There is nothing more
powerful in heaven or on earth than prayer, and so there is nothing more
necessary than prayer.
This
simple truth can stand for the core conviction of St. Alphonsus’ spiritual
wisdom. In an age wracked by the pessimism and despair of both the Protestant and the Jansenist heretics, St. Alphonsus proclaimed the mercy and the love of
God in conjunction with the omnipotence of prayer. Against the double
predestination which was so ruthlessly formulated by Calvin, St. Alphonsus
insisted that the grace of prayer is given to all men and that, by prayer,
every other grace (including the grace of salvation itself) is easily secured.
Against
the Jansenists and rigorists of his day, St. Alphonsus proclaimed that even the
most difficult commandments are easily fulfilled, if only we ask God for the
grace through prayer. All who fall into sin, fall simply because they did not
pray. Whereas, all who persevere in grace, persevere not because of their own strength,
but on account of the power of prayer.
How
important St. Alphonsus’ doctrine is in our own day! We too begin to doubt the
necessity and the power of prayer. How easy it is for us to forget to pray or
to think that prayer is merely something “sentimental”. Without daily prayer,
we will surely be damned. But with prayer, our salvation is secured.
On account of the great power and
necessity of prayer, St. Alphonsus recommends the following practices, in order
to ensure our salvation:
1) Short prayers
immediately upon rising
2) ½ hour’s
meditation each day (or at least 15 minutes)
3) 15 minutes of
spiritual reading each day
4) A daily
examination of conscience (particularly considering the quality of our prayer)
5) To make a confession
and take Holy Communion at least once per week
6) Avoid the
near occasions of sin and bad company
7) Entrust
yourself to the Blessed Virgin Mary
8) Pray to Our
Savior to obtain his Holy Love
9) Daily ask for
the grace of final perseverance (i.e. the gift of salvation)
Now we hearken to the words
of this holy Doctor:
(from
The Great Means of Salvation and
Perfection)
“By prayer we can do all
things; for by this means God
will give us that strength which we want.”
“We can
do all things with God's help, which is granted to everyone who humbly seeks
it; so that we have no excuse when we allow ourselves to be overcome by a
temptation. We are conquered solely by our own fault, because we would not
pray. By prayer all the snares and power
of the devil are easily overcome.”
“In conclusion, to save
one's soul without prayer is most difficult, and even (as we have seen)
impossible, according to the ordinary course of God's providence. But by
praying our salvation is made secure, and very easy. It is not necessary in
order to save our souls to go among the heathen, and give up our life. It is
not necessary to retire into the desert, and eat nothing but herbs. What does it
cost us to say, My God, help me! Lord, assist me! have mercy on me! Is there
anything more easy than this? and this little will suffice to save us, if we
will be diligent in doing it.”
“If we are not saved, the
whole fault will be ours; and we shall have our own failure to answer for,
because we did not pray.”
(from
The Way of Salvation and Perfection)
“Meditation is nothing more than a converse
between the soul and God; the soul pours forth to him its affections, its
desires, its fears, its requests, and God speaks to the heart, causing it to
know his goodness, and the love which he bears it, and what it must do to
please him. I will lead her into solitude, and speak to her
heart.”
“Let
us pray, then, and let us always be asking for grace, if we wish to be saved.
Let prayer be our most delightful occupation; let prayer be the exercise of our
whole life. And when we are asking for particular graces, let us always pray
for the grace to continue to pray for the future; because if we leave off
praying we shall be lost. There is
nothing easier than prayer. What does it cost us to say, Lord, stand by me!
Lord, help me! give me Thy love! and the like? What can be easier than this? But if we do not do so, we cannot be saved.”
“Final
perseverance is not a single grace, but a chain of graces, to which must
correspond the chain of our prayers; if we cease to pray, God will cease to
give us his help, and we shall perish. He
who does not practice meditation will find the greatest difficulty in
persevering in grace till death.”
“Let us
conclude this first point by gathering from what we have said, that he who prays is certain to be saved; while
he who prays not is certain to be damned. All the saints were saved, and
came to be saints by praying; all the accursed souls in hell were lost through neglect
of prayer; if they had prayed, it is certain that they would not have been
lost. And this will be one of the greatest occasions of their anguish in hell,
the thought that they might have saved themselves so easily; that they had only
to beg God to help them, but that now the time is past when this could avail
them.”
“And it
is on this account that mental prayer is morally necessary for all;
inasmuch as when prayer is laid aside, while we are involved in this world’s
cares, we pay but little attention to the soul; but when we practice it we
discover the wants of the soul, and then ask for the corresponding graces and
obtain them.”
ST. ALPHONSUS, PRAY FOR US!
2 comments:
St. Alphonsus, pray for us.
Father,
How do I know if I am properly paying attention while I pray? I guess, how do I know if I am not being to scrupulous when making sure I am properly paying attention?
Michael
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