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ON PRAYER AND THE CONTEMPLATIVE LIFE
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S. Thomas Aquinas
Froxtisfiitcc
ON PRAYER AND THE CONTEMPLATIVE LIFE
BY
S. THOMAS AQUINAS
BY THE
VERY REV. HUGH POPE, O.P., S.T.M.
AUTHOR OF " THE CATHOLIC STUDENT'S ' AIDS ' TO THE BIBLE," ETC.
WITH A PREFACE BY VERY REV. VINCENT McNABB, O.P., S.T.L.
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R. Sc T. WASHBOURNE, LTD. PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON
AND AT MANCHESTER, BIRMINGHAM, AND GLASGOW igiA All rights re sen'ed
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^^ihil ©bstat.
J. P. ARENDZEN, D.D..
Censor Deputatus.
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EDM. CAN. SURMONT,
ViCARius Generalis.
WtSTMONASTEKII,
Dii- 20 Sel^h-mbi is. 1913.
Te Trina Deltas unaque poscimus Sic nos Tu visita, sicut Te colimus : Per Tuas semitas due nos quo tendimus. Ad lucem, quam inhabitas !"
S. Thomas's Hymn for Matins on the Feast cf Corpus Christi.
PREFACE
The present generation in the fervour of its re- pentance is like to cast off too much. So many false principles and hasty deductions have been offered to its parents and grandparents in the name of science that it is becoming unduly sus- picious of the scientific method.
A century ago men's minds were sick unto death from too much science and too little mysticism. To-day the danger is that even the drawing-rooms are scented with a mysticism that anathematizes science.
At no time since the days of S. Thomas was the saint's scientific method more lacking. Every- where there is need for a mystic doctrine, which in itself is neither hypnotism nor hysteria, and in its expression is neither superlative nor apostrophic, lest the hungered minds of men die of surfeit following on starvation.
The message and method of S. Thomas are part
of that strange rigidity of the thirteenth century
which is one of the startling paradoxes of the ages
of faith. It is surely a consolation that these ages
of a faith which moved mountains, or at least
essayed to remove the Turk, were minded to
vii
viii Preface
express their beliefs in the coat of mail of human reason 1 The giants of those days, who in the sphere of literature were rediscovering verse and nventing rhyme, and who in every sphere of knowledge were bringing forth the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, were not so blinded by the white light of vision as to disown the Greeks. They made the Ethics of Aristotle the four-square walls of the city of God; they expressed the mysteries of the Undivided Three in terms of the Syllogism. Thus they refused to cut themselves off from the aristocracy of human genius. They laid hands — but not violent hands — on the heritage of the ages. No philosophers have ever equalled their bold and lowly-minded profession of faith in the solidarity of human reason For this cause S. Thomas, who is their spokesman, has now become an absolute necessity of thought. Unless the great Dumb Ox is given a hearing, our mysti- cism will fill, not the churches, but the asylums and the little self-authorized Bethels where every man is his own precursor and messiah.
That S. Thomas is to be accepted as a master of mysticism may be judged from the following facts in the Hfe of a mystic of the mystics, S. John of the Cross :
" It has been recorded that during his studies he particularly relished psychology; this is amply borne out by his writings. S. John was not what one could term a scholar. He was, however, in- timately acquainted with the Snmma of S. Thomas Aquinas, as almost every page of his works proves. ... He does not seem to have ever applied himself
Preface
IX
to the study of the Fathers As has already been
stated, the whole work {The Ascent of Mount Carmel) is based upon the view S. Thomas Aquinas takes of the essence and operations of the senses and of the faculties of the soul, and upon his treatise on the virtues."^
S. Thomas hardly needs an imprimatur after six centuries of full trust. But in the hard matters of mysticism, which he has treated as a scholar should, it is reassuring to know that he has the approval, not only of the scholars, but of the mystics .
VINCENT McNABB, O.P.
^ The Ascent of Mount Carmel by S. John of the Cross. Prefatory Essay oii the Development of Mysticism in the Carmelite Order, by Benedict Zimmerman, O.C.D., pp. 13-17- (London: Tlioraas Baker, igo6.)
CONTENTS
PAGE
INTRODUCTION ------ i
QUESTION LXXXI
OF THE VIRTUE OF RELIGION - - - - 27
QUESTION LXXXII
OF DEVOTION - - - - - "51
QUESTION LXXXIII
OF PRAYER - - - - - - '66
SUPPLEMENT— QUESTION LXXII
OF THE PRAYERS OF THE SAINTS WHO ARE IN HEAVEN I52
QUESTION CLXXIX
i OF THE DIVISION OF LIFE INTO THE ACTIVE AND THE
CONTEMPLATIVE ----- jgg
QUESTION CLXXX
OF THE CONTEMPLATIVE LIFE - - . - I78
\
QUESTION CLXXXI
F THE ACTIVE LIFE - - - _ _ 220
xi
\
xii Contents
QUESTION CLXXXII
PAGE
OF THE COMPARISON BETWEEN THE ACTIVE AND THE
CONTEMPLATIVE LIFE - - - -233
QUESTION CLXXXVI
ON THE RELIGIOUS STATE . . - - 253
INDEX
258
INDEX OF TEXTS QUOTED OR EXPLAINED - - 270
/
ON PRAYER AND THE CONTEMPLATIVE LIFE
INTRODUCTION
The pages which follow call for little introduction. S. Thomas has left us no formal treatise on Mystical Theology, though his teachings on this subject have been collected from his various works and com- bined to form such a treatise. Especially note- worthy is the work of the Spanish Dominican Val- gornera.^ No such synthesis has been attempted here. We have simply taken from the Summa Theologica the treatises on Religion, on Devotion, Prayer, and the Contemplative Life, and presented them in an English dress. When occasion offered we have added to each portion appropriate pas- sages from S. Augustine, S. Thomas's master, and more rarely from the Commentary on the Summa by the illustrious Cardinal Cajetan.
And we have been led to do this for several reasons. The Mystical life is the life of union with God, and it is based essentially on Prayer and Contemplation. But prayer and contemplation,
* Valgornera, O.P., Mystica Theologia D. ThomcB, ed. Berthier. 2 Vols. Turin, 1890-91.
I
2 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
though simple in themselves, are yet fraught with difficulties and dangers unless we be wisely guided. And as Father Faber shrewdly says : when we ask for instruction in these things, let us by all means make appeal to those whose names begin with S — let us, in other words, go to God's Saints. And the reason is simple : these .Saints are no mere idle sign-posts who point the way but stand still themselves ; they themselves have been where they would have us go ; they speak from no mere theoretical knowledge ; they themselves have tasted and seen that the Lord is sweet 1
Further, it would have been easy to cull from S. Thomas's writings the salient points of his teaching on these points, and to have presented them in an attractive form. But had we done so the teachings of the Saint would have lost much of their force, and readers might well have doubted at times whether they really had before them the mind of S. Thomas or that of the translator. It is preferable to read the Bible than what men have said about the Bible. Unfortunately, it is the fashion nowadays to consider S. Thomas's writings " out of date "! If the perusal of these pages shall have induced some few at least to go to the original and study it for themselves they will have more than fulfilled the translator's desires.
Another reason which has weighed much with the translator and encouraged him to undertake this task has been the suddenly awakened interest in Mysticism and Mystical studies during the last decade. It has become the fashion to talk about Mysticism, even to pose as Mystics, and — need it
Introduction 3
be said ? — those who talk the most on such sub- jects are those who know the least. For those who have entered into the secret of the King are ever the most reticent on such matters. At the same time we may welcome this recent develop- ment, if only as a set-off against the Spiritualism and occultism which have played such havoc with souls during a space of over fifty years. The human soul, " naturally Christian," as Tertullian would say, is also naturally Divine in the sense that, as S. Augustine so often insists, no rest is possible for it save in God. Now those who are familiar with the Summa Theologica are aware that Union with God is its keynote, or rather is the dominant note which rings out clear again and again with its ever-repeated Sursum Cor da ! It is this that gives such special value to the treatises here presented on Prayer and the Contemplative Life. They flow from the pen of one who was literally steeped in God and Divine things, and who is speaking to us of things which he had him- self tasted and seen. It is this that gives such simplicity and charm to the whole of his teaching. He is not experimenting ; he is not speaking of theories ; he is portraying to us what was his everyday life.
Perhaps one of the commonest errors regarding the Spiritual life is the confusion between the ordinary and the extraordinary ways of God. For how many does not the Contemplative Life mean the life of ecstasy and vision with which we are famihar in the lives of the Saints ? For S. Thomas, on the contrary, the Contemplative Life is but the
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4 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
natural life of a man who is serving God and who devotes a certain portion of his time to the study and contemplation of Divine things. Ecstasy and' vision he treats of in another place. They occupy a sphere apart. They belong to God's extra- ordinary dealings with favoured souls, and while they presuppose prayer and contemplation on the part of those so visited they themselves form no integral part of the Contemplative Life ; indeed, they are the exception. Hence in these pages we shall find nought touching Supernatural manifesta- tions, such as visions, ecstasies, and revelations ; but we shall find what is of far greater use to us — a Catechism on Devotion, Prayer, and Contempla- tion.
« » « « «
The main features of the Life of S. Thomas of Aquin are known to most of those who are likely to read this book. His hfe at first sight seems of such an even tenor that there is but little to record. Yet when we penetrate beneath the surface we realize that he lived in stirring days, and that his short span of fifty years was passed in the full light of the world of the thirteenth century. Thomas was born in the beginning of the year 1225 in the castle of Rocca-Secca, the ancestral home of the Counts of Aquino, in the kingdom of Sicily. His future glory was foretold to his mother, the Coun- tess Theodora, by a hermit of that neighbourhood who also foretold that his parents would endeavour to make him a monk in the Benedictine Abbey of Monte Cassino, but that God had other designs for him, since he was to be a Friar Preacher, a member
Introduction 5
of the Order of the great S. Dominic who had just gone to his reward. The prophecy was fulfilled to the letter. At the early age of five years he was sent to the Abbey to be educated among the young nobles of the day, as was then the custom. Even thus early he showed a remarkable maturity of character, and his biographer, William of Tocco, dwells with delight on the calm reserve of his childish days and on that eager seeking after God which was to be his future glory. ^
From Monte Cassino Thomas passed to Naples to complete his studies. Here he became con- scious of his vocation, and offered himself to the Dominicans. The Prior of the convent at Naples at that time was Father John of S. Julian, who later became Patriarch of Jerusalem^ ; he gave the habit of the Order to Thomas, who was then but fourteen years of age. His parents were indignant at this step, and did all in their power to shake his determination. Fearing their recourse to the violent methods then so common, the Dominicans sent Thomas to the convent of Santa Sabina at Rome. But S. Thomas's brothers, at their mother's bidding, seized upon the young man and carried him off in
^ " In astate tam tenera et scibilium nescia, qui necdum se scire poterat, miro modo Deum adhuc nesciens, divino ductus instinctu scire quserebat. De quo futurum erat, ut, dum sic anxius maturius Deum prae aliis quaereret, clarius prag ceteris, quae scire futurus erat, scriberet, quae de Deo, ipso donante, studiosius et citius inveniret " (William of Tocco, Vita B. Thomce in the Bollandists, Maixh 7, No. 5). This William of Tocco had seen and heard S. Thomas, and in 1 3 19 took a prominent part in the Saint's canonization (see Bollandists, p. 653).
2 Bernard Guidonis, Boll., No. 7, p. 659, note.
6 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
his religious habit to his mother who kept him imprisoned for nearly two years.^ During this time of anxiety nothing disturbed the Saint's equanimity, and he made good use of his time by studying the Bible, the Book of the Sentences — the Theological Manual of those days — and also Aris- totle's philosophical treatises. It was at this time that the diaboHcal attempt upon his virtue was made — an attempt which the Saint resisted effec- tually ; in reward for his constancy he was miracu- lously girded with a cincture by two Angels from Heaven.^ Faihng in their attempt to shake his determination, his brothers permitted him to escape, and he returned to the convent at Naples in 1245. Thence he was sent by his superiors to Rome, and shortly afterwards to Paris and Cologne to study under Blessed Albert the Great. At Cologne he lead the life of a simple student, a life of recollection, prayer, and study. But his extra- ordinary talents could not long remain hid. The post of Bachelor in the famous House of Studies at Paris was vacant, and at the suggestion of Cardinal Hugo a S. Caro, himself a Dominican, S. Thomas was appointed by the Master-General of the Order to the vacant post. This was a blow to the Saint's humility, but he accepted it under obedience. The impression made by his teaching was extraordinary, and the words of William of Tocco on this point are worth transcribing : " Erat enim novos in sua lec- tione movens articulos, novum modum et clarum determinandi inveniens, et novas reducens in determinationibus rationes : ut nemo qui ipsum * Boll., Nos. 12 and 76. ^ Ibid., No. 11.
Introduction 7
audisset nova docere, et novis rationibus dubia definire dubitaret, quod eum Deus novi luminis radiis illustrasset, qui statim tarn certi coepisset esse judicii, ut non dubitaret novas opiniones docere et scribere, quas Deus dignatus esset noviter inspirare." This novelty in method was evidently remarkable, but, while provoking the attacks of some, it attracted an immense crowd to his lectures, and this not simply by reason of the novelty which characterized them, but by reason of the supereminent sanctity of the teacher. " Di- lectus Deo !" cries out his biographer. " Qui scien- tiam tribuit ; et acceptus hominibus, quibus quasi novis radiis veritatis illuxit."^
In 1253 or 1254 Thomas was, again much against his will, created Master in Sacred Theology, and the remaining twenty years of his life were wholly devoted to teaching, studying, and preaching, whether at Paris or at Naples. Dignities and honours were frequently offered him, but he suc- ceeded in avoiding them all. He felt that his vocation was to study and teach. And since his teaching was to be of things Divine, he felt that he must needs be absorbed in such things, and that his life must be wholly spent with God. This feature of his life is insisted on by his biographers : " Men ever saw him of joyful mien, gentle and sweet, not occupying himself with worldly affairs, but ever given to study, to reading, to writing, and to prayer for the enlightening of the faithful."^ Thus we are told that when Brother Reginald, who had been Blessed Thomas's companion, re- 1 Boll., p. 66i. 2 7t^-^_^ p_ 552.
8 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
turned from Fossa Nuova to Naples after the Master's death to resume the lectures he had been giving there, he burst into tears as he stood before the Brethren, and said : " Brothers, I was forbidden by my Master to reveal during his life the marvels I had seen. One of those marvels was that his knowledge, which so wondrously surpassed that of other men, was not due to any human skill, but to the merits of his prayers. For whenever he would study, or dispute, or read, or write, or dictate, he would first betake himself to prayer in secret, and there with many tears would implore light where- with to search rightly into the secret things of God . And by the merits of such prayer it came to pass that, whereas previous to his prayer he had been in doubt about the subject of his study, he always returned from it illumined. And when any doubt- ful point occurred to him before he had had re- course to prayer, he went to pray, and what had previously been obscure was then Divinely made clear to him."^
Truly characteristic of our Saint are those three petitions he was wont to make : that he might never learn to love things of earth ; that he might never change his state of life ; that God would reveal to him the state of his brother Reginald, who had been put to death, unjustly, as Thomas thought, by the Emperor Frederic. All three peti- tions were granted, two of them, as he himself told Brother Reginald on his deathbed, by the Blessed Virgin herself. " She appeared to him," says William of Tocco, " and assured him regarding his
1 Boll., p. 668.
Introduction 9
life and his knowledge, promised him, too, that God would grant him whatsoever he should ask through her intercession, and told him, moreover, that he would never change his state of life."^
The following story is well known, but is too illustrative of the Saint's character to be omitted : A dispute had arisen in the University of Paris regarding the Accidents of the Holy Eucharist, and the Doctors of the University decided to leave the decision with S. Thomas. The responsibihty was great, but the Saint according to his custom betook himself to prayer and then wrote his answer to the difficulty. " But since he would not dare," says William of Tocco, " to expound his opinion in the Schools before the Masters of the University with- out first consulting Him of Whom he was treating and to Whom he had prayed that he might teach correctly, he came to the altar and there spread out the pages he had written before Him ; then, lifting up his hands to the Crucifix, he prayed and said : ' O Lord Jesus Christ, Who art most truly contained in this wondrous Sacrament and Who as Supreme Artificer ever wondrously workest, I seek to understand Thee in this Sacrament and to teach truly concerning Thee. Wherefore I humbly pray Thee that if what I have written spring from Thee, and be true concerning Thee, then Thou wouldest enable me to declare it and clearly expound it. But if I have written ought which is not in harmony with Thy Faith and which accords not with the Mysteries of this Sacrament, then I pray Thee that nought may proceed from my mouth which deviates
* Boll., pp. 668 and 710.
10 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
from the Catholic Faith.' Then those who watched saw on a sudden Christ standing before the Saint and on the paper he had written, and they heard Him say : ' Well hast thou written of Me in this Sacrament of My Body, and well and truly hast thou answered the question put to thee, as far, that is, as it can be understood by man in this life, or expressed in human words.' "^
And it was ever the same throughout his life : in God he sought God. Hence his incessant medita- tion on the Holy Scriptures ; hence his diligent study of the writings of the Fathers of the Church. " Master," said a band of his students to him as they looked on Paris spread before them — " Master, see what a lovely city Paris is ! Would you not hke to be its owner ?" And with a Saint's sim- pHcity he replied : " Far rather would I have the Homilies of Chrysostom on S. Matthew ! For if this city were mine then the task of governing it would take me away from the contemplation of things Divine and deprive my soul of its consola- tions !"^
And his companion Reginald has told us how he studied to know the things of God. For he tells us that when the Saint was occupied with his Com- mentary on Isaias and could not arrive at any satisfactory explanation of a certain passage he gave himself up to fasting and prayer. Then one night Reginald heard voices in the Saint's cell, and whilst he wondered what this might mean at that hour, S.Thomas came to him and said : " Reginald, get up, light a candle, and take the book in which
1 Boll., No. 53. * Ibid., p. 671.
Introduction ii
you have been writing upon Isaias and make ready to write once more." Then Reginald wrote whilst the Saint dictated as though he were reading out of a book, with such faciHty did he speak. And then, at Reginald's insistent petition, he said to him : " My son, you have seen the affliction under which I have been of late owing to this passage of Isaias which I have just been expounding, and you know how I besought God with tears that I might understand it. God, then, this very night had pity upon me, and sent His Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul whom I had prayed to intercede for me, and they have most fully explained it all !"^ How gladly would one know what passage of Isaias it was which was thus Divinely interpreted !
And so this truly marvellous life went on till the end drew near. Day by day he ascended the steps of the altar, his face bathed in tears ; day by day he returned to his work more and more illumined regarding the Mysterium Fidei, and with his soul still more closely knit to its Maker. His ecstasies became more frequent, and in one of these he was told that the close of his life was at hand. For it was at San Severino, not far from Salerno, that he fell into so prolonged an ecstasy that his sister who was present appealed to Reginald to know what had happened to her brother. Even Reginald was astonished. " He is frequently rapt in spirit," he said, " but never before have I seen him thus abstracted !" " Then," says William of Tocco, " Master Reginald went to him, and, plucking him by the cloak, roused him from this deep sleep of
1 Boll., p. 668.
12 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
contemplation. But he sighed and said : ' My son Reginald, I tell thee in secret, and I forbid thee to reveal it to anyone during my life, the close of my writing has come ; for such things have been re- vealed to me that all I have written and taught seems to me of small account. Hence I hope in my God that as there is an end to my writing, so too will speedily come the end of my life.' "^
And S. Thomas was ready for the end, for not long previously, when he was in the convent at Naples and was praying in the Church, there ap- peared to him Brother Romanus, whom he had left teaching at Paris. Brother Thomas said to him : " Welcome ! Whence dost thou come ?" But Romanus said to him : " I have passed from this life, and I am allowed to come to thee by reason of thy merits." Then Brother Thomas, summoning up his courage, for he had been much disturbed by the sudden apparition, said to him : " If it be pleasing to God, I adjure you by God to answer my questions. First : How does it stand with me? and are my works pleasing to God?" And the other answered : " Thou art in a good state, and thy works are pleasing to God." Then the Master continued : " And what of thyself?" And Romanus answered : " I am in Eternal Life, but I was in Purgatory sixteen days because of some negligence of which I was guilty in the affair of a will which the Bishop of Paris entrusted to me for speedy execution ; but I, through mine own fault, was tardy in executing it." Lastly S. Thomas asked : " What about that question we have so
1 BolL, p. 672.
Introduction 13
often discussed together : Do the habits we have acquired here abide v/ith us when we are in our Fatherland ?" But the other repHed : " Brother Thomas, I see God, and you must ask me nought further on that question." But Thomas at once said : " Since you see God, tell me whether you see Him with or without any intermediate image?" But Romanus replied : "As we have heard, so we have seen in the City of our God,"^ and forthwith disappeared. But the Master remained aston- ished at that marvellous and unwonted apparition, and filled with joy at his favourable rephes. " O Blessed Teacher 1" ejaculates WilHam of Tocco, who has left us this account, " to whom Heaven's secrets were thus famihar, to whom Heaven's citizens came with such sweet famiHarity to lead him to those heavenly shores !"^
Nor was this the only warning. For just as in earlier years at Paris he had received Divine com- mendation for his writings, so now again at Naples. For Brother Dominic of Caserta tells us that at Naples he watched S. Thomas praying at night. He saw him, he says, absorbed in prayer, and then hfted up into the air about the height of two cubits from the ground. And whilst for a long space he marvelled at this, he suddenly heard this voice from the Crucifix : " Thomas, well hast thou written of Me ! What reward wilt thou have from Me for all thy labour ?" But he rephed : " Lord, none save Thyself 1 " At that time the Saint was engaged upon the Third Part of the Summa, and was treating of the Passion and Resurrection of Christ. But after 1 Ps. xlvii. 2 Boll., p. 672.
14 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
arriving at that point he wrote but Httle more by reason of the marvels that God had wondrously revealed to him.^
Since his soul, then, was thus united to God it is small wonder the Brethren saw him rapt in ecstasy and with his face bathed in tears as he stood in choir and sang the Antiphon wont to be sung according to the Dominican Office for Compline during Lent : " Ne projicias nos in tempore senectutis : cum defecerit virtus nostra, ne derelinquas nos Domine."^ In the year 1274 the Saint was summoned by Pope Gregory X. to the Council about to be held at Lyons. He set out, taking with him his Treatise against the Errors of the Greek Schismatics, for the great question which the Pope had at heart was the settlement of the Schism between the East and the West. But the Council was never to see Thomas, for he fell ill when traversing the Cam- pagna, and though he was able to reach the Cis- tercian Abbey of Fossa Nuova he reached it only to die. " This is my rest for ever and ever," he said as he entered the gates. " Here will I dwell, for I have chosen it:' And here, as he lay dying, he expounded to the monks who stood round that most sublime of all the Books of the Bible, the Canticle of Canticles : ** Behold, my Beloved speaketh to me : Arise, make haste, my love, my dove, my beautiful one, and come. . . . I sleep, and my heart watcheth ; the voice of my Beloved Who is knocking ! . . . My Beloved to me and I to Him Who feedeth among the lilies : till the Day break and the shadows retire /"
1 Boll., p. C69. 2 ji)i(i., p. 667 ; cp. Ps. Ixx. 20.
Introduction 15
As the time of his summons drew on he asked for the Holy Viaticum. And, in the words of WilHam of Tocco, " when It was brought with devout reverence by the Abbot and the monks, he prostrated himself on the ground, weak indeed in body but mighty in spirit, and so came to meet his Lord with tears."
And when the priest asked him — as it is the cus- tom to ask all Christians at death touching their faith in this mighty Sacrament — whether he be- lieved that That Consecrated Host was the True Son of God, Who came forth from the Virgin's womb, Who hung upon the tree of the Cross, Who died for us and rose again on the third day : — with clear voice, with full attention, and with tears, he repHed : " If fuller knowledge than that of faith could be had in this Hfe touching this Sacrament, in that knowledge I reply that I believe it to be true, and that I know for certain that This is True God and Man, the Son of God the Father and of the Virgin Mother : so I believe in my heart and so I confess in word." After some other devout ex- pressions he received the Sacred Host, and then said : " I receive Thee, the Price of my soul's redemption, for love of Whom I have studied, watched, and toiled ; Thee have I preached and taught ; nought contrary to Thee have I ever said, neither do I obstinately hold to any opinion of mine own. If, however, I have said ought wrongly concerning this Sacrament, I submit it all to the correction of the Holy Roman Church in Whose obedience I now pass from this life !" " O Blessed Teacher 1 who ran so swiftly in the race,
1 6 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
who fought so manfully in the strife, who could so well say with the Apostle : ' / have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith ; as for the rest there is laid up for me a crown of justice '; and such indeed had he truly won by his study of inspired doctrine."^
O Sancte Thoma !
Scholarum Patrone,
Fidem invictam,
Charitatem fervidam,
Vitam castissimam,
Scientiam veram,
A Deo nobis obtine.
Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
No one who is at all familiar with the writings of S. Thomas can be surprised to find many extracts from S. Augustine in the following pages. For Augustine and Thomas are one. Their respective styles are different, but their thoughts and teach- ings are the same on the great essential points of theological teaching. Cardinal Aguirre has well said : " Owing to the clearness and acuteness of his angelic mind S. Thomas sheds a flood of light on many most obscure matters, and brings out very clearly even the most profound teachings contained in the works of the Fathers, especially in those of S. Augustine. I speak simply from my own experience, but I am certain that many another has felt the same : in controverted matters, if we look merely at the text of S. Augustine, we are
» Boll, p. 675.
Introduction 17
brought face to face with a flood of difficulties which seem well-nigh insoluble ; but the difficulty- disappears and the solution becomes clear the moment we set to work to find out what was S. Thomas's teaching on the question ; for he is the surest and the easiest interpreter of S. Augustine."^
And indeed Augustine is a deep well ! " Man shall come to a deep heart /" he was fond of saying, and those words of the Psalmist might stand for a motto at the head of his works. Traditionary art represents him with his heart in his hand, and the sentiment is true, for " great-hearted " is the epithet which best suits him, and those who use these pages for meditation or spiritual reading will find that whereas S. Thomas teaches how we ought to pray, S. Augustine makes us pray; not in vain had he studied and taught rhetoric for so many years !
This likeness between the two great Saints forms the theme of one of the Responsories for the Office for S. Thomas in the Dominican Breviary. It is based on a famous vision. " There appeared to me as I watched in prayer," said Brother Albert of Brescia in his deposition, " two revered personages clothed in wondrous splendour. One of them wore a mitre on his head, the other was clad in the habit of the Friars Preachers. And this latter bore on his head a golden crown ; round his neck he wore two rings, one of silver, the other of gold ; and on his breast he had an immense precious stone, which filled the church with light. His cloak, too, was sewn with precious stones, and his tunic and his
* Touron, Vie de S. Thomas d'Aquin, Paris, 1740, p. 353.
2
i8 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
hood were of snowy white. And the one who wore the mitre said to me : ' Brother Albert, why art thou thus filled with wonder ? Thy prayers are heard ; for — listen : I am Augustine, the Doctor of the Church, and I am sent to thee to tell thee of the doctrine and of the glory of Brother Thomas of Aquin who is here with me. For he is my son ; he in all things has followed my doctrine and that of the Apostles, and by his teaching he has illumined the Church of God. This is signified by the precious stones which you see, and especially by the one he carries on his breast, for it signifies the upright intention which he ever had in view in his defence of the faith and which he showed in his words. These precious stones, then, and especially that great one, signify the many books and works that he wrote, and they show that he is equal to me in glory save only that in the aureola of Vir- ginity he surpasseth me.' "^
Cardinal Cajetan, from whose famous Commen- tary on the Summa we have occasionally quoted, is unfortunately too little known. Born in 1469, and dying in 1534, he was the contemporary of Luther and the Reformers, and, as was to be ex- pected, their most formidable opponent. A great student, a man of prayer as well as a man of action, his was the striking figure of the earl}'- portion of the sixteenth century. But his was a bold and independent mind, and he was not afraid to advance views which, though now commonly accepted, brought his works into a certain dis- favour. This is especially to be regretted in the case of his Commentaries on the Bible. A thorough * Boll., p. 706 ; cp. p. 665.
Introduction 19
Greek scholar, possessing no mean acquaintance with Hebrew, he deserves, by reason of the clear- ness and precision of his thought, the title of " Prince of Commentators." Here, however, we are concerned with the devotional rather than with the critical aspect of his writings, and the reader will gain from some of Cajetan's terse and pithy comments a very great deal of instruction.
In conclusion, a few words may be desirable regarding the method of S. Thomas.
S. Thomas divides his Summa Theologica into three main parts. The First Part treats of God, the Exemplar.^ The Second, of man made to the image of Grod f the Third, of Grod Incarnate, of His Sacraments by which we attain to union with Him in this life, and of Eternal Life to which we attain ultimately by '^"r resurrection. Here we are solely concerned with the Second part? It is sub- divided into two portions, known as the Prima Secundce and the Secunda Secundce respectively, or as the First and Second portions of the Second part. In the Prima Secundce the Saint treats of the prin- ciples of Morals — namely, of man's ultimate end and of the habits, acts, and principles by which he attains it. In the Secunda Secundce, after having laid in the Prima Secundce the foundations of Moral Theology, he proceeds to treat of the indi- vidual virtues, firstly of the Theological Virtues, Faith, Hope, and Charity ; then of the Cardinal Virtues, Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and Tem- perance. Under each of these heads he treats of the Gifts corresponding to each Virtue, of the vices
1 Prol. to la., Ildae. 2 pyQi_ ^o III. Pars.
» Prol. to Ila., Ildse.
20 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
opposed to them, and of the Precepts regarding them.^ Apropos of the Cardinal Virtue of Justice, he treats of the Moral Virtue of Religion, which is comprised under Justice, since Religion may be defined as the offering to God the worship which is His due. Question LXXXI. He then treats of Devotion, Question LXXXH., and then of Prayer, Question LXXXH I. These three Questions we here present in an English dress.
After these Treatises on individual virtues, he passes to the consideration of those virtues which concern, not men as a whole, but only certain classes of men.^ And first of all he treats of those Gifts which are bestowed upon certain men not so much for their own benefit as for the good of others — viz., of Prophecy, of Ecstasy, of the Gift of Tongues, and of the Gift of Miracles. He then discusses the two kinds of operations or " lives" — the active, namely, and the contemplative — which find a place in the Mystical Body of Christ, which is the Church. These treatises in reality constitute a commentary on i Cor. xii. 4-1 1 . Question CLXXIX., On the Division of Life into the Active and the Con- templative, is here given ; as also Question CLXXX., On the Contemplative Life; Question CLXXX I., On the Active Life; Question CLXXXII., On the Comparison of the Active with the Contemplative Life.
S. Thomas then proceeds to treat of various states of life — viz., of the state of perfection, of the Epis- copal and of the Religious state. Only one question
1 Prol. to Ila. Ildae.
2 pyol. to Qu. CLXXI. of the Ilda., Ildae. ^
Introduction 21
raised in this connection concerns us here : Whether, namely, Contemplative Religious Orders are superior to Active Orders ? {Question CLXXXVIII. 6).
Each Question is, as will be seen from the Table of Contents, divided into Articles.
The framework of what is termed an " article " of the Summa is familiar to those who use that work, but it may not be amiss to explain S. Thomas's method in brief fashion. Each " article " is couched in the form of a question, thus : Has contemplation its joys ? And the Saint at once sets forth in succession three, sometimes more, arguments which seem to militate against the view he himself holds. These are commonly known as the objections. He then gives us a short paragraph opening with the words : Sed contra, or But on the contrary ; and in this para- graph he gives some authority, generally that of Holy Scripture or one of the Fathers, for the view he is going to hold. This paragraph is generally known from its opening words as the Sed contra ; there is no argument in it save from authority. He then proceeds to discuss the question from the standpoint of pure reason. This portion is known as the Corpus articuli, or Body of the Article, and in it the Saint presents his reasoning in clear, precise fashion. It will be apparent, of course, that many questions cannot be answered with a categoric yes or no, but the precise sense in which certain terms in the discussion are to be used has to be clearly ascertained ; according to the diverse ways in which they may be understood the answer will be affirmative or negative. It is important
22 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
for those not familiar with S. Thomas' works to grasp this point ; they must not, for instance, pre- sume that because the opening " objections " seem to uphold one point of view S. Thomas is therefore going to hold the precise opposite. A good example of this will be found in the Article : Ought we to pray to God alone ?
In the Treatises here presented the argument, though clear and precise, is hardly what we should call subtle, and this for the simple reason that the subject-matter does not call for subtle treatment. But what cannot fail to strike the most cursory reader is the tone of submission to authority and to the teachings of the Fathers which characterizes every page : " Summe veneratiis est sacros Doctor es,*^ says Cajetan, " ideo intellectum omnium quodammodo sortitus est."'^ And the natural corollary of this is the complete self-effacement of the Saint. The first person is conspicuous by its absence all through the Summa, though the reader of the following pages will find one exception to this rule.
And the more we study these Articles of S. Thomas the more we marvel ; the thought is so concentrated and yet so limpid in its expression, that as we read it it seems as though no one could ever have thought otherwise. But read it, and then try to reformulate the line of argument which you have been following with such ease — and your mind halts, your tongue stammers ! It is one thing to understand the thought when expressed, quite another to think such thoughts and express them. Hence the declaration made by Pope ^ Comment, on Ila., Ilae., cxlviii. 4.
Introduction 23
John XXII. when the question of the holy Doctor's canonization was brought forward : " Such teach- ing," he exclaimed, " could only have been due to miracle !" And on the following day in the Con- sistory : "He has brought greater light to the Church than all other Doctors ; by one year's study of his writings a man may make greater profit than if he spend his whole life studying the writings of others!"^
The reader will sometimes feel incHned to smile at the quaint etymologies which occur now and again. But he must remember that these are given by the Saint for what they are worth. It was not a philological age, and S. Thomas made use of the Book of Etymologies drawn up in the seventh century by S. Isidore of Seville.
Besides the writings of S. Augustine, two Patris- tic works are cited with considerable frequency by S. Thomas in these pages : the Opus Imperfedum of S. Chrysostom on S. Matthew's Gospel, and the works of Denis the Areopagite. The former is almost certainly not the work of S. Chrysostom, but rather of an Arian writer towards the close of the sixth century.^ The writer known as Denis the Areopagite, owing to his being traditionally identified with S. Paul's convert at Athens, prob- ably wrote about the close of the fifth century. Few works of Mystical Theology exercised a greater influence on the writers of the Middle Ages.^ A word must also be said about the Gloss to which S. Thomas so often refers, and which he quotes as an authority. The term " Gloss " was applied to
1 Boll., p. 680. 2 See Bardenhewer, Patrologie, i. 319.
3 Smith and Wace, Diet, of Christian Biography, i. 847.
24 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
the brief running commentaries on the Bible which were in vogue in the Middle Ages. These brief paraphrases were also known as Postillce, and they were frequently written in between the lines of the text of the Bible, whence the name Interlinear Gloss ; or in the margins, whence the name Mar- ginal Gloss. The Glossa Ordinaria, as it is called, is the best known of these commentaries. It is usually attributed to Walafrid Strabo, a monk of the Abbey of S. Gall, who died in 849 ; but it is probable that Strabo took down his Commentary from the lips of Rabanus Maurus, a monk of the Abbey of Fulda, and afterwards its abbot. Ra- banus was a most prolific writer, and has left Com- mentaries on nearly all the Books of the Bible. Even when Abbot he reserved to himself the Chair of Scripture ;^ he had had the great advantage of living for a time in Palestine. Another Bibhcal scholar to whom the Glossa Ordinaria of S. Thomas's time apparently owed much, was Hugo a S. Caro, the Dominican Provincial in France, and after- wards Cardinal-Priest of S. Sabina. It was under his direction that the first Concordance of the Bible was formed, in which task he is said to have had the assistance of five hundred Friars.^ He owes his title of Glossator to his well-known Postillce, or Brief Commentaries on the whole Bible. The Glossa Interlinearis is due to Anselm, a Canon of Laudun, who died in 11 17. Another famous Glos- sator was Nicolas de Lyra, a Franciscan who died
^ Fabricius, Bibliotheca Latina, s.v. Walafridus and Rabanus. 2 Ibid., s.v. Hugo 5. S. Caro.
Introduction 25
in 1340 — some sixty-six years, that is, subsequent to S. Thomas. Lastly, we should mention Peter the Lombard, commonly known as The Master of the Sentences, from his four books of Sentences, in which he presented the theological teaching of the Fathers in Scholastic fashion. This treatise be- came the Scholastic manual of the age. To him is due a Gloss on the Psalter and on Job, as well as a series of brief notes on the Epistles of S. Paul taken from the writings of the chief Fathers, S. Ambrose, S. Jerome, S. Augustine, etc. And the authority accorded to these Glosses in general is due to the fact that they constituted a running Commentary taken from the wTitings of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church.
THE BREVIARY HYMN TO S. AUGUSTINE.
Magne Pater Augustine Preces nostras suscipe, Et per eas Conditori Nos placare satage, Atque rege gregem tuum Summuni decus praesulum.
Amatorem paupertatis Te collaudant pauperes : Assertorem veritatis Amant veri judices : Frangis nobis favos mellis, De Scripturis disserens.
Quae obscura prius erant Nobis plana faciens, Tu de verbis Salvatoris Dulcem panem conficis, Et propinas potum vitas De Psalmorum nectare.
26 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
Tu de vita clericorum Sanctam scribis Regulam, Quam qui amant et sequuntur Viam tenent regiam, Atque tuo sancto ductu Redeunt ad Patriam.
Regi regum salus, vita, Decus et imperium : Trinitati laus et honor Sit per omne saeculum : Qui concives nos adscribat Supernorum civium. Amen.
QUESTION LXXXI
OF THE VIRTUE OF RELIGION
PAGE
I. Does the Virtue of Religion direct a Man to God
alone ? - - - - - 27
S. Augustine, Sermon, cccxxxiv. 3 - - 32
On Psalm Ixxvi. - - 32
,, Sermon, cccxi. 14-15 - - 33
II. Is Religion a Virtue ? - - - - 34
III. Is Religion One Virtue ? - - - - 35
IV. Is Religion a Special Virtue distinct from Others ? 37 V. Is Religion One of the Theological Virtues ? - 39
VI. Is Religion to be preferred to the Other Moral
Virtues ? - - - - - 42
VII. Has Religion, or Latria, any External Acts ? - 44
S. Augustine, Of Care for the Dead, \. - - 46
VIII. Is Religion the Same as Sanctity ? - - 47
Cardinal Cajetan, On the Distinction between
Sanctity and Religion - - -50
I
Does the Virtue of Religion direct a Man
TO God Alone ?
Cicero says^ : " Religion offers internal and ex- ternal reverence to that Superior Nature which we term the Divine."
S. Isidore says^ : " A religious man is, as Cicero remarks, so called from religion, for he is occupied with and, as it were, reads through again and again {relegit) the things that concern Divine wor-
* De invent. Rhetor., ii. 53. ^ Etymolog., x. sub litt. R.
27
28 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
ship." Thus rehgion seems to be so called from reading again (religendo) things concerning Divine worship ; for such things are to be repeatedly revolved in the mind, according to those words of Proverbs iii. 6 : In all thy ways think on Him. At the same time religion might be said to be so called because " we ought to choose again {re-eligere) those things which through our negligence we have lost," as S. Augustine has noted. -"^ Or perhaps it is better derived from " binding again " (religando) ; thus S. Augustine says^ : " Let re- ligion bind us once more to the One Almighty God."
But whether religion be so called from frequent reading, or from fresh election of Him Whom we have negligently lost, or from rebinding, it properly implies a certain relation to God. For it is He to Whom we ought to be especially bound as our indefectible principle ; to Him must we assiduously direct our choice as our ultimate end ; He it is Whom we negligently lose by sin and Whom we must regain by believing in Him and by professing our faith in Him.
But some deny that religion directs a man to God alone, thus :
I. S. James says^ : Religion clean and undefiled before God and the Father is this : to visit the father- less and widows in their tribulation ; and to keep oneself unspotted from this world. But to visit the fatherless and widows indicates relation to our neighbour, and to keep oneself unspotted from this
* Of the City of God, x. 3. 2 Of the True Religion, Iv.
^ St. Jas. i. 27.
Of the Virtue of Religion 29
world refers to ourselves. Hence religion is not confined to our relationship with God.
But religion has two sorts of acts. Some belong to it properly and immediately, those acts, namely, which it elicits and by which man is directed to God alone, as, for instance, to offer Him sacrifice, to adore Him, etc.
But there are other acts which religion pro- duces through the medium of the virtues which it controls, directing them, that is, towards reverence to God ; for that virtue which is concerned with the end directs those virtues which have to do with the means to the end. And in this sense to visit the father- less and widows in their tribulation is said to be an act of religion because commanded by it, though actually elicited by the virtue of mercy. Similarly to keep oneself unspotted from this world is an act commanded by religion, though elicited by temperance or some other virtue.
2. S. Augustine says^ : " Since according to the genius of the Latin speech — and that not merely of the unlearned, but even of the most learned — religion is said to be shown towards our human relatives and connexions and intimates, this word ' religion ' cannot be used without some ambiguity when applied to the worship of God ; hence we cannot say with absolute confidence that religion is nought else but the worship of God." Rehgion, then, is not hmited to our relation to God, but embraces our neighbour as well.
^ Of the City of God, x. i.
30 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
But it is only by an extension of the name " religion " that it is made to embrace our relations towards our human kin, it is not according to the proper signification of the word. Hence S. Augustine prefaced the words quoted from him above with the remark : " Religion, strictly speaking, seems to mean, not any kind of worship, but only that of God."
3. Further , latria seems to come under religion. But S. Augustine says^ : " Latria is interpreted as service." But we ought to serve not God only, but our neighbour as well : By charity of the spirit serve one another? Religion, then, implies rela- tion to our neighbour.
But since a slave imphes a master, it follows that where there exists a peculiar and special title of dominion there also will be found a peculiar and special ratio of servitude. It is clear, however, that dominion belongs to God in a peculiar and special fashion, since He it is Who has made all things and Who holds the chief rule over all things. Consequently a special kind of service is due to Him. And this service is by the Greeks designated latria, which is, in consequence, properly comprised under " rehgion."
4. Again, reverence comes under religion. But man has to reverence, not only God, but his neigh- bour as well ; as Cato says : " Reverence parents." Hence religion establishes a relation between our-
1 OJ the City of God, x. i. 2 Gal. v. 13.
Of the Virtue of Religion 31
selves and our neighbour as well as between our- selves and God.
But we are said to reverence those men whom we honour or remember, or to whose presence we resort. So, too, even things which are subject to us are said to be " cultivated " by us {coli) ; thus husbandmen {agricolce) are so called because they " cultivate " the fields ; the inhabitants of a place, too (incolce), are so called because they " cultivate " the spots where they dwell. But since special honour is due to God as the First Principle of all, a special kind of " cultus "^ or " reverence " is His due, and this the Greeks call eusebia or theosebia, as S. Augustine says.^
5 . Lastly, all who are in a state of salvation are subject to God. But not all who are in a state of salvation are called " religious," but those only who bind themselves by certain vows and observ- ances and who undertake to obey certain men. Hence religion does not seem to mean the relation- ship of subjection of man to God.
But although, generally speaking, all those who worship God can be termed " religious," yet those are specially so called who dedicate their whole Hves to the Divine worship and cut themselves off from worldly occupations.
^ The objection and its solution turn upon the Latin words cultus a.n6. colere, which cannot be consistently rendered in Eng- hsh ; " reverence " is perhaps the most appropriate translation here.
* Of the City of God, x. i.
32 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
Thus those are not termed " contemplatives " who merely contemplate, but they who devote their lives to contemplation. And such men do not subject themselves to men for man's sake, but for God's, as the Apostle says : Yon received me as an Angel of God, even as Christ Jesus}
'p ^ ^ ^ ^F
S. Augustine : We are to abide in Christ ! How then shall That not be now our possession Where we are then to abide and Whence we are to draw Life ? Let Holy Scripture speak for us lest we should seem in mere conjecture to be saying things contrary to the teaching of the Word of God. Hear the words of one who knew : // God be for us who is against us ?^ The Lord, he says, is the portion of my inheritance.^ He saith not : Lord, what wilt Thou give me for mine inheritance ? All that Thou canst give me is worthless ! Be Thou mine inheritance ! Thee do I love ! Thee do I wholly love ! With all my heart, with all my soul, with all my mind do I love Thee ! What, then, shall be my lot ? What wilt Thou give me save Thyself ? This is to love God freely. This is to hope for God from God. This is to hasten to be filled with God, to be sated with Him. For He is sufficient for thee ; apart from Him nought can suffice thee ! {Sermon, cccxxxiv. 3).
S, Augustine : I cried to the Lord with my voice.* Many cry to the Lord that they may win riches, that they may avoid losses ; they cry that their
* Gal. iv. 14. 2 Rom. viii. 31.
3 Ps. XV. 5. * Ps. Ixxvi. I.
Of the Virtue of Religion 33
family may be established, they ask for temporal happiness, for worldly dignities ; and, lastly, they cry for bodily health, which is the patrimony of the poor. For these and suchlike things many cry to the Lord ; hardly one cries for the Lord Him- self ! How easy it is for a man to desire all manner of things from the Lord and yet not desire the Lord Himself ! As though the gift could be . sweeter than the Giver ! {on Ps. Ixxvi.).
S. Augustine : Picture God as saying to you — He Who re-created you and adopted you : "My son, why is it that day by day you rise and pray, and genu- flect, and even strike the ground with your fore- head, nay, sometimes even shed tears, while you say to Me : ' My Father, my God I give me wealth 1' If I were to give it to you, you would think your- self of some importance, you would fancy you had gained something very great. Yet because you asked for it you have it. But take care to make good use of it. Before you had it you were humble ; now that you have begun to be rich you despise the poor ! What kind of a good is that which only makes you worse ? For worse you are, since you were bad already. And that it would make you worse you knew not, hence you asked it of Me. I gave it to you and I proved you ; you have found — and you are found out ! You were hidden when you had nothing. Correct thyself 1 Vomit up this cupidity I Take a draught of charity ! . . . Ask of Me better things than these, greater things than these. Ask of Me spiritual things. Ask of Me Myself !" {Sermon, cccxi. 14-15).
34 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
II
Is Religion a Virtue ?
A virtue is that which both renders its possessor, as also his work, good. Hence we must say that every good act comes under virtue. And it is clear that to render to another what is his due has the character of a good act ; for by the fact that a man renders to another his due there is established a certain fitting proportion and order between them. But order comes under the ratio of good, just as do measure and species, as S. Augustine estab- lishes.^ Since, then, it belongs to religion to render to some one, namely, God, the honour which is His due, it is clear that religion is a virtue.
Some, however, deny this, thus :
1 . It belongs to religion to show reverence to God. But reverence is an act of fear, and fear is a gift.2 Religion, then, is a gift, not a virtue.
To reverence God is indeed an act of the gift of fear. But to religion it belongs to do certain things by reason of our reverence for God. Hence it does not follow that religion is the same thing as the gift of fear, but it is related to it as to a higher principle. For the gifts are superior to the moral virtues.
2. All virtue consists in the free-will, and hence virtue is called an elective or voluntary habit. But latria belongs to religion, and latria implies a certain servitude. Hence religion is not a virtue.
^ Of the Nature of Good, iii.
2 Fear is one of the " Gifts " of the Holy Ghost.
Of the Virtue of Religion 35
But even a servant can freely give to his master the service that is his due and thus " make a virtue of necessity "^ by voluntarily paying his debt. And similarly the payment of due service to God can be an act of virtue according as a man does it voluntarily.
3. Lastly, as is said in Aristotle's Ethics,^ the aptitude for the virtues is implanted in us by nature ; hence those things which come under the virtues arise from the dictates of natural reason ; but it belongs to religion to offer external reverence to the Divine Nature. Ceremonial, however, or external reverence, is not due to the dictates of natural reason. Hence religion is not a virtue.
But it is due to the dictates of natural reason that a man does certain things in order to show reverence to God. That he should do precisely this or that, however, does not come from the dictates of natural reason, but from Divine or human positive law.
Ill
Is Religion One Virtue ?
S. Paul says to the Ephesians^ : One God, one faith. But true religion maintains faith in one God. Consequently religion is one virtue.
Habits are distinguished according to the divers objects with which they are concerned. But it belongs to religion to show reverence for the One God for one particular reason, inasmuch, namely, as He is the First Principle, the Creator and
^ S. Jerome, Ep. LIV., alias X., ad Furiam.
* II., vi. 15. 3 iy 2-6.
36 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
Governor of all things ; hence we read in Malachi^: // / am a Father, where is my honour? for it is the father that produces and governs. Hence it is clear that religion is but one virtue.
But some maintain that religion is not one virtue, thus :
1. By reHgion we are ordained^ to God. But in God there are Three Persons, and, moreover, divers attributes which are at least distinguishable from one another by reason. But the diverse character of the objects on which they fall suffices to differ- entiate the virtues. Hence religion is not one virtue.
But the Three Divine Persons are but One Principle as concerns the creation and the government of things. And consequently They are to be served by one religion. And the divers attributes all concur in the First Principle, for God produces all and governs all by His Wisdom, His Will, and the power of His Goodness. Hence religion is but one virtue.
2. One virtue can have but one act ; for habits are differentiated according to their acts. But religion has many acts, e.g., to worship, to serve, to make vows, to pray, to make sacrifices, and many other similar things. Consequently religion is not one virtue.
But by one and the same act does man serve God and worship Him ; for worship is referred to God's excellence, to which is due
M. 6.
2 The Latin word or dinar em.odSi.s " to set in due order " ; there is no precise English equivalent which can be consistently employed.
Of the Virtue of Religion 37
reverence : service regards man's subjection, for by reason of his condition he is bound to show reverence to God. And under these two heads are comprised all the acts which are attributed to religion ; for by them all man makes protestation of the Divine excellence and of his subjection of himself to God, either by offering Him something, or, again, by taking upon himself something Divine.
3. Further, adoration belongs to rehgion. But adoration is paid to images for one reason and to God for another. But since diversity of " reason " serves to differentiate the virtues, it seems that rehgion is not one virtue.
But religious worship is not paid to images considered in themselves as entities, but pre- cisely as images bringing God Incarnate to our mind. Further, regarding an image pre- cisely as an image of some one, we do not stop at it ; it carries us on to that which it repre- sents. Hence the fact that religious venera- tion is paid to images of Christ in no sense means that there are various kinds of latria, nor different virtues of religion.
IV
Is Religion a Special Virtue distinct from
Others ?
Religion is regarded as a part of Justice, and is distinct from the other parts of Justice.
Since virtue is ordained to what is good, where there exists some special ratio of good there must be some special corresponding virtue. But the
38 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
particular good towards which rehgion is ordained is the showing due honour to God. Honour, how- ever, is due b}^ reason of some excellency. And to God belongs pre-eminent excellence, since He in every possible way infinitely transcends all things. Hence special honour is due to Him ; just as we note that in human concerns varying honours are due to the varying excellencies of persons ; one is the honour of a father, another that of a king, and so on. Hence it is manifest that religion is a special virtue.
Some, however, maintain that religion is not a special virtue distinct from others, thus :
1. S. Augustine says^ : " True sacrifice is every work undertaken in order that we may be joined to God in holy fellow^ship." But sacrifice comes under religion. Every work of virtue therefore comes under rehgion. And consequently it is not a special virtue.
But every work of virtue is said to be a sacrifice in so far as it is directed to showing God reverence. It does not thence follow that religion is a general virtue, but that it commands all the other virtues.
2. The Apostle says to the Corinthians^ : Do all to the glory of God. But it belongs to religion to do some things for the glory of God . Hence religion is not a special virtue.
But all kinds of acts, in so far as they are done for the glory of God, come under re- ligion ; not, however, as though it ehcited them, but inasmuch as it controls them. 1 Of the City of God, x. 6. ^ II. x. 31.
Of the Virtue of Religion 39
Those acts, however, come under rehgion as ehciting them which, by their own specific character, pertain to the service of God.
3. Lastly, the charity whereby we love God is not distinct from the charity by which we love our neighbour. But in the Ethics^ it is said : " To be honoured is akin to being loved." Hence religion by which God is honoured is not a specifically distinct virtue from those observances, whether dulia or piety, whereby we honour our neighbour. Hence it is not a special virtue.
But the object of love is a good thing ; whereas the object of honour or reverence is what is excellent. But it is God's Goodness that is communicated to His creatures, not the excellence of His Goodness. Hence while the charity wherewith we love God is not a distinct virtue from the charity wherewith we love our neighbour, yet the religion whereby we honour God is distinct from the virtues whereby we honour our neighbour.
V
Is Religion One of the Theological Virtues ?
Religion is considered a part of Justice, and this is a moral virtue.
Religion is the virtue whereby we offer to God His due honour. Two things have therefore to be considered in religion. First we have to consider what religion offers God, namely, worship : this
1 VIII. viii. I.
40 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
may be regarded as the material and the object with which rehgion is concerned. Secondly, we have to consider Him to Whom it is offered, namely, God Himself. Now, when worship is offered to God it is not as though our worshipful acts touched God, though this is the case when we believe God, for by believing in God we touch Him (and we have therefore said elsewhere^ that God is the object of our faith not simply inasmuch as we believe in God, but inasmuch as we believe God). Due worship, however, is offered to God in that certain acts whereby we worship Him are performed as homage to Him, the offering sacri- fice, for instance, and so forth. From all which it is evident that God does not stand to the virtue of religion as its object or as the material with which it is concerned, but as its goal. And conse- quently religion is not a theological virtue, for the object of these latter is the ultimate end ; but religion is a moral virtue, and the moral virtues are concerned with the means to the end.
But some regard rehgion as a theological virtue, thus :
I. S. Augustine says- : " God is worshipped by faith, hope, and charity," and these are theological virtues. But to offer worship to God comes under religion. Therefore religion is a theological virtue.
But it is always the case that a faculty or a virtue whose object is a certain end, controls — by commanding — those faculties or virtues which have to do with those things which are means to that end. But the theological
^ 2. 2. Qu. II., Art. 2./ , 2 Enchiridion, in.
Of the Virtue of Religion 41
virtues — i.e.y faith, hope, and charity — are directly concerned with God as their proper object. And hence they are the cause — by commanding it — of the act of the virtue of reUgion which does certain things having rela- tion to God. It is in this sense that S. Augus- tine says that " God is worshipped by faith, hope, and charity."
2. Those are called theological virtues which have God for their object. But religion has God for its object, for it directs us to God alone. There- fore it is a theological virtue.
But religion directs man to God, not indeed as towards its object, but as towards its goal.
3. Lastly, every virtue is either theological or intellectual or moral. But rehgion is not an intel- lectual virtue, for its perfection does not consist in the consideration of the truth. Neither is it a moral virtue, for the property of the moral virtues IS to steer a middle course betwixt what is super- fluous and what is below the requisite ; whereas no one can worship God to excess, according to the words of Ecclesiasticus^ : For He is above all praise. Religion, then, can only be a theological virtue.
But religion is neither an intellectual nor a theological virtue, but a moral virtue, for it is part of justice. And the via media in religion lies, not between the passions, but in a cer- tain harmony which it establishes in the acts which are directed towards God. I say " a certain," not an absolute harmony, for we can never show to God all the worship that is
1 xliii. 33.
42 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
His due ; I mean, then, the harmony arising from the consideration of our human powers and of the Divine acceptance of what we offer. Moreover, there can be excess in those things which have to do with the Divine worship ; not indeed as regards quantity, but in certain other circumstances, as, for example, when Divine worship is offered to whom it should not, or at times when it should not, or in other unfitting circumstances.
VI
Is Religion to be preferred to the Other Moral Virtues ?
In Exodus^ the commandments which concern religion are put first, as though they were of primary importance. But the order of the command- ments is proportioned to the order of the virtues ; for the commandments of the Law fall upon the acts of the virtues. Hence religion is chief among the moral virtues.
The means to an end derive their goodness from their relation to that end ; hence the more nigh they are to the end the better they are. But the moral virtues are concerned with those things which are ordained to God as their goal. And religion ap- proaches more nearly to God than do the other moral virtues, inasmuch as it is occupied with those things which are directly and immediately ordained to the Divine honour. Hence religion is the chief of the moral virtues.
Some, however, deny that religion is pre-eminent among the moral virtues, thus :
*■ XX. 1-17.
Of the Virtue of Religion 43
1. The perfection of a moral virtue lies in this, that it keeps the due medium.^ But rehgion fails to attain the medium of justice, for it does not render to God anything absolutely equal to Him. Hence religion is not better than the other moral virtues.
But the praiseworthiness of a virtue lies in the will, not in the power. Hence to fall short of equality — which is the midpath of justice — for lack of power, does not make virtue less praiseworthy, provided the deficiency is not due to the will.
2. Again, in our service of men a thing seems to be praiseworthy in proportion to the need of him whom we assist ; hence it is said in Isaias^ : Deal thy bread to the hungry. But God needs nothing that we can offer Him, according to the Psalmist : / have said : Thou art my God, for Thou hast no need of my goods. ^ Hence religion seems to be less praiseworthy than the other virtues, for by them man is succoured.
But in the service we render to another for his profit, that is the more praiseworthy which is rendered to the most needy, because it is of greater profit to him. But no service is rendered to God for His profit — for His glory, indeed, but for our profit.
3. Lastly, the greater the necessity for doing a thing the less worthy it is of praise, according to the words : For if I preach the Gospel, it is no glory to me, for a necessity lieth upon me.'^ But the greater
^ Ethics, II. vi. ^ Iviii. 7,
3 Ps. XV. 2. * I Cor. ix. 16.
44 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
the debt the greater the necessity. Since, then, the service which man offers to God is the greatest of debts, it would appear that rehgion is the least praiseworthy of all human virtues.
Where necessity comes in the glory of supererogation is non-existent ; but the merit of the virtue is not thereby excluded, provided the will be present. Consequently the argu- ment does not follow.
VII
Has Religion, that is Latria,^ any External
Acts ?
In Ps. Ixxxiii. 3 it is said : My heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living God. Now interior acts belong to the heart, and in the same way exterior acts are referred to the members of the body. It appears, then, that God is to be worshipped by exterior as well as by interior acts.
We do not show reverence and honour to God for His own sake — for He in Himself is filled with glory to which nought can be added by any created thing — but for our own sakes. For by the fact that we reverence and honour God our minds are subjected to Him, and in that their perfection hes ) for all things are perfected according as they are subjected to that which is superior to them — the body, for instance, when vivified by the soul, the air when illumined by the sun. Now the human mind needs — if it would be united to God — the guidance of the things of sense ; for, as the Apostle says to the Romans^ : The invisible things of Him * See p. 30. 2 i. 20.
Of the Virtue of Religion 45
are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made. Hence in the Divine worship it is necessary to make use of certain corporal acts, so that by their means, as by certain signs, man's mind may be stirred up to those spiritual acts whereby it is knit to God. Consequently religion has certain interior acts which are its chief ones and which essentially belong to it ; but it has also external acts which are secondary and which are subordinated to the interior acts.
Some deny, however, that exterior acts belong to religion or latria, thus :
1. In S. John iv. 24 we read : For God is a Spirit, and they that adore Him must adore Him in spirit and in truth. External acts belong, how- ever, rather to the body than to the spirit. Conse- quently religion, which comprises adoration, has no exterior acts, but only interior.
But here the Lord speaks only of that which is chiefest and which is essentially intended in Divine worship.
2. The end of religion is to show reverence and honour to God. But it is not reverent to offer to a superexcellent person what properly belongs to inferiors. Since, then, what a man offers by bodily acts seems more in accordance wth men's needs and with that respect which we owe to in- ferior created beings, it does not appear that it can fittingly be made use of in order to show reverence to God.
But such external acts are not offered to God as though He needed them, as He says in the
46 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
Psalm : Shall I eat the flesh of bullocks ? Or shall I drink the blood of goats ?^ But such acts are offered to God as signs of those interior and spiritual works which God accepts for their own sakes. Hence S. Augustine says : " The visible sacrifice is the sacrament — that is, the visible sign — of the invisible sacri- fice. "^
3. Lastly, S. Augustine praises Seneca^ for his condemnation of those men who offered to their idols what they were wont to offer to men : on the ground, namely, that what belongs to mortal men is not fittingly offered to the im- mortals. Still less, then, can such things be fit- tingly offered to the True God Who is above all gods^ Therefore to worship God by means of bodily acts seems to be reprehensible. And con- sequently religion does not include bodily acts.
But idolaters are so called because they offer to their idols things belonging to men, and this not as outward signs which may excite in them spiritual affections, but as being acceptable by those idols for their own sake. And especially because they offered them empty and vile things.
itft >¥ * * *
S. Augustine : When men pray, they, as becomes suppliants, make use of their bodily members, for they bend the knee, they stretch forth their hands, they even prostrate on the ground and perform other visible acts. Yet all the while their invisible
1 Ps. xlix. 13. * Of the City of God, x. 5.
3 Ibid., vi. 10. * Ps. xciv. 3.
Of the Virtue of Religion 47
will and their heart's intention are known to God. He needs not these signs for the human soul to be laid bare before Him. But man by so doing stirs himself up to pray and groan with greater humility and fervour. I know not how it is that whereas such bodily movements can only be pro- duced by reason of some preceding act on the part of the soul, yet when they are thus visibly per- formed the interior invisible movement which gave them birth is thereby itself increased, and the heart's affections — which must have preceded, else such acts would not have been performed — are thereby themselves increased.
Yet none the less, if a man be in some sort hindered so that he is not at liberty to make use of such external acts, the interior man does not therefore cease to pray ; in the secret chamber of his heart, where lies compunction, he lies prostrate before the eyes of God {Of Care for the Dead, v.).
vni
Is Religion the Same as Sanctity ?
In S. Luke's GospeP we read : Let us serve Him in holiness and justice. But to serve God comes under religion. Hence religion is the same as sanctity.
The word " sanctity " seems to imply two things. First, it seems to imply cleanness ; and this is in accordance with the Greek word for it, for in Greek it is hagios,^ as though meaning ** without
^ i- 74-75-
2 Thus Origen, Horn. XI., i. in Leviticum, where, however, he is not really giving an etymology.
4^ On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
earth." Secondly, it implies stability, and thus
among the ancients those things were termed
sancta which were so hedged about with laws that
they were safe from violation ; similarly a thing is
said to be sancitum because established by law.
And even according to the Latins the word sanctus
may mean " cleanness," as derived from sanguine
tindus, for of old those who were to be purified
were sprinkled with the blood of a victim, as says
S. Isidore in his Etymologies }
And both meanings allow us to attribute sanctity to things which are used in the Divine worship ; so that not men only, but also temples and vessels and other similar things are said to be sanctified by reason of their use in Divine worship. Clean- ness indeed is necessary if a man's mind is to be applied to God. For the mind of man is stained by being immersed in inferior things, as indeed all things are cheapened by admixture with things inferior to them — silver, for instance, when mixed with lead. And for our minds to be knit to the Supreme Being they must needs be withdrawn from inferior things. Without cleanness, then, the mind cannot be applied to God. Hence in the Epistle to the Hebrews^ it is said : Follow peace with all men ^ and holiness, without which no man shall see God.
Stability is also required if the mind is to be appUed to God. For the mind is applied to Him as to the Ultimate End and First Principle, and consequently must be immovable. Hence the Apostle says : For I am sure that neither death nor life shall separate me from the love of God.^
1 X., sub Hit. S. 2 xii. 14. ^ Rom. viii. 38-39.
Of the Virtue of Religion 49
Sanctity, then, is said to be that whereby man's mind and its acts are apphed to God. Hence sanctity does not differ from religion essentially, but in idea only. For by religion we mean that a man offers God due service in those things which specially pertain to the Divine worship — sacrifices, for example, and oblations, etc. ; but by sanctity we mean that a man not only offers these things, but also refers to God the works of the other virtues, and also that a man disposes himself by good works for the Divine worship.
Some, however, deny the identity of religion and sanctity, thus :
1. Religion is a certain special virtue. But sanctity is called a general virtue, for according to Andronicus,^ sanctity is that which " makes men faithful observers of what is justly due to God." Hence sanctity is not the same as rehgion.
But sanctity is in its essence a special virtue, and as such is, in a sort, the same as religion. It has, however, a certain general aspect in that, by its commands, it directs all the acts of the virtues to the Divine Good. In the same way legal justice is termed a general virtue in that it directs the acts of all the virtues to the common good.
2. Sanctity seems to imply cleanness, for S. Denis says^: "Sanctity is freedom from all impurity; it is perfect and stainless cleanness." Cleanness, however, seems to come under temperance, for this it is which precludes bodily defilement. Since,
^ De Affectibus. ^ Of the Divine Names, xii.
4
50 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
then, religion comes under justice, sanctity cannot be identified with religion.
Temperance indeed worketh cleanness, but this has not the ratio of sanctity except it be referred to God. Hence S. Augustine says of virginity itself that " not because it is vir- ginity is it held in honour, but because it is consecrated to God."^
3. Lastly, things that are contradistinguished are not identical. But in all enumerations of the parts of justice sanctity is set against religion.
But sanctity is set against religion because of the difference aforesaid ; they differ indeed in idea, not in substance.
* * * * «
Cajetan : Religion is directly concerned with those things which specially pertain to the Divine wor- ship— ceremonies, for example, sacrifices, obla- tions, etc. Whereas sanctity directly regards the mind, and through the mind the other virtuous works, including those of religion . . . for it makes use of them so as thereby to apply the mind — and by consequence all acts that proceed from the human mind — to God. Thus we see that many religious people are not saints, whereas all saints are religious. For people who devote themselves to ceremonies, sacrifices, etc., can be termed religious ; but they can only be called saints in so far as by means of these things they give themselves interiorly to God {on 2. 2. 81. 8).
^ Of Virginity, viii.
QUESTION LXXXII
OF DEVOTION
PAGE
I. Is Devotion a Special Kind of Act ? - - 51 Cardinal Cajetan, On the Meaning of the Term
"Devotion" - - - - 53
S. Augustine, Confessions , XIII. viii. 2 - 54
II. Is Devotion an Act of the Virtue of Religion ? - 55
III. Is Contemplation, that is Meditation, the Cause of
Devotion ? - - - - 57
Cardinal Cajetan, On the Causes of Devotion - 60
On the Devotion of Women - 61
IV. Is Joy an Effect of Devotion ? - - - 62
Cardinal Cajetan, On Melancholy - - 64
S. Augustine, Confessions, II. x. - - 65
I
Is Devotion a Special Kind of Act?
It is by our acts that we merit. But devotion has a pecuHarly meritorious character. Conse- quently devotion is a special kind of act.
Devotion is so termed from " devoting " oneself. Hence the ** devout " are so named because they
devote " themselves to God and thus proclaim their complete subjection to Him. Thus, too, among the heathen of old those were termed " devout " who for the army's sake " devoted " themselves to their idols unto death, as Livy ^
1 VIII. 9 and X. 29. 51
(f
52 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
tells us was the case with the two Decii. Hence devotion seems to mean nothing else than " the will to give oneself promptly to those things which pertain to God's service "; thus it is said in Exodus^ : The multitude of the children of Israel . . . offered first-fruits to the Lord with a most ready and devout mind. It is clear, however, that a wish to do readily what belongs to God's service is a special act. Hence devotion is a special act of the will.
But some argue that devotion is not a special kind of act, thus :
1 . That which serves to qualify other acts can- not be itself a special act. But devotion appears to qualify certain other acts ; thus it is said that all the multitude offered victims, and praises, and holo- causts with a devout niind.^
But that which moves another gives a certain measure to the latter's movement. The will, however, moves the other faculties of the soul to their respective acts; and, moreover, the will, as aiming at an end in view, moves itself to the means towards that end. Consequently, since devotion is the act of a man who offers himself to serve Him Who is the Ultimate End, it follows that devotion gives a certain measure to human acts — whether they be the acts of the will itself with regard to the means to an end, or the acts of the other faculties as moved by the will.
2. Again, no act which finds a place in different kinds of acts can be itself a special kind of act.
^ XXXV. 20-2I. ^ 2 Paral. xxix. 31,
Of Devotion 53
But devotion is to be found in acts of different kinds, both in corporal acts, for example, and in spiritual ; thus a man is said to meditate devoutly, for instance, or to genuflect devoutly.
But devotion does not find a place in dif- ferent kinds of acts as though it were a species coming under different genera, but in the same sense as the motive power of a moving princi- ple is virtually discoverable in the movements of the things it sets in motion.
3. Lastly, all special kinds of acts belong either to the appetitive or to the cognoscitive faculties. But devotion comes under neither of these — as will be evident to anyone who will reflect upon the various acts of these faculties respectively.
But devotion is an act of the appetitive powers of the soul, and is, as we have said above, a movement of the will.
Cajetan : With regard to the proper meaning of the term devotion, note that since devotion is clearly derived from devoting, and since to devote — derived in its turn from to vow — means to promise some- thing spontaneously to God : it follows that the principle in all such promises is the will ; and further, not the will simply as such, but the will so affected as to be prompt. Hence in Latin those are said to be devoted to some superior whose will is so affected towards him as to make them prompt in his regard. And this seems to refer especially to God and to those who in a sense stand in His place, as, for instance, our rulers, our father- land, and our principles of action. Hence in the
54 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
Church's usage the term devotion is especially applied to those who are so affected towards God as to be prompt in His regard and in all that concerns Him. And so devotion is here taken to signify the act of a will so disposed, the act by which a man shows himself prompt in the Divine service. . . . Thus, then, devotion, the principal act of the virtue of religion, implies first of all the prompt desire of the Divine honour in our exercise of Divine worship ; and hence comes the prompt choice of appropriate means to this end, and also the prompt carrying out of what we see to be suitable to that end. And the proof of possession of such devotion is that truly devout souls, the moment they perceive that some particular thing (or other) ought to be done for the service of God, are so promptly moved towards it that they rejoice in having to do or in actually doing it {on 2. 2. 82. i).
S. Augustine : Give me, O Lord, Thyself ; grant Thyself to me ! For Thee do I love, and if my love be but weak, then would I love Thee more. For I cannot measure it so as to know how much my love falls short of that love which shall make my life run to Thy embraces nor ever turn away from Thee till I be hid in the hiding-place of Thy countenance. This only do I know : that it fares ill with me when away from Thee ; and this not merely externally, but within me ; for all abund- ance which is not my God is but penury for me 1 {Confessions, XHI. viii. 2).
Of Devotion 55
II
Is Devotion an Act of the Virtue of Religion ?
Devotion is derived from " devoting oneself " or making vows. But a vow is an act of the virtue of religion. Consequently devotion also is an act of the virtue of religion.
It belongs to the same virtue to wish to do a thing and to have a prompt v/iil to do it, for the object of each of these acts is the same. For this reason the Philosopher says^ : " Justice is that by which men will and perform just deeds." And it is clear that to perform those things which pertain to the Divine worship or service comes under the virtue of religion. Consequently it belongs to the same virtue of religion to have a prompt will to carry out these things — in other words, to be de- vout. Whence it follows that devotion is an act of the virtue of religion.
But some argue that devotion is not an act of the virtue of religion, thus :
I. Devotion means that a man gives himself to God. But this belongs to the virtue of charity, for, as S. Denis says^ : " Divine love causes ecstasy since it permits not that those who love should belong any more to themselves, but to those things which they love." Whence devotion would seem to be rather an act of charity than of the virtue of religion.
1 Ethics, V. i. 3.
2 Of the Divine Names, chap, iv., part i., lect. lo.
56 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
It is indeed through charity that a man gives himself to God, dinging to Him by a certain union of soul ; but that a man should give himself to God and occupy himself with the Divine service, is due directly to the virtue of religion, though indirectly it is due to the virtue of charity, which is the principle of the virtue of religion.
2. Again, charity precedes the virtue of religion. But devotion seems to precede charity ; for charity is signified in Scripture by fire, and devotion by the fat of the sacrifices — the material on which the fire feeds. Consequently devotion is not an act of the virtue of religion.
But v/hile the fat of the body is generated by the natural digestive heat, that natural heat finds its nourishment in that same fat. Similarly charity both causes devotion — since it is by love that a man becomes prompt to serve his friend — and at the same time charity is fed by devotion ; just as all friendship is preserved and increased by the practice of friendly acts and by meditating upon them.
3. Lastly, by the virtue of religion a man turns to God alone. But devotion extends to men as well ; people, for instance, are said to be devoted to certain Saints, and servants are said to be devoted to their masters, as S. Leo says of the Jews,^ that being devoted to the Roman laws, they said : We have no king but Ccesar? Conse-
* Sermon VIII. : On the Passion of Our Lord. ' S. John xix. 15.
Of Devotion 57
quently devotion is not an act of the virtue of religion.
But the devotion which we have to the Saints of God, whether hving or dead, does not stop at them, but passes on to God, since we venerate God in God's ministers. And the devotion which subjects have to their tem- poral masters is of a different kind altogether, just as the service of temporal masters differs from the service of the Divine Master.
Ill
Is Contemplation, that is Meditation, the Cause of Devotion ?
In Ps. xxxviii. 4 it is said : And in my meditation a fire shall flame out. But spiritual fire causes devotion. Therefore meditation causes devotion.
The extrinsic and principal cause of devotion is God Himself ; thus S. Ambrose says^ : " God calls those whom He deigns to call ; and whom He wills to make religious He makes religious ; and had He willed it He would have made the Samaritans devout instead of indevout."
But the intrinsic cause of devotion on our part is meditation or contemplation. For, as we have said, devotion is a certain act of the will by which a man gives himself promptly to the Divine service. All acts of the will, however, proceed from con- sideration, since the will's object is good under- stood. Hence S. Augustine says^ : " The will starts
^ Commentary on S. Luke ix. 55. 2 De Trinitaie, ix. 12 ; xv. 23.
58 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
from the understanding." Meditation must, then, be the cause of devotion inasmuch as it is from meditation that a man conceives the idea of giving himself up to God.
And two considerations lead a man to do this : one is the consideration of the Divine Goodness and of His benefits, whence the words of the Psalmist : But for me it is good to cling close to my God, to put my hope in the Lord God} And this consideration begets love, which is the proximate cause of devotion. And the second is man's con- sideration of his own defects which compel him to lean upon God, according to the words : / have lifted up mine eyes to the mountains, from whence help shall come to me ; my help is from the Lord Who made Heaven and earth. ^ This latter con- sideration excludes all presumption which, by making him lean upon himself, might prevent a man from submitting himself to God.
Some, however, argue that contemplation or meditation is not the cause of devotion, thus :
1. No cause hinders its own effect. But subtle intellectual meditations often hinder devotion.
But it is the consideration of those things which naturally tend to excite love of God which begets devotion ; consideration of things which do not come under this head, but rather distract the mind from it, are a hindrance to devotion.
2. Again, if contemplation were the real cause of devotion, it should follow that the higher the
1 Ps. Ixxii. 28. 2 Ps. cxx. I, 2.
Of Devotion 59
matter of our contemplation the greater the devo- tion it begot. But the opposite is the case. For it frequently happens that greater devotion is aroused by the contemplation of the Passion of Christ and of the other mysteries of His Sacred Humanity than by meditation upon the Divine excellences.
It is true that things which concern the Godhead are of themselves more calculated to excite in us love, and consequently devotion, since God is to be loved above all things ; yet it is due to the weakness of the human mind that just as it needs to be led by the hand to the knowledge of Divine things, so also must it be lead to Divine love by means of the things of sense already known to it ; and the chief of these things is the Humanity of Christ, as is said in the Preface of the Mass : So that knowing God visibly in the flesh, we may thereby be carried away to the love of things invisible. Con- sequently the things that have to do with Christ's Humanity lead us, as it were, by the hand and are thus especially suited to stir up devotion in us ; though, none the less, devotion is principally concerned with the Divinity.
3. Lastly, if contemplation were the real cause of devotion, it ought to follow that those who are the more fitted for contemplation are also the more fitted for devotion ; whereas the contrary is the case, for greater devotion is often found among simple folk and in the female sex, where contem- plation is wanting.
6o On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
But knowledge, as indeed anything which renders a person great, occasions a man to trust in Himself, and hence he does not wholly give himself to God. It is for this reason that knowledge and suchlike things are sometimes a hindrance to a man's devotion, whereas among women and simple folk devotion abounds by the suppression of all elation. But if a man will only perfectly subject to God his knowledge and any other perfection he may have, then his devotion will increase.
Cajetan : Note these two intrinsic causes of devotion : one, namely, which arises from medita- tion upon God and His benefits, the other from meditation on our own defects. Under the first head I must consider God's goodness, mercy, and kindness towards mankind and towards myself ; the benefits, for instance, of creation according to His own Likeness, of Redemption, of Baptism, of His inspirations, of His invitations — whether directly or through the medium of others ; His patient waiting till I do penance ; His Holy Eucharist ; His preserving me from so many perils both of body and soul ; His care of me by means of His Angels ; and His other individual benefits. Under the second head come all my faults and the punishments due to me, whether in the past or now in the present ; my proneness to sin ; my mis- use of my own powers by habituating my thoughts and desires — as well as the inclinations of my other various faculties — to evil ; my sojourning in a
Of Devotion 6i
region far away from His Friendship and from His Divine conversation^ ; my perverted affections which make me think far more of temporal than of spiritual advantages or disadvantages ; my utter lack of virtue ; the wounds of my ignorance, of my malice, of my weakness, of my concupiscence ; the shackles on my hands and feet, on my good works, that is ; the shackles, too, on my affections, so that I dwell amidst darkness and rottenness and bitter- ness, and shrink not from it ! My deafness, too, to the inner voice of my Shepherd ; and, what is far worse, that I have chosen God for my enemy and my adversary as often as I have chosen mortal sin, and that I have thus offered Him the grievous insult of refusing to have Him for my God, and choosing instead my belly, or money, or false delights — and called them my God !
Meditations such as these should be in daily use among spiritual and religious people, and for their sake they should put aside the " much-speaking " of vocal prayer, however much it may appeal to them. And it is of such meditations that devotion and, by consequence, other virtues, are begotten. And they who do not give themselves to this form of prayer at least once in the day cannot be called religious men or women, nor even spiritual people. There can be no effect without a cause, no end without means to it, no gaining the harbour on the island save by a voyage in a ship ; and so there can be no real religion without repeated acts regarding its causes, the means to it, and the vehicle that is to bring us thither {on 2. 2. 82. 3).
Cajetan : Just as he who removes an obstacle is 1 S. Luke XV. 13, 16.
62 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
the occasion of the resulting effect — a man, for instance, who pulls down a pillar is the occasion of the resulting fall of what it supported, and a man who removes a water-dam is the occasion of the consequent flood — so in the same way have women and simple folk a cause of devotion within them- selves, for they have not that obstacle which con- sists in self-confidence. And because God bestows His grace on those who put no obstacle to it, the Church therefore calls the female sex " devout," Hence we are not to find fault with the learned for their knowledge, nor are we to praise women for womanly weakness ; but that abuse of knowledge which consists in self-exaltation is blameworthy, just as the right use of women's weakness in not being uplifted is praiseworthy " {on 2. 2. 82. 3).
IV
Is Joy an Effect of Devotion ?
In the Church's Collect for the Thursday after the Fourth Sunday of Lent we say : May holy devotion fill with joy those whom the fast they have undertaken chastises.
Of itself indeed, and primarily, devotion brings about a spiritual joy of the mind ; but as an acci- dental result it causes sorrow. For, as we have said above, devotion arises from two considerations. Primarily it arises from the consideration of the Divine Goodness, and from this thought there necessarily follows gladness, in accordance with the words : / remembered God and was delighted} Yet, as it were accidentally, this consideration begets
^ Ps. Ixxvi. 4.
Of Devotion 63
a certain sadness in those who do not as yet fully enjoy God : My soul hath thirsted after the strong living God^ and he immediately adds : My tears have been my bread.
Secondarily, however, devotion arises from the consideration of our own defects, for we thus reflect upon that from which a man, by devout acts of the will, turns away, so as no longer to dwell in himself, but to subject himself to God.
And this consideration is the converse of the former : for of itself it tends to cause sadness since it makes us dwell upon our defects ; accident- ally, however, it causes joy, for it makes us think of the hope we have of God's assistance.
Hence joy of heart primarily and of itself follows from devotion ; but secondarily and accidentally there results a sadness which is unto God.
Some, however, argue that joy is not an effect of devotion, thus :
I. Christ's Passion, as said before, is especially calculated to cause devotion. But from dwelling on it there follows a certain affliction of soul : Remember my poverty . . . the wormwood and the gall^ — that is, the Sacred Passion ; and then follows : / will be mindful, and rernember, and my soul shall languish within me.
In meditation on the Passion of Christ there is food for sadness — viz., the thought of the sins of men, and to take these away Christ had need to suffer. But there is also food for joy — viz., the thought of God's merciful kindness towards us in providing us such a deliverance. ^ Ps. xli. 3. 3 Lam. iii. 19.
64 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
2. Again, devotion principally consists in the interior sacrifice of the heart : A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit ;^ consequently affliction, rather than pleasure or joy, is the outcome of devotion.
But the soul which is on the one hand saddened because of its shortcomings in this present life, is on the other hand delighted at the thought of the goodness of God and of the hope of Divine assistance.
3. Lastly, S. Gregory of Nyssa says ^ : "Just as laughter proceeds from joy, so are sorrow and groaning signs of sadness." But out of devotion some burst into tears.
Yet tears spring not from sadness alone, but also from a certain tenderness of feeling : and especially is this the case when we reflect on something that, while pleasant, has in it a certain admixture of sadness ; thus men are wont to weep from loving affection when they recover their children or others dear to them whom they had thought lost. And it is in this sense that tears spring from devotion.
♦ ♦ * ♦ *
Cajetan : Notice the proof here afforded that those are not devout persons who are habitually sad and gloomy, and who cannot mingle with others without getting into difficulties or dissolving into tears. For devout folk are cheerful, and are full of joy in their souls ; and this not solely by reason of the principal cause, as is stated in the text, but also by reason of a secondary cause — the
* Ps. 1. 19. ^ De Homine, xii.
Of Devotion 65
thought, namely, of their own faihngs. For the sadness of devout folk is according to God, and joy accompanies it ; whence S. Augustine's remark : " Let a man grieve, but let him rejoice at his grief. "^ Therefore it is that we read of the Saints that they were joyful and bright ; and rightly so, for they had begun upon earth their " heavenly conversation "^ {on 2. 2. 82. 4).
S. Augustine : For Thee do I yearn. Justice and Innocence, Beautiful and Fair in Thy beauteous light that satisfies and yet never sates ! For with Thee is repose exceedingly and life without dis- quiet I He that enters into Thee enters into the joy of his Lord ; he shall know no fear, and in the Best shall be best. But I have deserted Thee and have wandered away, O Lord, my God ! Too far have I wandered from Thee, the Steadfast One, in my youth, and I have become to myself a very land of want ! {Confessions , IL x.).
^ De Vera et Falsa Poenitentia, xiii. ^ phil. iii, 20.
QUESTION LXXXIII
OF PRAYER
PAGE
I. Is Prayer an Act of the Appetitive Powers ? - 68 Cardinal Cajetan, On Prayer based on Friend- ship - - - - - 71 II. Is it Fitting to Pray ? - - - - 71 Cardinal Cajetan, On Prayer as a True Cause - 74 S. Augustine, On the Sermon on the Mount,
II. iii. 14 - - - 75
tt On the Gift of Perseverance,
vii. 15 - - - 75
III. Is Prayer an Act of the Virtue of Religion ? - 76
Cardinal Cajetan, On the Humility of Prayer- 78
S. Augustine, On Psalm cii. 10 - - 79
„ Of the Gift of Perseverance,
xvi. 39 - - - 80
IV. Ought We to Pray to God Alone ? - - 80
S. Augustine, Sermon, cxxvii, 2 - - 83
V. Should We in our Prayers ask for anything
Definite from God ? - - - 84
S. Augustine, De Catechizandis Rudibus,
XXV. 47 - - - 86
„ Confessions, X. xxix. - - 87
„ Confessions, XI. ii. 2 - - 88
VI. Ought We in our Prayers to ask for Temporal
Things from God ? - - - 89
S. Augustine, Ow Psfl/w xxxvii. 10 - - 91
,, Confessions, I. xx. 2 - - 92
,, Confessions, IX. iv. 12 - - 93
S, Thomas is miraculously relieved from
Toothache - - - - - 93
S. Augustine, Sermon, Ixxx. 7 - - 94
„ Sermon, cccliv. 8 - - 94
66
Of Prayer 67
PAGE
VII. Ought We to Pray for Others ? - - - 95
VIII. Ought We to Pray for our Enemies ? - - 99
S, Augustine, Sermon, xv., on Psalm xxv. 8 - loi
IX. On the Seven Petitions of the Lord's Prayer - 102 Cardinal Cajetan, On the Grouping of these
Petitions - - - - -107
S. Augustine, Confessions , VII. x. 2 - - 108
„ Sermon, Ivii., on S. Matt. vi. 7 - 109
,, Sermon, Ivi, 9, on S. Matt. vi. - no
,, Sermon, Ivi. 8, on S. Matt. vi. - no
Of the City of God, xix. 2^ - in
S. Thomas's Rhythm, Adoro Te Devote - 112
X. Is Prayer PecuHar to Rational Creatures ? - 113
XI. Do the Saints in Heaven Pray for Us ? - - 115
Cardinal Cajetan, On the Saints in Limbo - 118
XII. Should Prayer be Vocal ? - - - 119
Cardinal Cajetan, On the Conditions of Vocal
Prayer - - - - - 121
S. Augustine, Confessions, IX. iv. 8 - - 123
,, Confessions, X. xxxiii. 50 - 123 ,, On Psalm cxviii., Sermon
xxix. I ... 124
XIII. Must Prayer necessarily be Attentive ? - - 125
Cardinal Cajetan, On the Varieties of Attention
at Prayer ----- 128
S. Augustine, On Psalm Ixxxv. 7 - - 129
,, On Psalm cxLv. i - - 130
S. Thomas, On Distractions, Com. on 1 Cor.
riv. 14 - - - - - 132
XIV. Should our Prayers be Long ? - - - 133 XV. Is Prayer Meritorious ? - - - - 137
S. Augustine, On Psalm xxvi. - - 142
Ep. cxxx. ad Probam. - - 142 XVI. Do Sinners gain Anything from God by their
Prayers ? - - - - - 143 XVII. Can We rightly term "Supplications," "Prayers," "Intercessions," and "Thanksgivings," parts of Prayer ?- - - -146 Cardinal Cajetan, On the Prayer of the Con- secration - - - - - 149 S. Augustine, Of Divers Questions, iv. - 150
68 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
I
Is Prayer an Act of the Appetitive Powers ?
S. Isidore says^ : " To pray is the same thing as to speak." Speaking, however, belongs to the intellect. Hence prayer is not an act of the appeti- tive, but of the intellectual faculties.
According to Cassiodorus, on those words of the Psalmist : Hear my prayer, O Lord, and my stip- plication, give ear to my tears, ^ prayer means " the lips' reasoning." Now there is this difference between the speculative and the practical reason, that the speculative reason merely apprehends things, while the practical reason not only appre- hends things, but actually causes them. But one thing is the cause of another in two ways : in one way, perfectly — namely, as inducing a necessity — as happens when the effect comes entirely under the power of a cause ; in another way, imperfectly — namely, by merely disposing to it — as happens when an effect is not entirely under the power of a cause.
And so, too, reason is in two ways the cause of certain things : in one way as imposing a necessity ; and in this way it belongs to the reason to com- mand not merely the lower faculties and the bodily members, but even men who are subject to us, and this is done by giving commands. In another way as inducing, and in some sort disposing to, an effect ; and in this way the reason asks for some- thing to be done by those who are subject to it, whether they be equals or superiors.
* Etymologies, x., sub litt. O. ^ Ps. xxxviii. 13.
Of Prayer 69
But both of these — namely, to command some- thing, or to ask or beg for something to be done — imply a certain arrangement — as when a man arranges for something to be done by somebody else. And in this respect both of these acts come under the reason whose office it is to arrange. Hence the Philosopher says^ : " Reason asks for the best things."
Here, then, we speak of prayer as implying a certain asking or petition, for, as S. Augustine says^ : " Prayer is a certain kind of petition "; so, too, S. John Damascene says^ : " Prayer is the asking of fitting things from God."
Hence it is clear that the prayer of which we are here speaking is an act of the reason.
Some, however, think that prayer is an act of the appetitive powers, thus :
I. The whole object of prayer is to be heard, and the Psalmist says that it is our desires which are heard : The Lord hath heard the desire of the poor.^ Prayer, then, is desire ; but desire is an act of the appetitive powers.
But the Lord is said to hear the desires of the poor either because their desire is the reason why they ask — since our petitions are in a certain sense the outward expression of our desires ; or this may be said in order to show the swiftness with which He hears them — even while things are only existing in the poor man's desire ; God hears them even
■^ Ethics, I. xiii. 15.
2 Rabanus Maurus, De Universis, vi. 14.
3 On the Orthodox Faith, iii. 24. ■* Ps. x. 17.
70 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
before they are expressed in prayer. And this accords with the words of Isaias : And it shall come to pass that before they shall call I will hear, as they are yet speaking I will hear}
2. Again, Denis the Areopagite says : " But before all things it is good to begin with prayer, as thereby giving ourselves up to and uniting our- selves with God."^ But union with God comes through love, and love belongs to the appetitive powers ; therefore prayer, too, would seem to belong to the appetitive powers.
But the will moves the reason to its end or object. Hence there is nothing to prevent the reason, under the direction of the will, from tending to the goal of charity, which is union with God. Prayer, however, tends towards God — moved, that is, by the will, which itself is motived by charity — in two ways : in one way by reason of that which is asked for, since in prayer we have particu- larly to ask that we may be united with God, according to those words : One thing I have asked of the Lord, this will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.^ And in another way prayer tends towards God — by reason, namely, of the peti- tioner himself ; for such a one must approach him from whom he asks something, and this either bodily, as when he draws nigh to a man, or mentally, as when he draws nigh to God.
^ Isa. Ixv. 24. " Of the Divine Names, vi. i.
^ Ps. xxvi. 4.
Of Prayer 7^
Hence the same Denis says : " When we in- voke God in prayer we are before Him with our minds laid bare." In the same sense S. John Damascene says : " Prayer is the ascent of the mind towards God."
Cajetan : Prayer demands of the petitioner a two- fold union with God : the one is general — the union, that is, of friendship — and is produced by charity, so that further on^ we shall find the friendship arising from charity enumerated among the condi- tions for infallibly efficacious prayer. The second kind of union may be termed substantial union ; it is the effect of prayer itself. It is that union of application by which the mind offers itself and all it has to God in service^-viz., by devout affections, by meditations, and by external acts. By such union as this a man who prays is inseparable from God in his worship and service, just as when one man serves another he is inseparable from him in his service {on 2. 2. 83. i).
"And now, O Lord, Thou art our Father, and we are clay : and Thou art our Maker, and we are all the works of Thy hands. Be not very angry, O Lord, and remember no longer our iniquity : behold, see we are all Thy people. "^
II
Is IT Fitting to Pray ?
In S. Luke's Gospel we read : We ought always to pray and not to faint. ^
A threefold error regarding prayer existed amongst the ancients ; for some maintained that
1 Art. XV. a jga. ixiv. 8, 9. ^ xviii. i.
72 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
human affairs were not directed by Divine Provi- dence ; whence it followed that it was altogether vain to pray or to worship God ; of such we read : You have said, he laboureth in vain that serveth God} A second opinion was that all things, even human affairs, happened of necessity — whether from the immutability of Divine Providence, or from a necessity imposed by the stars, or from the con- nection of causes ; and this opinion, of course, excluded all utility from prayer. A third opinion was that human affairs were indeed directed by Divine Providence, and that human affairs did not happen of necessity, but that Divine Provi- dence was changeable, and that consequently its dispositions were changed by our prayers and by other acts of religious worship. These views, how- ever, have elsewhere been shown to be wrong.
Consequently we have so to set forth the utility of prayer as neither to make things happen of neces- sity because subject to Divine Providence, nor to suggest that the arrangements of Divine Provi- dence are subject to change.
To bring this out clearly we must consider that Divine Providence not merely arranges what effects shall take place, but also from what causes they shall proceed, and in what order.
But amongst other causes human acts are causes of certain effects. Hence men must do certain things, not so that their acts may change the Divine arrangement, but that by their acts they may bring about certain effects according to the order arranged by God ; and it is the same with
^ Alal. iii. 14.
Of Prayer 73
natural causes. It is the same, too, in the case of prayer. For we do not pray in order to change the Divine arrangements, but in order to win that which God arranged should be fulfilled by means of prayers ; or, in S. Gregory's words : " Men by petitioning may merit to receive what Almighty God arranged before the ages to give them."^
Some, however, maintain that prayer is futile, thus :
1 . Prayer seems to be necessary in order that we may bring our wants to the notice of Him to Whom we make the petition. But our Lord says : Your Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.^
But it is not necessary for us to set forth our petitions before God in order to make known to Him our needs or desires, but rather that we ourselves may realize that in these things it is needful to have recourse to the Divine assistance.
2. Again, by prayer the mind of him to whom it is made is prevailed upon to grant what is asked of him ; but the mind of God is unchangeable and inflexible : The Triumpher in Israel will not spare, and will not be moved to repentance ; for He is not a man that He should repent.^ Consequently it is unavaihng to pray to God.
But our prayers do not aim at changing the Divine arrangements, but at obtaining by our prayers what God has arranged to give us.
^ Dialogue, i. 8. 2 s_ Matt. vi. 32. ^ i Kings xv. 29.
74 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
3. Lastly, it is more generous to give to one who does not ask than to one who asks, for, as Seneca remarks : " Nothing is bought at a dearer price than what is bought with prayers."^ Whereas God is most generous.
God, indeed, bestows on us many things out of His generosity, even things for which we do not ask ; but He wishes to grant us some things on the supposition that we ask for them. And this is for our advantage, for it is intended to beget in us a certain confidence in having recourse to God, as well as to make us recognize that He is the Author of all good to us. Hence S. Chrysostom says : " Reflect what great happiness is bestowed upon you, what glory is given you, namely, to converse in your prayers with God, to join in colloquy with Christ, and to beg for what you wish or desire."^
Cajetan : Notice how foolish are some Christians who, when desirous of reaching certain ends attain- able by nature or art, are most careful to apply such means, and would rightly regard their hopes as vain unless they applied them ; and yet at the same time they have quite false notions of the fruits to be derived from prayer : as though prayer were no cause at all, or at least but a remote one 1 Whence it comes to pass that, having false ideas about the causes, they fail to reap any fruit {on 2. 2. 83. 2).
^ 0/ Good Deeds, ii. i.
2 Horn. II., On Prayer ; also Hotn. XXX., On Genesis.
Of Prayer 75
S. Augustine : But some may say : It is not so much a question whether we are to pray by words or deeds as whether we are to pray at all if God already knows what is needful for us. Yet the very giving ourselves to prayer has the effect of soothing our minds and purifying them ; it makes us more fit to receive the Divine gifts which are spiritually poured out upon us. For God does not hear us because of a display of prayer on our part ; He is always ready, indeed, to give us His light, not, indeed. His visible light, but the light of the intellect and the spirit. It is we who are not always prepared to receive it, and this because we are preoccupied with other things and swallowed up in the dark- ness resulting from desire of the things of earth. When we pray, then, our hearts must turn to God, Who is ever ready to give if only we will take what He gives. And in so turning to Him we must purify the eye of our mind by shutting out all thought for the things of time, that so — with single-minded gaze — we may be able to bear that simple light that shines divinely, and neither sets nor changes. And not merely to bear it, but even to abide in it ; and this not simply without strain, but with a certain unspeakable joy. In this joy the life of the Blessed is truly and really per- fected {On the Sermon on the Mount, II. iii. 14).
S. Augustine : He could have bestowed these things on us even without our prayers ; but He wished that by our prayers we should be taught from Whom these benefits come. For from whom do we receive them if not from Him from Whom we are bidden to ask them ? Assuredly in this matter
76 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
the Church does not demand laborious disputa- tions ; but note Her daily prayers : She prays that unbelievers may believe : God then brings them to the Faith. She prays that the faithful may persevere : God gives them perseverance to the end. And God foreknew that He would do these things. For this is the predestination of the Saints whom He chose in Christ before the foundation of the world^ {Of the Gift of Perseverance, vii. 15).
"Thou hast taught me, O God, from my youth ; and till now I will declare Thy wonderful works. And unto old age and grey hairs, O God, forsake mc not, until I shew forth Thy arm to all the gen- eration that is to come. "2
ni
Is Prayer an Act of the Virtue of Religion ?
In Ps. cxl. 2 we read : Let my prayer be directed as incense in Thy sight, and on these words the Gloss remarks : " According to this figure, in the Old Law incense was said to be offered as an odour of sweetness to the Lord." And this comes under the virtue of religion. Therefore prayer is an act of religion.
It properly belongs to the virtue of religion to give due reverence and honour to God, and hence all those things by which such reverence is shown to God come under religion. By prayer, however, a man shows reverence to God inasmuch as he submits himself to Him and, by pra3nng, acknow- ledges that he needs God as the Author of all his good. Whence it is clear that prayer is properly an act of religion.
^ Eph. i. 4. 2 Ps. ixx. 17, 18.
Of Prayer n
Some, however, maintain that prayer is not an act of the virtue of rehgion, thus :
I . Prayer is rather the exercise of the Gift of Understanding than of the virtue of rehgion. For the virtue of rehgion comes under Justice ; it is therefore resident in the will. But prayer belongs to the intellectual faculties, as we have shown above.
But we must remember that the will moves the other faculties of the soul to their objects or ends, and that consequently the virtue of religion, which is in the will, directs the acts of the other faculties in the reverence they show towards God. Now amongst these other faculties of the soul the intellect is the noblest and the most nigh to the will ; consequently, next to devotion, which belongs to the will itself, prayer, which belongs to the intellective part, is the chief act of religion, for by it religion moves a man's understanding to- wards God.
2. Again, acts of worship fall under precept, whereas prayer seems to fall under no precept, but to proceed simply from the mere wish to pray ; for prayer is merely asking for what we want ; con- sequently prayer is not an act of the virtue of religion.
Yet not only to ask for what we desire, but to desire rightly, falls under precept ; to desire, indeed, falls under the precept of charity, but
78 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
to ask falls under the precept of religion — the precept which is laid down in the words : Ask and ye shall receive.'^
3. Lastly, the virtue of religion embraces due worship and ceremonial offered to the Divinity ; prayer, however, offers God nothing, but only seeks to obtain things from Him.
In prayer a man offers to God his mind, which he subjects to Him in reverence, and which he, in some sort, lays bare before Him — as we have just seen in S. Denis's words. Hence, since the human mind is superior to all the other exterior or bodily members, and also to all exterior things which have place in the Divine worship, it follows that prayer, too, is pre-eminent among the acts of the virtue of religion.
Cajetan : In prayer or petition there are three things to be considered : the thing petitioned for, the actual petition, and the petitioner. As far, then, as the thing petitioned for is concerned, we give nothing to God when we pray ; rather we ask Him to give us something. But if we consider the actual petition, then we do offer something to God when we pray. For the very act of petitioning is an act of subjection ; it is an acknowledgment of God's power. And the proof of this is that proud men would prefer to submit to want rather than humble themselves by asking anything of others. Further, the petitioner, by the very fact that he petitions, acknowledges that he whom he petitions
* S. Matt. vii. 7.
Of Prayer 79
has the power to assist him, and is merciful, or just, or provident ; it is for this reason that he hopes to be heard. Hence petition or prayer is regarded as an act of the virtue of rehgion, the object of which is to give honour to God. For we honour God by asking things of Him, and this by so much the more as — whether from our manner of asking or from the nature of what we ask for — we acknow- ledge Him to be above all things, to be our Creator, our Provider, our Redeemer, etc. And this is what S. Thomas points out in the body of the Article. But if we consider the petitioner : then, since man petitions with his mind — for petition is an act of the mind — and since the mind is the noblest thing in man, it follows that by petitioning we submit to God that which is noblest in us, since we use it to ask things of Him, and thereby do Him honour. Thus by prayer we offer our minds in sacrifice to God ; so, too, by bending the knee to Him we offer to Him and sacrifice to Him our knees, by using them to His honour {on 2. 2. 83. 3).
5. Augustine : I stand as a beggar at the gate, He sleepeth not on Whom I call 1 Oh, may He give me those three loaves ! For you remember the Gospel ? Ah 1 see how good a thing it is to know God's word ; those of you who have read it are stirred within yourselves ! For you remember how a needy man came to his friend's house and asked for three loaves. And He says that he sleepily replied to him : " I am resting, and my children are with me asleep." But he persevered in his request, and wrung from him by his impor- tunity what his deserts could not get. But God
8o On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
wishes to give ; yet only to those who ask — lest He should give to those who understand not. He does not wish to be stirred up by your weariness ! For when you pray you are not being troublesome to one who sleeps ; He slumhereth not nor sleeps that keepeth Israel} . . . He, then, sleeps not ; see you that your faith sleeps not ! {Enarr. in Ps. cii. lo). 5. Augustine : Some there are who either do not pray at all, or pray but tepidly ; and this because, forsooth, they have learnt from the Lord Himself^ that God knows, even before we ask Him, what is necessary for us. But because of such folk are we to say that these words are not true and therefore to be blotted out of the Gospel ? Nay, rather, since it is clear that God gives some things even to those who do not ask — as, for instance, the beginnings of faith — and has prepared other things for those only who pray for them — as, for instance, final perseverance — it is evident that he who fancies he has this latter of himself does not pray to have it {Of the Gift of Perseverance, xvi. 39).
*' I will sing to the Lord as long as I live ; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. Let my speech be acceptable to Him ; but I will take delight in the Lord."3
IV
Ought We to pray to God Alone ?
In Job V. I we read : Call, now, if there be any that will answer thee, and turn to so7ne of the Saints.
Prayer is addressed to a person in two ways : in one way as a petition to be granted by him ; » Ps. cxx. 4. 2 s. Matt. vi. 8. » Ps, ciii. 33, 34.
Of Prayer 8i
in another way as a petition to be forwarded by him. In the former way we only pray to God, for all our prayers ought to be directed to the attaining of grace and glory, and these God alone gives : The Lord will give grace and glory} But in the latter way we set forth our prayers both to the holy Angels and to men ; and this, not that through their intervention God may know our petitions, but rather that by their prayers and merits our petitions may gain their end. Hence it is said in the Apocalypse : And the smoke of the incense of the prayers of the Saints ascended up before God from the hand of the Angel. ^ And this is clearly shown, too, from the style adopted by the Church in her prayers : for of the Holy Trinity we pray that mercy may be shown us ; but of all the Saints, whomsoever they may be, we pray that they may intercede for us.
Some, however, maintain that we ought to pray to God alone, thus :
I. Prayer is an act of the virtue of religion. But only God is to be worshipped by the virtue of religion. Consequently it is to Him alone that we should pray.
But in our prayers we only show religious worship to Him from Whom we hope to obtain what we ask, for by so doing we confess Him to be the Author of all our goods ; but we do not show religious worship to those whom we seek to have as intercessors with us before God.
^ Ps. Ixxxiii. 12. 2 viii. 4.
6
82 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
2. Again, prayer to those who cannot know what we pray for is idle. But God alone can know our prayers, and this because prayer is frequently a purely interior act of which God alone is cognizant, as the Apostle says : / will pray with the spirit. I will pray also with the understanding ;^ and also because, as S. Augustine says^ : The dead know not, not even the Saints, what the living — not even excepting their own children — are doing.
It is true that the dead, if we consider only their natural condition, do not know what is done on earth, and especially do they not know the interior movements of the heart. But to the Blessed, as S. Gregory says,^ manifestation is made in the Divine Word of those things which it is fitting that they should know as taking place in our regard, even the interior movements of the heart. And, indeed, it is most befitting their state of excellence that they should be cognizant of petitions addressed to them, whether vocally or mentally. Hence through God's revelation they are cognizant of the petitions which we address them.
3. Lastly, some say : if we do address prayers to any of the Saints, the sole reason for doing so lies in the fact that they are closely united to God. But we do not address prayers to people who, while still living in this world, are closely knit to God, nor to those who are in Purgatory and are united to Him. There seems, then, to be no reason why we should address prayers to the Saints in Paradise.
^ I Cor. xiv. 15.
2 On Care for the Dead, chaps, xiii., xv., xvi.
^ Moralia in Job, xii. 14.
Of Prayer 83
But they who are still in the world or in Purgatory do not as yet enjoy the vision of the Divine Word so as to be able to know what we think or say, hence we do not implore their help when we pray ; though when talking with living people we do ask them to help us.
* * * ^ 4s
S. Augustine : It is no great thing to live long, nor even to live for ever ; but it is indeed a great thing to live well. Oh, let us love eternal life ! And we realize how earnestly we ought to strive for that eternal life when we note how men who love this present temporal life so work for it — though it is to pass away — that, when the fear of death comes, they strive all they can, not, indeed, to do away with death, but to put death off ! How men labour when death approaches ! They flee from it ; they hide from it ; they give all they have ; they try to buy themselves off ; they work and strive ; they put up with tortures and inconveniences ; they call in physicians ; they do everything that lies within their power ! Yet even if they spend all their toil and their substance, they can only secure that they may live a little longer, not that they may live for ever ! If, then, men spend such toil, such endeavour, so much money, so much anxiety, watchfulness, and care, in order to live only a little longer, what ought we not to do that we may live for ever ? And if we call them prudent who take every possible precaution to stave off death, to live but a few days more, to save just a few days, then how foolish are they who so pass their days as to lose the Day of Eternity I {Sermon, cxxvii. 2).
84 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
" May God have mercy on us, and bless us : may He cause the light of His countenance to shine upon us, and may He have mercy on us. That we may know Thy way upon earth : Thy salvation in all nations. Let people confess to Thee, O God : let all people give praise to Thee. Let the nations be glad and rejoice : for Thou judgest the people with justice, and directest the nations upon earth. Let the people, O Gk)d, confess to Thee : let all the people give praise to Thee : the earth hath yielded her fruit. May God, our God bless us, may God bless us : and all the ends of the earth fear Him."i
V
Should We in our Prayers ask for Anything Definite from God ?
Our Lord taught the disciples to ask definitely for the things which are contained in the petitions of the Lord's Prayer : Thus shall Ihou pray.^
Maximus Valerius tells of Socrates" that he " maintained that nothing further should be asked of the immortal gods save that they should give us good things ; and this on the ground that they knew well what was best for each individual, whereas we often ask in our prayers for things which it would be better not to have asked for." And this opinion has some truth in it as regards those things which can turn out ill, or which a man can use well or ill, as, for example, riches which, as the same Socrates says, ** have been to the destruction of many ; or honours which have ruined many ; or
* Ps. Ixvi. 2 s. Matt. vi. 9-13 ; S. Luke xi. 2-4.
' Of Socrates the Philosopher, vii. 21.
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the possession of kingdoms, the issues of which are so often ill-fated ; or splendid matrimonial alliances, which have sometimes proved the ruin of families." But there are certain good things of which a man cannot make a bad use — those, namely, which cannot have a bad issue. And these are the things by which we are rendered blessed and by which we merit beatitude ; these are the things for which the Saints pray unconditionally : Show us Thy Face and we shall be saved ;^ and again : Lead me along the path of Thy commandments ?
Some, however, say that we ought not in our prayers to ask for definite things from God, thus :
I . S. John Damascene defines prayer as " asking from God things that are fitting ";^ consequently prayer for things which are not expedient is of no efficacy, as S. James says : You ask and receive not, because you ask amiss. '^ Moreover, S. Paul says : We know not what we should pray for as we ought. ^
But it is also true that though a man cannot of himself know what he ought to pray for, yet, as the Apostle says in the same place : In this the Spirit helpeth our infirmity — namely, in that, by inspiring us with holy desires. He makes us ask aright. Hence Our Lord says that the true adorers must adore in spirit and in truth. ^
* Ps. Ixxix. 4. a ps. cxviii. 35.
^ On the Orthodox Faith, iii. 24. * iv. 3
5 Rom. viii. 26. « S. John iv. 24.
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2. Further, he who asks from another some definite thing strives to bend that other's will to do what the petitioner wants. But we ought not to direct our prayers towards making God will what we will, but rather we should will what He wills — as the Gloss says on the words of Ps. xxxii. i: Rejoice in the Lord, 0 ye just! It would seem, therefore, that we ought not to ask for definite things from God when we pray.
Yet when in our prayers we ask for things which appertain to our salvation, we are con- forming our will to the will of God, for of His will it is said : He will have all men to be saved}
3. Lastly, evil things cannot be asked from God ; and He Himself invites us to receive good things. But it is idle for a person to ask for what he is invited to receive.
God, it is true, invites us to receive good things ; but He wishes us to come to them — not, indeed, by the footsteps of the body — but by pious desires and devout prayers.
*****
S. Augustine : Fly, then, by unwavering faith and holy habits, fly, brethren, from those torments where the torturers never desist, and where the tortured never die ; whose death is unending, and where in their anguish they cannot die. But burn with love for and desire of the eternal life of the Saints where there is no longer the life of toil nor yet wearisome repose. For the praises of God will beget no disgust, neither will they ever
* I Tim. ii. 4.
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cease. There will there be no weariness of the soul, no bodily fatigue ; there will there be no wants : neither wants of your own which will call for suc- cour, nor wants of your neighbour demanding your speedy help. God will be all your delight ; there will ye find the abundance of that Holy City that from Him draws life and happily and wisely lives in Him. For there, according to that promise of His for which we hope and wait, we shall be made equal to the Angels of God ; and equally with them shall we then enjoy that vision of the Holy Trinity in which we now but walk by faith. For we now believe what we do not see, that so by the merits of that same faith we then may merit to see what we believe, and may so hold fast to it that the EquaHty of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and the Unity of the Trinity, may no longer come to us under the garb of faith, nor be the subject of con- tentious talk, but may rather be what we may drink in in purest and deepest contemplation amid the silence of Eternity {De Catechizandis Rudibus, XXV. 47).
S. Augustine : O Lord, my God, give me what Thou biddest and then bid what Thou wilt I Thou biddest us be continent. And I knew, as a certain one says, that I could not otherwise be continent save God gave it, and this also was a point of wisdom to know Whose gift it was. Now by continence we are knit together and brought back into union with that One from Whom we have wandered away after many things. For he loves Thee but little who loves other things with Thee, and loves them not for Thee ! O Love that ever burnest
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and wilt never be extinguished ! O Charity 1 O t Lord, my God, set me on fire ! Thou dost bid j continence ? Then give me what Thou biddest and bid what Thou wilt ! {Confessions, X. xxix.).
S. Augustine : O Lord, my God, hsten to my prayer and mercifully hear my desire ! For my desire burns not for myself alone, but fraternal charity bids it be of use. And Thou seest in my heart that it is so; for I would offer to Thee in sacrifice the service of my thoughts and of my tongue. Grant me then what I may offer to Thee. For I am needy and poor, and Thou art rich towards all that call upon Thee; for in peace and tranquillity hast Thou care for us. Circumcise, then, my hps, within and without, from all rashness and all untruthfulness. May Thy Scriptures be my chaste delight; may I never be deceived in them nor deceive others out of them. Attend, O Lord, and have mercy upon me, O Lord, my God. Thou art the Light of the blind, the Strength of the weak, and so, too, art Thou the Light of them that see and the Strength of them that are strong. Look, then, on my soul, and hear me when I cry from out the depths ! {Confessions, XL ii. 2).
" Look down from Heaven, and behold from Thy holy habitation and the place of Thy glory : where is Thy zeal, and Thy strength, the multitude of Thy bowels, and of Thy mercies ? they have held back themselves from me. For Thou art our Father, and Abraham hath not known us, and Israel hath been ignorant of us : Thou, O Lord, art our Father, our Redeemer, from everlasting is Thy Name."^
^ Isa. Ixiii. 15, 16.
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VI
Ought We in our Prayers to ask for Temporal Things from God ?
We have the authority of the Book of Proverbs for answering in the affirmative, for there we read^: Give tne only the necessaries of life.
S . Augustine says to Proba^: " It is lawful to pray for what it is lawful to desire." But it is lawful to desire temporal things, not indeed as our principal aim or as something which we make our end, but rather as props and stays which may be of assistance to us in our striving for the possession of God ; for by such things our bodily life is sustained, and such things, as the Philosopher says, co-operate organically to the production of virtuous acts.^ Consequently it is lawful to pray for temporal things. And this is what S. Augustine means when he says to Proba: " Not unfittingly does a person desire sufficiency for this life when he desires it and nothing more; for such sufficiency is not sought for its own sake but for the body's health, and for a mode of life suitable to a man's position so that he may not be a source of inconvenience to those with whom he lives. When, then, we have these things we must pray that we may retain them, and when we have not got them we must pray that we may have them.^
Some, however, argue that we ought not to pray for temporal things, thus :
I. What we pray for we seek. But we are for-
^ XXX. 8. 2 £p_ CXXX., chap. xii.
3 Ethics, I. vii. 15. * Ep., CXXX., chap. vi.
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bidden to seek for temporal things, for it is said: Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God, and His justice, and all these things shall be added unto you,^ those temporal things, namely, which He says are not to be sought but which are to be added to the things which we seek.
But temporal things are to be sought secondarily not primarily. Hence S. Augus- tine^ : " When He says the former is to be sought first (namely the kingdom of God), He means that the latter (namely temporal good things) are to be sought afterwards ; not after- wards in point of time, but afterwards in point of importance; the former as our good, the latter as our need.
2. Again, we only ask for things about which we are solicitous. But we are not allowed to be solicitous about temporal concerns : Be not solicitous for your life, what ye shall eat^ ....
But not all soHcitude about temporal affairs is forbidden, only such as is superfluous and out of due order.
3. Further, we ought in prayer to upUft our minds to God. But by asking for temporal things in prayer our mind descends to things beneath it, and this is contrary to the teaching of the Apostle : While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal : but the things which are not seen are eternal!^
^ S. Matt. vi. 33. 2 On the Sermon on the Mount, II. x. i. 3 S. Matt. vi. 25. * 2 Cor. iv. 18.
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When our mind is occupied with temporal affairs so as to set up its rest in them then it remains in them, and is depressed by them; but when the mind turns to them as a means of attaining to eternal life it is not depressed by them, but rather uphfted by them.
4. Lastly, men ought not to pray except for things useful and good. But temporal possessions are at times hurtful, and this not merely spiritually but even temporally; hence a man ought not to ask them of God.
But it is clear that since we do not seek temporal things primarily or for their own sake, but with reference to something else, we consequently only ask them of God accord- ing as they may be expedient for our salvation.
* * * * :t:
5. Augustine : Lord, all my desire is before Thee, and my groaning is not hid frotn Thee f^ It is not before men who cannot see the heart, but before Thee is all my desire I And let your desires, too, be before Him, and your Father Who seeth in secret will repay thee. For your very desire is a prayer, and if your desire is continual your prayer, too, is continual. Not without reason did the Apostle say: Pray without ceasing? Yet can we genuflect without ceasing ? Can we prostrate without ceas- ing ? Can we lift up our hands without ceasing ? How, then, does he say: Pray without ceasing? If by prayer he meant such things as these then I think we could not pray without ceasing. But there is another prayer, an interior prayer,
^ Ps. xxxvii. 10. 2 J Thess. v. 17.
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which is without ceasing — desire. Whatever else you do, if only you desire that resf^ you cease not to pray. If you wish to pray without ceasing then desire without ceasing. Your continual desire is your continual voice ; but you will be silent if you cease to love {Enarr. in Ps. xxxvii. lo).
S. Augustine : But all these things are the gifts of my God ; I did not give them to myself; they are good, and all these things am I. He then is good Who made me; nay. He Himself is my Good, and in Him do I rejoice for all the good things which I had even as a boy ! But in this did I sin that, not in Him but in His creatures did I seek myself and other pleasures, high thoughts and truths. Thus it was that I fell into sorrow, confusion, and error. Thanks be to Thee, my Sweetness, my Honour and my Trust, O my God I Thanks be to Thee for Thy gifts 1 But do Thou keep them for me ! For so doing Thou wilt be keeping me, and those things which Thou hast given me will be increased and perfected, and I myself shall be with Thee, for even that I should be at all is Thy gift to me 1 {Confessions, I. xx. 2).
S. Augustine: But I forget not, neither will I keep silence regarding the severity of Thy scourge and the wondrous swiftness of Thy mercy. Thou didst torture me with toothache ; and when the pain had become so great that I could not even speak, it came into my mind to tell all my friends who were there to pray to Thee for me, to Thee the God of all manner of succour. And I wrote my request on a wax tablet and I gave it them to read.
1 Heb. iv. 3.
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And hardly had we bent the knee in humble prayer than the pain fled ! But what a pain it was ! And how did it disappear ? I was terrified, I confess it, O Lord my God ! Never in all my life had I felt anything like it ! {Confessions, IX. iv. 12).
It is narrated of S. Thomas that when at Paris it happened that having to lecture at the University on a subject which he had commenced the day before, he rose at night to pray as was his wont, but discovered that a tooth had suddenly pushed its way through his gums in such a way that he could not speak. His companion suggested that since it was an inopportune time for procuring assistance a message should be sent to the Uni- versity stating what had happened and pointing out that the lecture could not be given till the tooth had been removed by a surgeon. But S. Thomas, reflecting upon the difficulty in which the University would be placed, considering also the danger which might arise from the removal of the tooth in the way suggested, said to his companion: I see no remedy save to trust to God's Providence. He then betook himself to his accustomed place of prayer, and for a long space besought God with tears to grant him this favour, leaving himself entirely in His hands. And when he had thus prayed he took the tooth between his fingers, and it came out at once without the slightest pain or wrench, and he found himself freed from the impediment to his speech which it had caused. This tooth he carried about with him for a long time as a reminder of an act of Divine loving- kindness such as he was anxious not to forget, for
94 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
forgetfulness is the mother of ingratitude; he wished it, too, to move him to still greater confi- dence in the power of prayer which had on that occasion been so quickly heard (see Vita S. Thomce, Bollandists, March 7, vol. i., 1865, pp.673, 704, 712).
S. Augustine : But temporal things are some- times for our profit, sometimes for our hurt. For many poverty was good, wealth did them harm. For many a hidden life was best, high station did them harm. And on the other hand money was good for some, and dignities, too, were good for them — good, that is, for those who used them well; but such things did harm when not taken away from those who used them ill. Consequently, brethren, let us ask for these temporal things with moderation, being sure that if we do receive them, He gives them Who knoweth what is best suited to us. You have asked for something, then, and what you asked for has not been given you? Believe in your Father Who would give it you if it were expedient for you {Sermon, Ixxx. 7).
S. Augustine : Sometimes God in His wrath grants what you ask; at other times in His mercy He refuses what you ask. When, then, you ask of Him things which He praises, which He com- mands, things which He has promised us in the next world, then ask in confidence and be instant in prayer as far as in you lies, that so you may receive what you ask. For such things as these are granted by the God of mercy; they flow not from His wrath but from His compassion. But when you ask for temporal things, then ask with
Of Prayer 95
moderation, ask with fear; leave all to Him so that if they be for your profit He may give them you, if they be to your hurt He may refuse them. For what is for our good and what is to our hurt the Physician knoweth, not the patient {Sermon, cccliv. 8).
"Cast thy care upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee ; He shall not suffer the just to waver for ever."^
vn
Ought We to Pray for Others ?
S. James, in his Epistle, says^ : Pray for one another that ye may be saved.
As we said above, we ought in prayer to ask for those things which we ought to desire. But we ought to desire good things not for ourselves only but also for others, for this belongs to that charity which we ought to exercise towards our neighbour. Hence charity demands that we pray for others. In accordance with this S. Chrysostom says^: " Necessity compels us to pray for ourselves, fraternal charity urges us to pray for others. But that prayer is more pleasing before God which arises not so much from our needs as from the demands of fraternal charity."
Some, however, urge that we ought not to pray for others, thus :
I . We are bound in our prayer to follow the norm which our Lord delivered to us ; but in the Lord's Prayer we pray for ourselves and not for others, for we say: Give us this day our daily bread, etc.
^ Ps. liv. 23. 2 v_ j5_
^ opus Imperf. in Malthcstim, Horn. XIV.
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But S. Cyprian says^: " We do not say my Father, but our Father, neither do we say Give me, but give us ; and this because the Teacher of Unity did not wish prayer to be made privately, viz., that each should pray for himself alone; for He wished one to pray for all since He in His single Person had borne all."
2. Again, we pray in order to be heard; but one of the conditions for our prayer to be heard is that a man should pray for himself. Thus on the words : // ye ask the Father anything in My Name He will give it you^ S. Augustine says^: " All are heard for themselves, but not for all in general, hence He does not say simply : He will give it, but He will give it you."
But to pray for oneself is a condition attach- ing to prayer ; not indeed a condition affecting its merit, but a condition which is necessary if we would ensure the attainment of what we ask. For it sometimes happens that prayer made for another does not avail even though it be devout and persevering and for things pertaining to a man's salvation; and this is because of the existence of some hindrance on the part of him for whom we pray, as we read in Jeremias"*: // Moses and Samuel shall stand before Me, My soul is not towards this people. None the less, such prayer will be meritorious on the part of him who prays, for he prays out
i On the Lord's Prayer. ^ S. John xvi. 23.
' Traciatus in Joannem, 102. * xv. i.
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of charity; thus on the words, And my prayer shall be turned into my bosom,^ the Interhnear Gloss has: " That is, and even though it avail not for them, yet shall I not be without my reward."
3. Lastly, we are forbidden to pray for others if they are wicked, according to the words: Do not thou pray for this people . . . and do not with' stand Me, for I will not hear thee? And, on the other hand, we ought not to pray for them if they are good, for in that case they will be heard when they pray for themselves.
But we have to pray even for sinners, that they may be converted, and for the good, that they may persevere and make progress. Our prayers for sinners, however, are not heard for all, but for some. For they are heard for those who are predestined, not for those who are foreknown as reprobate; just in the same way as when we correct our brethren, such corrections avail among the predestinate but not among the reprobate, according to the words : No man can correct whom He hath despised? Wherefore also it is said: He that knoweth his brother to sin a sin that is not unto death, let him ask, and life shall be given to him who sinneth not to death. '^ But just as we can refuse to no one, as long as he liveth on this earth, the benefit of correction — for we cannot distinguish between the predestinate
^ Ps. xxxiv. 13. 2 jer^ yij i5
3 Eccles. vii. 14. * i John v. 16.
7
gS On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
and the reprobate, as S. Augustine says^ — so neither can we refuse to anyone the suffrage of our prayers.
And for good men we have to pray, and this for a threefold reason: firstly, because the prayers of many are more easily heard; thus on the words: / beseech ye therefore, help me inyour prayers for me^ the Ordinary Gloss of S. Ambrose says: " Well does the Apostle ask his inferiors to pray for him ; for even the very least become great when many in number, and when gathered together with one mind; and it is impossible that the prayers of many should not avail " to obtain, that is, what is obtainable. And secondly, that thanks may be returned by many for the benefits conferred by God upon the just, for these same benefits tend to the profit of many — as is evident from the Apostle's words to the Corinthians.^ And thirdly, that those who are greater may not therefore be proud, but may realize that they need the suffrages of their inferiors.
" Father, I will that where I am they also whom Thou hast given Me may be with Me; that they may see My glory, which Thou hast given Me: because Thou hast loved Me before the foundation of the world."*
* De CorrepHonibus et Gratia, cap. xv.
2 Rom. XV. 30. 3 I Cor. i. n. * S. John xxii. 24.
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VIII
Ought We to Pray for Our Enemies ?
But I say to you . . . pray for them that persecute and calumniate you}
To pray for others is a work of charity, as we have said above. Hence we are bound to pray for our enemies in the same way as we are bound to love them. We have already explained, in the Treatise on Charity, in what sense we are bound to love our enemies; namely, that we are bound to love their nature, not their fault; and that to love our enemies in general is of precept; to love them, however, individually, is not of precept save in the sense of being prepared to do so; a man, for instance, is bound to be ready to love an individual enemy and to help him in case of necessity, or if he comes to seek his pardon. But absolutely to love our individual enemies, and to assist them, belongs to perfection.
In the same way, then, it is necessary that in our general prayers for others we should not exclude our enemies. But to make special prayer for them belongs to perfection and is not necessary, save in some particular cases.
Some, however, argue that we ought not to pray for our enemies, thus:
I. It is said in the Epistle to the Romans^: What things soever were written were written for our learning. But in Holy Scripture we find many imprecations against enemies ; thus, for instance^: Let all my enemies be ashamed, let them be turned back and be ashamed 1 S. Matt. V. 44. 2 XV. 4. 3 ps. vi. ii.
100 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
very speedily . From which it would rather seem that we ought to pray against our enemies than for them.
But the imprecations which find place in Holy Scripture can be understood in four different ways: first of all according as the Prophets are wont " to predict the future under the figure of imprecations," as S. Augustine says^; secondly, in that certain temporal evils are sometimes sent by God upon sinners for their amendment; thirdly, these denunciations may be understood, not as demanding the punishment of men themselves, but as directed against the kingdom of sin, in the sense that by men being corrected sin may be destroyed; fourthly, in that the Prophets conform their wills to the Divine Justice with regard to the damnation of sinners who persevere in their sin.
2. Further, to be revenged upon our enemies means evil for our enemies. But the Saints seek to be avenged upon their enemies: How long, O Lord, dost Thou not judge and revenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth ?'^ And in accordance with this we find them rejoicing in the vengeance taken upon sinners : The just shall rejoice when he shall see the revenge? It would seem, then, that we ought rather to pray against our enemies than for them.
But, on the contrary, as S. Augustine says'*: " The vengeance of the martyrs is the over-
1 On the Sermon on the Mount, i. 21. 3 Apoc. vi. 10. 3 Ps. Ivii. 11.
* On the Sermon on the Mount, i. 22, and Questions on the Gospels, II., xlv.
Of Prayer loi
throw of the empire of sin under whose dominion they suffered so much "; or, as he says elsewhere^: " They demand vengeance, not by word of mouth, but by very reason, just as the blood of Abel cried out from the earth." Moreover, they rejoice in this ven- geance, not for its own sake, but because of the Divine Justice.
3. Lastly, a man's deeds and his prayers cannot be in opposition. But men sometimes quite law- fully attack their enemies, else all wars would be illegal. Hence we ought not to pray for our enemies.
But it is lawful to assail our enemies that so they may be hindered from sin; and this is for their good and for that of others. In the same way, then, it is lawful to pray for tem- poral evils for our enemies to the end that they may be corrected. In this sense our deeds and our prayers are not in opposition.
S. Augustine : If there were no wicked folk, then for whom could we be supposed to pray when we are told : Pray for your enemies ? Perhaps you would like to have good enemies. Yet how could that be? For unless you yourself are bad you will not have good people for enemies; and if, on the contrary, you are good, then no one will be your enemy save the wicked folk {Sermon, xv., on Ps. xxv. 8).
^ Questions on the Old and New Testament, Qu. Ixviii.
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" Have mercy upon us, O God of all, and behold us, and shew us the light of Thy mercies: And send Thy fear upon the nations, that have not sought after Thee : that they may know that there is no God beside Thee, and that they may shew forth Thy wonders. Lift up Thy hand over the strange nations, that they may see Thy power. "^
IX
On the Seven Petitions of the Lord's
Prayer.
The Lord's Prayer is the most perfect of all prayers, for, as S. Augustine says to Proba^: " If we pray rightly and fittingly we can say nothing else but what is set down in the Lord's Prayer." And since prayer is, in a sort, the interpreter of our desires before God, we can only rightly ask in prayer for those things which we can rightly desire. But in the Lord's Prayer not only do we have petitions for all those things which we can rightly desire, but they are set forth in the order in which they are to be desired. Hence this prayer not only teaches us how to pray, but serves as the norm of all our dispositions of mind.
For it is clear that we desire first the end and then the means to the attainment of that end. But our end is God, towards Whom our desires tend in two ways: first, in that we desire God's glory; secondly, in that we desire to enjoy that glory ourselves. The former of these pertains to that love wherewith we love God in Himself, the latter to that charity wherewith we love ourselves in God. Hence the first petition runs : Hallowed be Thy Name, * Ecclus. xxxvi. 1-3. 2 £p cxxx. 12.
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wherein we pray for God's glory; and the second runs: Thy kingdom come, wherein we pray that we may come to the glory of His kingdom.
But to this said end things lead us in two ways : viz., either essentially or accidentally. Things which are useful for the attainment of that end essentially lead us to it. But a thing may be useful as regards that end which is the possession of God in two ways : namely, directly and principally , that is, according to the merits by which we merit the possession of God by obeying Him; and in accordance with this runs the petition: Thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven ; also instrumentally as assisting us to merit, whence the petition: Give us this day our daily bread. And this is true whether we understand by this " bread " that Sacramental Bread, the daily use of Which profits man, and in Which are comprised all the other Sacraments; or whether we understand it of material bread so that " bread " here means all that is sufficient for the support of life — as S. Augustine explains it to Proba.^ For both the Holy Eucharist is the chief of Sacraments, and bread is the chief of foods, whence in the Gospel of S. Matthew we have the term " super- substantial " or " special " applied to it, as S. Jerome explains it.^
And we are lead, as it were, accidentally to the possession of God by the removal of impediments from our path. Now there are three things which impede us in our efforts after the possession of God. The first of these is sin, which directly excludes us
^ Ep. cxxx. II.
2 Comment, on S. Matthew, vi.
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from the kingdom : Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, . . .etc., shall possess the kingdom of God'^ hence the petition: Forgive us our trespasses. . . . And the second impediment is temptation which hinders us from obeying the Divine Will ; whence the petition : And lead us not into temptation; in which petition we do not pray that we may not be tempted, but that we may not be overcome by temptation, for this is the meaning of being led into temptation. And the third hindrance lies in our present penal state which prevents us from having " the suffi- ciency of life "; and for this reason we say: Deliver us from evil.
Some, however, argue that these seven petitions are not very appropriate, thus :
I. It seems idle to pray that that may be hallowed which is already hallowed or holy. But the Name of God is holy: And holy is His Name.^ Similarly, His kingdom is everlasting: Thy kingdom, O Lord, is a kingdom of all ages.^ God's Will, too, is always fulfilled: And all My Will shall be done^ Hence it is idle to pray that God's Name may be hallowed, that His kingdom may come, and that His Will may be done.
But, as S. Augustine says,^ when we say, Hallowed he Thy Name, we do not make this petition as though God's Name were not holy, but that It may be held holy by men; in other words, that God's glory may be propa- gated amongst men. And when we say. Thy
* I Cor. vi. 9, lo. 2 s. Luke i. 49. 3 Ps. cxliv. 13.
• Isa. xlvi. 10. '^ On the Sermon on the Mount, ii. 5.
Of Prayer 105
kingdom come, it is not as though we meant that God did not reign, but, as S. Augustine says to Proba^: " We stir up our desires for that kingdom, that it may come upon us and that we may reign in it." Lastly, when we say, Thy Will be done, this is rightly under- stood to mean : May Thy precepts be obeyed on earth as in Heaven — that is, as by Angels, so by men. These three petitions, then, will receive their perfect fulfilment in the life to come; but the remaining four, as S. Augustine says, refer to the necessities of the present life.^
2. But further, to depart from evil must precede the pursuit of what is good. Hence it hardly seems appropriate to place those petitions which are con- cerned with the pursuit of what is good before those which refer to the departing from evil.
Yet since prayer is the interpreter of our desires the order of these petitions does not correspond to the order of attainment but of desire or intention ; in this order, however, the end precedes the means to the end, the pursuit of good comes before the departure from evil.
3. But once more, we ask for something in order that it may be given us. But the chief gift of God is the Holy Spirit and those things which are given us through Him. Hence these petitions do not seem to be very appropriate since they do not correspond to the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.
* Ep. cxxx. II. 2 Enchiridion, 115.
io6 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
S. Augustine^, however, adapts these seven petitions to the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and to the Beatitudes ; he says : " If we have the fear of God by which the poor in spirit are blessed, we pray that God's Name may be hallowed among men by chaste fear. If we have piety, by which the meek are blessed, we pray that His kingdom may come, that we may be meek, and that we may not withstand It. If we have knowledge, by which they that mourn are blessed, we pray that His will may be done, and that so we may not mourn. If we have fortitude, by which they that hunger are blessed, we pray that our daily bread may be given us. If we have counsel, by which they that are merciful are blessed, let us forgive our debtors that we ourselves may be forgiven. If we have understanding, by which the clean of heart are blessed, let us pray that we may not have a double heart that pursues after temporal things whence temptations come to us. If we have wisdom, whence the peace-makers are blessed — for they shall be called the sons of God — let us pray that we may be delivered from evil, for that very deliverance will make us the free sons of God."
4. Again, according to S. Luke ,2 there are only five petitions in the Lord's Prayer. Hence it would seem superfluous to have seven in S. Matthew.
* On the Sermon on the Mount, ii. 11. ^ ^j. 2-4.
Of Prayer 107
But, as S. Augustine says^: " S. Luke only includes five petitions and not seven in the Lord's Prayer, for he shows that the third petition is, in a sense, only a repetition of the two preceding ones; by omitting it he makes us see that God's will is more especially con- cerned with our knowledge of His sanctity and with our reigning with Him. But Luke has omitted Matthew's last petition. Deliver us from evil, in order to show us that we are delivered from evil just precisely as we are not led into temptation." 5- And lastly, it seems idle to try to stir up the benevolence of one who is beforehand with his benevolence. But God does forestall us with His benevolence, for He hath first loved us? Conse- quently it seems superfluous to preface our petitions with the words Our Father Who art in Heaven, words which seem intended to stir up God's benevolence.
But we must remember that prayer is not directed to God in order to prevail upon Him, but in order to excite ourselves to confidence in our petitions. And this confidence is especially excited in us by consideration of His love towards us whereby He wishes us well, wherefore we say. Our Father ; and of His pre-eminent power whereby He is able to assist us, whence we say. Who art in Heaven.
* * * :i^ if
Cajetan : The first three petitions of the Lord's Prayer can also be referred to that which we ^ Enchiridion, ii6. ^ i John iv. 19.
io8 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
principally desire, so that all three regard mainly that love wherewith we love God in Himself, and secondarity that love wherewith we love ourselves in God. And the proof of this is that in each of the first three we have the pronoun Thine, but in the last four the pronoun our. Thus the first petition asks for the effective and enduring praise of God's Name; the second, that He — and not the devil, nor the world, nor the flesh, nor sin — may reign effectively; the third, that His Will may be effectively fulfilled. For these things are not now absolutely so with God, and this by reason of the multitude of sins, and also because the mode of their present fulfilment is hidden. And the word effectively is introduced into each clause by reason of the subjoined qualification on earth as it is in Heaven, for this qualifies each of the foregoing clauses. Hence rightly do our desires first of all aim at, wish for, and pray that — even as something good for God Himself — He may be sanctified in His Name; that He may be permanently uplifted above all things — on earth as in Heaven; that He — not sin — may reign — on earth as in Heaven; that His Will — none other — may be done — on earth as in Heaven {on 2. 2. 83. 9).
S. Augustine : O Eternal Truth, True Love and lovable Eternity ! Thou art my God ; for Thee do I sigh night and day ! And when I first knew Thee Thou didst snatch me up so that I saw that That really was Which I saw, and that I who saw was really not — as yet. And Thou didst beat back my weak gaze, pouring out Thy light upon me in its intensity; and I trembled with love and with
Of Prayer 109
horror. For I found myself to be far away from Thee in a land that was unlike Thee; it was as though I heard Thy Voice from on high, saying: " I am the Food of grown men, grow, and thou shalt eat Me, but thou shalt not be changed into Me " {Confessions, VII. x. 2).
S. Augustine : And the faithful are well aware of that Spiritual Food Which you, too, will soon know and Which you are to receive from God's altar. It will be your food, nay, your daily food, needful for this Hfe. For are we not about to receive the Eucharist wherein we come to Christ Himself, and begin to reign with Him for ever ? The Eucharist is our daily Bread. But let us so receive it as to be thereby refreshed, not in body merely but in mind. For the power which we know to be therein is the power of Unity whereby we are brought into union with His Body and become His members. Let us be What we receive; for then It will be truly our daily bread.
Again, what I set before you is your daily bread ; and what you hear read day by day in the church is your daily bread; and the hymns you hear and which you sing — they are your daily bread . For these things we need for our pilgrimage. But when we get There are we going to hear a book read ? Nay, we are going to hear the Word Him- self; we are going to see the Word Himself; we are going to eat Him, to drink Him, even as the Angels do already. Do the Angels need books, or dispu- tations, or readers ? Nay, not so. But by seeing they read, for they see the Truth Itself and are sated from that Fount whence we receive but the
no On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
sprinkling of the dew {Sermon, Ivii., on S. Matt. vi. 7).
S. Augustine : When ye say Give us this day our daily bread, ye profess yourselves God's beggars. Yet blush not at it ! The richest man on earth is God's beggar. The beggar stands at the rich man's door. But the rich man in his turn stands at the door of one richer than he. He is begged from, and he, too, has to beg. If he were not in need he would not beseech God in prayer. But what can the rich man need ? I dare to say it : he needs even his daily bread ! For how is it that he abounds with all things, save that God gave them to him ? And what will they have if God but with- draw His hand ? {Sermon, Ivi. 9, on S. Matt. vi.).
S. Augustine : Think not that you have no need to say Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us. . . . He who looks with pleasure at what he should not — sins. Yet who can control the glance of the eye ? Indeed, some say that the eye is so called from its swiftness {oculus a velocitate). Who can control his eyes or his ears ? You can close your eyes when you like, but how quickly they open again ! You can shut your ears with an effort; put up your hand, and you can touch them. But if someone holds your hands your ears remain open, and you cannot then shut out cursing words, impure words, flattering and deceitful words. When you hear something which you should not — do you not sin with your ears ? What when you hear some evil thing with pleasure ? And the death-dealing tongue 1 How many sins it commits 1 {Sermon, Ivi. 8).
Of Prayer in
S. Augustine : Indeed, our whole righteousness — true righteousness though it be, by reason of the True Good to Whom it is referred, consists rather, as long as we are in this life, in the remission of our sins than in the perfection of our virtues. And the proof of this is the Prayer of the whole City of God which is in pilgrimage on this earth. For by all Its members It cries to God : Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them the trespass against us ! And this Prayer is of no avail for those whose faith is without works — dead; but only for those whose faith worketh through charity. For though our reason is indeed subject to God, yet in this our mortal condition, in this corruptible body which weigheth down the soul, our reason does not per- fectly control our vices, and hence such prayer as this is needful for the righteous {Of the City of God, xix. 27).
" Father, the hour is come ; glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son may glorify Thee. As Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He may give life everlasting to all whom Thou hast given Him. And this is life everlasting, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom Thou hast sent."^
' S. John xvii. 1-3.
112 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
Rhythm in Honour of the Blessed Sacrament, said to
HAVE BEEN COMPOSED BY S. ThOMAS ON HIS DeATH-BeD.^
Adore Te devote, latens Deltas, Quae sub his figuris vere latitas ; Tibi se cor mcum totum subjicit, Quia Te contemplans totum deficit.
Visus, tactus gustus, in Te fallitur, Sed auditu solo tuto creditur ; Credo quldquid dixit Dei Filius, Nil hoc verbo veritatis verius.
In cruce latebat sola Deltas, At hie latet simul et humanitas ; Ambo tamen credens atque confitcns, Peto quod petivit latro poenitens.
Plagas, sicut Thomas, non intueor, Deum tamen meum Te confiteor ; Fac me Tibi semper magis credere, In Te spem habere, Te diligere.
O memoriale mortis Domini, Pauls vlvus, vitam praestans homini, Prsesta meae menti de To vivere, Et Te nil semper dulce sapere.
Pie Pelllcane Jesu Domine, Me immundum munda Tuo Sanguine, Cujus una stilla salvum facere Totum mundum quit ab omni scelere.
Jesu Quem velatum nunc aspiclo, Oro fiat illud quod tam sltio, Ut Te revelata cernens facie, Visu sim beatus Tuae gloriae !
(An Indulgence of loo days for the recitation of this rhythm. S. Congr. of Indulgences, December 20, 1884.)
1 See Touron, O.P., Vie de S. Thomas d'Aquin, p. 254 ; Paris, 1740.
Of Prayer 113
X
Is Prayer Peculiar to Rational Creatures ?
Prayer is an act of the reason, as we have shown above. And rational creatures are so termed be- cause of the possession of reason. Consequently prayer is peculiar to them.
As we have said above, prayer is an act of the reason by which a person pleads with his superior, just in the same way as a command is an act of the reason by which an inferior is directed to do some- thing. Prayer, then, properly pertains to one who has the use of reason and who also has a superior with whom he can plead. The Persons of the Trinity have no superior ; the brute animals have no reason. Hence prayer belongs neither to the Divine Persons nor to the brute creation, but is peculiar to rational creatures.
Some, however, argue that prayer cannot be peculiar to rational creatures, thus :
I . To ask and to receive belong to the same person. But the Divine Persons receive: the Son, namely, and the Holy Spirit. Consequently They can also pray ; indeed it is the Son Himself Who says, / will ask the Father,'^ and the Apostle says of the Holy Spirit, The Spirit Himself asketh for us.^
But it belongs to the Divine Persons to receive by Their nature, whereas to pray belongs to one who receives through grace. The Son is said to ask or pray according to the nature He took upon Himself — that is, ac- cording to His Human, and not according to * S. John xiv. 16. 2 Rom. viii. 26.
8
114 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
His Divine, Nature; the Holy Spirit, too, is said to petition because He makes us petition.
2. But further, the Angels are superior to the rational creation since they are intellectual sub- stances ; but it belongs to the Angels to pray, for it is said in the Psalm^: Adore Him, all ye His Angels.
But the intellect and the reason are not different faculties in us, though they do differ in the sense that one is more perfect than the other. Consequently the intellectual creation, such as are the Angels, is sometimes dis- tinguished from the rational creation, but at other times both are embraced under the one term " rational." And it is in this latter sense of the term " rational " that prayer is said to be peculiar to the rational creation.
3 . Lastly , he prays who calls upon God ; for it is chiefly by prayer that we call upon God. But the brute animals also call upon God, for the Psalmist says : Who giveth to beasts their food, and to the young ravens that call upon Him?
But the young ravens are said to call upon God by reason of those natural desires by which all things, each in their own fashion, desire to obtain the Divine goodness. In the same way brute animals are said to obey God by reason of the natural instinct by which they are moved by God .
" Reward them that patiently wait for Thee, that Thy Prophets may be found faithful: and hear the prayers of Thy servants. According to the blessing of Aaron over Thy people, and direct us into the way of justice, and let all know that dwell upon the earth, that Thou art God the beholder of all ages."^
* xcvi. 7. 2 Ps. cxlvi. 9. ' Ecclus. xxxvi. 18, 19.
Of Prayer 115
XI
Do THE Saints in Heaven Pray for Us ?
This is he who prayeth much for the people and for all the holy city, Jeremias the Prophet of God}
As S. Jerome says,^ Vigilantius's error lay in maintaining that " while we live we can mutually pray for one another; but after we are dead no one's prayer for another is heard, and this is especially clear in the case of the Martyrs who were unable to obtain by their prayers vengeance for their blood."
But this is altogether false; for since prayer for others springs from charity, the more perfect the charity of those who are in Heaven the more they pray for those wayfarers on earth who can be helped by their prayers. And the more knit they are to God the more efficacious are their prayers; for the Divine harmony demands that the super- abundance of those who are in the higher position should redound upon those who are lower, just as the brightness of the sun renders the atmosphere itself luminous. Whence Christ Himself is said to be Approaching of Himself to God to intercede for us? Whence, too, S. Jerome's reply to Vigilantius : " If the Apostles and Martyrs, when they were still in the body, and had still to be solicitous on their own account, prayed for others, how much more when they have won the crown, when they have gained the victory and the triumph ?"
Yet some maintain that the Blessed in Heaven do not pray for us, thus :
^ 2 Mace. XV. 14. 2 Contra Vigilantium, vi.
' Heb. vii. 25. S. Thomas is quoting from memory.
Ii6 Oa Pnv-er xnd the CxiteinrUtive Life
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ii6 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
1 . A man's acts are more meritorious for himself than for another. But the Saints who are in Heaven neither merit for themselves nor pray for them- selves, for they have already attained the goal of their desires. Hence neither do they pray for us.
But the Saints who are in our Fatherland lack no Blessedness — since they are Blessed — save the glory of the body, and for this they pray. But they pray for us who still lack the ultimate perfection of Blessedness; and their prayers are efficacious by reason of their previous merits and of the Divine acceptation of their prayers.
2. But once more : the Saints are perfectly con- formed to the Will of God, and consequently will nothing but what He wills. But what God wills is always fulfilled. Hence it is idle for the Saints to pray for us.
But the Saints obtain that which God wills should come about through the medium of their prayers ; and they ask for what they think is, by God's Will, to be fulfilled through their prayers.
3. And yet again : just as the Saints in Heaven are superior to us so also are the}^ who are in Purgatory — for they cannot sin. Those, however, who are in Purgatory do not pray for us, but rather we for them. It follows, then, that neither can the Saints in Heaven pray for us.
But though those who are in Purgatory are superior to us in that they cannot sin, yet are they our inferiors as regards the penalties they
Of Prayer 117
suffer ; hence they are not in a state to pray for us, but rather we for them.
4. Once more : if the Saints in Heaven could pray for us it would follow that the prayers of the holiest Saints would be the most efficacious, and that consequently we ought not to ask the inferior Saints to pray for us, but only the greatest ones.
But God desires inferior things to be helped by all that are superior, and consequently we have to implore the aid of not only the chief Saints but also of the lesser ; else it would follow that we ought to implore mercy from God alone. And it may sometimes happen that the petition made to a lesser Saint is more efficacious, either because we ask him more devoutly, or because God wishes thus to show forth his sanctity.
5. Lastly, Peter's soul is not Peter. Conse- quently if the souls of the Saints could pray for us, we ought — as long as their souls are separated from their bodies — to appeal, not to Peter to help us, but to Peter's soul; whereas the Church does the contrary. From which it would seem that the Saints, at all events previous to the Resurrection, do not pray for us.
But since the Saints merited when alive that they should pray for us, we therefore call upon them by the names they bore when here below, and by which they are best known to us ; and we do this, too, in order to show our faith in the Resurrection, in accordance with the words / am the God of Abraham}
T* ^* *^ ^p ^P
* Exod. iii. 6.
Ii8 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
Cajetan : The question arises : how could Jere- mias, who in the days of the Maccabees was not yet in our Fatherland but still in the Limbo of the Fathers, pray for Jerusalem ?
But if we carefully consider what it is at root which makes the prayers of the Saints in the Fatherland avail for us, we shall find that the same reason holds for the Saints who were in Limbo as for those who enjoy the Beatific Vision. For it is their charity in their state of absolute superiority to us which is the reason for their praying for us. Hence, in the reply to the third difficulty, those who are in Purgatory are excluded from the number of those who pray for us because they are not altogether our superiors, but bj^- reason of their sufferings are inferior to us, and need our prayers.
But the Fathers in Limbo were, it is clear, con- firmed in charity and were incapable of sin, neither were they liable to any peculiar or fresh suffering. For while the pain of loss was common to them and to the sojourners on earth, the former were free from all pain of sense, hence they could pray for us. There is, however, this difference to be noted between them and the Saints in the Fatherland — viz., that whereas the former had it in common with the latter to pray for those sojourning on earth, it is given only to the Saints in the Fatherland to see the prayers of us sojourners addressed to them. Hence Jeremias is here said to pray, he is not said to have heard their prayers or supplications {on 2. 2. 83. 11).
Of Prayer 119
XII
Should Prayer be Vocal ?
/ cried to the Lord with my voice, with my voice I made supplication to the Lord}
Prayer is of two kinds: public and private. Public or common prayer is that which is offered to God by the Church's ministers in the person of the whole body of the faithful. And it is neces- sary that such prayer should be known to the body of the faithful for whom it is offered; this, however, could not be unless it were vocal; conse- quently it is reasonably enacted that the Church's ministers should pronounce such prayers in a loud voice so as to reach the ears of all.
Private prayer, on the contrary, is that which is offered by private individuals, whether for them- selves or for others ; and its nature does not demand that it should be vocal. At the same time, we can use our voices in this kind of prayer, and this for three reasons : Firstly, in order to excite interior devotion whereby our minds may, when we pray, be lifted up to God; for men's minds are moved by external signs — whether words or acts — to under- stand, and, by consequence, also to feel. Where- fore S. Augustine says to Proba^: " By words and other signs we vehemently stir ourselves up so as to increase our holy desires." Hence in private prayer we must make such use of words and other signs as shall avail to rouse our minds interiorly. But if, on the other hand, such things only serve to dis- tract the mind, or prove in any way a hindrance, then we must cease from them ; this is especially the
^ Ps. cxli. I. 2 £p cxxx. 9.
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122 On Prayr and the Omtcmplativc Life
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Of Prayer
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This shews, too, the error of thoSNvho, in order to complete the tale of a large nuibcr of private vocal prayers each day, lay aside leditation and mental prayer. They neglect *h' «nd f«»r the means (on 2. 2. 83. 12).
S. Augustine : Oh ! How I liftec up my voice to Thee, O Lord, when I sang the Pilms of David, those sontr*; full of faith, those strais full of piety which Si. I my swelling spirit And I was
then hut uninstructed in Thy trutlove; a cate- chumen spending my leisure with /Vp'*^'^» anf>ther catechumen. And my mother styrd with us: clad indeed in woman's garb, butv\ith a man's faith, with a matron's calm, with another's love, with a Christian's piety. Oh I \\w I lifted up my voice in those Psalms 1 Howthcy inflamed my heart ! How I yearned to rote them, if I could, to the whole world — as aninswer to the pride of the human race I Thougi indeed, they arc sung throughout the world, andione can hide him'^elf from Thy heat I {Confess., K. iv. 8).
S. Augustine : Sometimes, indec^ through im- moderate fear of this mistake I ej by excessive severity; nay, sometimes, though i is but rarely, I could almost wish to shut out froi my ears and even from the Church itself all tho ■ - t-sounding melodies used in the accompaniiiuii of David's Sometimes it seems to nc as though it safer to do as I have olrn heard that *ho Bishop of Alexancia, did, for he '•^^^ the Psalms s modulate his to be rathersponking than ither hand, won I remember
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120 On Prayer and the Contemplative Life
case with those whose minds are sufficiently pre- pared for devotion without such incentives. Thus the Psalmist says : My heart hath said to Thee, My face hath sought Thee^ ; and of Anna we are told that she spoke within her heart?
And secondly, we make use of vocal prayer in payment, as it were, of a just debt — in order, that is, to serve God with the entirety of what we have received from Him; consequently not with our mind alone but with our body as well; and this, as the Prophet Osee says, is especially suitable to prayer considered as a satisfaction for our sins: Take away all iniquity and receive the good, and we will render the calves of our lips.^
And thirdly, we sometimes make use of vocal prayer because the soul overflows, as it were, on to the body by reason of the vehemence of our feelings, as it is written: My heart hath been glad, and my tongue hath rejoiced^
But it seems to some that prayer should not be vocal, thus :
1. Prayer is, as we have said, principally directed to God, and God knows the hearths speech. Conse- quently to add vocal prayer is idle.
But vocal prayer is not employed in order to manifest to God something which He did not know, but to stir up the mind of him who prays, and of others, too, towards God.
2. Again, man's mind is meant to rise by pra3'-er towards God; but words, and other things per-
^ Ps. xxvi. 8. 2 I Kings i. 13.
^ Osee xiv. 3. * Ps. xv. 9.
Of Prayer 121
taining to the senses, keep back a man from the ascent of contemplation.
Words appertaining to other things than God do indeed distract the mind and hinder the devotion of him who prays ; but devotional words stir up the mind, especially if it be less devout,
3. Lastly, prayer ought to be offered to God in secret, according to the words : But thou when thou shalt pray, enter into thy chamber, and having shut the door, pray to thy Father in secret ;^ whereas to pray vocally means to publish it abroad.
But, as S. Chrysostom says^: " The Lord forbade us to pray in public with a view to being seen by the public. Consequently, when we pray we should do nothing novel to attract men's attention, whether by uttering cries which may be heard by them, or by openly beating our breasts, or by spreading out our hands, for the crowd to see us." While, on the other hand, as S. Augustine remarks^: "To be seen by men is not wrong, but to do things to