless it happens sometime that prayers addressed to a saint of lower degree are more efficacious, either because he is implored with greater devotion, or because G.o.d wishes to make known his sanct.i.ty.

Reply Obj. 5: It is because the saints while living merited to pray for us, that we invoke them under the names by which they were known in this life, and by which they are better known to us: and also in order to indicate our belief in the resurrection, according to the saying of Ex. 3:6, "I am the G.o.d of Abraham," etc.

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TWELFTH ARTICLE [II-II, Q. 83, Art. 12]

Whether Prayer Should Be Vocal?

Objection 1: It would seem that prayer ought not to be vocal. As stated above (A. 4), prayer is addressed chiefly to G.o.d. Now G.o.d knows the language of the heart. Therefore it is useless to employ vocal prayer.

Obj. 2: Further, prayer should lift man's mind to G.o.d, as stated above (A. 1, ad 2). But words, like other sensible objects, prevent man from ascending to G.o.d by contemplation. Therefore we should not use words in our prayers.

Obj. 3: Further, prayer should be offered to G.o.d in secret, according to Matt. 6:6, "But thou, when thou shalt pray, enter into thy chamber, and having shut the door, pray to thy Father in secret." But prayer loses its secrecy by being expressed vocally. Therefore prayer should not be vocal.

_On the contrary,_ It is written (Ps. 141:2): "I cried to the Lord with my voice, with my voice I made supplication to the Lord."

_I answer that,_ Prayer is twofold, common and individual. Common prayer is that which is offered to G.o.d by the ministers of the Church representing the body of the faithful: wherefore such like prayer should come to the knowledge of the whole people for whom it is offered: and this would not be possible unless it were vocal prayer.

Therefore it is reasonably ordained that the ministers of the Church should say these prayers even in a loud voice, so that they may come to the knowledge of all.

On the other hand individual prayer is that which is offered by any single person, whether he pray for himself or for others; and it is not essential to such a prayer as this that it be vocal. And yet the voice is employed in such like prayers for three reasons. First, in order to excite interior devotion, whereby the mind of the person praying is raised to G.o.d, because by means of external signs, whether of words or of deeds, the human mind is moved as regards apprehension, and consequently also as regards the affections. Hence Augustine says (ad Probam. Ep. cx.x.x, 9) that "by means of words and other signs we arouse ourselves more effectively to an increase of holy desires." Hence then alone should we use words and such like signs when they help to excite the mind internally. But if they distract or in any way impede the mind we should abstain from them; and this happens chiefly to those whose mind is sufficiently prepared for devotion without having recourse to those signs. Wherefore the Psalmist (Ps. 26:8) said: "My heart hath said to Thee: 'My face hath sought Thee,'" and we read of Anna (1 Kings 1:13) that "she spoke in her heart." Secondly, the voice is used in praying as though to pay a debt, so that man may serve G.o.d with all that he has from G.o.d, that is to say, not only with his mind, but also with his body: and this applies to prayer considered especially as satisfactory. Hence it is written (Osee 14:3): "Take away all iniquity, and receive the good: and we will render the calves of our lips." Thirdly, we have recourse to vocal prayer, through a certain overflow from the soul into the body, through excess of feeling, according to Ps. 15:9, "My heart hath been glad, and my tongue hath rejoiced."

Reply Obj. 1: Vocal prayer is employed, not in order to tell G.o.d something He does not know, but in order to lift up the mind of the person praying or of other persons to G.o.d.

Reply Obj. 2: Words about other matters distract the mind and hinder the devotion of those who pray: but words signifying some object of devotion lift up the mind, especially one that is less devout.

Reply Obj. 3: As Chrysostom says [*Hom. xiii in the Opus Imperfectum falsely ascribed to St. John Chrysostom], "Our Lord forbids one to pray in presence of others in order that one may be seen by others.

Hence when you pray, do nothing strange to draw men's attention, either by shouting so as to be heard by others, or by openly striking the heart, or extending the hands, so as to be seen by many. And yet, according to Augustine (De Serm. Dom. in Monte ii, 3), "it is not wrong to be seen by men, but to do this or that in order to be seen by men."

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THIRTEENTH ARTICLE [II-II, Q. 83, Art. 13]

Whether Attention Is a Necessary Condition of Prayer?

Objection 1: It would seem that attention is a necessary condition of prayer. It is written (John 4:24): "G.o.d is a spirit, and they that adore Him must adore Him in spirit and in truth." But prayer is not in spirit unless it be attentive. Therefore attention is a necessary condition of prayer.

Obj. 2: Further, prayer is "the ascent of the mind to G.o.d"

[*Damascene, De Fide Orth. iii, 24]. But the mind does not ascend to G.o.d if the prayer is inattentive. Therefore attention is a necessary condition of prayer.

Obj. 3: Further, it is a necessary condition of prayer that it should be altogether sinless. Now if a man allows his mind to wander while praying he is not free of sin, for he seems to make light of G.o.d; even as if he were to speak to another man without attending to what he was saying. Hence Basil says [*De Const.i.t. Monach. i] that the "Divine a.s.sistance is to be implored, not lightly, nor with a mind wandering hither and thither: because he that prays thus not only will not obtain what he asks, nay rather will he provoke G.o.d to anger." Therefore it would seem a necessary condition of prayer that it should be attentive.

_On the contrary,_ Even holy men sometimes suffer from a wandering of the mind when they pray, according to Ps. 39:13, "My heart hath forsaken me."

_I answer that,_ This question applies chiefly to vocal prayer.

Accordingly we must observe that a thing is necessary in two ways.

First, a thing is necessary because thereby the end is better obtained: and thus attention is absolutely necessary for prayer.

Secondly, a thing is said to be necessary when without it something cannot obtain its effect. Now the effect of prayer is threefold. The first is an effect which is common to all acts quickened by charity, and this is merit. In order to realize this effect, it is not necessary that prayer should be attentive throughout; because the force of the original intention with which one sets about praying renders the whole prayer meritorious, as is the case with other meritorious acts. The second effect of prayer is proper thereto, and consists in impetration: and again the original intention, to which G.o.d looks chiefly, suffices to obtain this effect. But if the original intention is lacking, prayer lacks both merit and impetration: because, as Gregory [*Hugh St. Victor, Expos. in Reg. S.

Aug. iii] says, "G.o.d hears not the prayer of those who pay no attention to their prayer." The third effect of prayer is that which it produces at once; this is the spiritual refreshment of the mind, and for this effect attention is a necessary condition: wherefore it is written (1 Cor. 14:14): "If I pray in a tongue ... my understanding is without fruit."

It must be observed, however, that there are three kinds of attention that can be brought to vocal prayer: one which attends to the words, lest we say them wrong, another which attends to the sense of the words, and a third, which attends to the end of prayer, namely, G.o.d, and to the thing we are praying for. That last kind of attention is most necessary, and even idiots are capable of it. Moreover this attention, whereby the mind is fixed on G.o.d, is sometimes so strong that the mind forgets all other things, as Hugh of St. Victor states [*De Modo Orandi ii].

Reply Obj. 1: To pray in spirit and in truth is to set about praying through the instigation of the Spirit, even though afterwards the mind wander through weakness.

Reply Obj. 2: The human mind is unable to remain aloft for long on account of the weakness of nature, because human weakness weighs down the soul to the level of inferior things: and hence it is that when, while praying, the mind ascends to G.o.d by contemplation, of a sudden it wanders off through weakness.

Reply Obj. 3: Purposely to allow one's mind to wander in prayer is sinful and hinders the prayer from having fruit. It is against this that Augustine says in his Rule (Ep. ccxi): "When you pray G.o.d with psalms and hymns, let your mind attend to that which your lips p.r.o.nounce." But to wander in mind unintentionally does not deprive prayer of its fruit. Hence Basil says (De Const.i.t. Monach. i): "If you are so truly weakened by sin that you are unable to pray attentively, strive as much as you can to curb yourself, and G.o.d will pardon you, seeing that you are unable to stand in His presence in a becoming manner, not through negligence but through frailty."

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FOURTEENTH ARTICLE [II-II, Q. 83, Art. 14]

Whether Prayer Should Last a Long Time?

Objection 1: It would seem that prayer should not be continual. It is written (Matt. 6:7): "When you are praying, speak not much." Now one who prays a long time needs to speak much, especially if his be vocal prayer. Therefore prayer should not last a long time.

Obj. 2: Further, prayer expresses the desire. Now a desire is all the holier according as it is centered on one thing, according to Ps.

26:4, "One thing I have asked of the Lord, this will I seek after."

Therefore the shorter prayer is, the more is it acceptable to G.o.d.

Obj. 3: Further, it seems to be wrong to transgress the limits fixed by G.o.d, especially in matters concerning Divine wors.h.i.+p, according to Ex. 19:21: "Charge the people, lest they should have a mind to pa.s.s the limits to see the Lord, and a very great mult.i.tude of them should perish." But G.o.d has fixed for us the limits of prayer by inst.i.tuting the Lord's Prayer (Matt. 6). Therefore it is not right to prolong our prayer beyond its limits.

Obj. 4: _On the contrary,_ It would seem that we ought to pray continually. For our Lord said (Luke 18:1): "We ought always to pray, and not to faint": and it is written (1 Thess. 5:17): "Pray without ceasing."

_I answer that,_ We may speak about prayer in two ways: first, by considering it in itself; secondly, by considering it in its cause.

The cause of prayer is the desire of charity, from which prayer ought to arise: and this desire ought to be in us continually, either actually or virtually, for the virtue of this desire remains in whatever we do out of charity; and we ought to "do all things to the glory of G.o.d" (1 Cor. 10:31). From this point of view prayer ought to be continual: wherefore Augustine says (ad Probam, Ep. cx.x.x, 9): "Faith, hope and charity are by themselves a prayer of continual longing." But prayer, considered in itself, cannot be continual, because we have to be busy about other works, and, as Augustine says (ad Probam. Ep. cx.x.x, 9), "we pray to G.o.d with our lips at certain intervals and seasons, in order to admonish ourselves by means of such like signs, to take note of the amount of our progress in that desire, and to arouse ourselves more eagerly to an increase thereof."

Now the quant.i.ty of a thing should be commensurate with its end, for instance the quant.i.ty of the dose should be commensurate with health.

And so it is becoming that prayer should last long enough to arouse the fervor of the interior desire: and when it exceeds this measure, so that it cannot be continued any longer without causing weariness, it should be discontinued. Wherefore Augustine says (ad Probam. Ep.

cx.x.x): "It is said that the brethren in Egypt make frequent but very short prayers, rapid e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.ns, as it were, lest that vigilant and erect attention which is so necessary in prayer slacken and languish, through the strain being prolonged. By so doing they make it sufficiently clear not only that this attention must not be forced if we are unable to keep it up, but also that if we are able to continue, it should not be broken off too soon." And just as we must judge of this in private prayers by considering the attention of the person praying, so too, in public prayers we must judge of it by considering the devotion of the people.

Reply Obj. 1: As Augustine says (ad Probam. Ep. cx.x.x), "to pray with many words is not the same as to pray long; to speak long is one thing, to be devout long is another. For it is written that our Lord pa.s.sed the whole night in prayer, and that He 'prayed the longer' in order to set us an example." Further on he says: "When praying say little, yet pray much so long as your attention is fervent. For to say much in prayer is to discuss your need in too many words: whereas to pray much is to knock at the door of Him we pray, by the continuous and devout clamor of the heart. Indeed this business is frequently done with groans rather than with words, with tears rather than with speech."

Reply Obj. 2: Length of prayer consists, not in praying for many things, but in the affections persisting in the desire of one thing.

Reply Obj. 3: Our Lord inst.i.tuted this prayer, not that we might use no other words when we pray, but that in our prayers we might have none but these things in view, no matter how we express them or think of them.

Reply Obj. 4: One may pray continually, either through having a continual desire, as stated above; or through praying at certain fixed times, though interruptedly; or by reason of the effect, whether in the person who prays--because he remains more devout even after praying, or in some other person--as when by his kindness a man incites another to pray for him, even after he himself has ceased praying.

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FIFTEENTH ARTICLE [II-II, Q. 83, Art. 15]

Whether Prayer Is Meritorious?