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Chapter 3: The Conditions of Prayer
4. The perseverance required in prayer
Our prayers, then, must be humble and confident; but this is not
enough to obtain final perseverance, and thereby eternal life.
Individual prayers will obtain the individual graces which they
ask of God; but unless they are persevering, they will not
obtain final perseverance: which, as it is the accumulation of
many graces, requires many prayers, that are not to cease till
death. The grace of salvation is not a single grace, but a chain
of graces, all of which are at last linked with the grace of
final perseverance. Now, to this chain of graces there ought to
correspond another chain [as it were] of our prayers; if we, by
neglecting to pray, break the chain of our prayers, the chain of
graces will be broken too; and as it is by this that we have to
obtain salvation, we shall not be saved.
It is true that we cannot merit final perseverance, as the
Council of Trent teaches: "It cannot be had from any other
source but from Him Who is able to confirm the man who is
standing, that he may stand with perseverance." [Sess. 6, c. 13]
Nevertheless, says St. Augustine, this great gift of
perseverance can in a manner be merited by our prayers; that is,
can be obtained by praying: "This gift, therefore, can be
suppliantly merited; that is, can be obtained by supplication."
And F. Suarez adds, that the man who prays, infallibly obtains
it. But to obtain it, and to save ourselves, says St. Thomas, a
persevering and continual prayer is necessary:
"After Baptism continual prayer is necessary to a man in order
that he may enter Heaven." [P. 3, q. 39, a. 5] And before this,
our Saviour Himself had said it over and over again: "We ought
always to pray, and not to faint." [Luke 18: 1] "Watch ye
therefore, praying at all times, that you may be accounted
worthy to escape all these things that are to come, and to stand
before the Son of man." [Luke 21: 36]
The same had been previously said in the Old Testament: "Let
nothing hinder thee from praying always." [Ecclus. 18: 22]
"Bless God at all times, and desire Him to direct thy ways."
[Job 4: 20] Hence the Apostle inculcated on his disciples never
to neglect prayer: "Pray without intermission." [1 Thess. 5: 17]
"Be instant in prayer, watching in it with thanksgiving." [Col.
4: 12] "I will therefore that men pray in every place." [1 Tim.
2, 8] God does indeed wish to give us perseverance, says St.
Nilus, but He will only give it to him who prays for it
perseveringly: "He willeth to confer benefits on him who
perseveres in prayer." Many sinners by the help of God's grace
come to be converted, and to receive pardon. But then, because
they neglect to ask for perseverance, they fall again, and lose
all.
Nor is it enough, says Bellarmine, to ask the grace of
perseverance once, or a few times; we ought always to ask it,
every day till our death, if we wish to obtain it: "It must be
asked day by day, that it may be obtained day by day." He who
asks it one day, obtains it for that one day; but if he does not
ask it the next day, the next day he will fall.
And this is the lesson which our Lord wished to teach us in the
parable of the man who would not give his loaves to his friend
who asked him for them until he had become importunate in his
demand: "Although he will not rise and give because he is his
friend, yet because of his importunity, he will rise and give
him as many as he needeth." [Luke 11: 8] Now if this man, solely
to deliver himself from the troublesome importunity of his
friend, gave him even against his own will the loaves for which
he asked, "how much more," says St. Augustine, "will the good
God give, who both commands us to ask, and is angry if we ask
not!" [Serm. 61, E.B.] How much more will God, Who, as He is
infinite goodness, has a commensurate desire to communicate to
us His good things,-----how much more will He give His graces
when we ask Him for them! And the more, as He Himself tells us
to ask for them, and as He is displeased when we do not demand
them. God, then, does indeed wish to give us eternal life, and
therein all graces; but He wishes also that we should never omit
to ask Him for them, even to the extent of being troublesome.
Cornelius a Lapide says on the text just quoted, "God wishes us
to be persevering in prayer to the extent of importunity." Men
of the world cannot bear the importunate; but God not only bears
with them, but wishes us to be importunate in praying to Him for
graces, and especially for perseverance. St. Gregory says that
God wishes us to do Him violence by our prayers; for such
violence does not annoy, but pleases Him: "God wills to be
called upon, He wills to be forced, He wills to be conquered by
importunity. . . . Happy violence, by which God is not offended,
but appeased!"
So that to obtain perseverance we must always recommend
ourselves to God morning and night, at meditation, at Mass, at
Communion, and always; especially in time of temptation, when we
must keep repeating, Lord help me; Lord, assist me; keep Thy
hand upon me; leave me not; have pity upon me! Is there anything
easier than to say, Lord, help me, assist me! The Psalmist says,
"With me is prayer to the God of my life." [Ps. 41: 9]
On which the gloss is as follows: "A man may say, I cannot fast,
I cannot give alms; but if he is told to pray, he cannot say
this." Because there is nothing easier than to pray. But we must
never cease praying; we must [so to speak] continually do
violence to God, that He may assist us always-----a violence
which is delightful and dear to Him. "This violence is grateful
to God," says Teliulllan; and St. Jerome says that the more
persevering and importunate our prayers are, so much the more
are they acceptable to God: "Prayer, as long as it is
importunate, is more acceptable."
"Blessed is the man that heareth Me, and that watcheth daily at
My gates." [Prov. 8: 34] Happy is that man, says God, who
listens to Me, and watches continually with holy prayers at the
gates of My mercy. And Isaias says, "Blessed are all they that
wait for Him." [Is. 30: 18] Blessed are they who till the end
wait [in prayer] for their salvation from God. Therefore in the
Gospel Jesus Christ exhorts us to pray; but how? "Ask, and ye
shall receive; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be
opened to you." [Luke 11: 9] Would it not have been enough to
have said, "ask?" why add "seek" and "knock?" No, it was not
superfluous to add them; for thereby our Saviour wished us to
understand that we ought to do as the poor who go begging. If
they do not receive the alms they ask [I speak of licensed
beggars], they do not cease asking: they return to ask again:
and if the master of the house does not show himself any more,
they set to work to knock at the door, till they become very
importunate and troublesome.
That is what God wishes us to do: to pray, and to pray again, and
never leave off praying, that He would assist us and succour us,
that He would enlighten us and strengthen us, and never allow us
to forfeit His grace. The learned Lessius says that the man
cannot be excused from mortal sin who does not pray when he is
in sin, or in danger of death; or, again, if he neglects to pray
for any notable time, as [he says] for one or two months. But
this does not include the time of temptations; because whoever
finds himself assailed by any grievous temptation, without doubt
sins mortally if he does not have recourse to God in in prayer,
to ask for assistance to resist it; seeing that otherwise he
places himself in a proximate, nay, in a certain, occasion of
sin.
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