9 — APOSTOLIC PRAYER

Presence of God. — Accept, Lord, my poor prayer for coming of your kingdom.

Meditation

1 — Since Jesus died for us on cross, redemption of humanity is objectively accomplished fact. Every man coming into world is already redeemed, in sense that most precious Blood of Jesus has already merited for him all graces necessary for salvation and even sanctification.

What remains to be done is only application of these graces to individual souls. Precisely here God wants our collaboration, and wants it so much He has established distribution of certain graces necessary for our own and others’ salvation to depend precisely on our prayers.

In other words, through merits of Jesus, grace and infinite mercy of God are ready to pour out abundantly on men. But they do not pour out unless someone raises supplicating hands to heaven to invoke them. As long as prayer does not rise to throne of Most High, grace is not granted.

This explains absolute necessity of apostolic prayer and its great efficacy. “This kind is not cast out but by prayer and fasting” (Mt. 17:20), Jesus said. Prayer is irreplaceable because it goes to draw grace directly from its source, which is God.

Our activity, words, and works can dispose soil for grace; but if one does not pray, grace will not descend to irrigate souls.

In light of these truths we can better evaluate scope of Jesus’ insistent exhortations to prayer: “We ought always to pray and not to faint ... Ask and it shall be given you; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened” (Lk. 18:1; 11:9).

We cannot be certain all our prayers will be heard, because we do not know whether what we ask conforms to divine will. But when it is question of apostolic prayer seeking grace and salvation of souls, matter is very different.

Indeed, when we pray for apostolic ends, we insert ourselves into plan God Himself has from eternity prepared for salvation of all men, a plan God desires to carry out infinitely more than we do. Therefore we cannot doubt result of our prayer. Precisely for this efficacy, apostolic prayer constitutes one of most powerful means of apostolate.

2 — If God has willed to subordinate distribution of grace in world to men’s prayer, and if today men pray so little — indeed many, perhaps most, do not pray at all — it is supremely necessary there be in Church souls totally consecrated to prayer.

By life of continual prayer, adoration, and unceasing praise of Most High, such souls supply negligence and neglect of many and thus restore in world equilibrium between rights of God and duties of men, between action and contemplation.

Praying and imploring for all, they are in Mystical Body of Christ hidden but precious organs whose task is to make divine sap of grace flow through all members. They are in Church “power stations” of supernatural energies, energies drawn and accumulated by prayer and through prayer diffused to ends of earth.

As prayer of Moses was secret and guarantee of Israel’s victory, so prayer of contemplative men and women is secret and guarantee of victory for those who struggle in world. “My brothers work for me,” exclaims St. Therese of Child Jesus, “while I stay very near royal throne, and we pray for those who fight” — that is, we pray, suffer, and offer for them.

Unceasing prayer contemplatives raise to God in name of whole Christianity does not dispense other faithful from personally fulfilling this great duty. Above all, those dedicated to exterior apostolate must in their lives give sufficient place to prayer.

But unfortunately we often trust more in our work, methods, and technique than in prayer. We believe too little in its efficacy, too little in help God certainly grants to one invoking Him from heart. Therefore we consider time spent in prayer almost lost.

This is fundamental error deriving from lack of faith and humility, an error explaining sterility of so many works. “Those who are very active,” warns St. John of the Cross, “and think to embrace whole world with their preachings and exterior works, should reflect well they would be much more useful to Church and far more pleasing to God, even apart from good example they would give, if they spent at least half that time in being with God in prayer” (C. 29, 3).

Colloquy

“O eternal Father, I want to offer You that Blood your Word shed with such abyssal love and fire of charity for salvation of men.

“O Word, I offer You infinite drops of Blood You poured out with such abundance when You were scourged at pillar. And as You shed it from all your members, so I offer it to You for all members of holy Church, of which You are Head. I offer it for your priests, that they may return to being light of world; for your virgins, that they not be among foolish ones; for infidels and heretics, that they return into fold of God; that all souls may be saved.

“O Word, I want to speak with You as You did with us. Truly, truly I say to You, O Word, that a thousand times I would sacrifice life, had I a thousand, to help these souls be saved. I do not want to depart from here until You enlighten some soul. But I am not worthy to be heard. Hear not me, who am too presumptuous, but your Blood. You cannot fail Yourself. Hear, hear then, O Word, your Blood.

“O eternal Father, that love which moved You to create men, may same love move You to infuse your light into them. I know well You do not fail to infuse it, but they do not receive it. And who is cause? My ingratitude. Yes, O God, I know my ingratitude, but I do not wholly disdain it. Punish your offenses upon me. Punish their faults upon me. Oh, miserable me, cause of all ingratitude and all evil!

“If I could, I would take all men and lead them into bosom of your holy Church, that she might purge them from all infidelities, regenerate them as mother her little children, and nourish them with sweet milk of most holy sacraments” (St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi).