«Petite, et dabitur vobis... omnis enim qui petit, accipit» — "Ask, and it shall be given you... for everyone who asks, receives" (Luke 11:10).
Point I
Not only in this passage, but in a thousand places of the Old and New Testament, God promises to hear whoever prays to Him. «Clama ad me, et exaudiam te» — "Turn to me, and I will hear you" (Job 33:3). «Invoca me, et eruam te» — "Call upon me, and I will deliver you from dangers" (Ps. 49:15). «Si quid petieritis me in nomine meo, hoc faciam» — "Whatever you shall ask of me for the sake of my merits, I will do" (John 14:14). «Quodcunque volueritis, petetis, et fiet nobis» — "Ask whatever you will; it is enough that you ask it, and it shall be granted you" (John 15:7). And many other similar passages. Hence Theodoret said that prayer is but one thing, yet it can obtain all things: «Oratio cum sit una, omnia potest» — "Though prayer is but one, it can do all things." St. Bernard says that when we pray, the Lord will give us either the grace of God we requested, or another more profitable for us: «Aut dabit quod petimus, aut quod nobis noverit esse utilius» — "Either He will give what we ask, or what He knows to be more profitable for us" (Serm. 5, on Ash Wednesday). Meanwhile the prophet encourages us to pray, assuring us that God is all mercy toward those who call upon Him for help: «Tu Domine suavis, et mitis, et multae misericordiae omnibus invocantibus te» — "You, O Lord, are sweet and mild, and of great mercy to all who call upon You" (Ps. 85). And still greater courage does St. James give us, saying: «Si quis vestrum indiget sapientia, postulet a Deo, qui dat omnibus affluenter, nec improperat» — "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask it of God, who gives to all abundantly and does not upbraid" (Jas. 1:5). This apostle says that when the Lord is prayed to, He opens wide His hands and gives more than is asked of Him — «dat omnibus affluenter, nec improperat» — "He gives to all abundantly, and does not upbraid" — nor does He reproach us for the displeasures we have caused Him; when He is prayed to, He seems to forget all the offenses we have committed against Him.
St. John Climacus said that prayer in a certain way does violence to God, so that He grants us whatever we ask of Him: «Oratio pie Deo vim infert» — "Prayer piously offers violence to God." Violence — but a violence that is dear to Him, and which He desires from us. «Haec vis grata Deo» — "This violence is pleasing to God," wrote Tertullian. Yes, because (as St. Augustine says) God has a greater desire to do good to us than we have to receive it: «Plus vult ille tibi beneficia elargiri, quam tu accipere concupiscas» — "He wishes to bestow benefits upon you more than you desire to receive them." And the reason for this is that God is by His nature infinite goodness: «Deus cuius natura bonitas» — "God, whose nature is goodness," writes St. Leo. And therefore He has a supreme desire to share His goods with us. Hence St. Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi used to say that God remains, as it were, indebted to the soul that prays to Him, since it thereby opens the way for Him to satisfy His desire to dispense His graces to us. And David said that this goodness of the Lord in hearing at once those who pray to Him made him know that He was his true God: «In quacunque die invocavero te, ecce cognovi quia Deus meus es tu» — "On whatever day I shall call upon You, behold, I have known that You are my God" (Ps. 55:10). Wrongly do some complain (St. Bernard observes) that the Lord is wanting to them; far more justly does the Lord complain that many are wanting to Him, neglecting to come and ask Him for the graces of God: «Multi queruntur deesse sibi gratiam, sed multo iustius gratia quereretur deesse sibi multos» — "Many complain that the grace of God is wanting to them; but far more justly might the grace of God complain that many are wanting to it." And of this very thing the Redeemer seems to have complained one day to His disciples: «Usque modo non petistis quidquam in nomine meo; petite et accipietis, ut gaudium vestrum sit plenum» — "Hitherto you have asked nothing in my name; ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full" (John 16:24). Do not complain of me (He seems to say) if you have not been fully happy; complain of yourselves, who have not asked me for the graces of God; ask me for them from this day forward, and you shall be content.
From this the ancient monks concluded in their conferences that there is no exercise more useful for saving oneself than always praying and saying: Lord, help me: «Deus, in adiutorium meum intende» — "O God, come to my aid." The Venerable Father Paul Segneri said of himself that in his meditations he at first spent his time making acts of affection, but afterwards, knowing the great efficacy of prayer, he strove for the most part to spend it in praying. Let us always do the same. We have a God who loves us greatly and is solicitous for our eternal salvation, and therefore stands ever ready to hear whoever prays to Him. The princes of the earth, says St. John Chrysostom, give audience to few; but God gives it to everyone who desires it: «Aures principis paucis patent, Dei vero omnibus volentibus» — "The ears of princes are open to few, but those of God to all who wish it" (Bk. 2, On Prayer to God).
Affections and Prayers
Eternal God, I adore You and thank You for all the benefits You have bestowed upon me: for having created me and redeemed me through Jesus Christ, for having made me a Christian, for having waited for me while I was in sin, and for having so many times forgiven me. Ah, my God, I would never have fallen into offending You if in temptations I had had recourse to You. I thank You for the light by which You now make me know that all my eternal salvation consists in praying to You and asking You for the graces of God. Behold, I pray to You in the name of Jesus Christ to grant me a great sorrow for my sins, holy perseverance in Your grace, a good death, paradise; but above all, the supreme gift of Your love and a perfect resignation to Your most holy will. I well know that I do not deserve these graces of God, but You have promised them to whoever asks You for them through the merits of Jesus Christ; through the merits of Jesus Christ I ask You for them, and I hope for them.
O Mary, Your prayers obtain whatever they ask; do You pray for me.
Point II
Let us consider, moreover, the necessity of prayer. St. John Chrysostom says that as the body is dead without the soul, so the soul is dead without prayer. He says likewise that as water is necessary to plants lest they dry up, so prayer is necessary to us lest we be lost: «Non minus quam arbores aquis, precibus indigemus» — "We stand in need of prayer no less than trees do of water" (Vol. 1, Hom. 77). God wills that all be saved: «Omnes homines vult salvos fieri» — "He wills that all men be saved" (1 Tim. 2:4). And He does not will that any should perish: «Patienter agit propter vos, nolens aliquos perire, sed omnes ad poenitentiam reverti» — "He deals patiently with you, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance" (2 Pet. 3:9). But He wills that we ask Him for the graces of God necessary to save ourselves; for on the one hand, we cannot observe the divine precepts and save ourselves without the actual help of the Lord, and on the other, He will not give us the graces of God (ordinarily speaking) unless we ask Him for them. Hence the holy Council of Trent declared that God does not impose impossible precepts, since He either gives us the proximate and actual grace of God to observe them, or else gives us the grace of God to ask Him for this actual grace of God: «Deus impossibilia non iubet, sed iubendo monet et facere quod possis, et petere quod non possis, et adiuvat ut possis» — "God does not command impossible things; but in commanding He admonishes you both to do what you can and to ask for what you cannot, and He aids you so that you can" (Sess. 6, ch. 11). For St. Augustine teaches that, excepting the first graces of God — such as the call to faith or to penance — He does not grant all the other graces of God (and especially holy perseverance) except to those who pray: «Constat alia Deus dare etiam non orantibus, sicut initium fidei; alia nonnisi orantibus praeparasse, sicut usque in finem perseverantiam» — "It is certain that God gives some graces even to those who do not pray, such as the beginning of faith; and that He has prepared others only for those who pray, such as perseverance even to the end" (De dono persev., ch. 6).
From this the theologians conclude, with St. Basil, St. Augustine, St. John Chrysostom, Clement of Alexandria, and others, that for adults prayer is necessary with the necessity of means. So that without praying it is impossible for anyone to be saved. And the most learned Lessius says this must be held as a matter of faith: «Fide tenendum est orationem adultis ad salutem esse necessariam, ut colligitur ex Scripturis» — "It must be held by faith that prayer is necessary for adults for salvation, as is gathered from the Scriptures" (De Iust. lib. 2. cap. 37. n. 9).
The Scriptures are clear. «Oportet semper orare» — "We must always pray" (Luke 18:1). «Orate, ut non intretis in tentationem» — "Pray, that you may not enter into temptation" (John 4:2). «Petite, et accipiets» — "Ask, and you shall receive" (John 16:24). «Sine intermissione orate» — "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17). Now the above words: «Oportet, orate, petite» — "It is necessary, pray, ask" — according to the common opinion of the doctors with St. Thomas Aquinas (2. p. qu. 39. a. 5), imply a precept that binds under grave sin especially in three cases: 1. when a man is in sin; 2. when he is in danger of death; 3. when he is in grave danger of sinning; and the doctors then ordinarily teach that whoever does not pray for a month, or at most two, is not excused from mortal sin (see Lessius in the place cited). The reason is that prayer is a means without which we cannot obtain the helps necessary to save ourselves from sins.
«Petite, et accipietis» — "Ask, and you shall receive." He who asks obtains; therefore, says St. Teresa, he who does not ask does not obtain. And St. James said it before her: «Non habetis, propter quod non postulatis» — "You do not have, because you do not ask" (Jas. 4:2). And prayer is especially necessary to obtain the virtue of continence. «Et ut scivi, quia aliter non possum esse continens, nisi Deus det... adii Dominum, et deprecatus sum» — "And when I knew that I could not otherwise be continent unless God granted it... I went to the Lord and implored Him" (Wis. 8:21). Let us conclude this point. He who prays is certainly saved; he who does not pray is certainly damned. All who have been saved have been saved by praying. All who have been damned have been damned for not praying; and this is, and will forever be, their greatest despair in hell — that they could so easily have saved themselves by praying, and now it is too late to do so.
Affections and Prayers
Ah, my Redeemer, how could I have lived in the past so forgetful of You? You were ready to grant me all the graces I would have asked of You; You were only waiting for me to ask them of You; but I thought of nothing but satisfying my senses, little caring that I remained deprived of Your love and Your graces. Lord, forget so many of my ingratitudes and have pity on me; forgive me the many displeasures I have given You, and give me holy perseverance. Give me the grace always to seek Your help so as not to offend You, O God of my soul. Do not permit me to be negligent in this, as I have been in the past. Give me light and strength always to commend myself to You, and especially when the enemies tempt me anew to offend You. Grant me this grace, my God, through the merits of Jesus Christ, and for the love You bear Him. Enough, my Lord, of how I have offended You; I wish to love You in this life that remains to me. Give me Your holy love, and may it remind me to seek Your help whenever I find myself in danger of losing You through sin.
Mary, my hope, from You I hope for the grace always to commend myself to You and to Your Son in my temptations. Hear me, my Queen, for the sake of the love You bear Jesus Christ.
Point III
Let us consider, lastly, the conditions of prayer. Many pray and do not obtain, because they do not pray as they ought. «Petitis et non accipitis, eo quod male petatis» — "You ask and do not receive, because you ask badly" (Jas. 4:3). To pray well, first of all, humility is needed. «Deus superbis resistit, humilibus autem dat gratiam» — "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (Jas. 4:6). God does not hear the petitions of the proud, but on the contrary He does not let the prayers of the humble depart from Him unheard. «Oratio humiliantis se nubes penetrabit, et non discedet, donec Altissimus aspiciat» — "The prayer of the one who humbles himself will pierce the clouds, and it will not depart until the Most High looks down" (Sir. 35:21). And this even though in the past they may have been sinners. «Cor contritum et humiliatum Deus non despicies» — "A contrite and humbled heart, O God, You will not despise" (Ps. 50). Secondly, confidence is needed. «Nullus speravit in Domino, et confusus est» — "No one has hoped in the Lord and been confounded" (Sir. 2:11). To this end Jesus Christ taught us that in seeking graces from God we should call Him by no other name than Father (Pater noster); so that we may pray to Him with that confidence with which a child turns to his own father. Whoever asks with confidence, then, obtains everything: «Omnia quaecunque orantes petitis, credite quia accipietis, et evenient vobis» — "All things whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you will receive, and they will come to you" (Mark 11). And who can fear, says St. Augustine, that what is promised him by the very Truth who is God will fail him? «Quis falli metuit, dum promittit veritas?» — "Who fears being deceived when the Truth promises?" God is not like men, says Scripture, who promise and then fail, either because they lie when they promise or because they later change their will: «Non est Deus quasi homo, ut mentiatur, nec ut mutetur; dixit ergo, et non faciet?» — "God is not as a man, that He should lie, nor that He should change; has He spoken, then, and will He not do it?" (Num. 23). And why, adds the same St. Augustine, would the Lord so exhort us to ask for graces if He did not wish to grant them to us? «Non nos hortaretur ut peteremus nisi dare vellet» — "He would not urge us to ask unless He wished to give" (De Verb. Dom. Serm. 5). By promising, He has bound Himself to grant us the graces we ask of Him: «Promittendo debitorem se fecit» — "By promising He made Himself a debtor" (St. Aug. ibid. Serm. 2).
But someone will say: I am a sinner and therefore do not deserve to be heard. But St. Thomas Aquinas replies that prayer, in obtaining graces, does not rest upon our merits but upon the divine mercy: «Oratio in impetrando non innititur nostris meritis, sed soli divinae misericordiae» — "Prayer, in obtaining, does not rely on our merits, but solely on the divine mercy" (2. 2. qu. 178. a. 2. ad 1). «Omnis qui petit accipit» — "Everyone who asks receives" (Luke 11:10). The author of the Opus imperfectum comments: «Omnis sive iustus, sive peccator sit» — "Everyone, whether he be just or a sinner" (Hom. 18). But in this our Redeemer Himself took away every fear from us, saying: «Amen, amen dico vobis, si quid petieritis Patrem in nomine meo, dabit vobis» — "Amen, amen, I say to you: if you ask the Father anything in My name, He will give it to you" (John 16:23). Sinners (as if He said), if you have no merit, I have it with My Father: ask then in My name, and I promise you that you will have whatever you ask. Here, however, it must be understood that this promise is not made for temporal graces, such as health, goods of fortune, and the like, since the Lord many times justly denies us these graces because He sees that they would harm our eternal salvation. «Quid infirmo sit utile, magis novit medicus, quam aegrotus» — "What is useful to a sick man, the physician knows better than the patient," says St. Augustine (to. 3. c. 212). And he adds that God in mercy denies to one what He grants in anger to another: «Deus negat propitius, quae concedit iratus» — "God in mercy denies what He grants in wrath." Hence temporal graces must always be sought by us on condition that they benefit the soul. But on the contrary, spiritual graces, such as pardon, holy perseverance, divine love, and the like, must be asked absolutely, with firm confidence of obtaining them. «Si vos cum sitis mali (disse Gesu-Cristo), nostis bona data dare filiis vestris, quanto magis Pater vester de coelo dabit spiritum bonum petentibus se?» — "If you then, being evil (said Jesus Christ), know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father from heaven give the good Spirit to those who ask Him?" (Luke 11:13).
Above all, holy perseverance in praying is needed. Cornelius a Lapide says (in Luc. cap. 11) that the Lord «vult nos esse perseverantes in oratione usque ad importunitatem» — "wills that we persevere in prayer even to importunity." And this is the meaning of those Scriptures: «Oportet semper orare» — "We must always pray" (Luke 11). «Vigilate omni tempore orantes» — "Watch at all times, praying" (Luke 21:36). «Sine intermissione orate» — "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17). This is also the meaning of those repeated words: «Petite, et accipietis; quaerite, et invenietis; pulsate, et aperietur vobis» — "Ask, and you shall receive; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you" (Luke 11:9). It would have been enough to have said "ask"; but no, the Lord wished to make us understand that we must do as beggars do, who do not cease seeking, insisting, and knocking at the door until they have the alms. And final holy perseverance especially is a grace that is not obtained without continual prayer. This holy perseverance cannot be merited by us, but through prayers, says St. Augustine, it is in a certain sense merited: «Hoc Dei donum suppliciter emereri potest: idest supplicando impetrari» — "This gift of God can be merited by supplication: that is, it can be obtained by supplicating" (De dono persev. cap. 6). Let us therefore pray always, and not cease praying, if we wish to be saved. And whoever is a confessor or a preacher should never cease exhorting others to pray, if he wishes to see souls saved. And as St. Bernard says, let us also always have recourse to the intercession of Mary: «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 disappointed" (Serm. de Aquaeduct.).
Affections and Prayers
My God, I hope that You have already forgiven me, but the enemies will not cease to fight me until death; if You do not help me, I shall be lost again. Ah, through the merits of Jesus Christ I ask You for holy perseverance. «Ne permittas me separari a Te» — "Never permit me to be separated from You." And I ask You for the same grace for all those who are now in Your grace. I am certain, trusting in Your promise, that You will give me holy perseverance if I continue to ask it of You. But this I fear: I fear that in temptations I may cease to have recourse to You, and so fall again. I therefore ask You for the grace never to cease praying. Grant that in the occasions of falling back I may always commend myself to You and invoke in my aid the most holy names of Jesus and Mary. My God, so I resolve, and so I hope to do with Your grace. Hear me for the love of Jesus Christ.
O Mary, my Mother, obtain for me that in the dangers of losing God I may always have recourse to You and to Your Son.