has a will and an understanding, yet he cannot make use of them, nor guide them towards the attainment of eternal life. The great St. Liguori was so deeply impressed with this truth, that he continually exhorted the priests and missionaries of his congregation to explain often to the faithful the necessity and advantages of prayer, and bitterly complained that preachers, confessors, and spiritual writers, are not sufficiently attentive in dwelling upon and enforcing this duty. In order to assist the faithful to perform well this most important duty, he wrote a most valuable treatise on prayer, and was accustomed to say, that he desired to have as many copies of this little book as there were men upon earth, that so he might give one to each of them. The necessity of prayer is so great, that nothing else can supply its omission. The want of actual baptism may be supplied by martyrdom, as it was in the case of the holy innocents; the want of the sacrament of penance may be supplied by perfect contrition; those who are unable to fast may make up for this by alms-deeds; and those whose poverty prevents them from relieving the poor, may supply this deficiency by bearing patiently the crosses and afflictions which God sends them; but the omission of prayer can be supplied by nothing else, because the person who neglects prayer thereby cuts away the channel of Divine blessing, for prayer is, in the ordinary course of providence, the means through which they are bestowed. "You have not," says St. James, "because you ask not." Hence the angelic doctor St. Thomas writes thus : Every man is bound to pray by the very reason of his being obliged to procure for himself spiritual blessings, which can only be obtained from God by the means of prayer. Ad orationem quilibet homo tenetur ex hoc ipso, quod tenetur ad bona spiritualia sibi procuranda, quæ nonnisi divinitus dantur; unde alio modo procurari non possunt nisi ab ipso petantur." This doctrine of St. Thomas is confirmed by the teaching and practice of all the Saints, who evince in the strongest terms their belief in the necessity of prayer. Some compare the man who neglects prayer to a tree without roots, which quickly withers and dies, and is only fit to be cast into the fire; others compare him to a fortress without walls, which is continually exposed to the attacks of the enemy. Some say that a man without prayer is like a fish out of water, that dies immediately; others say that he is like a body without a soul,—a corpse deprived of life and motion. St. Teresa relates of herself, that when she happened to grow cold and indifferent about prayer, in addition to losing the spiritual consolation and delight which she had previously experienced, she also began to fall into several faults, and declares that God shewed to her, that she would certainly have been cast into hell, if she had not quickly arisen from that state. Since, then, prayer is so absolutely necessary for the attainment of eternal life, apply yourself with all diligence, O Christian soul, to this holy exercise, and take all possible care to perform it with fervour and devotion. Whatever your condition may be--whether you are in honour or abjection, in abundance or poverty-"Let nothing hinder you from praying always; and be not afraid to be justified even to death.” Pray without ceasing. In all things give thanks; for this is the will of God concerning you."3 "Take unto you the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, by 66 1 In 4. Sent. Dist. 15. art. i. quæst. 3. 3 1 Thess. v. 17, 18. all prayer and supplication, praying at all times in the spirit." Often call to your remembrance that saying of St. Teresa, That no one ever attained to any high degree in perfection, unless he was advanced and well exercised in the practice of prayer. SECTION II. Especial necessity of prayer for religious persons. The very name of religious shews the obligation under which such persons are of cultivating, in an especial manner, the spirit of prayer. This name, as the holy doctors teach, is taken from the word religion, and signifies one who is especially bound to God by the most sacred ties,—a person who adopts the worship and service of God as his own peculiar profession,-a person who quits the world and all its vanities, in order to consecrate himself entirely and for ever to the love of his sovereign Lord,- -a person who tramples under foot all visible things, in order to raise his heart and soul to the invisible, and who has his conversation in heaven, where his treasure is. All this shews that a religious, if he desire to be worthy of the name which he bears, and to fulfil the end of his holy vocation, must apply himself to cultivate with particular attention the interior life, and must use his greatest diligence to become a truly spiritual man. And how, except by the practice of frequent and fervent prayer, shall he be able to effect this? : Again the difficulties and trials which accompany the profession of the religious life exhibit most forcibly the especial necessity which religious have of prayer; for it is certain that the religious state, being one of the highest 1 Ephes. vi. 17, 18. value and favour before God, as well as productive of the greatest merit towards the attainment of eternal life, is for this very reason accompanied with numberless difficulties and trials; such a profession of itself essentially implies a complete renunciation of all things-a perfect holocaust- -a sort of mystical death, by which a person not only must die to the world and its pleasures, but also to himself, to his own will, desires, and inclinations. 'The habit and the tonsure,' says the Imitation of Christ, 'contribute little; but change of manners, and entire mortification of the passions, make a true religious man. He that seeks in religion any thing except God and the salvation of his soul, will find nothing but trouble and Man comes to religion to serve, not to govern to suffer, not to enjoy; to labour, not to be idle. Here men are tried as gold in the furnace; here no man can remain, unless he be willing, with all his heart, to humble himself for the love of God." sorrow. Some persons fancifully picture to themselves the religious state as one of the greatest comfort and ease, and imagine that the individuals who have entered on it are exempt from suffering, and continually enjoy the sweetest pleasures and delights; but they are much mistaken; for the religious state could scarcely possess so much excellence and value before God, unless it were one of the greatest sacrifice. It is true, that the good religious, who is faithful to his vocation, will be supported and animated by the love of God, which will lighten what is burdensome to flesh and blood, and sweeten what is bitter; so that he will not fail very frequently to derive great pleasure and comfort from the performance of his religious duties, if not at all times; but it is also true that, in 1 Kempis, book i. chap. xvii. order to live up to the spirit of his vocation, he is obliged to use continual violence to his corrupt nature. to wage a constant war against his disorderly inclinations-to endure many privations, encounter frequent humiliations, and lead a life of self-abnegation and sacrifice. So that if any religious community should exist in which this spirit of self-denial and total sacrifice is not a distinguishing mark of its members, no clearer sign would be wanting to prove that it had fallen into relaxation, and that it retained only the outward phantom and appearance of religion without the substance and reality. 'It is especially in renouncing ourselves,' says St. Liguori, 'in dying a spiritual death, and giving ourselves wholly to Jesus Christ, that the essence of the religious life consists." And St. Bernard calls the religious life one of continual martyrdom, which, though it may not cause so much horror by its outward appearance as when the limbs are torn with hooks, the sword, the wheel, or other instruments of cruelty, yet, by its long duration, it is the cause of severe suffering. It is, therefore, evident, that the characteristics of the religious life are, humiliation, selfdenial, trial, and sacrifice. Now, for a person to be able to persevere faithfully in such a life, and obtain strength to overcome the difficulties which surround him on all sides, that he may continue faithfully until death in this life of crucifixion, he requires an especial grace from above, and stands in need of particular assistance from Almighty God. But how shall he hope to obtain this, unless by frequent and fervent prayer to Him? There is another reason which makes it still more incumbent on religious to apply themselves to the practice of prayer, which is, the peculiar duty under which they lie 1 Means for Preserving the Religious Vocation. |