| Devotion to Our Lady |
|
CLICK ON ANY OTHER HOLY GHOST PAGE YOU WISH TO READ
Links will be activated as articles appear on those pages
HOLY GHOST HOMEPAGE (General Articles)
SERMONS ON THE HOLY GHOST
VIRTUES FOR PENTECOST
| INTRODUCTION TO THE SEVEN GIFTS OF THE HOLY GHOST (a very brief coverage of all seven Gifts) |
| Gift of Fear | Gift of Piety | Gift of Knowledge | Gift of Fortitude | Gift of Counsel | Gift of Understanding | Gift of Wisdom |
| THE TWELVE FRUITS OF THE HOLY GHOST (a brief coverage of all 12 Fruits) |
| PRAYERS TO THE HOLY GHOST | NOVENA TO THE HOLY GHOST |
Links will be activated as articles appear on those pages
HOLY GHOST HOMEPAGE (General Articles)
SERMONS ON THE HOLY GHOST
VIRTUES FOR PENTECOST
| INTRODUCTION TO THE SEVEN GIFTS OF THE HOLY GHOST (a very brief coverage of all seven Gifts) |
| Gift of Fear | Gift of Piety | Gift of Knowledge | Gift of Fortitude | Gift of Counsel | Gift of Understanding | Gift of Wisdom |
| THE TWELVE FRUITS OF THE HOLY GHOST (a brief coverage of all 12 Fruits) |
| PRAYERS TO THE HOLY GHOST | NOVENA TO THE HOLY GHOST |
Throughout the Octave of Pentecost, we will examine various virtues that could be associated with the Holy Ghost and His role if our lives. May these considerations bring you much inspiration and grace, while helping you spend this Octave of Pentecost in a truly profitable and fruitful manner.
VIRTUES FOR PENTECOST
1. Perseverance in Prayer
1. Perseverance in Prayer
In the days leading up to the first Pentecost, we read in Holy Scripture of the perseverance shown by the disciples in prayer: “Then the disciples returned to Jerusalem from the mount that is called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, within a Sabbath day’s journey. And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James of Alpheus, and Simon Zelotes, and Jude the brother of James―all these were persevering with one mind in prayer with the women, and Mary the Mother of Jesus, and with His brethren” (Acts 1:12-14).
There are often times in our lives when God doesn’t seem to be answering our prayers. We pray repeatedly for certain people or intentions, sometimes for days, months—and even years—but our prayers seem to go unanswered. When nothing seems to be happening, it is easy to feel weary and disheartened.
Prayer is a battle! Firstly, it’s a battle to even set apart time to pray each day. It often seems that we don’t have time, or that there are so many more important things to do! Secondly, our battle has to confront what we feel and experience as failure in prayer―discouragement during periods of dryness, disappointment at not being heard according to our own will. To overcome these obstacles, we must battle to gain humility, trust, and perseverance.
God has given us a free-will, but though we have the freedom to choose―ultimately we must our inferior free-will to the superior will of God. It is a case of “Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.” Our Lord Himself shows that this is the case in his mental and emotional battle during His Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane:
“And going out, He went, according to His custom, to the Mount of Olives. And His disciples also followed Him and they came to a farm called Gethsemane. And when He was come to the place, He said to His disciples: ‘Sit you here, while I pray! Pray, lest ye enter into temptation!’ He took Peter and James and John with Him; and He began to grow sorrowful and to be sad. He began to fear and to be heavy. And He said to them: ‘My soul is sorrowful even unto death! Stay you here and watch with Me!’ He withdrew away from them about a stone’s cast. When He was gone forward a little, kneeling down, He fell flat on the ground and prayed that if it might be, the hour might pass from Him, saying: ‘Abba, Father! All things are possible to Thee! Father, if Thou wilt, remove this chalice from Me―but yet not My will, but Thine be done!’ And there appeared to Him an angel from Heaven, strengthening Him. And being in an agony, He prayed the longer. And His sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground.
“And when He rose up from prayer, and was come to His disciples, He found them sleeping for sorrow. And He said to them: ‘Why are you sleeping? Arise, pray, lest you enter into temptation! Could you not watch one hour with Me? Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation! The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak!’ Again the second time, He went and prayed, saying: ‘My Father, if this chalice may not pass away, but I must drink it, then Thy will be done!’ And when He returned again, He found them again asleep―for their eyes were heavy and they knew not what to answer Him. And leaving them, He went again and He prayed the third time, saying the selfsame words. And He came the third time, and said to them: ‘Sleep ye now, and take your rest! It is enough! The hour is come! Behold the Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of sinners! Rise up, let us go! Behold, he that will betray Me is at hand!’” (Matthew 26:36-45; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46).
Our Lord both tells a parable about perseveringly asking, and also rewards the Canaanite woman who perseveringly asked for help. “And Jesus said to them: ‘Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go to him at midnight, and shall say to him: “Friend, lend me three loaves, because a friend of mine is come off his journey to me, and I have not what to set before him!” And he from within should answer, and say: “Trouble me not, the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed! I cannot rise and give thee!” Yet if he shall continue knocking, I say to you, although he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend; yet, because of his importunity, he will rise, and give him as many as he needs. And I say to you, “Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you” For every one that asks, receives; and he that seeks, finds; and to him that knocks, it shall be opened!’” (Luke 11:5-10).
“And behold a Syro-Phoenician born woman of Canaan, a Gentile, who came out of those coasts, crying out, besought Him that He would cast forth the devil out of her daughter, saying to Him: ‘Have mercy on me, O Lord, Thou son of David! My daughter is grievously troubled by the devil!’ Jesus answered her not a word. And His disciples came and besought Him, saying: ‘Send her away! For she cries after us!’ And Jesus answering, said to her: ‘I was not sent except to the sheep that are lost of the house of Israel!’ But she came and adored Him, saying: ‘Lord! Help me!’ Jesus answering, said: ‘Suffer first the children to be filled―for it is not good to take the bread of the children, and to cast it to the dogs!’ But she answered and said to Him: ‘Yes, Lord―bu the dogs under the table also eat of the crumbs of the children that fall from the table of their masters!’ Then Jesus answering, said to her: ‘O woman, great is thy Faith! For this saying go thy way! Be it done to thee as thou wilt! The devil is gone out of thy daughter!’ And her daughter was cured from that hour. And when she was come into her house, she found the girl lying upon the bed, and that the devil was gone out of her daughter” (Matthew 15:22-28; Mark 7:16).
In the spiritual life, many of us know the sting we feel when our prayers seem to go unheard. We have all experienced it before―a desperate prayer to God for something that we needed and we never got it. God appears deaf or uncaring to our needs. What do we do when our prayers are unanswered? Unfortunately, we give up and make up reasons for doing so like, “I do not have the time to pray!” … “It is obvious that God does not want to give me what I am asking for―so I might as well stop asking!”
Our Lord once revealed to one of His mystics that He is often disposed to grant us what we are asking of Him though prayer―and that is often on verge of granting our requests, but WE STOP ASKING out of discouragement and frustration at how long it is taking! The problem is that we set too low a price on what we are asking for and expect to “get-it-on-the-cheap” with a few days of Hail Marys, etc. Nothing is cheap with God! You reap what you sow―you get what you pay for.
The saints also remind us that perseverance in prayer often leads to remarkable grace, even if it takes years, or when our prayers are answered in ways we don’t expect. Their stories reveal the beauty of Faith that persists through doubt, delay, and difficulty. Here are some saints who experienced profound answers to their prayers after great perseverance:
St. Monica
Few stories about perseverance in prayer are as moving as that of St. Monica, the mother of St. Augustine. For nearly two decades, Monica prayed for the conversion of her wayward son, who had embraced a life of sin and heretical beliefs. Despite his resistance, she never gave up hope. Her prayers were ultimately answered when Augustine not only converted but became a priest, then became a bishop, then a saint, a then a Father and Doctor of the Church as one of the greatest theologians in Church history. St. Monica’s story is a testament to the power of intercessory prayer and a reminder to parents struggling with their children’s faith to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
St. Anne and St. Joachim
The story of St. Anne and St. Joachim, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a beautiful example of persevering prayer. According to tradition, the couple faced years of heartache due to their inability to conceive a child. They continued to pray and trust in God’s plan. Their prayers were finally answered when an angel appeared to them, announcing that they would have a child who would be blessed above all others. That child was Mary, who would become the Mother of God. St. Anne’s and St. Joachim’s steadfast hope and confidence shows that God’s timing is perfect, even when His answers come after long periods of waiting.
St. Rita
Known as the “Saint of Impossible Causes,” St. Rita prayed for years for peace in her turbulent marriage and the conversion of her abusive husband. After his eventual conversion, she faced more heartache as she prayed for her sons to turn away from vengeance when her husband was murdered. Her prayers were answered in a miraculous way―her sons died of natural causes before committing any acts of violence, thus saving their souls. St. Rita’s life demonstrates trust in God amidst seemingly insurmountable difficulties.
St. Patrick
St. Patrick is widely known for bringing Christianity to Ireland, but his journey began with a profound trial. Captured by Irish pirates as a teenager, Patrick spent six years in slavery. During this time, he turned to fervent prayer, growing deeply in his Faith and praying for his captors. After his miraculous escape and return to his family, Patrick continued to pray for the Irish people, feeling a persistent call to return and share the Gospel with them. His prayers were answered when he was ordained a priest and consecrated a bishop and sent on mission to Ireland. Through years of tireless prayer, preaching, and perseverance, Patrick led thousands to Christ, transforming an entire nation.
St. Thérèse of Lisieux
From a young age, St. Thérèse of Lisieux felt called to join the Carmelite convent, but her tender age posed a significant obstacle. Despite being refused admission several times, she persisted in prayer and petitioned both her local bishop and even Pope Leo XIII during a pilgrimage to Rome. Her prayers were answered when she entered the Carmel at the unprecedented age of 15. Thérèse’s perseverance in prayer exemplifies childlike faith and trust in God’s timing.
St. Joseph of Cupertino
St. Joseph of Cupertino, known as the “Flying Friar” for his ecstatic levitations during prayer, is a powerful witness to perseverance through struggle. As a young man, Joseph faced immense difficulties due to his limited intellectual abilities and clumsiness. He was dismissed from several religious communities and was often misunderstood. Yet, Joseph remained steadfast in prayer, constantly seeking God’s will and grace. His deepest desire was to become a priest, but he struggled with the academic requirements. Through continuous prayer and unwavering trust, he passed the necessary examinations in what many consider miraculous circumstances—answering the only question he knew during his final exam. His perseverance in prayer was rewarded not only with ordination, but with a profound spiritual life marked by mystical experiences and humility. St. Joseph’s story reminds us that through persistent prayer and trust in God, even our weaknesses can be transformed into channels of grace.
There are often times in our lives when God doesn’t seem to be answering our prayers. We pray repeatedly for certain people or intentions, sometimes for days, months—and even years—but our prayers seem to go unanswered. When nothing seems to be happening, it is easy to feel weary and disheartened.
Prayer is a battle! Firstly, it’s a battle to even set apart time to pray each day. It often seems that we don’t have time, or that there are so many more important things to do! Secondly, our battle has to confront what we feel and experience as failure in prayer―discouragement during periods of dryness, disappointment at not being heard according to our own will. To overcome these obstacles, we must battle to gain humility, trust, and perseverance.
God has given us a free-will, but though we have the freedom to choose―ultimately we must our inferior free-will to the superior will of God. It is a case of “Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.” Our Lord Himself shows that this is the case in his mental and emotional battle during His Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane:
“And going out, He went, according to His custom, to the Mount of Olives. And His disciples also followed Him and they came to a farm called Gethsemane. And when He was come to the place, He said to His disciples: ‘Sit you here, while I pray! Pray, lest ye enter into temptation!’ He took Peter and James and John with Him; and He began to grow sorrowful and to be sad. He began to fear and to be heavy. And He said to them: ‘My soul is sorrowful even unto death! Stay you here and watch with Me!’ He withdrew away from them about a stone’s cast. When He was gone forward a little, kneeling down, He fell flat on the ground and prayed that if it might be, the hour might pass from Him, saying: ‘Abba, Father! All things are possible to Thee! Father, if Thou wilt, remove this chalice from Me―but yet not My will, but Thine be done!’ And there appeared to Him an angel from Heaven, strengthening Him. And being in an agony, He prayed the longer. And His sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground.
“And when He rose up from prayer, and was come to His disciples, He found them sleeping for sorrow. And He said to them: ‘Why are you sleeping? Arise, pray, lest you enter into temptation! Could you not watch one hour with Me? Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation! The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak!’ Again the second time, He went and prayed, saying: ‘My Father, if this chalice may not pass away, but I must drink it, then Thy will be done!’ And when He returned again, He found them again asleep―for their eyes were heavy and they knew not what to answer Him. And leaving them, He went again and He prayed the third time, saying the selfsame words. And He came the third time, and said to them: ‘Sleep ye now, and take your rest! It is enough! The hour is come! Behold the Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of sinners! Rise up, let us go! Behold, he that will betray Me is at hand!’” (Matthew 26:36-45; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46).
Our Lord both tells a parable about perseveringly asking, and also rewards the Canaanite woman who perseveringly asked for help. “And Jesus said to them: ‘Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go to him at midnight, and shall say to him: “Friend, lend me three loaves, because a friend of mine is come off his journey to me, and I have not what to set before him!” And he from within should answer, and say: “Trouble me not, the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed! I cannot rise and give thee!” Yet if he shall continue knocking, I say to you, although he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend; yet, because of his importunity, he will rise, and give him as many as he needs. And I say to you, “Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you” For every one that asks, receives; and he that seeks, finds; and to him that knocks, it shall be opened!’” (Luke 11:5-10).
“And behold a Syro-Phoenician born woman of Canaan, a Gentile, who came out of those coasts, crying out, besought Him that He would cast forth the devil out of her daughter, saying to Him: ‘Have mercy on me, O Lord, Thou son of David! My daughter is grievously troubled by the devil!’ Jesus answered her not a word. And His disciples came and besought Him, saying: ‘Send her away! For she cries after us!’ And Jesus answering, said to her: ‘I was not sent except to the sheep that are lost of the house of Israel!’ But she came and adored Him, saying: ‘Lord! Help me!’ Jesus answering, said: ‘Suffer first the children to be filled―for it is not good to take the bread of the children, and to cast it to the dogs!’ But she answered and said to Him: ‘Yes, Lord―bu the dogs under the table also eat of the crumbs of the children that fall from the table of their masters!’ Then Jesus answering, said to her: ‘O woman, great is thy Faith! For this saying go thy way! Be it done to thee as thou wilt! The devil is gone out of thy daughter!’ And her daughter was cured from that hour. And when she was come into her house, she found the girl lying upon the bed, and that the devil was gone out of her daughter” (Matthew 15:22-28; Mark 7:16).
In the spiritual life, many of us know the sting we feel when our prayers seem to go unheard. We have all experienced it before―a desperate prayer to God for something that we needed and we never got it. God appears deaf or uncaring to our needs. What do we do when our prayers are unanswered? Unfortunately, we give up and make up reasons for doing so like, “I do not have the time to pray!” … “It is obvious that God does not want to give me what I am asking for―so I might as well stop asking!”
Our Lord once revealed to one of His mystics that He is often disposed to grant us what we are asking of Him though prayer―and that is often on verge of granting our requests, but WE STOP ASKING out of discouragement and frustration at how long it is taking! The problem is that we set too low a price on what we are asking for and expect to “get-it-on-the-cheap” with a few days of Hail Marys, etc. Nothing is cheap with God! You reap what you sow―you get what you pay for.
The saints also remind us that perseverance in prayer often leads to remarkable grace, even if it takes years, or when our prayers are answered in ways we don’t expect. Their stories reveal the beauty of Faith that persists through doubt, delay, and difficulty. Here are some saints who experienced profound answers to their prayers after great perseverance:
St. Monica
Few stories about perseverance in prayer are as moving as that of St. Monica, the mother of St. Augustine. For nearly two decades, Monica prayed for the conversion of her wayward son, who had embraced a life of sin and heretical beliefs. Despite his resistance, she never gave up hope. Her prayers were ultimately answered when Augustine not only converted but became a priest, then became a bishop, then a saint, a then a Father and Doctor of the Church as one of the greatest theologians in Church history. St. Monica’s story is a testament to the power of intercessory prayer and a reminder to parents struggling with their children’s faith to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
St. Anne and St. Joachim
The story of St. Anne and St. Joachim, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a beautiful example of persevering prayer. According to tradition, the couple faced years of heartache due to their inability to conceive a child. They continued to pray and trust in God’s plan. Their prayers were finally answered when an angel appeared to them, announcing that they would have a child who would be blessed above all others. That child was Mary, who would become the Mother of God. St. Anne’s and St. Joachim’s steadfast hope and confidence shows that God’s timing is perfect, even when His answers come after long periods of waiting.
St. Rita
Known as the “Saint of Impossible Causes,” St. Rita prayed for years for peace in her turbulent marriage and the conversion of her abusive husband. After his eventual conversion, she faced more heartache as she prayed for her sons to turn away from vengeance when her husband was murdered. Her prayers were answered in a miraculous way―her sons died of natural causes before committing any acts of violence, thus saving their souls. St. Rita’s life demonstrates trust in God amidst seemingly insurmountable difficulties.
St. Patrick
St. Patrick is widely known for bringing Christianity to Ireland, but his journey began with a profound trial. Captured by Irish pirates as a teenager, Patrick spent six years in slavery. During this time, he turned to fervent prayer, growing deeply in his Faith and praying for his captors. After his miraculous escape and return to his family, Patrick continued to pray for the Irish people, feeling a persistent call to return and share the Gospel with them. His prayers were answered when he was ordained a priest and consecrated a bishop and sent on mission to Ireland. Through years of tireless prayer, preaching, and perseverance, Patrick led thousands to Christ, transforming an entire nation.
St. Thérèse of Lisieux
From a young age, St. Thérèse of Lisieux felt called to join the Carmelite convent, but her tender age posed a significant obstacle. Despite being refused admission several times, she persisted in prayer and petitioned both her local bishop and even Pope Leo XIII during a pilgrimage to Rome. Her prayers were answered when she entered the Carmel at the unprecedented age of 15. Thérèse’s perseverance in prayer exemplifies childlike faith and trust in God’s timing.
St. Joseph of Cupertino
St. Joseph of Cupertino, known as the “Flying Friar” for his ecstatic levitations during prayer, is a powerful witness to perseverance through struggle. As a young man, Joseph faced immense difficulties due to his limited intellectual abilities and clumsiness. He was dismissed from several religious communities and was often misunderstood. Yet, Joseph remained steadfast in prayer, constantly seeking God’s will and grace. His deepest desire was to become a priest, but he struggled with the academic requirements. Through continuous prayer and unwavering trust, he passed the necessary examinations in what many consider miraculous circumstances—answering the only question he knew during his final exam. His perseverance in prayer was rewarded not only with ordination, but with a profound spiritual life marked by mystical experiences and humility. St. Joseph’s story reminds us that through persistent prayer and trust in God, even our weaknesses can be transformed into channels of grace.
VIRTUES FOR PENTECOST
2. Prayer Should be a Loving Relationship
2. Prayer Should be a Loving Relationship
The prayer, “Our Father,” that Jesus taught us, is a prayer that begins, continues, and ends with a sense of our being in a loving relationship with God as our loving Father. We first acknowledge God as our Father (not just Creator) and we indicate our willingness to make Him better known and loved by others and to live as His children under His sovereignty, “Hallowed be Thy Name, Thy kingdom come,” and only then do we present our daily needs, “Give us this day our daily bread,” and then we end by asking that He preserve us in our relationship with Him, “Lead us not into temptation and but deliver us evil.”
Perseverance in asking for all our needs matters, but prayer must begin with and is sustained by our relationship with God. We break that relationship through mortal sin and we weaken that relationship through venial sin and lukewarmness.
“For God so loved the world, as to give His only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting” (John 3:16). “In this we have known the charity of God, because He has laid down His life for us” (1 John 3:16). “Let us therefore love God, because God first has loved us!” (1 John 4:19).
God is passionately in love with us, ready to raise us up with Christ even when we are dead in our transgressions. “Thanks be to God, that when you were the servants of sin, you were free from sin, and became servants to God” (Romans 6:17-22). That is the power of the love that God gratuitously offers to us in Jesus Christ, the only love that can set us free from all bondage of sin and flood our souls with God’s own grace, strength, joy and peace, and hope. We connect with this love only through persevering prayer. “Let all your things be done in charity!” (1 Corinthians 16:14). “May your charity abound more and more!” (Philippians 1:9).
Fr. Jean Baptiste Saint-Jure, S.J. (1588-1657) was an eminent Jesuit thinker and French spiritual writer of the 17th century. Here is what he has to say on perseverance in prayer: “If you want all your prayers to be answered without fail and oblige God to meet all your wishes, the first thing is never to stop praying. Those who get tired after praying for a time are lacking in either humility or confidence, and so do not deserve to be heard. You would think that they expected their requests to be obeyed at once as if they were orders.
“Surely we know that God resists the proud and shows His favors to the humble. Won’t our pride allow us to ask more than once for the same thing? It shows very little trust in God’s goodness to give up so soon and take a delay for an absolute refusal. Once we have really understood just how far God’s goodness extends we can never believe that we have been refused or that He wishes to deprive us of hope. Rather, the more He makes us keep on asking for something we want, the more confident we should feel that we shall eventually obtain it.
“We can begin to doubt that our prayer has been heard only when we notice we have stopped praying. If after a year we find that our prayer is as fervent as it was at the beginning, then we need not doubt about the success of our efforts, and instead of losing courage after so long a delay, we should rejoice because we can be certain that our desires will be all the more fully satisfied for the length of time we have prayed. If our first attempts had been quite useless we would not have repeated them so often and we would have lost hope; but as we have kept on in spite of this, there is good reason to believe we shall be liberally rewarded.
“In fact it took St. Monica sixteen years to obtain the conversion of Augustine, but the conversion was entire and far beyond what she had prayed for. Her desire was that her son’s incontinence might be checked by marriage, and instead she had the joy of seeing him embrace a life of holy chastity. She had only wanted him to be baptized and become a Christian, and she saw him a bishop. She asked God to turn him aside from heresy, and God made him a pillar of the Church and its champion against heretics.
“Think what would have happened had she given up hope after a couple of years, after ten or twelve years, when her prayers appeared to obtain no result and her son grew worse instead of better, adding avarice and ambition to the wildness of his life and sinking further and further into error. She would have wronged her son, thrown away her own happiness, and deprived the world of one of the greatest Christian thinkers.” (Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence by Fr. Jean Baptiste Saint Jure, S.J. and St. Claude de la Colombiere, S.J.).
The Holy Spirit is this spirit of love. “Charity is of God … For God is charity!” (1 John 4:7-8). “God has not given us the spirit of fear―but of power and of love” (2 Timothy 1:7). “The fruit of the Spirit is charity” (Galatians 5:22). “The charity of God is poured forth in our hearts, by the Holy Ghost, who is given to us!” (Romans 5:5). Thus we pray in the Veni Creator Spiritus: “Come O Holy Ghost and fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Thy love!” The Holy Spirit helps us to fulfill the command: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength! This is the greatest and the first commandment!” (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31).
“If I … have not Charity―then I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal! If I … have not Charity―then I am nothing! If I … have not Charity―then it profits me nothing!” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). Our Lord criticizes this lack of Charity in the worship of God: “Well did Isaias prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. In vain do they worship Me!’” (Mark 7:6-7). “Why call you Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ and do not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). “If you love Me, keep My commandments! … If anyone loves Me, he will keep My words! … He that has My commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves Me! And he that loves Me, shall be loved by My Father; and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him! … He that does not love Me, keeps not My words!” (John 14:15, 14:21-24).
He that loves most, gets most. We give more to those whom we love and who love us the most. “I love them that love Me … That I may enrich them that love Me, and may fill their treasures! … Showing mercy unto thousands to them that love Me and keep My commandments!” (Proverbs 8:17, 21; Exodus 20:6).
We are guaranteed the gift of the Holy Spirit as the first good thing we receive when we pray with persistence to the Father, “How much more will your Father in Heaven give the good Spirit to those who ask Him?” (Luke 11:13). As fruit of prayer, the Spirit first of all deepens our relationship with God as His beloved children. Secondly, the Spirit inspires and moves us to pray as God’s children, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit himself asks for us with unspeakable groanings” (Romans 8:26). Thirdly, the Spirit enables us to live in the love of God―come what may― sustained, like Jesus Christ, Who faced and overcame suffering, death and the grave, by a prayer initiated and sustained by His Father’s undying love for Him, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit!” (Luke 23:46).
The Holy Spirit is a Spirit of Prayer―that proceeds to the Father from the Son and from the Son to the Father. We have this same Spirit of prayer in us today who binds us in a deep relationship with God as His children and gives us a share in Christ’s victory over the adversities of life. Whether our prayers are answered or not, this Spirit is constantly moving us to persevere in prayer because we are made for communion with God. We cannot persevere in prayer if we have reduced prayer to merely begging for our wants and then judging God’s love for us by how He grants our prayers. We will surely know the all-conquering power of His love when we begin and persevere in prayer out of a sense of responding to God’s love for us.
The Imitation of Christ says this on power of love: “Love is an excellent thing, a very great blessing, indeed! The noble love of Jesus spurs to great deeds. Love often knows no limits. Love attempts more than it is able and does not plead impossibility, because it believes that it may and can do all things. Like a living flame, a burning torch, it forces its way unharmed through every obstacle. It makes every difficulty easy and bears all wrongs with calmness and evenness of temper. Love feels no burden, thinks nothing of troubles. Love is never self-seeking, for in whatever a person seeks himself, there he falls from love. Love often knows no limits, but overflows all bounds. Love is swift, sincere, kind, pleasant, and delightful. Love is strong, patient and faithful, prudent, and long-suffering. Nothing is sweeter than love, nothing stronger, or higher, or wider; nothing is more pleasant, nothing fuller, and nothing better in Heaven or on Earth, for love is born of God and cannot rest except in God, Who is above all created things. He who is not ready to suffer all things and to stand resigned to the will of the Beloved, is not worthy to be called a lover. A lover must embrace willingly all that is difficult and bitter, for the sake of the Beloved, and he should not turn away from Him because of adversities. Anyone who loves, will know the sound of this voice!” (Book 3, Chapter 5).
Perseverance in asking for all our needs matters, but prayer must begin with and is sustained by our relationship with God. We break that relationship through mortal sin and we weaken that relationship through venial sin and lukewarmness.
“For God so loved the world, as to give His only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting” (John 3:16). “In this we have known the charity of God, because He has laid down His life for us” (1 John 3:16). “Let us therefore love God, because God first has loved us!” (1 John 4:19).
God is passionately in love with us, ready to raise us up with Christ even when we are dead in our transgressions. “Thanks be to God, that when you were the servants of sin, you were free from sin, and became servants to God” (Romans 6:17-22). That is the power of the love that God gratuitously offers to us in Jesus Christ, the only love that can set us free from all bondage of sin and flood our souls with God’s own grace, strength, joy and peace, and hope. We connect with this love only through persevering prayer. “Let all your things be done in charity!” (1 Corinthians 16:14). “May your charity abound more and more!” (Philippians 1:9).
Fr. Jean Baptiste Saint-Jure, S.J. (1588-1657) was an eminent Jesuit thinker and French spiritual writer of the 17th century. Here is what he has to say on perseverance in prayer: “If you want all your prayers to be answered without fail and oblige God to meet all your wishes, the first thing is never to stop praying. Those who get tired after praying for a time are lacking in either humility or confidence, and so do not deserve to be heard. You would think that they expected their requests to be obeyed at once as if they were orders.
“Surely we know that God resists the proud and shows His favors to the humble. Won’t our pride allow us to ask more than once for the same thing? It shows very little trust in God’s goodness to give up so soon and take a delay for an absolute refusal. Once we have really understood just how far God’s goodness extends we can never believe that we have been refused or that He wishes to deprive us of hope. Rather, the more He makes us keep on asking for something we want, the more confident we should feel that we shall eventually obtain it.
“We can begin to doubt that our prayer has been heard only when we notice we have stopped praying. If after a year we find that our prayer is as fervent as it was at the beginning, then we need not doubt about the success of our efforts, and instead of losing courage after so long a delay, we should rejoice because we can be certain that our desires will be all the more fully satisfied for the length of time we have prayed. If our first attempts had been quite useless we would not have repeated them so often and we would have lost hope; but as we have kept on in spite of this, there is good reason to believe we shall be liberally rewarded.
“In fact it took St. Monica sixteen years to obtain the conversion of Augustine, but the conversion was entire and far beyond what she had prayed for. Her desire was that her son’s incontinence might be checked by marriage, and instead she had the joy of seeing him embrace a life of holy chastity. She had only wanted him to be baptized and become a Christian, and she saw him a bishop. She asked God to turn him aside from heresy, and God made him a pillar of the Church and its champion against heretics.
“Think what would have happened had she given up hope after a couple of years, after ten or twelve years, when her prayers appeared to obtain no result and her son grew worse instead of better, adding avarice and ambition to the wildness of his life and sinking further and further into error. She would have wronged her son, thrown away her own happiness, and deprived the world of one of the greatest Christian thinkers.” (Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence by Fr. Jean Baptiste Saint Jure, S.J. and St. Claude de la Colombiere, S.J.).
The Holy Spirit is this spirit of love. “Charity is of God … For God is charity!” (1 John 4:7-8). “God has not given us the spirit of fear―but of power and of love” (2 Timothy 1:7). “The fruit of the Spirit is charity” (Galatians 5:22). “The charity of God is poured forth in our hearts, by the Holy Ghost, who is given to us!” (Romans 5:5). Thus we pray in the Veni Creator Spiritus: “Come O Holy Ghost and fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Thy love!” The Holy Spirit helps us to fulfill the command: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength! This is the greatest and the first commandment!” (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31).
“If I … have not Charity―then I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal! If I … have not Charity―then I am nothing! If I … have not Charity―then it profits me nothing!” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). Our Lord criticizes this lack of Charity in the worship of God: “Well did Isaias prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. In vain do they worship Me!’” (Mark 7:6-7). “Why call you Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ and do not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). “If you love Me, keep My commandments! … If anyone loves Me, he will keep My words! … He that has My commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves Me! And he that loves Me, shall be loved by My Father; and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him! … He that does not love Me, keeps not My words!” (John 14:15, 14:21-24).
He that loves most, gets most. We give more to those whom we love and who love us the most. “I love them that love Me … That I may enrich them that love Me, and may fill their treasures! … Showing mercy unto thousands to them that love Me and keep My commandments!” (Proverbs 8:17, 21; Exodus 20:6).
We are guaranteed the gift of the Holy Spirit as the first good thing we receive when we pray with persistence to the Father, “How much more will your Father in Heaven give the good Spirit to those who ask Him?” (Luke 11:13). As fruit of prayer, the Spirit first of all deepens our relationship with God as His beloved children. Secondly, the Spirit inspires and moves us to pray as God’s children, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit himself asks for us with unspeakable groanings” (Romans 8:26). Thirdly, the Spirit enables us to live in the love of God―come what may― sustained, like Jesus Christ, Who faced and overcame suffering, death and the grave, by a prayer initiated and sustained by His Father’s undying love for Him, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit!” (Luke 23:46).
The Holy Spirit is a Spirit of Prayer―that proceeds to the Father from the Son and from the Son to the Father. We have this same Spirit of prayer in us today who binds us in a deep relationship with God as His children and gives us a share in Christ’s victory over the adversities of life. Whether our prayers are answered or not, this Spirit is constantly moving us to persevere in prayer because we are made for communion with God. We cannot persevere in prayer if we have reduced prayer to merely begging for our wants and then judging God’s love for us by how He grants our prayers. We will surely know the all-conquering power of His love when we begin and persevere in prayer out of a sense of responding to God’s love for us.
The Imitation of Christ says this on power of love: “Love is an excellent thing, a very great blessing, indeed! The noble love of Jesus spurs to great deeds. Love often knows no limits. Love attempts more than it is able and does not plead impossibility, because it believes that it may and can do all things. Like a living flame, a burning torch, it forces its way unharmed through every obstacle. It makes every difficulty easy and bears all wrongs with calmness and evenness of temper. Love feels no burden, thinks nothing of troubles. Love is never self-seeking, for in whatever a person seeks himself, there he falls from love. Love often knows no limits, but overflows all bounds. Love is swift, sincere, kind, pleasant, and delightful. Love is strong, patient and faithful, prudent, and long-suffering. Nothing is sweeter than love, nothing stronger, or higher, or wider; nothing is more pleasant, nothing fuller, and nothing better in Heaven or on Earth, for love is born of God and cannot rest except in God, Who is above all created things. He who is not ready to suffer all things and to stand resigned to the will of the Beloved, is not worthy to be called a lover. A lover must embrace willingly all that is difficult and bitter, for the sake of the Beloved, and he should not turn away from Him because of adversities. Anyone who loves, will know the sound of this voice!” (Book 3, Chapter 5).
VIRTUES FOR PENTECOST
3. Prayer Should be Humble
3. Prayer Should be Humble
When we pray, do we speak from the height of our pride and will, or ‘out of the depths’ of a humble and contrite heart? He who humbles himself will be exalted; humility is the foundation of prayer. St. Paul teaches that the greatest virtue is charity, as that is the principal virtue of heaven. But you cannot get to Heaven without humility. There is no wisdom without humility. Only a fool thinks he is wise, while a wise man knows he is a fool.
You can be weak in every other virtue and if you have humility you can be saved because you know you need God’s mercy. But if you lack humility, even if you are strong in every other virtue, you will be lost because of your pride. Humility is a tricky virtue to work on, because if you think you’re good at it, you probably aren’t.
So what is humility and how do we acquire it? The root word in Latin means “dirt” or “earth.” But humility doesn’t mean debasing yourself. It means being honest with yourself. It means seeing yourself for who you truly are, and that can be very difficult to do. In Genesis, God made man from the dirt of the ground and breathed life into him (Genesis 2:7). Humility reminds us that without God’s life in us, we are nothing, and that all our good gifts come from him. Humility helps to keep us thankful. The humble person doesn’t think less of himself, but rather thinks of himself less.
Humility means recognizing your strengths as gifts given to you by God, which are meant to be used for God’s purposes. If you are a good speaker, a good athlete, a good musician, a good listener, a good artist, a good gardener, it’s not prideful to admit that you are good at these things. It is prideful to think that these gifts and talents make you better or more important than anyone else. It is prideful to think that these gifts come from yourself and should be used selfishly for your own interests.
Humility also means recognizing your weaknesses, either as areas of your life to be worked on, if it’s something that can be improved, or accepted as a cross if it’s not. Your weaknesses are occasions to rely on God for help, but they do not make you worse or less deserving than anyone else. Thinking your weaknesses make you special is just as prideful as thinking your strengths make you special. What makes you special is God and God’s love for you. God gave you certain strengths and certain weaknesses and the humble person accepts them both equally not counting either as his own merit.
Pride looks inward and says, “I am so good I don’t need God’s help,” or “I am so bad I am beyond God’s help.” Humility looks upward and says, “Lord, I need your help.” The most humble prayer is, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” because it recognizes the three essential truths that everyone must admit to get to heaven, and that is who we are (sinners), who Jesus is (God), and what we need from Jesus/God (mercy).
For St. Teresa of Avila, prayer and virtue grow or stagnate together. You can’t grow in prayer if you are unwilling to tackle your sinfulness. Nor can you grow in virtue if you seldom spend time with God. While each person has different vices to conquer, pride is universal. It is also the most dangerous sin. Pride turned Lucifer into Satan and caused Adam’s fall. A proud person is too full of himself to have much room for God. Ignorant of his neediness, he doesn’t seek God. He does not place his trust in God. A proud person fails in both prayer and virtue, and may not even realize it! This is why humility has been called “the mother of the virtues.”
What is humility? It is not talking badly about yourself or ignoring your gifts. Rather, humility recognizes that God is the source of our gifts, whether they are natural or supernatural. St. Teresa said simply, “Humility is truth.”
How does one overcome pride? To a certain extent, pride is a young person’s vice. Experience shows us our weakness. I have found having kids to be especially revealing of my spiritual state. It was a lot easier to believe in my superficial virtue in my single years, when I was living to please myself, than it was being a mother of young children. I imagine priests and religious have similar eye-opening moments in their vocations. But we certainly can and should work toward greater humility at any age.
Prayer is the key. We should continually pray to be freed from pride, to have God show us our weaknesses. Praying the Litany of Humility regularly can be astonishingly eye-opening. Focusing on God and his character during mental prayer is also important. Prayer, like the rest of life, is not “all about me.” We shouldn’t neglect to voice our needs, sorrows and frustrations, but neither should we fixate on them. Meditating on the Gospels teaches us about the character of Jesus. As we come to know him, we realize how far short our love for him falls, and how desperately we need his grace to imitate him. But we should always turn our eyes back to him, lest we despair.
Pride keeps us distant from God. If we cannot acknowledge our need for God, we will put little effort into our relationship with him. If we see ourselves as already holy, we will not pursue union with him. As we mature in prayer, our job becomes more and more a matter of surrender to God’s action. We must trust that his ways are better than ours and expect his ways to be beyond our understanding.
You can be weak in every other virtue and if you have humility you can be saved because you know you need God’s mercy. But if you lack humility, even if you are strong in every other virtue, you will be lost because of your pride. Humility is a tricky virtue to work on, because if you think you’re good at it, you probably aren’t.
So what is humility and how do we acquire it? The root word in Latin means “dirt” or “earth.” But humility doesn’t mean debasing yourself. It means being honest with yourself. It means seeing yourself for who you truly are, and that can be very difficult to do. In Genesis, God made man from the dirt of the ground and breathed life into him (Genesis 2:7). Humility reminds us that without God’s life in us, we are nothing, and that all our good gifts come from him. Humility helps to keep us thankful. The humble person doesn’t think less of himself, but rather thinks of himself less.
Humility means recognizing your strengths as gifts given to you by God, which are meant to be used for God’s purposes. If you are a good speaker, a good athlete, a good musician, a good listener, a good artist, a good gardener, it’s not prideful to admit that you are good at these things. It is prideful to think that these gifts and talents make you better or more important than anyone else. It is prideful to think that these gifts come from yourself and should be used selfishly for your own interests.
Humility also means recognizing your weaknesses, either as areas of your life to be worked on, if it’s something that can be improved, or accepted as a cross if it’s not. Your weaknesses are occasions to rely on God for help, but they do not make you worse or less deserving than anyone else. Thinking your weaknesses make you special is just as prideful as thinking your strengths make you special. What makes you special is God and God’s love for you. God gave you certain strengths and certain weaknesses and the humble person accepts them both equally not counting either as his own merit.
Pride looks inward and says, “I am so good I don’t need God’s help,” or “I am so bad I am beyond God’s help.” Humility looks upward and says, “Lord, I need your help.” The most humble prayer is, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” because it recognizes the three essential truths that everyone must admit to get to heaven, and that is who we are (sinners), who Jesus is (God), and what we need from Jesus/God (mercy).
For St. Teresa of Avila, prayer and virtue grow or stagnate together. You can’t grow in prayer if you are unwilling to tackle your sinfulness. Nor can you grow in virtue if you seldom spend time with God. While each person has different vices to conquer, pride is universal. It is also the most dangerous sin. Pride turned Lucifer into Satan and caused Adam’s fall. A proud person is too full of himself to have much room for God. Ignorant of his neediness, he doesn’t seek God. He does not place his trust in God. A proud person fails in both prayer and virtue, and may not even realize it! This is why humility has been called “the mother of the virtues.”
What is humility? It is not talking badly about yourself or ignoring your gifts. Rather, humility recognizes that God is the source of our gifts, whether they are natural or supernatural. St. Teresa said simply, “Humility is truth.”
How does one overcome pride? To a certain extent, pride is a young person’s vice. Experience shows us our weakness. I have found having kids to be especially revealing of my spiritual state. It was a lot easier to believe in my superficial virtue in my single years, when I was living to please myself, than it was being a mother of young children. I imagine priests and religious have similar eye-opening moments in their vocations. But we certainly can and should work toward greater humility at any age.
Prayer is the key. We should continually pray to be freed from pride, to have God show us our weaknesses. Praying the Litany of Humility regularly can be astonishingly eye-opening. Focusing on God and his character during mental prayer is also important. Prayer, like the rest of life, is not “all about me.” We shouldn’t neglect to voice our needs, sorrows and frustrations, but neither should we fixate on them. Meditating on the Gospels teaches us about the character of Jesus. As we come to know him, we realize how far short our love for him falls, and how desperately we need his grace to imitate him. But we should always turn our eyes back to him, lest we despair.
Pride keeps us distant from God. If we cannot acknowledge our need for God, we will put little effort into our relationship with him. If we see ourselves as already holy, we will not pursue union with him. As we mature in prayer, our job becomes more and more a matter of surrender to God’s action. We must trust that his ways are better than ours and expect his ways to be beyond our understanding.
VIRTUES FOR PENTECOST
4. Prayer Should be Selfless
4. Prayer Should be Selfless
Selfless Catholic prayer shifts the focus from "what can I get" to "Thy will be done." It aligns your heart with Christ's through adoration, contrition, thanksgiving, and intercession, transforming prayer into an outpouring of love for God and neighbor rather than just a personal wish list.
As St. Gertrude once prostrated at the feet of Our Lord Jesus, and kissed His Wounds with all possible respect and devotion, before praying for several persons and several affairs which had been recommended to her, she saw a stream breaking forth from the Heart of Jesus, which appeared to water all the place where she was. She understood that this stream was the efficacy of the prayers which she had offered at His feet, and said to Him: “My Lord, what advantage will those persons receive for whom I have prayed, since they cannot feel the effect of my prayers, and consequently cannot expect any consolation therefrom?”
Our Lord answered by the following similitude: “When a king makes peace after a long war, those who live at a distance cannot be made aware of it until a favorable opportunity occurs; thus they who separate themselves from Me by their diffidence or other defects cannot perceive when others pray for them.”
“But, Lord,” she replied, “Thou hast Thyself made known to me that some of those for whom I have prayed are not separated far from Thee.”
“It is true,” answered Our Lord; “but he to whom the king gives his orders personally, and not through his officers, must wait for the convenience of his prince. And thus I will Myself make known to them the effect of your prayers, when I find it will be most advantageous to them to do so.”
St. Gertrude then prayed specially for a person who had persecuted her formerly, and received this reply: “As it would be impossible for anyone to have his foot pierced through without his heart sympathizing in its sufferings, so My paternal goodness cannot fail to look with eyes of mercy on those who, while they groan under their own infirmities and feel their need of pardon, are nevertheless moved by a holy charity to pray for the welfare of their neighbor.”
Praying For The Sick
As it is a duty of humanity to pray often for the sick, the Saint inquired of God what would be most for the advantage of an invalid for whom she prayed. Our Lord replied: “Say two words for her with devotion—first, pray that she may preserve her patience; and secondly, pray that I may make every moment of suffering serve for her spiritual advancement and for My glory, according as the charity of My paternal Heart has ordained from all eternity for her salvation. And know that each time you pray thus, you will increase your merit and that of the sick person, even as an artist makes the colors brighter by retouching his painting.”
Praying For Church Leaders
As St. Gertrude prayed for persons in office, she understood that what God desired most from them, and especially from prelates, was, that they should possess these dignities as if they possessed them not—that is to say, that they should use their authority as if it had only been granted to them for a day or an hour, and that they should be ready at any moment to resign their charge, yet without ceasing to do all in their power for the glory of God, saying to themselves continually in their hearts:
“Courage! Let us neglect nothing which may procure the honor of Our Lord in these matters, that we may at last lay down our burden without fear, when we have promoted His glory and the advantage of our neighbor.”
Requesting Prayers From Others
As the Saint prayed for a person who had requested her prayers with great humility, both personally and through others, she saw Our Lord approach this person, encompassing her with celestial light, and pouring forth on her in the midst of this splendor all the graces which she had hoped to receive through the merits of the prayers of St. Gertrude. Our Lord taught her by this, that when anyone confides in the prayers of another, with a firm confidence that through their intercession they will receive grace from God, the Lord in His goodness pours forth His benedictions on them according to the measure of their desires and their faith, even when he to whose prayers they have recommended themselves neglects to pray for them.
Purification from Selfishness
In one way or another, we all must be purified of the selfishness that prevents the pure love of God from possessing us. The spiritual life is a journey from selfishness to selflessness because only a selfless person can become one with the utterly Selfless One, who is all pure undiluted loving.
This is a lengthy business that will be commensurate with the whole of our lives. Unless a person makes a genuine attempt to rid themselves of the selfishness that keeps God out, then they will make no spiritual progress. Unless we try to change our self-centered lives outside of prayer, our prayer itself will never develop beyond the most rudimentary stages. Even from a psychological point of view, if we have behaved badly all day, then prayer will be quite impossible at the end of that day. In fact, one of the reasons why people run away from prayer is that they know full well that it will mean coming to terms with themselves and doing something about their shoddy lifestyles.
Even though we may make our morning offering as sincerely as possible, and genuinely try to implement it in the forthcoming day, we will ultimately fail unless something is done to cure the scourge of selfishness that can destroy even our best of intentions and our sincerest efforts. God wants us to do all that is within our power to strip away all and everything in our lives that prevents us from being totally united with him at all times. Only then will he be able to possess us as fully as he has planned. If we do not see the sin and the selfishness that prevents our growth in the spiritual life, it is not because we are sinless, it is simply because we are blind, and so we need to cry out with Bartimaeus, “Lord, that I may see!” (Mark 10:46-52).
As St. Gertrude once prostrated at the feet of Our Lord Jesus, and kissed His Wounds with all possible respect and devotion, before praying for several persons and several affairs which had been recommended to her, she saw a stream breaking forth from the Heart of Jesus, which appeared to water all the place where she was. She understood that this stream was the efficacy of the prayers which she had offered at His feet, and said to Him: “My Lord, what advantage will those persons receive for whom I have prayed, since they cannot feel the effect of my prayers, and consequently cannot expect any consolation therefrom?”
Our Lord answered by the following similitude: “When a king makes peace after a long war, those who live at a distance cannot be made aware of it until a favorable opportunity occurs; thus they who separate themselves from Me by their diffidence or other defects cannot perceive when others pray for them.”
“But, Lord,” she replied, “Thou hast Thyself made known to me that some of those for whom I have prayed are not separated far from Thee.”
“It is true,” answered Our Lord; “but he to whom the king gives his orders personally, and not through his officers, must wait for the convenience of his prince. And thus I will Myself make known to them the effect of your prayers, when I find it will be most advantageous to them to do so.”
St. Gertrude then prayed specially for a person who had persecuted her formerly, and received this reply: “As it would be impossible for anyone to have his foot pierced through without his heart sympathizing in its sufferings, so My paternal goodness cannot fail to look with eyes of mercy on those who, while they groan under their own infirmities and feel their need of pardon, are nevertheless moved by a holy charity to pray for the welfare of their neighbor.”
Praying For The Sick
As it is a duty of humanity to pray often for the sick, the Saint inquired of God what would be most for the advantage of an invalid for whom she prayed. Our Lord replied: “Say two words for her with devotion—first, pray that she may preserve her patience; and secondly, pray that I may make every moment of suffering serve for her spiritual advancement and for My glory, according as the charity of My paternal Heart has ordained from all eternity for her salvation. And know that each time you pray thus, you will increase your merit and that of the sick person, even as an artist makes the colors brighter by retouching his painting.”
Praying For Church Leaders
As St. Gertrude prayed for persons in office, she understood that what God desired most from them, and especially from prelates, was, that they should possess these dignities as if they possessed them not—that is to say, that they should use their authority as if it had only been granted to them for a day or an hour, and that they should be ready at any moment to resign their charge, yet without ceasing to do all in their power for the glory of God, saying to themselves continually in their hearts:
“Courage! Let us neglect nothing which may procure the honor of Our Lord in these matters, that we may at last lay down our burden without fear, when we have promoted His glory and the advantage of our neighbor.”
Requesting Prayers From Others
As the Saint prayed for a person who had requested her prayers with great humility, both personally and through others, she saw Our Lord approach this person, encompassing her with celestial light, and pouring forth on her in the midst of this splendor all the graces which she had hoped to receive through the merits of the prayers of St. Gertrude. Our Lord taught her by this, that when anyone confides in the prayers of another, with a firm confidence that through their intercession they will receive grace from God, the Lord in His goodness pours forth His benedictions on them according to the measure of their desires and their faith, even when he to whose prayers they have recommended themselves neglects to pray for them.
Purification from Selfishness
In one way or another, we all must be purified of the selfishness that prevents the pure love of God from possessing us. The spiritual life is a journey from selfishness to selflessness because only a selfless person can become one with the utterly Selfless One, who is all pure undiluted loving.
This is a lengthy business that will be commensurate with the whole of our lives. Unless a person makes a genuine attempt to rid themselves of the selfishness that keeps God out, then they will make no spiritual progress. Unless we try to change our self-centered lives outside of prayer, our prayer itself will never develop beyond the most rudimentary stages. Even from a psychological point of view, if we have behaved badly all day, then prayer will be quite impossible at the end of that day. In fact, one of the reasons why people run away from prayer is that they know full well that it will mean coming to terms with themselves and doing something about their shoddy lifestyles.
Even though we may make our morning offering as sincerely as possible, and genuinely try to implement it in the forthcoming day, we will ultimately fail unless something is done to cure the scourge of selfishness that can destroy even our best of intentions and our sincerest efforts. God wants us to do all that is within our power to strip away all and everything in our lives that prevents us from being totally united with him at all times. Only then will he be able to possess us as fully as he has planned. If we do not see the sin and the selfishness that prevents our growth in the spiritual life, it is not because we are sinless, it is simply because we are blind, and so we need to cry out with Bartimaeus, “Lord, that I may see!” (Mark 10:46-52).
VIRTUES FOR PENTECOST
5. Praying with Confidence and Faith
Part 1
5. Praying with Confidence and Faith
Part 1
“And all things whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive!” (John 21:22).
In Catholic tradition, praying with confidence and faith means surrendering to God’s will rather than demanding specific outcomes.
God has solemnly promised to listen to a prayer said with confidence. “All things whatsoever you ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.” (Matthew 21:22). “All things whatsoever you ask when ye pray, believe that you shall receive, and they shall come to you.” (Mark 11:24). God is displeased with a want of trust on the part of souls who sincerely love Him and whom He loves infinitely. Therefore, if you desire to please His loving Heart, converse with Him in the future with the greatest confidence and tenderness possible.
“I have graven [inscribed] thee in My hands,” says Our Lord by the lips of the prophet Isaias (49:16). Beloved soul, He meant to say: “What dost thou fear or mistrust? I have written thee in My hands so as never to forget to do thee good.”
Whoever prays with faith and confidence may look for success in his cause. Our Lord often revealed to St. Gertrude the delight He takes in a confiding soul, and once said, “A person who prays to Me with full confidence does obedience to Me, so that I must grant him whatsoever he requests.”
Another time, after having prayed fervently for a certain intention, St. Gertrude asked, “O Lord, what shall I add to these prayers to make them yet more efficacious?”
Jesus, turning to her with a countenance full of sweetness, replied, “Confidence alone easily obtains all things!”
Confidence was the characteristic feature of St. Gertrude’s life, and she was accustomed to say, “All that I have received I owe to my confidence in the gratuitous bounty of my God.” The following is another of her revelations, showing how agreeable to Jesus was this confidence.
“Although I regard with pleasure,” said Our Lord, “all that is done for My glory, such as prayers, fasts, vigils, and other like works of piety, still the confidence with which the elect have recourse to Me in their weakness touches Me far more sensibly.”
This same truth our Savior likewise impressed upon St. Mechtilde: “According to the measure of faith and firm hope with which one expects to receive from My goodness and mercy, so much and infinitely more will be given to him; for it is impossible for Me to refuse to man that which with steadfast faith he believes and expects.” What consoling words!
Encouraging also is the comment of St. Bernard: “Our confidence determines the measure of the graces that we receive from God. If our confidence is great, we will obtain great graces, for Divine grace is an inexhaustible fountain: whosoever carries thither the vessel of confidence will draw therefrom a great quantity of riches.”
St. Augustine says, “How can we fear that our petitions will remain unanswered when Eternal Truth Itself has promised to hear him who asks?” And St. Thomas Aquinas states: “Our confidence in prayer must not support itself on our own merits, but on the mercy of God and the merits of Jesus Christ.” According to this same holy Doctor, it is the confidence and not the sanctity of him who prays that imparts to prayer its efficacy.
St, Alphonsus Liguori speaks at length on the confidence with which we ought to pray:
The condition which Saint James insists on, as most indispensable for the efficacy of prayer is, that we pray with a secure and unhesitating confidence of being heard. “But let him ask in faith, not wavering.” (James 1:6). Saint Thomas teaches (Summa Theologica 2a 2ae, Question 83, article 2) that “prayer derives from charity its virtue to merit a reward, and from faith and confidence, its efficacy to obtain the objects of our petitions.” The same doctrine is inculcated by Saint Bernard, who says, that “confidence alone obtains mercy from the Lord.” (Saint Bernard’s Sermon 3, de Annunciation). Confidence in God’s mercy is exceedingly pleasing to His divine Majesty, because it is a tribute of homage and praise to His infinite goodness, the attribute which He wished particularly to manifest to the world, by the creation of man.
“Let all them” said the Royal Prophet, “be glad that hope in you: they shall rejoice for ever, and you shall dwell in them.” (Psalm 5:11-12). God protects and saves all who confide in Him: “He is the protector of all that trust in Him.” (Psalm 17:31). “You who save them that trust in You.” (Psalm 16:7).
Oh! What splendid promises are made in the Holy Scriptures, to all who hope in the Lord! “Whosoever trusts in Him will not transgress the divine law. And none of them that trust in Him shall offend.” (Psalm 33:23). The Almighty keeps His eyes constantly fixed on those who confide in His goodness, to preserve them from the death of sin. “Behold,” says David, “the eyes of the Lord are on them that fear Him, and on them that hope in His mercy, to deliver their souls from death.” (Psalm 32:18). And again He says, “Because he hoped in Me I will deliver him; I will protect him; I will deliver him, and I will glorify him.” (Psalm 90:14-15) Mark the reason why God promises these favors: because, says the Lord, “he confided in Me, I will protect him; I will deliver him from his enemies, and from the danger of offending, and I will give him eternal glory.”
Isaias, speaking of those who put their trust in God, says, “But they that hope in the Lord, shall renew their strength, they shall take wings as the eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaias 40:31). “They shall lay aside their weakness, and put on the strength of God; they shall not faint, nor even be fatigued in treading the rugged ways of salvation, but shall run and fly like the eagle. In silence and in hope shall your strength be.” (Isaias 30:15). The holy prophet tells us, that all our strength consists in placing our entire hope in God, and in silence, or in reposing peacefully in the arms of His mercy, casting away all confidence in our own efforts, or in human means.
And has it ever happened that he who trusted in God was lost? “No one has hoped in the Lord, and has been confounded.” (Ecclesiasticus 2:11).David’s confidence gave him a security of eternal life: “In You, O Lord, have I hoped, let me never be confounded.” (Psalm 30:1-2). Is it possible that God should become a deceiver, and that after having promised support in their dangers to all who trust in Him, He should forsake them when they invoke His assistance?
“God,” says Saint Augustine, “is not a deceiver, who offers His protection and afterwards withdraws Himself from us, when we place our trust in Him.” “Blessed is the man,” says David, “that trusts in You.” And why? Because, says the Psalmist, “mercy shall encompass him that hopes in the Lord.” (Psalm 31:10). He is surrounded and protected on every side by the Almighty, and is secured against his enemies, and the danger of eternal damnation.
Hence, the apostle exhorts us so earnestly, not to suffer our confidence in God to be impaired: “Do not therefore lose your confidence, which has a great reward.” (Hebrews 10:35). The graces which we shall receive from God, will be proportioned to our confidence: “if it be strong and free from wavering, they shall be abundant: Great faith deserves a great reward.” Saint Bernard compares the divine mercy to an immense fountain, which gives out its salutary waters in proportion to the magnitude of the vessel of confidence in which they are to be carried: “You, O Lord,” he says, “do not pour the oil of mercy, unless into vessels of confidence,” (Saint Bernard Sermon 3, de Annunciation). “Let your mercy, O Lord,” says the prophet, “be upon us, as we have hoped in You.” (Psalm 32:22). This was verified in the centurion, whose confidence was praised by the Redeemer: “Go,” said our Lord to him, “and as you have believed, so be it done to you.” (Matthew 8:13).
Our Lord once revealed to Saint Gertrude that they who pray with confidence, do violence to Him in such a manner, that they must be heard, and obtain whatever they ask. “Prayer,” says Saint John Climacus, “piously does violence to God.” Yes, prayer does violence to the Almighty; but it is a violence which is pleasing and acceptable to Him.
“Let us go, therefore,” says Saint Paul, “with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace in seasonable aid.” (Hebrews 4:16). The throne of grace is Jesus Christ, who sits at the right hand of His Father, not on a throne of justice, but of grace, to obtain pardon for sinners, and perseverance for the just. To this throne, we must always approach with confidence, but with that confidence which springs from a lively faith in the goodness, and in the veracity of God, who has promised to hear those who pray with a secure and stable confidence.
He that prays with diffidence, need not expect to be heard; “for,” says Saint James, “he that wavers is like a wave of the sea, which is moved and carried about by the wind. Therefore, let not that man think that he shall receive anything from the Lord.” (James 1:6-7). His prayer will not be regarded: the unjust diffidence by which he is agitated, renders the divine mercy deaf to his petitions. “You have not asked rightly,” says Saint Basil, “because you have asked with diffidence.”
David said, that our confidence in God should be like a mountain, which receives unmoved the blast of the tempest. “They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Sion: he shall not be moved for ever that dwells in Jerusalem.” (Psalm 124:1). The Redeemer strenuously exhorts us to pray with a firm confidence of obtaining what we ask: “Whatsoever you ask when you pray, believe that you shall receive; and they shall come unto you.” (Mark 11:24). Whatever favor you ask, have confidence that you shall receive it, and your prayer will be heard.
But you will say, on what can I, a miserable sinner, ground a secure confidence of obtaining whatever I ask? I answer, on the promise of Jesus Christ. “Ask,” He says, “and you shall receive.” (John 16:24). “Who,” says Saint Augustine, “can fear deception, when truth promises?” Can we entertain any doubt of being heard, when the God of truth promises to grant whatever we ask. “He would not,” says Saint Augustine, “exhort us to ask, if He did not intend to give. Now He constantly entreats and command us in Holy Scriptures, to pray, to ask, to seek, to knock, and adds that whatever we will, it shall be done unto us.” (John 15:7).
In Catholic tradition, praying with confidence and faith means surrendering to God’s will rather than demanding specific outcomes.
God has solemnly promised to listen to a prayer said with confidence. “All things whatsoever you ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.” (Matthew 21:22). “All things whatsoever you ask when ye pray, believe that you shall receive, and they shall come to you.” (Mark 11:24). God is displeased with a want of trust on the part of souls who sincerely love Him and whom He loves infinitely. Therefore, if you desire to please His loving Heart, converse with Him in the future with the greatest confidence and tenderness possible.
“I have graven [inscribed] thee in My hands,” says Our Lord by the lips of the prophet Isaias (49:16). Beloved soul, He meant to say: “What dost thou fear or mistrust? I have written thee in My hands so as never to forget to do thee good.”
Whoever prays with faith and confidence may look for success in his cause. Our Lord often revealed to St. Gertrude the delight He takes in a confiding soul, and once said, “A person who prays to Me with full confidence does obedience to Me, so that I must grant him whatsoever he requests.”
Another time, after having prayed fervently for a certain intention, St. Gertrude asked, “O Lord, what shall I add to these prayers to make them yet more efficacious?”
Jesus, turning to her with a countenance full of sweetness, replied, “Confidence alone easily obtains all things!”
Confidence was the characteristic feature of St. Gertrude’s life, and she was accustomed to say, “All that I have received I owe to my confidence in the gratuitous bounty of my God.” The following is another of her revelations, showing how agreeable to Jesus was this confidence.
“Although I regard with pleasure,” said Our Lord, “all that is done for My glory, such as prayers, fasts, vigils, and other like works of piety, still the confidence with which the elect have recourse to Me in their weakness touches Me far more sensibly.”
This same truth our Savior likewise impressed upon St. Mechtilde: “According to the measure of faith and firm hope with which one expects to receive from My goodness and mercy, so much and infinitely more will be given to him; for it is impossible for Me to refuse to man that which with steadfast faith he believes and expects.” What consoling words!
Encouraging also is the comment of St. Bernard: “Our confidence determines the measure of the graces that we receive from God. If our confidence is great, we will obtain great graces, for Divine grace is an inexhaustible fountain: whosoever carries thither the vessel of confidence will draw therefrom a great quantity of riches.”
St. Augustine says, “How can we fear that our petitions will remain unanswered when Eternal Truth Itself has promised to hear him who asks?” And St. Thomas Aquinas states: “Our confidence in prayer must not support itself on our own merits, but on the mercy of God and the merits of Jesus Christ.” According to this same holy Doctor, it is the confidence and not the sanctity of him who prays that imparts to prayer its efficacy.
St, Alphonsus Liguori speaks at length on the confidence with which we ought to pray:
The condition which Saint James insists on, as most indispensable for the efficacy of prayer is, that we pray with a secure and unhesitating confidence of being heard. “But let him ask in faith, not wavering.” (James 1:6). Saint Thomas teaches (Summa Theologica 2a 2ae, Question 83, article 2) that “prayer derives from charity its virtue to merit a reward, and from faith and confidence, its efficacy to obtain the objects of our petitions.” The same doctrine is inculcated by Saint Bernard, who says, that “confidence alone obtains mercy from the Lord.” (Saint Bernard’s Sermon 3, de Annunciation). Confidence in God’s mercy is exceedingly pleasing to His divine Majesty, because it is a tribute of homage and praise to His infinite goodness, the attribute which He wished particularly to manifest to the world, by the creation of man.
“Let all them” said the Royal Prophet, “be glad that hope in you: they shall rejoice for ever, and you shall dwell in them.” (Psalm 5:11-12). God protects and saves all who confide in Him: “He is the protector of all that trust in Him.” (Psalm 17:31). “You who save them that trust in You.” (Psalm 16:7).
Oh! What splendid promises are made in the Holy Scriptures, to all who hope in the Lord! “Whosoever trusts in Him will not transgress the divine law. And none of them that trust in Him shall offend.” (Psalm 33:23). The Almighty keeps His eyes constantly fixed on those who confide in His goodness, to preserve them from the death of sin. “Behold,” says David, “the eyes of the Lord are on them that fear Him, and on them that hope in His mercy, to deliver their souls from death.” (Psalm 32:18). And again He says, “Because he hoped in Me I will deliver him; I will protect him; I will deliver him, and I will glorify him.” (Psalm 90:14-15) Mark the reason why God promises these favors: because, says the Lord, “he confided in Me, I will protect him; I will deliver him from his enemies, and from the danger of offending, and I will give him eternal glory.”
Isaias, speaking of those who put their trust in God, says, “But they that hope in the Lord, shall renew their strength, they shall take wings as the eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaias 40:31). “They shall lay aside their weakness, and put on the strength of God; they shall not faint, nor even be fatigued in treading the rugged ways of salvation, but shall run and fly like the eagle. In silence and in hope shall your strength be.” (Isaias 30:15). The holy prophet tells us, that all our strength consists in placing our entire hope in God, and in silence, or in reposing peacefully in the arms of His mercy, casting away all confidence in our own efforts, or in human means.
And has it ever happened that he who trusted in God was lost? “No one has hoped in the Lord, and has been confounded.” (Ecclesiasticus 2:11).David’s confidence gave him a security of eternal life: “In You, O Lord, have I hoped, let me never be confounded.” (Psalm 30:1-2). Is it possible that God should become a deceiver, and that after having promised support in their dangers to all who trust in Him, He should forsake them when they invoke His assistance?
“God,” says Saint Augustine, “is not a deceiver, who offers His protection and afterwards withdraws Himself from us, when we place our trust in Him.” “Blessed is the man,” says David, “that trusts in You.” And why? Because, says the Psalmist, “mercy shall encompass him that hopes in the Lord.” (Psalm 31:10). He is surrounded and protected on every side by the Almighty, and is secured against his enemies, and the danger of eternal damnation.
Hence, the apostle exhorts us so earnestly, not to suffer our confidence in God to be impaired: “Do not therefore lose your confidence, which has a great reward.” (Hebrews 10:35). The graces which we shall receive from God, will be proportioned to our confidence: “if it be strong and free from wavering, they shall be abundant: Great faith deserves a great reward.” Saint Bernard compares the divine mercy to an immense fountain, which gives out its salutary waters in proportion to the magnitude of the vessel of confidence in which they are to be carried: “You, O Lord,” he says, “do not pour the oil of mercy, unless into vessels of confidence,” (Saint Bernard Sermon 3, de Annunciation). “Let your mercy, O Lord,” says the prophet, “be upon us, as we have hoped in You.” (Psalm 32:22). This was verified in the centurion, whose confidence was praised by the Redeemer: “Go,” said our Lord to him, “and as you have believed, so be it done to you.” (Matthew 8:13).
Our Lord once revealed to Saint Gertrude that they who pray with confidence, do violence to Him in such a manner, that they must be heard, and obtain whatever they ask. “Prayer,” says Saint John Climacus, “piously does violence to God.” Yes, prayer does violence to the Almighty; but it is a violence which is pleasing and acceptable to Him.
“Let us go, therefore,” says Saint Paul, “with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace in seasonable aid.” (Hebrews 4:16). The throne of grace is Jesus Christ, who sits at the right hand of His Father, not on a throne of justice, but of grace, to obtain pardon for sinners, and perseverance for the just. To this throne, we must always approach with confidence, but with that confidence which springs from a lively faith in the goodness, and in the veracity of God, who has promised to hear those who pray with a secure and stable confidence.
He that prays with diffidence, need not expect to be heard; “for,” says Saint James, “he that wavers is like a wave of the sea, which is moved and carried about by the wind. Therefore, let not that man think that he shall receive anything from the Lord.” (James 1:6-7). His prayer will not be regarded: the unjust diffidence by which he is agitated, renders the divine mercy deaf to his petitions. “You have not asked rightly,” says Saint Basil, “because you have asked with diffidence.”
David said, that our confidence in God should be like a mountain, which receives unmoved the blast of the tempest. “They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Sion: he shall not be moved for ever that dwells in Jerusalem.” (Psalm 124:1). The Redeemer strenuously exhorts us to pray with a firm confidence of obtaining what we ask: “Whatsoever you ask when you pray, believe that you shall receive; and they shall come unto you.” (Mark 11:24). Whatever favor you ask, have confidence that you shall receive it, and your prayer will be heard.
But you will say, on what can I, a miserable sinner, ground a secure confidence of obtaining whatever I ask? I answer, on the promise of Jesus Christ. “Ask,” He says, “and you shall receive.” (John 16:24). “Who,” says Saint Augustine, “can fear deception, when truth promises?” Can we entertain any doubt of being heard, when the God of truth promises to grant whatever we ask. “He would not,” says Saint Augustine, “exhort us to ask, if He did not intend to give. Now He constantly entreats and command us in Holy Scriptures, to pray, to ask, to seek, to knock, and adds that whatever we will, it shall be done unto us.” (John 15:7).
VIRTUES FOR PENTECOST
5. Praying with Confidence and Faith
Part 2
5. Praying with Confidence and Faith
Part 2
To induce us to pray with suitable confidence, the Redeemer in the Pater Noster―the Our Father―the prayer which He Himself composed, has taught us to call God our Father, rather than Lord or Master, when we petition for the graces necessary for salvation; thus exhorting us to ask God’s grace, with the same confidence, as a destitute sickly child, asks for food and medicine from a tender parent. If a father be informed of the miserable condition of a beloved Son who is dying from hunger, will he not instantly provide food for his starving offspring: if he be told that the child was bitten by a serpent, will he not make every effort in his power to apply the proper remedy.
Trusting then in the divine promises, let us pray with a confidence not wavering, but strong and firm. “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope, without wavering, for He is faithful that has promised.” (Hebrews 10:23). Since it is of faith that God fulfills His promises, we should pray with a secure confidence of being heard, and should never be deterred from persevering in prayer by the absence of sensible confidence arising from spiritual dryness, or from the agitation produced by the commission of some fault. On the contrary, in the time of dryness and agitation we should even force ourselves to pray: for then, our prayers being accompanied with diffidence in ourselves, and proceeding form a confidence in the goodness and fidelity of God, who has promised to hear all who invoke Him, they will be very acceptable to Him and will be very readily heard.
O how pleasing it is to the Lord, to see us in the time of tribulations, of fear and temptations, hope against hope, or against that feeling of distrust which naturally springs from a state of desolation. For this reason, the apostle praised the confidence of the patriarch Abraham, “who against hope believed in hope.” (Romans 4:18).
Saint John says that he who places a firm confidence in God, will certainly become a saint: “And every one that has this hope in him sanctifies himself, as he also is holy.” (1 John 3:3). For God pours His graces abundantly on those who trust in Him. This confidence enabled so many martyrs, so many tender virgins, and so many helpless children to withstand the savage cruelty of tyrants, and overcome the torments which had been prepared for them.
We sometimes pray, but God appears not to heed us. Let us, on such occasions never abandon prayer, but let us rather redouble our confidence, saying with holy Job, “Although He should kill me I will trust in Him.” (Job 13:15). O my God, though you should turn your face from me I will not cease to pray, and to hope in your mercy. Let us act in the manner, and we shall obtain from God whatsoever we desire.
It was by perseverance in prayer, after her petition had been repeatedly rejected, that the Chananean woman obtained from Jesus Christ the object of her desires. Her daughter being possessed by a devil, she besought the Redeemer to deliver her, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, you son of David: my daughter is grievously troubled by a devil.” (Matthew 15:22). Our Lord answered that He was not sent to the Gentiles, but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The woman was not dispirited by this reply, but came and adored Him, saying with confidence, “Lord, help me!” He again answered, that “it is not good to take the bread of the children, and to cast it to the dogs.” But she said, “Yes, Lord: but the dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from the tables of their masters!” The Savior seeing her great confidence, said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done to you, as you will!” (Matthew 15:27-28).
“And no one,” says Ecclesiasticus, “has ever invoked the Lord without obtaining relief. Or who has called upon Him, and He despised him?” (Ecclesiasticus 2:12).
Saint Augustine called prayer the key which opens Heaven to us; so that the favours we ask descend upon us the very instant our prayers ascend to God. “The prayer of the just man,” he says, “is the key of Heaven; his petition ascends, and God’s mercy descends.” (Saint Augustine Sermon 216, de temp.). According to the royal prophet, our supplications and the divine mercy are inseparably connected. “Blessed be God,” he says, “who has not turned away my prayer nor His mercy from me.” (Psalm 65:20). It is for this reason, that Saint Augustine tells us, whenever we pray, to have a secure confidence of being heard. “When,” he says, “you see that you persevere in prayer, rest assured that the mercy of God is not far from you.” (Saint Augustine on Psalm 95 {96}).
For my part, I never feel more consoled in spirit, or more confident of salvation, than when I am employed in prayer, and in recommending myself to the divine mercy. I am sure the same may be said of all Christians. For it is a truth as certain and infallible as that God cannot violate His promises, that he who prays with confidence will be heard; but all other marks of our salvation are uncertain and fallible.
When we perceive our own weakness, and our inability to overcome some passion, or to surmount some difficulty, we should be careful not to imitate those pusillanimous souls who say, I cannot resist this temptation, I cannot discharge this duty, I cannot trust myself; but we should be animated by the example of the apostle, and say with him: “I can do all things in Him who strengthened me.” (Philippians 4:13). Of ourselves, we certainly can do nothing, but, with the divine assistance, we can do all things. If the Almighty said to any of us, “Take this mountain on your shoulders and carry it; I will assist you;” would it not be folly and impiety to answer, “I cannot move such an enormous weight; I will not attempt a task which I have not strength to perform.” When, then, we see that we are poor and miserable and wretched, and that we are encompassed with temptation, let us not be disheartened, but let us raise our eyes to Heaven, and say with holy David, “The Lord is my helper: and I will look over my enemies.” (Psalm 117:7). With the assistance of my Savior, I will overcome and despise all attacks of my adversaries.
When we are in danger of offending God, or about to engage in any affair of importance, and know not what course to adopt or how to act, let us recommend ourselves to the Lord, saying, “The Lord is my light and salvation; whom shall I fear.” (Psalm 26:1). And the Almighty will in fallibly dissipate our darkness, and preserve us from every evil.
You will perhaps say, “I am a sinner, and I have read in the scriptures that God does not hear sinners.” (John 9:31). Saint Thomas Aquinas answers, with Saint Augustine, that these words were spoken by the blind man, before he had been enlightened. “That,” says Saint Thomas, “is the word of the blind man not as yet perfectly illumined, and therefore is not ratified.” (St .Thomas, Summa Theologica, 2a 2ae, Question 83, article 16, answer to objection 1).
Trusting then in the divine promises, let us pray with a confidence not wavering, but strong and firm. “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope, without wavering, for He is faithful that has promised.” (Hebrews 10:23). Since it is of faith that God fulfills His promises, we should pray with a secure confidence of being heard, and should never be deterred from persevering in prayer by the absence of sensible confidence arising from spiritual dryness, or from the agitation produced by the commission of some fault. On the contrary, in the time of dryness and agitation we should even force ourselves to pray: for then, our prayers being accompanied with diffidence in ourselves, and proceeding form a confidence in the goodness and fidelity of God, who has promised to hear all who invoke Him, they will be very acceptable to Him and will be very readily heard.
O how pleasing it is to the Lord, to see us in the time of tribulations, of fear and temptations, hope against hope, or against that feeling of distrust which naturally springs from a state of desolation. For this reason, the apostle praised the confidence of the patriarch Abraham, “who against hope believed in hope.” (Romans 4:18).
Saint John says that he who places a firm confidence in God, will certainly become a saint: “And every one that has this hope in him sanctifies himself, as he also is holy.” (1 John 3:3). For God pours His graces abundantly on those who trust in Him. This confidence enabled so many martyrs, so many tender virgins, and so many helpless children to withstand the savage cruelty of tyrants, and overcome the torments which had been prepared for them.
We sometimes pray, but God appears not to heed us. Let us, on such occasions never abandon prayer, but let us rather redouble our confidence, saying with holy Job, “Although He should kill me I will trust in Him.” (Job 13:15). O my God, though you should turn your face from me I will not cease to pray, and to hope in your mercy. Let us act in the manner, and we shall obtain from God whatsoever we desire.
It was by perseverance in prayer, after her petition had been repeatedly rejected, that the Chananean woman obtained from Jesus Christ the object of her desires. Her daughter being possessed by a devil, she besought the Redeemer to deliver her, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, you son of David: my daughter is grievously troubled by a devil.” (Matthew 15:22). Our Lord answered that He was not sent to the Gentiles, but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The woman was not dispirited by this reply, but came and adored Him, saying with confidence, “Lord, help me!” He again answered, that “it is not good to take the bread of the children, and to cast it to the dogs.” But she said, “Yes, Lord: but the dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from the tables of their masters!” The Savior seeing her great confidence, said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done to you, as you will!” (Matthew 15:27-28).
“And no one,” says Ecclesiasticus, “has ever invoked the Lord without obtaining relief. Or who has called upon Him, and He despised him?” (Ecclesiasticus 2:12).
Saint Augustine called prayer the key which opens Heaven to us; so that the favours we ask descend upon us the very instant our prayers ascend to God. “The prayer of the just man,” he says, “is the key of Heaven; his petition ascends, and God’s mercy descends.” (Saint Augustine Sermon 216, de temp.). According to the royal prophet, our supplications and the divine mercy are inseparably connected. “Blessed be God,” he says, “who has not turned away my prayer nor His mercy from me.” (Psalm 65:20). It is for this reason, that Saint Augustine tells us, whenever we pray, to have a secure confidence of being heard. “When,” he says, “you see that you persevere in prayer, rest assured that the mercy of God is not far from you.” (Saint Augustine on Psalm 95 {96}).
For my part, I never feel more consoled in spirit, or more confident of salvation, than when I am employed in prayer, and in recommending myself to the divine mercy. I am sure the same may be said of all Christians. For it is a truth as certain and infallible as that God cannot violate His promises, that he who prays with confidence will be heard; but all other marks of our salvation are uncertain and fallible.
When we perceive our own weakness, and our inability to overcome some passion, or to surmount some difficulty, we should be careful not to imitate those pusillanimous souls who say, I cannot resist this temptation, I cannot discharge this duty, I cannot trust myself; but we should be animated by the example of the apostle, and say with him: “I can do all things in Him who strengthened me.” (Philippians 4:13). Of ourselves, we certainly can do nothing, but, with the divine assistance, we can do all things. If the Almighty said to any of us, “Take this mountain on your shoulders and carry it; I will assist you;” would it not be folly and impiety to answer, “I cannot move such an enormous weight; I will not attempt a task which I have not strength to perform.” When, then, we see that we are poor and miserable and wretched, and that we are encompassed with temptation, let us not be disheartened, but let us raise our eyes to Heaven, and say with holy David, “The Lord is my helper: and I will look over my enemies.” (Psalm 117:7). With the assistance of my Savior, I will overcome and despise all attacks of my adversaries.
When we are in danger of offending God, or about to engage in any affair of importance, and know not what course to adopt or how to act, let us recommend ourselves to the Lord, saying, “The Lord is my light and salvation; whom shall I fear.” (Psalm 26:1). And the Almighty will in fallibly dissipate our darkness, and preserve us from every evil.
You will perhaps say, “I am a sinner, and I have read in the scriptures that God does not hear sinners.” (John 9:31). Saint Thomas Aquinas answers, with Saint Augustine, that these words were spoken by the blind man, before he had been enlightened. “That,” says Saint Thomas, “is the word of the blind man not as yet perfectly illumined, and therefore is not ratified.” (St .Thomas, Summa Theologica, 2a 2ae, Question 83, article 16, answer to objection 1).
VIRTUES FOR PENTECOST
5. Praying with Confidence and Faith
Part 3
5. Praying with Confidence and Faith
Part 3
Saint Thomas adds, that God indeed does not hear the supplications of sinners when their prayers proceed from a desire of persevering in sin; as, for example, when they seek from God assistance to take revenge of their enemies, or to execute any other criminal design. The same may be said of sinners who, while they pray for the means of salvation, have no desire to quit their sinful habits.
There are some unhappy souls who even love the chains by which the devil keeps them in slavery. Their prayers are rash and abominable in the sight of God, and are therefore rejected. And what greater temerity can be conceived, than to ask favours from a prince whom you have not only frequently offended, but whom you are determined still to offend. It is for this reason, that the Holy Ghost says by the mouth of the wise man, that the prayer of him who rejects the proffered knowledge of the divine commands, is odious and detestable before theLord: He that turns away his ears from learning the law, his prayer shall be an abomination.” (Proverbs 28:9). To such sinners the Almighty declares that their prayers are unprofitable, that He will turn away from them, and will not attend to their supplications: And when you stretch forth your hands, I will turn away my eyes from you: and when you multiply prayer, I will not hear.” (Isaiah 1:15).
It was thus He treated the prayer of Antiochus, who besought the Lord, and promised great things. But his promises were insincere, his heart was hardened in sin, his prayers proceeded from a fear of the chastisement with which he was threatened, and were therefore rejected by the Almighty. And he died a miserable death, eaten by worms that swarmed out of his body. “Then this wicked man prayed to the Lord, of whom he was not to obtain mercy.” (2 Machabees 9:13).
There is another class of sinners, who fall through human frailty, or through the violence of some passion; who ardently desire to shake off the yoke of the enemy, and fervently beseech the Almighty to burst the chains of death by which they are bound, and to deliver them from the miserable slavery of hell, under which they groan. If they persevere in prayer, their cry will be infallibly heard by Him who has promised, that “everyone that asks receives; and he that seeks, finds.” (Luke 11:10). The author of the Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum (the Incomplete Commentary on Matthew, of the 5th century), in his commentary on this passage, says, that all, sinners as well as saints, receive what they ask, and find what they seek.
The Redeemer says, that what cannot be obtained from a friend for friendship’s sake, may be extorted by importunity: “Yet if he shall continue provoking, I say to you, although he will not rise and give him because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise, and give him as many as he needs. And I say to you, Ask and it shall be given to you, and so on.” (Luke 11:5-10).
Thus, persevering prayer obtains mercy from God, even for those who are not his friends. St. John Chrysostom says that “friendship is not so powerful before God as prayer: and what friendship has not accomplished, prayer effects.” (St. John Chrysostom, Homily 56). St. Basil teaches that “sinners obtain what they ask, if they ask with perseverance.” (St. Basil Constitutions for Monks chapter 1). St. Gregory says, “Let the sinner cry aloud, and his prayer will reach the most high.” (St. Gregory, on the 6th Penitential Psalm).
St. Jerome observes that “after the example of the prodigal child, who exclaimed, ‘Father I have sinned,’ every sinner may address the Almighty as his father, provided he pray to be received again amongst the children of God.” (St. Jerome, Epistle to Damasus, about the Prodigal Son). St. Augustine says, that if God does not hear sinners, in vain would the publican have said, God be merciful to me a sinner,” (St. Augustine, tract 24, On John’s Gospel). Now the Gospel informs us that the publican, by his prayer, obtained pardon: “This man went down into his house justified.” (Luke 18:14).
St. Thomas, who has examined this point more minutely than any other writer, does not hesitate to assert that God hears the prayers even of sinners; that, even though their prayers are not meritorious, still, since impetration, (that is, of obtaining what we ask) depends on the goodness of God, and not on His justice, they have sufficient efficacy to obtain favors. “Merit,” says Saint Thomas, “depends on justice, but impetration depends on grace.” (St. Thomas, Summa Theologica, 2a 2ae, Question 83, article 16, answer to objection 2).
Hence, Daniel implored the divine mercy, saying, “Incline, O my God, your ear and hear: open your eyes and see our desolation: for it is not for our justification that we present our prayers before your face, but for the multitude of your tender mercies.” (Daniel. 9:18). To obtain then by prayer the graces we ask, it is not necessary to be the friends of God; by prayer, we are restored to His friendship. “Prayer,” says St. Thomas, “makes us friends of God.”
Moreover, St. Bernard observes that the prayers of a sinner to be cleansed from his sin, proceed from a wish to return to God: now a desire to be converted to God is certainly the gift of Heaven. “And why,” says the saint, “would God inspire the sinner with such a desire, if He did not intend to hear him.” Hence, so many examples recorded in the Holy Scriptures, of sinners delivered from their sins by humble prayer. Thus King Achab, (in 3 Kings 21:27, though it is called 1 Kings in the Hebrew), thus King Manasses, (2 Chronicles 33:12) thus King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:31) and thus the good thief, (Luke 23:43) were restored by prayer to God’s favor.
O how wonderful is the efficacy of prayer. Two sinners die with Jesus Christ on Calvary; one begs of the Redeemer to remember him and he is saved; the other does not pray and he is damned.
St. John Chrysostom says, “No sinner has with sorrow asked favors and the benefits of God from Him, without obtaining what he wished.” (St. John Chrysostom, Homily de Moysi). But why seek further reasons or authorities, when Jesus Christ has said, “Come to Me all you that labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you.” (Matthew 11:28). St. Jerome, St. Augustine, and others say, that by them who are burdened, the Redeemer meant sinners who groan under the weight of their iniquities and, that if these invoke the Lord, they will, according to the promise of Christ, be refreshed, restored to His friendship, and saved through the divine mercy.
“Ah,” says St. John Chrysostom, “you do not desire so ardently the forgiveness of your sins, as God desires to grant it.” The saint adds, that “there is no favor, which the most abandoned sinner may not obtain by fervent and assiduous prayer.” (St. John Chrysostom, homily 23, on Matthew).
Mark the words of St. James: “But if any of you want wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men abundantly and upbraids not.” (James 1:5). The Lord, then hears all who pray to Him, and enriches them with his graces: “Who gives to all men abundantly.” The words, “and upbraids not,” signify that God does not act like men, who when asked for a favor by one who had offended them, immediately upbraid him with his misconduct. It is not thus that the Almighty treats those who ask His mercy. Though their sins be as numerous as the sands of the sea, or as the stars of the heavens, He will not reproach them with their iniquities, when they ask any favor conducive to their eternal salvation; but, as if they had never insulted His Majesty, He will instantly receive and console them; He will hear their supplications, and will enrich them abundantly with all His gifts.
To animate our confidence the Redeemer says, “Amen, Amen, I say to you, if you ask the Father anything in my name, He will give it to you.” (John 16:23). As if He said, sinners be not disheartened, let not your sins deter you from invoking my Father, and hoping to obtain from Him eternal salvation. You indeed have no claim to the graces which you require; you deserve nothing but everlasting torments. But, notwithstanding your unworthiness, go to My Father, in My Name, and, through My merits, ask the graces you stand in need of, and I promise, I even swear, to you ― “Amen, Amen, I say to you,” is according to St. Augustine, a species of oath ― that My Father will grant whatever you demand. O God! Can a sinner have a greater source of consolation, than to know with certainty that he will receive all he asks in the Name of Jesus Christ?
I say that he will obtain everything which appertains to eternal salvation; for with regard to temporal goods, I have, elsewhere, already said that the Almighty does not always hear us when we pray for them, because He knows they would be opposed to our spiritual interests. But His promise to hear our prayers for spiritual favors, is absolute and unconditional; and therefore St. Augustine exhorts us to ask, with confidence of receiving them, the graces which God has promised absolutely. What God has promised, ask with security.” (Sermon 354 and the Glosses from Augustine on 2 Corinthians 13). And, how can God refuse what we ask with confidence, when He is more desirous of dispensing His graces than we are of obtaining them. He,’ says St. Augustine, is more willing to bestow His benefits on you, than you are to receive them.’
St. John Chrysostom says that “God’s wrath is provoked against us, only when we neglect to ask His gifts. He is not angry except when we do not ask.” Is it possible that God will not hear a soul imploring favors agreeable to His will? When a Christian says, “Lord, I do not ask from you goods of this Earth! I do not seek riches, honors, or pleasures! I only beg your holy grace! Deliver me from sin! Grant me a good death! inflame my heart with Your holy love (which, Saint Francis of Sales says, should be more fervently asked from God, than any of His other gifts). Infuse into my soul a spirit of resignation to Your holy will! ― can the Almighty refuse to hear such a prayer? “What prayers, O Lord,” says Saint Augustine, “will you hear, if you reject those that are according to your own heart?”
Our confidence, when we pray for spiritual favors, should be animated by the words of Jesus Christ. “If you, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father from Heaven give the good spirit to them that ask Him.” (Luke 11:13). If you, says the Redeemer, who are so full of self-love, and therefore so much attached to your own interest, cannot refuse your children what they ask―then how can your heavenly Father, whose love for you exceeds that of the tenderest parent, how, I say, can He deny you the spiritual blessings which you seek from Him by humble prayer?
There are some unhappy souls who even love the chains by which the devil keeps them in slavery. Their prayers are rash and abominable in the sight of God, and are therefore rejected. And what greater temerity can be conceived, than to ask favours from a prince whom you have not only frequently offended, but whom you are determined still to offend. It is for this reason, that the Holy Ghost says by the mouth of the wise man, that the prayer of him who rejects the proffered knowledge of the divine commands, is odious and detestable before theLord: He that turns away his ears from learning the law, his prayer shall be an abomination.” (Proverbs 28:9). To such sinners the Almighty declares that their prayers are unprofitable, that He will turn away from them, and will not attend to their supplications: And when you stretch forth your hands, I will turn away my eyes from you: and when you multiply prayer, I will not hear.” (Isaiah 1:15).
It was thus He treated the prayer of Antiochus, who besought the Lord, and promised great things. But his promises were insincere, his heart was hardened in sin, his prayers proceeded from a fear of the chastisement with which he was threatened, and were therefore rejected by the Almighty. And he died a miserable death, eaten by worms that swarmed out of his body. “Then this wicked man prayed to the Lord, of whom he was not to obtain mercy.” (2 Machabees 9:13).
There is another class of sinners, who fall through human frailty, or through the violence of some passion; who ardently desire to shake off the yoke of the enemy, and fervently beseech the Almighty to burst the chains of death by which they are bound, and to deliver them from the miserable slavery of hell, under which they groan. If they persevere in prayer, their cry will be infallibly heard by Him who has promised, that “everyone that asks receives; and he that seeks, finds.” (Luke 11:10). The author of the Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum (the Incomplete Commentary on Matthew, of the 5th century), in his commentary on this passage, says, that all, sinners as well as saints, receive what they ask, and find what they seek.
The Redeemer says, that what cannot be obtained from a friend for friendship’s sake, may be extorted by importunity: “Yet if he shall continue provoking, I say to you, although he will not rise and give him because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise, and give him as many as he needs. And I say to you, Ask and it shall be given to you, and so on.” (Luke 11:5-10).
Thus, persevering prayer obtains mercy from God, even for those who are not his friends. St. John Chrysostom says that “friendship is not so powerful before God as prayer: and what friendship has not accomplished, prayer effects.” (St. John Chrysostom, Homily 56). St. Basil teaches that “sinners obtain what they ask, if they ask with perseverance.” (St. Basil Constitutions for Monks chapter 1). St. Gregory says, “Let the sinner cry aloud, and his prayer will reach the most high.” (St. Gregory, on the 6th Penitential Psalm).
St. Jerome observes that “after the example of the prodigal child, who exclaimed, ‘Father I have sinned,’ every sinner may address the Almighty as his father, provided he pray to be received again amongst the children of God.” (St. Jerome, Epistle to Damasus, about the Prodigal Son). St. Augustine says, that if God does not hear sinners, in vain would the publican have said, God be merciful to me a sinner,” (St. Augustine, tract 24, On John’s Gospel). Now the Gospel informs us that the publican, by his prayer, obtained pardon: “This man went down into his house justified.” (Luke 18:14).
St. Thomas, who has examined this point more minutely than any other writer, does not hesitate to assert that God hears the prayers even of sinners; that, even though their prayers are not meritorious, still, since impetration, (that is, of obtaining what we ask) depends on the goodness of God, and not on His justice, they have sufficient efficacy to obtain favors. “Merit,” says Saint Thomas, “depends on justice, but impetration depends on grace.” (St. Thomas, Summa Theologica, 2a 2ae, Question 83, article 16, answer to objection 2).
Hence, Daniel implored the divine mercy, saying, “Incline, O my God, your ear and hear: open your eyes and see our desolation: for it is not for our justification that we present our prayers before your face, but for the multitude of your tender mercies.” (Daniel. 9:18). To obtain then by prayer the graces we ask, it is not necessary to be the friends of God; by prayer, we are restored to His friendship. “Prayer,” says St. Thomas, “makes us friends of God.”
Moreover, St. Bernard observes that the prayers of a sinner to be cleansed from his sin, proceed from a wish to return to God: now a desire to be converted to God is certainly the gift of Heaven. “And why,” says the saint, “would God inspire the sinner with such a desire, if He did not intend to hear him.” Hence, so many examples recorded in the Holy Scriptures, of sinners delivered from their sins by humble prayer. Thus King Achab, (in 3 Kings 21:27, though it is called 1 Kings in the Hebrew), thus King Manasses, (2 Chronicles 33:12) thus King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:31) and thus the good thief, (Luke 23:43) were restored by prayer to God’s favor.
O how wonderful is the efficacy of prayer. Two sinners die with Jesus Christ on Calvary; one begs of the Redeemer to remember him and he is saved; the other does not pray and he is damned.
St. John Chrysostom says, “No sinner has with sorrow asked favors and the benefits of God from Him, without obtaining what he wished.” (St. John Chrysostom, Homily de Moysi). But why seek further reasons or authorities, when Jesus Christ has said, “Come to Me all you that labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you.” (Matthew 11:28). St. Jerome, St. Augustine, and others say, that by them who are burdened, the Redeemer meant sinners who groan under the weight of their iniquities and, that if these invoke the Lord, they will, according to the promise of Christ, be refreshed, restored to His friendship, and saved through the divine mercy.
“Ah,” says St. John Chrysostom, “you do not desire so ardently the forgiveness of your sins, as God desires to grant it.” The saint adds, that “there is no favor, which the most abandoned sinner may not obtain by fervent and assiduous prayer.” (St. John Chrysostom, homily 23, on Matthew).
Mark the words of St. James: “But if any of you want wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men abundantly and upbraids not.” (James 1:5). The Lord, then hears all who pray to Him, and enriches them with his graces: “Who gives to all men abundantly.” The words, “and upbraids not,” signify that God does not act like men, who when asked for a favor by one who had offended them, immediately upbraid him with his misconduct. It is not thus that the Almighty treats those who ask His mercy. Though their sins be as numerous as the sands of the sea, or as the stars of the heavens, He will not reproach them with their iniquities, when they ask any favor conducive to their eternal salvation; but, as if they had never insulted His Majesty, He will instantly receive and console them; He will hear their supplications, and will enrich them abundantly with all His gifts.
To animate our confidence the Redeemer says, “Amen, Amen, I say to you, if you ask the Father anything in my name, He will give it to you.” (John 16:23). As if He said, sinners be not disheartened, let not your sins deter you from invoking my Father, and hoping to obtain from Him eternal salvation. You indeed have no claim to the graces which you require; you deserve nothing but everlasting torments. But, notwithstanding your unworthiness, go to My Father, in My Name, and, through My merits, ask the graces you stand in need of, and I promise, I even swear, to you ― “Amen, Amen, I say to you,” is according to St. Augustine, a species of oath ― that My Father will grant whatever you demand. O God! Can a sinner have a greater source of consolation, than to know with certainty that he will receive all he asks in the Name of Jesus Christ?
I say that he will obtain everything which appertains to eternal salvation; for with regard to temporal goods, I have, elsewhere, already said that the Almighty does not always hear us when we pray for them, because He knows they would be opposed to our spiritual interests. But His promise to hear our prayers for spiritual favors, is absolute and unconditional; and therefore St. Augustine exhorts us to ask, with confidence of receiving them, the graces which God has promised absolutely. What God has promised, ask with security.” (Sermon 354 and the Glosses from Augustine on 2 Corinthians 13). And, how can God refuse what we ask with confidence, when He is more desirous of dispensing His graces than we are of obtaining them. He,’ says St. Augustine, is more willing to bestow His benefits on you, than you are to receive them.’
St. John Chrysostom says that “God’s wrath is provoked against us, only when we neglect to ask His gifts. He is not angry except when we do not ask.” Is it possible that God will not hear a soul imploring favors agreeable to His will? When a Christian says, “Lord, I do not ask from you goods of this Earth! I do not seek riches, honors, or pleasures! I only beg your holy grace! Deliver me from sin! Grant me a good death! inflame my heart with Your holy love (which, Saint Francis of Sales says, should be more fervently asked from God, than any of His other gifts). Infuse into my soul a spirit of resignation to Your holy will! ― can the Almighty refuse to hear such a prayer? “What prayers, O Lord,” says Saint Augustine, “will you hear, if you reject those that are according to your own heart?”
Our confidence, when we pray for spiritual favors, should be animated by the words of Jesus Christ. “If you, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father from Heaven give the good spirit to them that ask Him.” (Luke 11:13). If you, says the Redeemer, who are so full of self-love, and therefore so much attached to your own interest, cannot refuse your children what they ask―then how can your heavenly Father, whose love for you exceeds that of the tenderest parent, how, I say, can He deny you the spiritual blessings which you seek from Him by humble prayer?