Part one (5): Qualities of Prayer

Xii. Qualities of Prayer

The holy Apostle St. Paul teaches that if you would perform all your actions devoutly, you must act in the name of Jesus Christ. And Christ Himself assures you that whatever you ask His Father, in His name, He will grant you. Therefore, to pray worthily and to obtain from God all that you ask, you must pray in the name of Jesus Christ. But what does it mean, to pray in the name of Christ? I have already mentioned what it means, but it is a point that can not be stressed too often, a truth which must become well impressed upon your minds as of great importance and most useful in everything you do. To pray in the name of Christ means to continue the prayers which Christ said while on earth.

Since all Christians are members of Jesus Christ and constitute His Mystical Body, as St. Paul says, they represent His Person, and must consequently do everything in His name, that is, in His spirit, with His dispositions and intentions, just as He Himself did on earth, and just as He would do now, in their place. In the same way, an ambassador, who represents the ruler of a country, is obliged to act and speak in his name, that is, in his spirit, just as the ruler himself would act and speak if he were present. Therefore, I repeat that to pray in the name of Christ is to continue Christ's own prayers and supplications, to pray i n His spirit, with the feelings, thoughts and sacred intentions that animated His Heart as He prayed. A l l Christians ought to pray as He did, in His name.

To this end. when you begin your prayers, remember that you are going to continue the prayers of Jesus Christ, and that you must also continue to pray as He would, namely, with the dispositions of His earthly petitions as well as His eternal prayer now in heaven and upon our altars, where He is present in a ceaseless act of supplication to His Heavenly Father. Unite yourself with the love, humility, purity , holiness, attention, and with all the holy dispositions and intentions of His infinite prayer.

Now, among these dispositions there are four in particular, with which you should pray if you desire to give God glory by your prayers, and to obtain from Him what you ask.

1. Humility: The first disposition for prayer is that you should present yourself before God with deep humility, recognizing that you are most unworthy to appear in His august presence to contemplate Him, or to be heard by Him. Of yourself, you cannot entertain a single holy thought, nor perform a single act that is pleasing to Him. Therefore, you must annihilate yourself at His feet, offering yourself to our Lord Jesus Christ, that He may establish Himself in you, that it may be He Himself who prays. within you, since He alone is worthy to appear before God's face to glorify and love Him, and to obtain from Him the answer to all petitions. Then, you may approach in full confidence to ask of the Eternal Father all that you ask of Him in the name of His Son, by the merits of His Divine Son, Jesus Christ, who dwells within you.

2 . Confidence: The second disposition is a loving and respectful confidence, believing most firmly that everything you ask, if it is for God's glory and your salvation, will infallibly be granted, and often with a generosity surpassing your request, provided that you do not ask it relying upon your merits, o r upon the virtue of your prayer, but in the name of Jesus Christ, by His merits and prayers, and for Christ Himself, trusting purely in His goodness and His sacred promise: "Ask and it shall be given you" (Luke 1 1 , 9). If you ask the Father any thing in my name, He will give it you" (John 16, 23); and, "whatsoever you ask when ye pray, believe that you shall receive; and they shall come unto you" (Mark 11, 24). If God treated you according to your merits, He would drive you out of His sight, and destroy you when you presented yourself before Him. Therefore, when He gives you grace, you must not think that He gives it to you in answer to your prayers, but rather that He gives it to His Son Jesus Christ by virtue of His Prayers and merits.

3. Purity of Intention: The third disposition of prayer is purity of intention, assuring Our Lord that you renounce all curiosity of mind, all self-love, and that you wish to pray not for your own satisfaction and consolation, but purely for His glory and to please Him alone. He deigns to take delight in your company and converse with you in prayer. So ask Him to grant that you may pray solely for His glory and contentment.

4. Perseverance: The fourth disposition to accompany prayer should be perseverance. If you desire to glorify God in prayer, and to obtain from His goodness the favors you ask, you must faithfully persevere in this divine exercise. There are some favors that Almighty God does not grant either the first, or the second, or the third time you ask Him, because He wishes you to pray for a long time and often He wills this delay to keep you in a state of humility and self-contempt and to make you realize the value of His graces. He sometimes takes pleasure in putting you off for some time, in matters which oblige you to come frequently to Him, so that, by this means, you may often be with Him, and He with you; so great is His love for you, and so true it is that He delights in being with you.

Finally, to make all the other holy dispositions complete, at the beginning of your prayer, fervently give your mind and heart to Jesus and to His divine spirit, praying Him to inspire in your heart such thoughts and affections as He may desire. Abandon yourself entirely to His holy guidance, that He may guide you as He pleases in this divine activity. Trust in His great goodness to lead you in the most fitting manner, and to give you all that you shall ask, not perhaps in the way that you wish, but in some other way much better for you. 33-

ONCE you have laid down in your soul the chief foundations of Christian'life and sanctity, which are faith, hatred of sin, detachment from all things, and, finally, prayer, if you would live a Christian life and make Jesus Christ live and reign in your heart, it is necessary also to work diligently at the practice of the Christian virtues which Our Lord exercised on earth. Since you must continue to fulfil Christ's holy life on earth, you must also continue to cultivate His virtues. Therefore, I urge you to fervent imitation of His virtues by first setting down, at this point, some general remarks on the excellence of the Christian virtues most important and necessary to the perfection and sanctity of Christian life.

Xiii. Excellence of the Christian Virtues

There are many people who appreciate virtue, who desire it, seek it and spend much diligence and time to acquire it, yet you see very few who can claim your respect by their true and solid Christian virtues. One of the main reasons is that they follow the paths of virtue not so much in the spirit of Christianity as in the spirit of the pagan philosophers, of heretics, or of those who cultivate virtue for human and social ends. In other words, they act not so much in the spirit of Jesus Christ and His divine grace, purchased for us by His blood, as in the spirit of nature and of human reason.

Would you like to know the difference between these two spirits in this matter of practising virtue ? You may detect it in the following way:

1. Those who seek virtue in the fashion of the pagans, the agnostic philosophers, or the politically - minded, look at it through the eyes of human reason alone, and value it as a thing most excellent in itself, most reasonable and necessary for the perfection of man, to distinguish him from animals guided by sense alone. Their desire and 33-

quest for virtue is based on humanitarian considerations, not on Christian ideas.

2. They are also persuaded that they can acquire virtue by their own efforts, by dint of care, vigilance and self-analysis with resolutions and exercises. In this they are very much mistaken, because without divine grace it is impossible for us to perform even the smallest act of Christian virtue.

3. They love virtue, and strive after it, not for the glory of God, but for themselves, for their own interest and satisfaction, to render themselves more excellent and accomplished and also to avoid unpleasantness and embarrassment. This is the way pagan philosophers, heretics or sociologists desire virtue and seek it. Indeed, the very devils themselves desire virtue this way because, being full of pride, they want anything that may make them more excellent, and advance their status. They are interested in the cultivation of virtue, because it is a most noble and excellent thing for themselves; they strive after it not to become more pleasing to God, but out of a spirit of pride and self-perfection.

On the other hand, there are those who follow the spirit and grace of Jesus Christ in the exercise of virtue.

1. They look upon virtue not only in itself, but in its principle and source, namely, in Christ, the source of all grace, who eminently and sovereignly embodies every virtue, and in whom virtue attains infinite excellence. Since all that is in Jesus is holy, divine and adorable, virtue is sanctified and divinely exalted in Him, and is consequently made worthy of infinite honor and adoration. Therefore, if you consider virtue as in Christ, your view of it will be infinitely more efficacious in leading you to esteem and love and seek it, much more so than if you regarded it merely because of its own excellence, or because of the esteem accorded to it by reason and the human mind.

2. Those who are led by the spirit of Christianity in the practice of virtue know full well that they can not perform the smallest act of virtue by themselves. They realize that if God were to withdraw Himself from them, they would, at that very moment, fall into the abyss of vice; they know, too, that virtue i s purely and simply a gift

of God's infinite mercy; therefore, it is necessary to ask Him for it, with confidence and perseverance. Earnest Christians persistently and continually ask God for the virtues they need, without ever growing weary of asking Him for them, and at the same time they are careful not to rely in any way on their own efforts and vigilance, or on their own exercises and practices, desires and resolutions, but instead they look to God's goodness alone for everything, and do not grow anxious when they do not find in themselves the virtues they desire. Instead of becoming disturbed and discouraged they remain at peace in humility before God, recognizing that this is due to their own infidelity; and that, if He were to treat them as they deserve, He would not only give them nothing that they ask for, but would strip them of all the graces He ever granted. And He would still be showing them too great a favor if He did not then cast them out and abandon them entirely. This enkindles in Christian souls a fresh flame of love and new confidence, in the presence of this infinite goodness, and inspires a most ardent desire to pursue, by every possible means, the virtues they need to serve and glorify Him.

3. They desire virtue, and make a point of frequently performing exterior and interior acts of love of God, of charity, of patience, obedience, humility, mortification and the other Christian virtues, not for themselves, or for their own satisfaction or reward, but for the good pleasure and interests of God, in order to model their lives after the pattern of their Divine Head, Jesus Christ, to glorify Him and to continue the exercise of the virtues He practised on earth.

It is in this that Christian virtue properly consists. As Christian life is nothing but a continuation of the life of Christ, so also the Christian virtues are a continuation and fulfilment of the virtues of Christ. To practise the virtues like Christians, you must practise them in the very spirit of Christ as He practised them, that is, with the same motives and intentions that inspired His admirable and majestic virtues. I n this way then, Christian humility is a continuation of Christ's humility, Christian charity a continuation of Christ's charity, and so on with all the other virtues.

Thus you may easily see how far the Christian and supernatural virtues exceed, in holiness

and excellence, those we call natural virtues,

the virtues proper to pagans, heretics and false Catholics. For such persons natural virtues are nothing more than human virtues, feigned virtues, with only the appearance, having no depth and no solidarity, since they rest upon the frailty of the human mind and reason, and upon the shifting sands of self-love and vanity. But the Christian virtues are true and solid virtues, being divine and supernatural. In a word, they are Christ's own virtues, with which you yourself have to be clothed, which He imparts to those who adhere to Him, and who ask Him for them with humility and confidence, and strive to practise them as He did.

Xiv. Manner of Practising the Christian Virtues

From what has just been said, you may see how devoutly you must practise Christian virtues, since you are to practise them as Christ did. When you desire to advance in the perfection of some virtue, make use of the following acts:

1. Adore in Christ the virtue you have chosen and reflect how eminent He was in it, and how perfectly He practised it during His whole life.

2. Humble yourself before Him, when you see yourself so very far from this perfection. Beg His forgiveness for all the faults you have ever committed against this virtue, recognizing that, of yourself, you are powerless to perform the least act of it, and that you are most unworthy of the grace to do so. Yet implore Him, nonetheless, that in His great mercy He may give you this grace, that you may practise this virtue, whenever the opportunity offers itself.

3. Frequently give yourself to Jesus, with a great desire to practise this virtue with all the perfection He asks of you. Beg Him to destroy in you all that is opposed to this virtue, that He may imprint and establish it within you, purely for His glory.

4. Be faithful in putting the virtue into practice by inward acts and outward results, uniting yourself with the dispositions and intentions of Christ, the perfect example of this virtue.

5. When you happen to commit some fault against the virtue, do not be upset or discouraged, but humble yourself before God, asking his forgiveness and offering Him all the honor rendered Him by His

Beloved Son and His most holy Mother, in their exercise of this Virtue, as satisfaction for your fault.

Then give yourself again to Jesus, with a renewed desire to be faithful to him in future, in

the practice of this virtue. Beg Him by His great mercy to repair the damage caused by your faults, and to give you fresh grace to be more faithful and effective when similar occasions next present themselves.

Xv. an Example: Practice of Meekness and Humility of Heart

In order that my readers may acquire some facility in the use of the preceding exercise, and to make it accessible to persons of every type, I should like to show you its complete practical application to a particular virtue. Take, for example, meekness and humility, which were so strongly emphasized by Jesus. If you wish to become well established in these two virtues, take a little time every day, to place yourself at the feet of our Blessed Lord and put yourself in the dispositions Outlined in the following prayer:

0 Most Meek and Humble Jesus, I adore in Thee Thy most divine and adorable meekness and humility. I glorify Thee in all Thy many acts and exercises of meekness and humility, both inward and outward. How admirable art Thou in these two virtues, as well as in all the others! When I consider the whole span of Thy life upon earth, 0 Good Jesus, I see that it was one continuous exercise of meekness and humility in Thy thoughts, words, actions and sufferings. Oh,> what glory Thou didst give Thy Father! But also, how He exalted Thee, after Thou hadst so humbled Thyself for His glory and our love! May this Heavenly Father be forever blessed, and Thou also, 0, Good Jesus! May He be blessed because He so glorified Thee after Thy humiliations; mayest Thou be blessed because Thou didst so honor Him by Thy meekness and humility!

0 Jesus, Thou art my Head and I am one of Thy members; Thou art my Father and I am one of Thy children; Thou art my Master and Teacher and I am one of Thy disciples. I must, therefore, strive to imitate and resemble Thee. And yet, how far I am from doing so! On the contrary, how full I am of pride and vanity, bad temper and impatience! How often have I offended, in my whole life, against

meekness and humility, by thoughts and sentiments, words and actions! Forgive me, 0 my Saviour, forgive me; I long to imitate Thee in Thy meekness and humility. But alas, I admit that I have no strength of myself to perform the least act of humility, and that I am most unworthy that Thou shouldst give me the grace to do so. Nevertheless, I beg Thee, by Thy great mercy, to grant this precious grace.

0 Jesus, I adore Thee as Thou sayest these divine words: "Learn of me because I am meek, and humble of heart: and you shall find rest to your souls" (Matt. 11, 29). I adore the thoughts, the plans and the love Thou didst have for me because when Thou didst utter these sacred words, 0 Good Jesus, Thou wast thinking of me, in particular; Thou didst utter them with exceeding great love for me, with special designs in mind concerning me. 0 my Most Amiable Jesus, I give myself all to Thee for the accomplishment of Thy will and the fulfilment of Thy words. Never permit me again to place obstacles in their way. Destroy in me all that is opposed to meekness and humility. Establish and glorify in me Thy meekness and humility for love of Thyself!

When some opportunity of being meek or humble offers itself, lift up your heart to Jesus as follows:

0 Jesus, I give myself to Thee to practise meekness, patience and humility in honor of Thy meekness, patience and humility, and in union with Thy blessed dispositions and intentions.

When you lapse into some fault against these virtues, strive to make up for it at once, casting yourself at the feet of the Son of God, and .addressing Him thus:

0 Most Merciful Jesus, with my whole heart I beg Thy forgiveness for the offense I have committed against Thy divine majesty. 0 Father of Jesus, I offer Thee all the honor which Thy well-beloved Son and His most holy Mother ever gave Thee by their meekness and .humility, to atone for the dishonor I have afforded Thee by the fault j have committed against these virtues. 0 Jesus, 0 Mother of Jesus, may i t please- you to repair my defect, offering your sweet meekness and infinite humility to the Eternal Father, in reparation for my pride and impatience. 0 Good Jesus, I give myself to Thee with a renewed

desire to be more meek and humble in future; destroy arrogance and impatience, and give me the grace to practise patience and humility faithfully at all opportunities, for Thy glory and good pleasure.

You can apply these same practices to charity, to obedience, and to the other virtues.