It was once the error of the Pelagians to say that prayer is not necessary for obtaining salvation. Their impious master Pelagius used to say that man is lost only insofar as he neglects to know the truths necessary for him to know. But how well did St. Augustine say: «Omnia (Pelagius) disputat, quam ut oret» "(Pelagius) disputes about everything rather than pray." Pelagius wished to treat of everything except prayer, which is the only means (as the Saint held and taught) of acquiring the Science of the Saints, according to what St. James wrote long ago: «Si quis indiget sapientia, postulet a Deo, qui dat omnibus affluenter, nec improperat» "If any man need wisdom, let him ask it of God, who gives to all abundantly and upbraids not" (Jas. 1:6).
The Scriptures are only too clear in showing us the need we have to pray, if we wish to be saved. «Oportet semper orare, et non deficere» "We ought always to pray, and not to faint" (Luke 18:1). «Vigilate, et orate, ut non intretis in tentationem» "Watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation" (Matt. 26:41). «Petite, et dabitur vobis» "Ask, and it shall be given you" (Matt. 7:7).
The aforesaid words Oportet, Orate, Petite, as the theologians commonly hold, signify and imply a precept and a necessity. Wycliffe used to say that these texts were to be understood not of prayer, but solely of the necessity of good works, so that in his view to pray was nothing else than to do good; but this was his error, and it was expressly condemned by the Church. Hence the learned Leonard Lessius wrote that it cannot be denied without erring in the faith that prayer is necessary for adults in order to be saved, since it is evident from the Scriptures that prayer is the only means of obtaining the aids necessary for salvation: Fide tenendum est Orationem Adultis ad salutem necessariam, ut colligitur ex Scripturis; quia Oratio est medium, sine quo auxilium ad salutem necessarium obtineri nequit (We must hold by faith that prayer is necessary for adults unto salvation, as is gathered from the Scriptures; because prayer is the means without which the aid necessary for salvation cannot be obtained).
The reason is clear. Without the help of grace we can do no good: Sine me nihil potestis facere (Without Me you can do nothing) (John 15:5). St. Augustine observes on these words that Jesus Christ did not say, "you can accomplish nothing," but, "you can do nothing": Non ait perficere, sed facere (He did not say "to accomplish," but "to do"). For thereby our Savior wished to give us to understand that without grace we cannot even begin to do good. Indeed, the Apostle wrote that of ourselves we cannot even have the desire to do it: Non quod sufficientes simus cogitare aliquid a nobis, sed sufficientia nostra ex Deo est (Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything, but our sufficiency is from God) (2 Cor. 3:5). If, then, we cannot even think of good, much less can we desire it. So many other Scriptures tell us the same: Deus operatur omnia in omnibus (God works all things in all) (1 Cor. 12:7). Faciam ut in praeceptis meis ambuletis, et judicia mea custodiatis, et operemini (I will cause you to walk in My precepts, and to keep My ordinances, and do them) (Ezek. 36:27). So that, as St. Leo I wrote, Nulla facit homo bona, quae non Deus praestet, ut faciat homo (Man does no good that God does not enable man to do). We do no good except that which God by His grace causes us to do. Hence the Council of Trent, in Session 6, Canon 3, declared: Si quis dixerit, sine praeveniente Spiritus Sancti inspiratione, atque ejus adjutorio, hominem credere, sperare, diligite, aut poenitere posse, sicut oportet, ut ei justificationis gratia conferatur, anathema sit (If anyone says that without the prevenient inspiration of the Holy Spirit and His aid a man can believe, hope, love, or repent as he ought, so that the grace of justification may be conferred upon him, let him be anathema).
The Author of the Opus Imperfectum, speaking of the brute animals, says that the Lord has provided some with speed, others with claws, others with feathers, so that they may thereby preserve their being; but man He formed in such a state that God alone should be all his strength: Alios munivit cursu, alios unguibus, alios pennis. Hominem autem sic disposuit, ut virtus illius Ipse sit (Others He has provided with speed, others with claws, others with feathers; but man He has so disposed that He Himself is his strength). Thus man is altogether powerless to procure his salvation, since God has willed that whatever he has and can have, he should receive entirely from the sole aid of His grace.
But this aid of grace the Lord, in the ordinary course of His providence, grants only to those who pray, according to the celebrated maxim of Gennadius: Nullum credimus ad salutem, nisi Deo invitante, venire; nullum invitatum salute suam, nisi Deo auxiliante, operari; nullum, nisi orantem, auxilium promereri (We believe that no one comes to salvation except at God's invitation; that no one who is invited works out his salvation except with God's help; and that no one merits that help unless he prays). Since, then, on the one hand we can do nothing without the help of grace, and on the other hand such help is ordinarily not given by God except to those who pray, who does not see that it follows as a consequence that prayer is absolutely necessary to us for salvation? It is true that the first graces, which come to us without any cooperation on our part, such as the call to the faith or to penance — St. Augustine says that God grants these even to those who do not pray; nevertheless the Saint then holds it for certain that the other graces
(and especially the gift of perseverance) are granted only to those who pray: Deum nobis dare aliqua etiam non orantibus, ut initium Fidei; alia non nisi orantibus praeparasse, sicut Perseverantiam (that God gives us some things even to those who do not pray, such as the beginning of faith; but that He has prepared other things only for those who pray, such as perseverance). Hence it is that theologians commonly teach, together with St. Basil, St. John Chrysostom, Clement of Alexandria, and others, along with St. Augustine himself, that for adults prayer is necessary not only by a necessity of precept, as we have seen, but also by a necessity of means — that is to say, that in the ordinary course of providence it is impossible for a believer to be saved without commending himself to God and asking Him for the graces necessary for salvation. St. Thomas teaches the same, saying: Post Baptismum autem necessaria est homini jugis oratio, ad hoc quod Caelum introeat; licet enim per Baptismum remittantur peccata, remanet tamen fomes peccati nos impugnans interius, et Mundus, et Daemones qui impugnant exterius (After Baptism, however, unceasing prayer is necessary for man in order to enter Heaven; for although sins are remitted through Baptism, there still remains the tinder of sin that assails us from within, and the world and the demons that assail us from without). The reason, then, which according to the Angelic Doctor makes us certain of the need we have of prayer is this, in brief: to be saved we must fight and conquer: Qui certat in agone non coronatur nisi legitime certaverit (He who strives in the contest is not crowned unless he has striven lawfully) (2 Tim. 2:5). On the other hand, without the divine aid we cannot resist the forces of so many and such great enemies; now, this divine aid is granted only through prayer: therefore without prayer there is no salvation.
That prayer, moreover, is the sole ordinary means of receiving the divine gifts, the same holy Doctor confirms more distinctly in another place, saying that the Lord wills to bestow upon us all the graces which He has from eternity determined to give us through no other means than prayer. And St. Gregory wrote the same: Homines postulando merentur accipere, quod eis Deus ante saecula disposuit donare (By asking, men merit to receive what God ordained before all ages to give them). Not, says St. Thomas, that prayer is necessary in order that God may know our needs, but in order that we may know the need we have of having recourse to God, to receive the aids suited to save us, and thereby to acknowledge Him as the sole Author of all our goods: Sed ut nos (these are the Saint's words) consideremus in his ad Divinum auxilium esse recurrendum; et recognoscamus Eum esse bonorum nostrorum Auctorem (but that we may consider that in these things we must have recourse to the divine aid, and may acknowledge Him as the Author of all our goods). Since, then, the Lord has ordained that we should be provided with bread by sowing grain, and with wine by planting vines, so He has willed that we receive the graces necessary for salvation by means of prayer, saying: Petite, et dabitur vobis; quaerite et invenietis (Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find) (Matt. 7:7).
In short, we are nothing but poor beggars, who have only what God gives us as alms: Ego autem mendicus sum et pauper (But I am a beggar and poor) (Ps. 39:18). The Lord, says St. Augustine, indeed desires and wills to bestow His graces upon us, but He wills to bestow them only on those who ask Him: Deus dare vult, sed non dat nisi petenti (God wills to give, but He does not give except to him who asks). He solemnly assures us, saying: Petite, et dabitur vobis (Ask, and it shall be given you). Seek, and it shall be given you; therefore, says St. Teresa, he who does not seek does not receive. As moisture is necessary for plants to live and not dry up, so, says Chrysostom, is prayer necessary for us to be saved. Elsewhere the same Saint says that as the soul gives life to the body, so prayer keeps the soul alive: Sicut corpus sine Anima non potest vivere, sic Anima sine Oratione mortua est, et graviter olens (As the body cannot live without the soul, so the soul without prayer is dead and stinks). He says graviter olens (stinks), because whoever ceases to commend himself to God immediately begins to stink of sins. Prayer is also called the food of the soul, because without food the body cannot sustain itself, and without prayer (says St. Augustine) the soul cannot keep itself alive: Sicut escis alitur caro, ita orationibus homo nutritur (As the flesh is nourished by food, so is man nourished by prayer). All these similitudes which these holy Fathers adduce denote the absolute necessity which they teach there is for all to pray in order to obtain salvation.
Prayer, moreover, is the most necessary weapon for defending ourselves against our enemies; he who does not avail himself of it, says St. Thomas, is lost. The Saint does not doubt that Adam fell precisely because he did not commend himself to God when he was tempted: Peccavit, quia ad Divinum auxilium recursum non habuit (He sinned because he did not have recourse to the divine aid). And St. Gelasius wrote the same, speaking of the rebel angels: Dei gratiam in vacuum recipientes, non orando constare nequierunt (Receiving the grace of God in vain, they could not stand firm because they did not pray). St. Charles Borromeo, in a Pastoral Letter, observes that among all the means which Jesus Christ has recommended to us in the Gospel, He gave the first place to prayer; and therein He willed that His Church and Religion should be distinguished from all other sects, willing that she should be called especially a House of Prayer: Domus mea domus orationis vocabitur (My house shall be called a house of prayer) (Matt. 21:13). St. Charles concludes in the aforesaid Letter that prayer Est omnium virtutum principium, progressus, et complementum (is the beginning, the progress, and the consummation of all virtues). So that amid the darkness, the miseries, and the dangers in which we find ourselves, we have nothing else on which to ground our hopes than to lift our eyes to God and to obtain from His mercy our salvation through prayer: Sed cum ignoramus (said King Jehoshaphat) quid agere debeamus, hoc solum habemus residui, ut oculos dirigamus ad te (But since we know not what we ought to do, this alone is left to us, to turn our eyes to You) (2 Chr. 20:12).
And so David also did, finding no other means of not falling prey to his enemies than to pray continually to the Lord to deliver him from their snares: Oculi mei semper ad Dominum, quoniam ipse evellet de laqueo pedes meos (My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for He shall pluck my feet out of the snare) (Ps. 24:15). So that he did nothing else but pray, saying: Respice in me et miserere mei, quia unicus et pauper sum ego (Look upon me and have mercy on me, for I am alone and poor) (ibid., v. 16). Clamavi ad te, Domine, salvum me fac, ut custodiam mandata tua (I cried to You, O Lord; save me, that I may keep Your commandments) (Ps. 118:146). Lord, turn Your eyes to me, have pity on me, and save me; for I can do nothing, and apart from You I have no one who can help me.
And in fact, how could we ever resist the forces of so many enemies and observe the divine precepts — especially after the sin of our first father Adam, which has rendered us so weak and infirm — if we did not have the means of prayer, by which we can indeed obtain from the Lord the light and the strength sufficient to observe them? What Luther said was indeed blasphemy, namely, that after the sin of Adam the observance of the divine law became absolutely impossible for men. Jansenius also said that some precepts were impossible even for the just, according to the strength they presently have; and up to this point his proposition could have been explained in a good sense; but it was justly condemned by the Church for what he then added, saying that divine grace was also lacking to render them possible: "Deest quoque Gratia qua possibilia fiant" — "Grace is also lacking by which they may become possible." It is true, says St. Augustine, that man in his weakness cannot fulfill certain precepts with his present strength and with the ordinary grace that is common to all, but he certainly can, through prayer, obtain the greater help that is needed to observe them: "Deus impossibilia non jubet, sed jubendo monet et facere quod possis, et petere quod non possis, et adjuvat ut possis" — "God does not command impossibilities, but by commanding He admonishes you both to do what you can and to ask for what you cannot, and He helps you so that you can." Excellent is this text of the Saint, which was afterwards adopted and made a dogma of faith by the Council of Trent (Sess. 6, ch. 11). And there the holy Doctor immediately added: "Videamus unde" (that is, how can man do what he cannot?) "medicina poterit, quod vitio non potest" — "Let us see whence by the remedy he will be able to do what by his defect he cannot." And he means that through prayer we obtain the remedy for our weakness, since, when we pray, God gives us the strength to do what we cannot do. We cannot believe, St. Augustine goes on to say, that the Lord willed to impose on us the observance of the law and then imposed on us an impossible law; and therefore the Saint says that when God makes us aware that we are powerless to observe all His precepts, He admonishes us to do the easy things with the ordinary grace that He gives us, and then to do the difficult things with the greater help that we can obtain by means of prayer: "Eo ipso quo firmissime creditur Deus impossibilia non potuisse praecipere, admonemur et in facilibus quid agamus, et in difficilibus quid petamus" — "By the very fact that it is most firmly believed that God could not have commanded impossibilities, we are admonished both what we are to do in easy things and what we are to ask in difficult ones." But why (someone will say) has God commanded us things impossible to our strength? Precisely for this reason, says the Saint: so that we may apply ourselves to obtaining through prayer the help to do what we cannot do: "Jubet aliqua, quae non possumus, ut noverimus quid ab illo petere debeamus" — "He commands some things that we cannot do, so that we may know what we ought to ask of Him." And elsewhere: "Lex data est, ut gratia quaereretur, gratia data est, ut lex impleretur" — "The law was given so that grace might be sought; grace was given so that the law might be fulfilled." The law cannot be observed without grace, and God gave the law for this end, that we might always beseech Him to grant us the grace to observe it. In another place he says: "Bona est lex, si quis ea legitime utatur" — "The law is good if one uses it lawfully." "Quid est ergo legitime uti lege?" — "What then is it to use the law lawfully?" And he answers: "Per legem agnoscere morbum suum, et quaerere ad sanitatem Divinum adjutorium" — "through the law to know his own malady, and to seek the divine help for healing." St. Augustine therefore says that we must make use of the law — but for what? To know by means of the law (which is impossible for us) our powerlessness to observe it, so that we may then obtain by praying the divine help that heals our weakness.
St. Bernard wrote the same, saying: "Qui sumus nos, aut quae fortitudo nostra, ut tam multis tentationibus resistere valeamus? Hoc erat certe, quod quaerebat Deus, ut videntes defectum nostrum, et quod non est nobis auxilium aliud, ad ejus Misericordiam tota humilitate curramus" — "Who are we, or what is our strength, that we should be able to resist so many temptations? This was certainly what God sought: that, seeing our weakness and that there is no other help for us, we should run to His mercy with all humility." The Lord knows how useful to us is the necessity of praying, to keep us humble and to exercise our confidence; and therefore He permits enemies insuperable to our strength to assail us, so that through prayer we may obtain from His mercy the help to resist. Let it be especially noted that no one can resist the impure temptations of the flesh unless he commends himself to God when he is tempted. This enemy is so terrible that when she attacks us she almost takes away all light from us; she makes us forget all our meditations and the good resolutions we have made, and she makes us despise even the truths of the faith, so that we almost lose even the fear of the divine chastisements; for she conspires with our natural inclination, which drives us with the utmost violence toward sensual pleasures. Whoever does not then have recourse to God is lost. The only defense against that temptation is prayer, says St. Gregory of Nyssa: "Oratio pudicitiae praesidium est" — "Prayer is the safeguard of chastity."
And Solomon said it before him: "Et ut scivi, quoniam aliter non possem esse continens, nisi Deus det... adii Dominum, et deprecatus sum illum" — "And as I knew that I could not otherwise be continent unless God gave it... I went to the Lord and besought Him" (Wis. 8:21). Chastity is a virtue that we have not the strength to observe unless God grants it to us; and God does not grant this strength except to the one who asks for it. But whoever asks for it will certainly obtain it.
Therefore St. Thomas says, against Jansenius, that we must not say that the precept of chastity, or any other precept, is impossible for us; for although we cannot observe it by our own strength, we can nevertheless observe it with the divine help: "Dicendum, quod illud quod possumus cum auxilio Divino, non est nobis omnino impossibile" — "It must be said that what we can do with the divine help is not altogether impossible for us." Nor let it be said that it seems an injustice to command a lame man to walk straight; no, says St. Augustine, it is not an injustice, provided he is given the means of finding the remedy that heals his defect; so that if he then continues to walk crookedly, the fault is his own: "Consultissime homini praecipi, ut rectis passibus ambulet, ut, cum se non posse perspexerit, medicinam requirat ad sanandam peccati claudicationem" — "It is most fittingly prescribed to man that he walk with straight steps, so that, when he perceives that he cannot, he may seek the remedy to heal the lameness of sin."
In short, the same holy Doctor says that whoever does not know how to pray well will never know how to live well: "Recte novit vivere, qui recte novit orare" — "He knows well how to live who knows well how to pray." And on the contrary, St. Francis of Assisi used to say that without prayer no good fruit can ever be hoped for in a soul. Wrongly, then, do those sinners excuse themselves who say they have not the strength to resist temptations. But if you (St. James rebukes them) do not have this strength, why do you not ask for it? You do not have it because you do not seek it: "Non habetis, propter quod non postulatis" — "You do not have, because you do not ask" (Jas. 4:2). There is no doubt that we are too weak to resist the assaults of our enemies; but it is also certain that God is faithful, as the Apostle says, and does not permit us to be tempted beyond our strength: "Fidelis autem Deus est, qui non patietur vos tentari supra id quod potestis, sed faciet cum tentatione proventum, ut possitis sustinere" — "But God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able, but will with the temptation also make a way out, that you may be able to bear it" (1 Cor. 10:13). Primasius comments: "Illud faciet provenire gratiae praesidio, quod possitis tentationem sustinere" — "He will bring this about by the protection of grace: that you may be able to withstand the temptation." We are weak, but God is strong; when we ask Him for help, then He communicates His strength to us, and we shall be able to do all things, as the same Apostle rightly promised himself, saying: "Omnia possum in eo, qui me confortat" — "I can do all things in Him who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13). Therefore (says St. John Chrysostom) whoever falls because he neglects to pray has no excuse, since if he had prayed he would not have remained vanquished by the enemies: "Nec quisquam poterit excusari, qui hostem vincere noluit, dum ab orando cessavit" — "Nor can anyone be excused who would not conquer the enemy, because he ceased to pray."
Here then arises the question whether it is also necessary to have recourse to the intercession of the Saints in order to obtain the divine graces. As for saying that it is a lawful and useful thing to invoke the Saints as intercessors, to obtain for us through the merits of Jesus Christ what we by our demerits are not worthy to obtain — this is already the doctrine of the Church, as the Council of Trent declared (Sess. 25, in the Decree on the Invocation of the Saints): "Bonum atque utile est suppliciter eos invocare, et ob beneficia impetranda a Deo per Filium ejus Christum ad eorum opem auxiliumque confugere" — "It is good and useful to invoke them suppliantly, and to have recourse to their aid and assistance in order to obtain benefits from God through His Son Christ." This invocation was condemned by the impious Calvin, but most unjustly; if it is lawful and profitable to invoke the living Saints for our help and to beg them to assist us with their prayers, as the prophet Baruch did, who said: "Et pro nobis ipsis orate ad Dominum Deum nostrum" — "And pray for us to the Lord our God" (Bar. 1:13). And St. Paul: "Fratres orate pro nobis" — "Brethren, pray for us" (1 Thess. 5:25). And God Himself willed that the friends of Job should commend themselves to his prayers, so that through the merits of Job He might then show them favor: "Ite ad servum meum Job... Job autem servus meus orabit pro vobis; faciem ejus suspiciam" — "Go to My servant Job... and Job, My servant, shall pray for you; his face I will accept" (Job 42:8). If it is lawful, then, to commend oneself to the living, why should it not be lawful to invoke the Saints, who in heaven enjoy God more intimately? This does not detract from the honor that is due to God, but doubles it, as does honoring the King not only in His own person but also in His servants. Therefore St. Thomas says it is good to have recourse to many Saints, "quia plurium orationibus quandoque impetratur, quod unius oratione non impetratur" — "because that is sometimes obtained by the prayers of many which is not obtained by the prayer of one." And if someone should then say: But what is the use of having recourse to the Saints so that they may pray for us, when they already pray for all those who are worthy of it? The same holy Doctor answers that no one would be worthy that the Saints should pray for him, but "ex hoc fit dignus, quod ad ipsum (Sanctum) cum devotione recurrit" — "he becomes worthy by this very fact, that he has recourse to him (the Saint) with devotion."
It is further disputed whether it is profitable to commend oneself to the souls in Purgatory. Some say that the souls undergoing purification cannot pray for us, being moved by the authority of St. Thomas, who says that those souls, since they are being purified amid sufferings, are inferior to us, and therefore non sunt in statu orandi, sed magis ut oretur pro eis ("they are not in a state to pray, but rather to be prayed for"). But many other Doctors, such as Bellarmine, Sylvius, Cardinal Gotti, etc., most probably affirm it, since it must be piously believed that God makes our prayers known to them, so that those holy souls may pray for us, and so that between us and them there may be preserved this beautiful commerce of charity — namely, that we pray for them, and they for us. Nor does it stand in the way (as Sylvius and Gotti say) that the Angelic Doctor said the souls in Purgatory are not in a state to pray; for it is one thing not to be in a state to pray, and another not to be able to pray. It is true that those holy souls are not in a state to pray, because (as St. Thomas says), being in suffering, they are inferior to us and rather in need of our prayers; nevertheless, in that state they can indeed pray, because they are souls that are friends of God. If a father loves his son tenderly, but keeps him in prison in order to punish him for some fault he has committed, the son is then indeed not in a state to pray; but why can he not pray for others, and hope to obtain what he asks, knowing the affection his father bears him? So too, since the souls in Purgatory are greatly loved by God and confirmed in grace, there is no impediment that can forbid them to pray to Him for us. The Church, moreover, is not accustomed to invoke them and implore their intercession, because ordinarily they do not know our prayers. But it is piously believed (as has been said) that the Lord makes our prayers known to them; and then they, who are full of charity, certainly do not fail to pray for us. St. Catherine of Bologna, whenever she desired some grace, had recourse to the souls in Purgatory, and quickly saw herself heard; indeed, she attested that many graces which she had not obtained through the intercession of the saints, she afterwards obtained by means of the souls in Purgatory.
But here permit me to make a digression for the benefit of those holy souls. If we desire the help of their prayers, it is good that we too should apply ourselves to helping them with our prayers and works. I said "it is good"; but it must also be said that this is one of the Christian duties, since charity requires that we succor our neighbor when our neighbor is in need of our help, and we can help him without grave inconvenience. Now it is certain that among our neighbors are also the souls in Purgatory, who, although they are no longer in this life, nevertheless do not cease to be in the Communion of Saints. Piorum Animae mortuorum, says St. Augustine, non separantur ab Ecclesia ("The souls of the devout dead are not separated from the Church").
And St. Thomas declares this more distinctly to our purpose, saying that the charity owed to the departed, who have passed to the other life in grace, is an extension of that same charity which we owe to our living neighbors: Caritas quae est vinculum Ecclesiae membra uniens non solum ad vivos se exstendit sed etiam ad Mortuos qui in Caritate decedunt ("Charity, which is the bond uniting the members of the Church, extends not only to the living, but also to the dead who die in charity"). Hence we must succor those holy souls, as our neighbors, according to our ability; and since their needs are greater than those of our other neighbors, our duty to assist them seems on this account to be still greater.
Now, in what necessities do those holy prisoners find themselves? It is certain that their pains are immense. The fire that burns them, says St. Augustine, is more tormenting than any pain that can afflict man in this life: Gravior erit ille ignis quam quodquod potest homo pati in hac vita ("That fire will be more severe than anything that man can suffer in this life"). And St. Thomas judges the same, adding that it is the very same fire as that of hell: Eodem igne torquetur Damnatus et purgatur Electus ("By the same fire the damned is tormented and the elect is purified"). And this is with regard to the pain of sense; but far greater still is the pain of loss — that is, the privation of the sight of God which afflicts those His holy spouses — for those souls, drawn not only by natural but also by the supernatural love with which they burn toward God, are drawn with such impetus to unite themselves with their supreme Good that, seeing themselves hindered by their sins, they suffer a pain so bitter that, if they were capable of death, they would die at every moment.
So that, as Chrysostom says, this pain of the privation of God torments them immensely more than the pain of sense: Mille Inferni ignes simul uniti non darent tantam poenam, quanta est sola poena damni ("A thousand fires of hell united together would not inflict so great a pain as the pain of loss alone"). Hence those holy spouses would rather suffer all other pains than be deprived of a single moment of that longed-for union with God. The Angelic Doctor therefore says that the pain of Purgatory exceeds every sorrow that can be suffered in this life: Oportet, quod poena Purgatorii excedat omnem poenam istius vitae ("It must be that the pain of Purgatory exceeds every pain of this life"). And Denis the Carthusian relates that a certain dead man, afterwards raised to life through the intercession of St. Jerome, told St. Cyril of Jerusalem that all the torments of this earth are reliefs and delights in comparison with the least pain there is in Purgatory: Si omnia tormenta mundi minori, quae in Purgatorio habentur, poenae comparentur, solatia erunt ("If all the torments of the world were compared with the least pain found in Purgatory, they would be consolations"). And he added that if a man had experienced those pains, he would rather suffer all the sorrows of this life that men have endured until the day of judgment than endure for a single day the least pain of Purgatory. Hence the aforementioned St. Cyril wrote that those pains, as to their severity, are the same as those of hell; in this alone do they differ, that they are not eternal. The pains of those souls, then, are exceedingly great; and on the other hand, they cannot help themselves; according to what Job says, they are in catenis, et vinciuntur funibus paupertatis ("in chains, and are bound with the cords of poverty") (Job 36:8). Those holy queens are already destined for the kingdom, but they are detained from taking possession of it until the term of their purification arrives; so that they cannot help themselves (at least not sufficiently, if we are to believe those Doctors who hold that those souls can indeed obtain some relief even by their prayers) so as to loose themselves from those chains, until they fully satisfy Divine Justice; just as a Cistercian monk said from Purgatory to the sacristan of his monastery: "Help me (he begged) with your prayers, for by myself I can obtain nothing." And this is according to what St. Bonaventure says: Mendicitas impedit solutionem ("Poverty prevents payment"). That is, those souls are so poor that they have no means of making satisfaction.
On the other hand, since it is certain — indeed, a matter of faith — that we can indeed relieve those holy souls by our suffrages, and principally by prayers, commended in a particular way and also practiced by the Church, I do not know how he can be excused from fault who neglects to offer them some help, at least by his prayers. Let us be moved at least to succor them, if duty does not move us, by the pleasure that is given to Jesus Christ in seeing that we apply ourselves to set free those His beloved spouses, so that He may have them with Him in Paradise. Finally, let us be moved at least by the gain of the great merits that we can acquire by exercising this great act of charity toward those holy souls; who, on their part, are most grateful, and well know the great benefit we do them in relieving them from those pains, and in obtaining by our prayers the hastening of their entrance into glory; hence they will not fail, once they have arrived there, to pray for us. And if the Lord promises His mercy to him who shows mercy to his neighbor: Beati misericordes, quoniam ipsi misericordiam consequentur ("Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy") (Matt. 5:7), with great reason may he hope for his salvation who attends to assisting those holy souls, so afflicted and so dear to God. Jonathan, after having procured the deliverance of the Hebrews by the victory he obtained over the enemies, was himself condemned to death by his father Saul, for having eaten honey contrary to the order he had given; but the people presented themselves before the king, and said:
Ergo ne Jonathas morietur, qui fecit salutem hanc magnam in Israel? (Shall Jonathan then die, who has wrought this great salvation in Israel?) (1 Sam. 14:45) Now this is exactly what we must hope: that if ever one of us obtains by his prayers that a soul leaves Purgatory and goes to Paradise, that soul will say to God: Lord, do not permit that the one who freed me from torments should be lost. And if Saul granted Jonathan his life at the entreaties of the people, God will not deny eternal salvation to that faithful one for the prayers of a soul that is His spouse. Moreover, St. Augustine says that those who in this life have most succored those holy souls will, in the next life, when they are in Purgatory, be most succored by others, for God will so ordain it. Let it be noted here, as regards practice, that it is a great suffrage for the souls in Purgatory to hear Mass for them, and in it to commend them to God through the merits of the Passion of Jesus Christ, saying thus: Eternal Father, I offer You this Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, with all the sorrows He suffered in His life and death; and through the merits of His Passion I commend to You the souls of Purgatory, and especially etc. And it is an act of great charity to commend at the same time also the souls of all those in their agony.
What has just been said regarding the souls in Purgatory — concerning the point whether they can or cannot pray for us, and whether it therefore benefits us or not to commend ourselves to their prayers — certainly does not apply with respect to the Saints; for with regard to the Saints it cannot be doubted that it is most useful to have recourse to their intercession, speaking of the Saints already canonized by the Church, who already enjoy the vision of God. In this matter, to believe the Church fallible cannot be excused from the fault of heresy, as St. Bonaventure, Bellarmine, and others hold, or at least from a fault proximate to heresy, as Suárez, Azorius, Gotti, etc., maintain, since the Supreme Pontiff in canonizing the Saints is principally, as the Angelic Doctor teaches, guided by the infallible instinct of the Holy Spirit.
But let us return to the doubt proposed above, whether there is also an obligation to have recourse to the intercession of the Saints. I do not wish to enter into this point, but I cannot omit setting forth a doctrine of the Angelic Doctor. He, first of all, in several places cited above, and especially in the book of the Sentences, takes it as certain that everyone is bound to pray; since otherwise (as he asserts) the graces necessary for salvation cannot be obtained from God unless they are asked for: Ad orationem quilibet tenetur, ex hoc ipso quod tenetur ad bona spiritualia sibi procuranda, quae non nisi divinitus dantur; unde alio modo procurari non possunt, nisi ut a Deo petantur (Everyone is bound to prayer, from the very fact that he is bound to procure for himself spiritual goods, which are given only by God; whence they cannot be procured in any other way than by being asked of God). Elsewhere in the same book the Saint then proposes precisely the doubt: Utrum debeamus Sanctos orare ad interpellandum pro nobis? (Whether we ought to pray to the Saints to intercede for us?) And he answers thus (to make the Saint's meaning well understood, his entire text must be quoted): Ordo est divinitus institutus in rebus secundum Dionysium, ut per media reducantur in Deum. Unde, cum Sancti, qui sunt in Patria, sint Deo propinquissimi, hoc Divinae legis ordo requirit, ut nos qui manentes in corpore peregrinamur a Domino, in Eum per Sanctos medios reducamur; quod contingit, dum per eos Divina Bonitas suum effectum diffundit (An order is divinely established in things, according to Dionysius, whereby they are led back to God through intermediaries. Hence, since the Saints who are in the heavenly homeland are nearest to God, this order of the divine law requires that we, who while dwelling in the body are pilgrims away from the Lord, be led back to Him through the Saints as intermediaries; which comes to pass when the divine Goodness diffuses its effect through them).
Et quia reditus noster in Deum respondere debet processui bonitatum Ipsius ad nos, sicut mediantibus Sanctorum suffragiis Dei beneficia in nos deveniunt, oportet nos in Deum reduci, ut iterato beneficia Ejus sumamus mediantibus Sanctis. Et inde est, quod eos Intercessores pro nobis ad Deum constituimus, et quasi Mediatores, dum ab eis petimus, quod pro nobis orarent (And because our return to God must correspond to the procession of His benefits toward us, just as God's benefits come down to us through the mediation of the Saints' suffrages, so must we be led back to God, that we may again receive His benefits through the mediation of the Saints. And hence it is that we constitute them intercessors for us before God, and as it were mediators, when we ask them to pray for us).
Note those words, Hoc Divinae Legis ordo requirit (This the order of the divine law requires); and then especially note the last ones, Sicut mediantibus Sanctorum suffragiis Dei beneficia in nos deveniunt, ita oportet nos in Deum reduci, ut iterato beneficia ejus sumamus mediantibus Sanctis (Just as God's benefits come down to us through the mediation of the Saints' suffrages, so must we be led back to God, that we may again receive His benefits through the mediation of the Saints). So that, according to St. Thomas, the order of the divine law requires that we mortals be saved by means of the Saints, receiving through them the helps necessary for salvation.
And to the objection that the Angelic Doctor raises (ad primum), namely that it seems superfluous to have recourse to the Saints, since God is infinitely more merciful than they and more inclined to hear us, he answers that the Lord has so disposed, not by reason of any defect in His clemency, but to preserve the right and universally established order of working by means of secondary causes: Non est propter defectum (the Saint's words) misericordiae ipsius, sed ut ordo praedictus conservetur in rebus (It is not on account of any defect in His mercy, but so that the aforesaid order may be preserved in things).
And on that authority of St. Thomas, the Continuator of Tournély writes, together with Sylvius, that although God alone is to be prayed to as the Author of graces, nevertheless we are bound to have recourse also to the intercession of the Saints, in order to observe the order that the Lord has established concerning our salvation, namely that inferiors be saved by imploring the help of superiors: Quia lege naturali tenemur eum ordinem observare, quem Deus instituit; at constituit Deus, ut ad salutem Inferiores perveniant implorato Superiorum subsidio (For by the natural law we are bound to observe that order which God has instituted; and God has ordained that inferiors attain salvation by imploring the aid of superiors).
And if this holds when speaking of the Saints, it must hold all the more for the intercession of the divine Mother, whose prayers avail with God certainly more than those of all Paradise; for St. Thomas said that the Saints, in proportion to the merit with which they have earned grace, can save many others; but that Jesus Christ, and likewise His Mother, have merited so much grace that They can save all men: Magnum est enim in quolibet Sancto quando habet tantum de Gratia, quod sufficit ad salutem multorum; sed quando haberet tantum quod sufficeret ad salutem omnium, hoc esset maximum; et hoc est in Christo, et in B. Virgine (For it is a great thing in any Saint when he has so much grace that it suffices for the salvation of many; but if he had so much that it sufficed for the salvation of all, this would be the greatest; and this is found in Christ and in the Blessed Virgin). And St. Bernard, speaking of Mary, wrote: Per Te accessum habemus ad Filium, o Inventrix gratiae, Mater salutis, ut per Te nos suscipiat, qui per Te datus est nobis (Through You we have access to the Son, O finder of grace, Mother of salvation, that through You He may receive us, who through You was given to us). By which he meant that just as we have no access to the Father except through the Son, who is the Mediator of justice, so we have no access to the Son except through the Mother, who is the Mediatrix of grace, and who obtains for us by her intercession the goods that Jesus Christ has merited for us. And in consequence of this, the same St. Bernard says elsewhere that Mary received from God two fullnesses of grace. The first was the Incarnation of the eternal Word made man in her most holy womb. The second was the fullness of the graces that we receive from God by means of the prayers of that divine Mother. Hence the Saint adds: Totius boni plenitudinem (Deus) posuit in Maria, ut proinde si quid spei nobis est, si quid gratiae, si quid salutis, ab Ea noverimus redundare, quae ascendit deliciis affluens. Hortus deliciarum, ut undique fluant et effluant aromata Ejus, charismata scilicet gratiarum (God placed the fullness of every good in Mary, so that accordingly, whatever hope we have, whatever grace, whatever salvation, we may know that it overflows from her, who ascends abounding in delights — a garden of delights, so that on every side her fragrances, that is, the gifts of graces, may flow and pour forth). So that whatever good we have from the Lord, we receive it all through the intercession of Mary. And why is this? Because (the same St. Bernard answers) God so wills it: Sic est voluntas Ejus qui totum nos habere voluit per Mariam (Such is the will of Him who willed that we should have everything through Mary).
But the most particular reason is drawn from what St. Augustine says, who wrote that Mary is rightly called our Mother, because she cooperated by her charity so that we faithful might be born to the life of grace, as members of our Head Jesus Christ: Sed plane Mater membrorum Ejus (quae nos sumus), quia cooperata est caritate, ut Fideles in Ecclesia nascerentur, qui illius Capitis membra sunt (But she is truly the Mother of His members — which we are — because she cooperated by charity, that the faithful might be born in the Church, who are members of that Head). Hence it is that just as Mary cooperated by her charity in the spiritual birth of the faithful, so also God wills that she cooperate by her intercession in obtaining for them the life of grace — we faithful, as members of our Head Jesus Christ: Sed plane Mater membrorum Ejus (quae nos sumus), quia cooperata est caritate, ut Fideles in Ecclesia nascerentur, qui illius Capitis membra sunt (But she is truly the Mother of His members — which we are — because she cooperated by charity, that the faithful might be born in the Church, who are members of that Head). Hence it is that just as Mary cooperated by her charity in the spiritual birth of the faithful, so also God wills that she cooperate by her intercession in obtaining for them the life of grace in this world and the life of glory in the next. And therefore holy Church has us call her and greet her, in absolute terms, our Life, our Sweetness, and our Hope: Vita, Dulcedo, et Spes nostra salve (Hail, our Life, our Sweetness, and our Hope).
Hence St. Bernard exhorts us always to have recourse to this divine Mother, because her prayers are certainly heard by the
Son: Ad Mariam recurre, non dubius dixerim, exaudiet utique Matrem Filius (Have recourse to Mary; I do not hesitate to say, the Son will surely hear His Mother). And then he says: Filioli, haec peccatorum Scala, haec maxima mea Fiducia, haec tota Ratio spei meae (My children, this is the ladder of sinners; this is my greatest confidence; this is the whole reason for my hope). The Saint calls her a Ladder, because just as on a ladder one does not ascend to the third step without first setting foot on the second, and one does not reach the second without setting foot on the first, so one does not reach God except through Jesus Christ, and one does not reach Jesus Christ except through Mary. He then calls her his greatest Confidence, and the whole Reason for his hope, because God (as he supposes) wills that all the graces He dispenses to us should pass through the hands of Mary. And he finally concludes by saying that all the graces we desire we must ask for through Mary, because she obtains whatever she seeks, and her prayers cannot be repulsed: Quaeramus gratiam, et per Mariam quaeramus, quia quod quaerit invenit, et frustrari non potest (Let us seek grace, and let us seek it through Mary; for what she seeks she finds, and she cannot be refused). And with a sentiment in conformity with St. Bernard speak also St. Ephrem: Nobis non est alia quam a Te fiducia, o Virgo sincerissima (We have no other confidence than in You, O most pure Virgin). St. Ildephonsus: Omnia bona quae illis summa Majestas decrevit facere, tuis manibus decrevit commendare. Commissi quippe sunt Tibi thesauri, et ornamenta gratiarum (All the good things which the sovereign Majesty has decreed to do for them, He has decreed to commit to Your hands; for the treasures and the ornaments of graces have been committed to You). St. Germanus: Si nos deserueris, quid erit de nobis, o Vita Christianorum? (If You forsake us, what will become of us, O Life of Christians?). St. Peter Damian: In manibus tuis sunt omnes thesauri miserationum Dei (In Your hands are all the treasures of the mercies of God). St. Antoninus: Qui petit sine Ipsa, sine alis tentat volare (He who asks without her attempts to fly without wings). St. Bernardine of Siena in one place says: Tu dispensatrix omnium gratiarum; salus nostra in manu tua est (You are the dispenser of all graces; our salvation is in Your hand). In another place he not only says that through Mary all graces are transmitted to us, but also asserts that the Blessed Virgin, from the time she was made Mother of God, acquired a certain jurisdiction over all the graces that are dispensed to us: Per Virginem a capite Christi vitales gratiae in ejus Corpus mysticum transfunduntur. A tempore quo Virgo Mater concepit in utero Verbum Dei, quandam (ut sic dicam) jurisdictionem obtinuit in omni Spiritus Sancti processione temporali; ita ut nulla Creatura aliquam a Deo obtinuerit gratiam, nisi secundum Ipsius piae Matris dispensationem (Through the Virgin the life-giving graces are poured forth from Christ the Head into His Mystical Body. From the time the Virgin Mother conceived the Word of God in her womb, she obtained, so to speak, a certain jurisdiction over every temporal procession of the Holy Spirit; so that no creature has obtained any grace from God except according to the dispensation of His holy Mother). And he concludes: Ideo omnia dona, virtutes, et gratiae, quibus vult, quando vult, et quomodo vult, per Ipsius manus dispensantur (Therefore all gifts, virtues, and graces are dispensed through her hands, to whom she wills, when she wills, and in the manner she wills). St. Bonaventure wrote the same: Cum tota Natura Divina intra Virginis Uterum exstiterit, non timeo dicere, quod in omnes gratiarum effluxus, quandam jurisdictionem habuerit haec Virgo, de cujus Utero quasi de quodam Divinatis Oceano flumina emanant omnium gratiarum (Since the whole Divine Nature existed within the Virgin's womb, I am not afraid to say that this Virgin had a certain jurisdiction over all the outpourings of graces, from whose womb, as from a certain ocean of the Divinity, flow the rivers of all graces). Hence many theologians, relying on the authority of these Saints, have piously and rightly defended the opinion that there is no grace dispensed to us except through the intercession of Mary: thus Vega, Mendoza, Paciucchelli, Segneri, Poiré, Crasset, and many other authors, together with the learned Fr. Natalis Alexander, who wrote: Deus vult, ut omnia bona ab Ipso expectemus, potentissima Virginis Matris intercessione impetranda, cum Eam (ut par est) invocamus (God wills that we should expect all goods from Him, as things to be obtained through the most powerful intercession of the Virgin Mother, when we invoke her, as is fitting). And he adduces in confirmation the aforesaid passage of St. Bernard: Sic est voluntas Ejus, qui totum voluit nos habere per Mariam (Such is the will of Him who willed that we should have all things through Mary). And Fr. Contenson says the same; on the words of Jesus Christ on the cross addressed to St. John, Ecce Mater tua (Behold your mother), he thus added: Quasi diceret, Nullus Sanguinis mei particeps erit, nisi intercessione Matris meae. Vulnera gratiarum fontes sunt, sed ad nullos derivabuntur rivi, nisi per Mariae canalem. Joannes Discipule, tantum a Me amaberis, quantum Eam amaveris (As if He were saying: No one shall share in My Blood except through the intercession of My Mother. The wounds are the fountains of graces, but their streams shall flow to no one except through the channel of Mary. John, My disciple, you shall be loved by Me in the measure in which you love her). For the rest, it is certain that if it is pleasing to God that we should have recourse to the Saints, much more will it please Him that we should avail ourselves of the intercession of Mary, so that she may supply by her merit for our unworthiness, as St. Anselm says: Ut dignitas intercessoris suppleat inopiam nostram (That the dignity of the intercessor may supply for our poverty). Unde Virginem interpellare, non est de Divina Misericordia diffidere, sed de propria indignitate formidare (Hence to appeal to the Virgin is not to distrust the Divine Mercy, but to stand in fear on account of our own unworthiness). St. Thomas, moreover, speaking of the dignity of Mary, calls it well-nigh infinite: Ex hoc quod est Mater Dei, habet quandam dignitatem infinitam (From the fact that she is the Mother of God, she has a certain infinite dignity).
Hence it is rightly said that the prayers of Mary are more powerful with God than the prayers of all Paradise together.
Let us conclude this first point, summing up from all that has been said, that he who prays is certainly saved; he who does not pray is certainly damned. All the Blessed
(excepting infants) have been saved by praying. All the damned have been lost for not praying; had they prayed, they would not have been lost. And this is, and will be, their greatest despair in hell: that they could have been saved with as much ease as it was to ask God for His graces, and that now the wretched are no longer in time to ask for them.
o Epist. 5 ad Episc. in Picaeno contra Pelag.
p Act. Eccle. Med. pag. 1005.
t Idem in Psal. 502. (102).
aa S. Aug. Hom. 43.
ab S. Chrysost. Serm. de Moise.
ac S. Th. in 2 sentent. Dist. 45 q. 3 a. 2. ad 2.
ad Loco cit. ad 5.
ae S. Thom. 2. 2. q. 83. a. 11. ad 3.
af Bellarm. lib. 2 de Purgat. cap. 15. Sylvius in qu. 71. Suppl. aart. 6. Gotti tom. 3. trat. 14. q. 4. § 3. in fin. Less. de Justitia lib. 2. cap. 37. Dub. 5. cum Sylv. Medina etc.
ag S. Aug. lib. 20 de Civ. Dei cap. 9.
ah S. Aug. in Psalm. 37.
ai D. Thom. in 4 Sent. Dist. 21.
al S. Thom. in 4 Sent. Dist. 21. q. I, a. I. q. 3.
am Dionys. Chart. Noviss. l. 4 p. 3 a. 19.
an S. Cyr. Jeros. in Ep. ad. S. Aug.
ao Hist. of the Cisterc. Order.
ap S. Bonave. Serm. de Mort.
aq S. Thom. in 4. Sent. Dist. 15. q. 4. a. I. Solut. ad q. 3.
ar S. Thom. In 4. Sent. Dist. 45. q. 3. a. 2.
as S. Thom. Quodlib. 9. art. 16. ad. I.
at Continuat. Tournely tom. I. de Relig. cap. 2 de Orat. art. 4. q. I cum Sylvio.
au S. Th. Epist. 8.
av S. Bern. Serm. in Dom. infr. oct. Assumpt.
az S. Bernard. Serm. de Aquaeduct.
ax S. Aug. lib. 3 de Symb. ad cat. cap. 4.
ba S. Bern. cit. Serm. de Aquaed.
bb Nat. Alex. Epist. 76. in calce To. 4. Moral.
bc Contens. Theol. mentis. et cord. c. 2. 1. 10. D. 4. cap. I.
bd S. Ans. de Excell. Virg. cap. 6.
be S. Th. I. par. q. 25. a. 6. ad 4.