> [[at-sl-09|← Ch. IV]] | [[at-spiritual-life-toc|TOC]] | [[at-sl-11|Ch. V cont. →]] # Chapter V. General Means of Perfection 407\. Once we have formed deep convictions concerning the obligation of tending to perfection, it remains but to seek and use the means that lead thereto. It is question here of the general means, common to all souls desirous of spiritual progress. In the second part we shall treat of the special means proper to the different stages of the spiritual life. These means are interior or exterior. The former are dispositions or acts of the soul itself that gradually raise it toward God. The latter comprise besides these acts, exterior helps which aid the soul in this elevation. It is important to give first a brief survey of these means. 408\. 1. Among the interior means there are four that must be considered here : 1° The desire of perfection which is the first step forward, giving us the impulse needed to overcome obstacles. 2° The knowledge of God and of self. Since it is question of uniting the soul to God, the better these two terms are known, the easier will be the task of effecting such union : May I know Thee, O Lord, that I may love Thee, may I know myself that I may despise myself! 3° Conformity to God’s will. To surrender our will to that of God is the most genuine token of love and the most effective means of uniting ourselves to the source of all perfection. 4° Prayer viewed in its wider sense, as adoration and petition, mental or vocal, private or public, any elevation of the soul to God. It unites all our interior faculties to God, our memory and imagination, our mind and will, and even our outward actions inasmuch as they are an expression of our spirit of prayer. II\. The exterior means of perfection may likewise be reduced to four principal ones : 1° Direction. Just as God has instituted a visible authority to govern His Church externally, so He has willed that souls be led by an experienced spiritual guide, who may help them to avoid danger, and further and direct their efforts. 2° A rule of life, which approved by such a director further extends his influence over souls. 3° Conferences, exhortations, and spiritual reading. Well chosen, these put us in contact with the teachings and the example of the Saints and lead us to follow in their footsteps. 4° The sanctification of our relations with others, with parents, friends, or business-associates. This enables us to direct toward God not merely our pious exercises, but all our actions and our duties of state. ![[at-sl-img-06.jpeg]] ## Art. I. Interior Means of Perfection ### § I. The Desire of Perfection [1] 409\. The first step toward perfection is the sincere, ardent and constant desire to attain it. We shall examine, 1° its nature, 2° its necessity and efficacy, 3° its qualities, 4° the means of fostering it. I. The Nature of this Desire 410\. 1° Desire in general is a movement of the soul toward the good that is absent. It differs, therefore, from joy which is the satisfaction coming from the actual possession of a good. There are two kinds of desire : one is a feeling or passionate impulse toward a sensible good that is absent; and the other, the rational desire, is an act of the will tending toward some spiritual good. At times this rational desire reacts upon our sensibility and is thus mixed whith feeling. In the supernatural order our good desires are influenced by divine grace, as we have said above. 411\. 2° The desire of perfection, then, may be defined as an act of the will, which, under the influence of grace, ever seeks after spiritual progress. It may be at times accompanied by pious sentiments that intensify it, [2] but this element is not necessary. 412\. 3° This desire is born of the combined action of God’s grace and the human will. From all eternity God loves us, and by that very fact, desires to unite Himself to us : “I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore have I drawn thee, taking pity on thee.” [3] His unfailing love follows us, pursues us, as if His own happiness were incomplete without us. Then, when our own soul illumined by faith looks into itself, it finds an immense void that nothing but the Infinity of a God itself can fill : “Thou hast made us unto Thyself, O God, and our heart finds no rest until it rests in Thee.” [4] Our soul, then, sighs after God, after His love, after perfection : “As the hart panteth after the fountains of water; so my soul panteth after Thee, O Lord… for Thee my soul hath thirsted.” [1] Since on earth this longing will never be satisfied, for here this divine union can never be complete, it follows that if we place no obstacle in the way this desire will constantly grow. 413\. 4° Unfortunately, obstacles abound that tend to stifle, or at least, to weaken this desire. Such are the threefold concupiscence (which we have described above, n. 193), the fear of the difficulties to be overcome and of the continued efforts required for co-operation with grace and for spiritual progress. Hence, we must thoroughly convince ourselves of the necessity of this desire and take the means to foster it. II\. The Necessity and Efficacy of the Desire for Perfection 414\. 1° Its Necessity. The desire for it is the first step toward perfection, the indispensable condition for attaining it. The road to perfection is arduous and implies constant and energetic efforts, for as we have remarked, no one can make progress in the path of God’s love without sacrifice, without struggling against the threefold concupiscence and against the law of least resistance. No one ever enters upon any steep, rugged path unless he is possessed of an ardent desire of arriving at the goal; and were he to set out on such a path he would soon abandon it. Likewise, no one starts on the way to perfection or perseveres in it unless sustained by a strong desire to reach the end. A) Hence, everything in the Sacred Scriptures tends to inspire in us this desire. The Gospels as well as the Epistles are a continual exhortation to perfection. This we have shown in treating of the obligation of tending to perfection; the object of the texts that establish this obligation is to stimulate the desire of pressing forward. What other purpose can they have? They present to us as the ideal the imitation of the divine perfections; they propose to us Jesus Christ Himself as our model; they recount His virtues; they urge us to follow His example. Does not all this inspire us with the desire of perfection? 415\. B) The Church’s Liturgy has the same aim. By setting forth in the course of the liturgical year the various phases of Our Lord’s life, it makes us give expression to the most ardent longings for the coming of Christ’s kingdom in the souls of men during the season of Advent; for His growth in our hearts, at Christmastide and the Epiphany; for penitential exercises, through the Lenten period, as a preparation for Easter graces; for an intimate union with God, through the Pascal time, and for the gifts of the Holy Ghost, from Whit-Sunday till the end of the cycle. Thus, all through the year the Sacred Liturgy, in one form or another, quickens our desire for spiritual growth. 416\. C) The experience gained from reading the lives of the Saints or from the actual direction of souls shows us that without the oft-renewed desire for perfection, there is no progress in the spiritual life. St. Teresa [1] makes us well aware of this fact : “Let us not stifle our desires. This is highly important. Let us firmly believe that with the divine help and our own efforts we, too, can in the course of time obtain what so many Saints, aided by God, finally attained. Had they never conceived such desires, had they not little by little carried them into execution, they would never have risen so high… Oh! how important it is in the spiritual life to rouse oneself to great things!” The Saint herself offers us a striking example of this. As long as she was not determined to break all the bonds that interfered with her flight towards the heights of perfection, she painfully dragged along the way of mediocrity; from the day she resolved to give herself entirely to God, she advanced wondrously. 417\. The practise of direction corroborates the teaching of the Saints. Generous souls possessed of a humble and persistent desire to advance in the way of perfection relish and employ the means we suggest to them. If, on the contrary, such desire is lacking, or exists but feebly, we readily observe that the most urgent exhortations produce but little effect. Spiritual nourishment, like food for the body, profits but those who hunger and thirst. God heaps His gifts upon those who crave them, but allots them with measured hand to those who do not prize them : “He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.” [2] 418\. 2° Efficacy of the desire for perfection. This desire is a real force that makes us grow in holiness. a) Psychology demonstrates that an idea deeply impressed tends to elicit a corresponding act. This is the more true, when the thought is accompanied by the desire, for the latter already constitutes an act of the will which sets our faculties in motion. Hence, to desire perfection is to tend towards it, and to tend towards perfection is to begin to attain it. To desire to love God is already to love Him, since God sees the heart and takes into account all our intentions. Hence, Pascal’s profound words : “Thou wouldst not seek me, hadst thou not found me”. Now, to desire is to seek, and he who seeks finds : “For every one that seeketh findeth.” [1] 419\. b) Furthermore, in the supernatural order, desire constitutes a prayer, an elevation of the soul towards God, a sort of spiritual communion which lifts our soul towards Him and draws Him to us. Now, God delights in granting our prayers, especially when their object is our sanctification, — the most ardent desire of His Heart : “For this is the will of God, your sanctification.” [2] Thus God, in the Old Testament, urges us to seek after, to pursue wisdom, that is to say, virtue, making the most wondrous promises to those that hearken to his voice, and granting wisdom to those that earnestly desire it: “Wherefore I wished, and understanding was given me : and I called upon God, and the Spirit of wisdom came upon me.”[3] In the Gospels, Our Lord invites us to quench in Him our spiritual thirst : “If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink.” [4] The inore ardent our desires, the more abundant the graces we receive, for the Source of living water is inexhaustible. 420\. C) Lastly, desire dilates the soul and so renders it more apt for the reception of divine communications. There is in God such a fulness of goodness and of graces, that the measure of His bounty is to a great extent in proportion to our capacity to receive. The more we expand our soul by earnest and ardent desires, the more capable it becomes of receiving of the fulness of God : “I opened my mouth and drew unto myself the Spirit… Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.” [5] III\. The Qualities Which the Desire for Perfection Should Possess To attain such happy results, the desire for perfection must be supernatural, predominant, persevering, and practical. 421\. 1° It must be supernatural in its motive as well as in its principle. a) Supernatural in its motive, that is to say, based upon reasons furnished by faith, which reasons we have already explained : the nature and the excellence of the Christian life and of Christian perfection, the glory of God, the edification of the neighbor, the welfare of our soul, etc. b) Supernatural in its principle, in the sense that it must be conceived under the influence of grace, which alone can impart to us the light that will make us understand and relish such motives, and the strength required to act in accordance with our convictions. Since grace is obtained through prayer, we must ask insistently of God that He increase in us this desire for perfection. 422\. 2° It must be predominant: in other words, it must outdo in intensity any other desire. Since perfection is in reality the hidden treasure, that pearl of great price which must be bought at any cost, and since each degree of Christian perfection is attended by a corresponding degree of glory, of the Beatific Vision and of love, the same must be longed for and sought after in preference to any thing else whatsoever : “Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God and his justice.” [1] 423\. 3° It must be persevering. To seek perfection is a long and arduous work calling for constant progress. Hence the desire to do better must be renewed frequently. Our Lord tells us, therefore, not to look backwards over the distance traversed, or to cast complacent eyes upon the results of past efforts: “No man putting his hand to the plough and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God.” [2] On the contrary we must look ahead, as St. Paul tells us, to see the way we must yet travel and redouble our effort, like the runner who stretches forth his arm the better to reach hold of the goal : “Forgetting the things that are behind, and stretching forth myself to those that are before, I press towards the mark, to the prize of the supernatural vocation.” [3] St. Augustine lays great stress upon this same truth; he says that to halt is to fall back, to tarry in the contemplation of the way we have traveled is to lose our vigor. The motto of perfection is to go ever forward, to aim ever higher: “Linger not on the way, stray not from it… Always strive, always move, always advance.” [1]. We must not consider the good we have achieved but the good that is yet to be accomplished; we must not look to those who do less than ourselves, but to those who do better, to the fervent, to the Saints, and above them all to Jesus Himself, our True Model. Then, the more we progress the further we seem from the goal, just because we realize the better how lofty that goal is. However, there must be an entire absence of anything like over-eagerness, impatience, and, above all, anything like presumption in our desires. Violent efforts are of short duration, and the presumptuous soon lose heart after the first failures. What really makes for our progress is a calm and oft-renewed desire based on convictions and on the omnipotence of grace. 424\. 4° Then, desire becomes practical and efficacious, because it is directed not towards an ideal that is impossible to realize, but towards the means that lie within our reach. There are souls possessed of magnificent, but purely speculative ideals, souls who aspire to high perfection the while they neglect the means that lead thereto. Herein lurks a twofold danger: we may fancy we have attained perfection, simply because we dream of it, and thus fall into pride; or we may come to a standstill and fail. We must, instead, bear in mind the saying that he who wills the end wills also the means. We must recall that it is fidelity in little things that ensures fidelity in greater things, and that our desire for perfection should bear on our present duties, however trifling they may be, since the faithful accomplishment of these will guarantee fidelity in those of greater moment. “He who is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in that which is greater.” [2] To pretend to desire perfection and then relegate to the morrow the efforts that should accompany such desire, to wish to sanctify oneself through the performance of great actions and then take no heed of ordinary ones, is to labor under a double illusion, which reveals either a lack of sincerity or an ignorance of psychology. High ideals are, no doubt, required, but so also is their immediate and progressive realization. IV\. Means to Stimulate this Desire for Perfection 425\. 1° Based upon supernatural convictions, the desire for perfection takes root and grows chiefly through meditation and prayer. It is necessary then first of all to reflect on the great truths we have explained in the foregoing chapters, on the greatness of this life which God Himself communicates to us, on the beauty and the wealth of a soul that cultivates it, on the delights which God has in store for it in heaven. It is necessary to meditate on the lives of those Saints who grew the more in holiness as their longing for perfection gained daily in constancy and ardor. That such meditation may be made more fruitful, we must join to it prayer which, drawing God’s grace upon the soul, makes our convictions concerning the need of perfection deeper and more vital. 426\. 2° There are certain favorable circumstances, in which the action of grace is more keenly felt. A wise spiritual director will know how to profit by them in order to awaken in his penitents the desire for perfection. a) From the first dawn of reason, God invites the child to give himself to Him. How important it is that parents and confessors avail themselves of these divine solicitations to stimulate and direct the impulses of young hearts! This is true of the time of First Communion, of the moment when the signs of vocation first appear or a choice of life is to be made; of the time when one enters college, seminary, or novitiate; or of the time when one receives the sacrament of matrimony. On all these occasions, God grants special graces to which it is important to correspond with a generous heart. 427\. b) The same is true of the time of retreat. The prolonged periods of recollection, the instructions, the readings and the examinations of conscience, and the prayers offered, above all, the more abundant graces then received, contribute to the strengthening of our convictions, to a better knowledge of our state of conscience, to the more sincere abhorrence of our faults and their causes, whilst new, more practical and more generous resolutions are suggested, giving us a new impetus toward perfection. Thus it has come to pass in recent years that more frequent retreats[1] have formed among the clergy and the faithful choice men whose one ambition is that of advancing in the spiritual life. Spiritual directors in seminaries, likewise, know the wonderful effects produced in their students by the general retreats and the retreats for ordination. Then it is that generous desires for a better life are conceived, renewed or intensified. We must, then, profit by these opportunities to answer God’s appeal and begin or perfect the reformation of our life. 428\. c) Providential trials, physical or moral, such as illness, death, moral suffering, evil turns of fortune are often accompanied by interior graces that urge us on to a more perfect life. Provided we take advantage of these ordeals to turn to God, they wean us from earthly things, purify our soul through suffering, inspire us with a yearning for Heaven and for perfection which is the way to Heaven. 429\. d) Lastly, there are times when the Holy Spirit produces interior movements in the soul, inclining it towards a life of greater perfection. He enlightens us on the vanity of human things, on the happiness flowing from a more complete gift of self to God, and urges us to greater efforts. We must profit by these interior graces to hasten our progress. 430\. 3° There are Spiritual Exercises which by their very nature tend to awaken in us the desire for perfection. These are : a) The particular examen, which obliges us each day to study ourselves in regard to some one special point, not only in order to ascertain our failings or successes, but above all to renew our determination to advance in the practice of such or such a virtue. (N. 468.) b) The systematic practice of Confession with a view to correct such or such a fault (n. 262). c) The monthly and annual retreats that come to renew our desire of doing better. CONCLUSION 431\. In making use of these various means we shall continually or at least habitually keep our wills fixed on the end to be attained, spiritual progress. Then, upheld by God’s grace, we shall more easily triumph over obstacles. No doubt, there will be slight failings now and then, but spurred on by the desire of advancing, we shall courageously resume our march, and our little setbacks, by exercising us in humility, will serve but to draw us nearer to God. ### § II. The Knowledge of God and the Knowledge of Self 432\. Since perfection consists in the union of the soul with God, it becomes evident that in order to effect this union, we must be acquainted with its two terms, God and the soul. The knowledge of God will lead us directly to love : May I know Thee, that I may love Thee. The knowledge of self, by making us realize the worth of all the good wherewith God has endowed us, will awaken in us a corresponding sense of gratitude; while the sight of our miseries and our faults, by making us conceive a just contempt of self, will engender in us true humility : May I know myself, in order that I may despise myself. Divine love will be the result, for it is on the ruins of self-love that the love of God is built. I. The Knowledge of God[1] 433\. In order to love God it is necessary first of all to know Him.[2] The more profound our consideration of His perfections, the more ardent the love of our heart for Him; for, all is loveliness in Him. In Him is found the fulness of being, of beauty, of goodness and of love : God is love. This much is evident. It remains to determine : 1° What we must know of God in order to love Him, and 2° How to come to that affectionate knowledge of God. 1° WHAT WE MUST KNOW OF GOD Concerning God, we must know whatever can render Him admirable and lovable. We must learn of His existence, His nature, His attributes, His works, above all, His inner life and His relations with us. Nothing that concerns the Godhead is foreign to devotion; the most abstract truths themselves have an affective aspect which is a very great aid to our piety. Let us see this with the help of a few instances taken from philosophy and theology. 434\. A) Philosophical Truths.[1] a) The metaphysical proofs of the existence of God seem abstract enough, and yet they are inexhaustible treasures of marvelous considerations leading to divine love : God, the Changeless Prime Mover, Pure Act, is the origin of all movement. Hence, we cannot move if not in Him and through Him. He must be, therefore, the first principle of all our actions. If He is our first principle, He shall be our last end : “I am the beginning and the end.” God is the First Cause of all beings, of whatever of good there is in us, of our faculties, of our acts. To Him alone, therefore, be all honor and glory! God is the Necesssary Being, the Only Necessary Being. He is then the only good to be sought. All other things are contingent, accessory, transient, useful solely inasmuch as they lead us to this Only Necessary Being. God is Infinite Perfection : creatures are but the faint reflection of His beauty. He is then, the Ideal to pursue : “Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect.” [2] We must set no limits to our perfection : “I am infinite,” said Almighty God to St. Catherine of Sienna, “and I seek infinite works, that is, an infinite sense of love.” [3] 435\. b) If we pass thence to the divine nature, even the little we know of it is sufficient to wean us from all created things and raise us up to God. He is the fulness of being : “I am Who am.” Hence, mine is but a borrowed existence, incapable of subsisting by itself, and I must acknowledge my utter dependence upon the Divine Being. This it was that God wished to teach St. Catherine of Sienna when He said to her : “Learn, my daughter, what you are and what I am… You are that which is not, and I am He Who is.”[4] What a lesson in humility! What a lesson in love! 436\. c) We learn the same lesson from the consideration of the divine attributes. There is not one that if well meditated upon does not act as a stimulus to our love in one form or another. The simplicity of the Godhead moves us to the practice of singleness of purpose or purity of intention, which causes us to tend directly to God, to the exclusion of every inordinate thought of self. His immensity, which encompasses and pervades our being, is the foundation of that practice so dear and so profitable to pious souls, the exercise of the presence of God. His eternity detaches us from all things that pass away with time, by recalling that whatever is not eternal is nothing. His unchangeableness aids us in the midst of human vicissitudes to maintain that peace of mind so necessary to a close and abiding union with Him. His perpetual activity spurs us on to action, preventing us from lapsing into indifference or into a sort of dangerous apathy or quietism. His omnipotence, ministering to His unbounded wisdom and His merciful goodness, inspire us with a filial trust that becomes a singular aid to prayer and to a holy abandonment of ourselves to Hirn. His holiness makes us hate sin and cherish that purity of heart which leads to a familiar union with Him : “Blessed are the clean of heart : for they shall see God.” The soundest foundation of our faith rests upon His infallible truthfulness. His beauty, His goodness, His love, captivate our heart, giving rise to outpourings of love and gratitude. Thus it is that saintly persons love to lose themselves in the contemplation of the divine attributes and by gazing adoringly upon God’s perfections, to draw them in a measure into their own hearts. 437\. B) Holy souls delight above all in the contemplation of revealed truths, all of which refer to the history of the Divine Life : its source in the Most Holy Trinity, its first bestowal by the creation and sanctification of man, its restoration through the Incarnation, its actual diffusion through the Church and the Sacraments, its final consummation in Heaven. Each of these mysteries enraptures and inflames souls with love for God, for Jesus Christ, for their brethren and for all things divine. 438\. a) The source of divine life is the Blessed Trinity. God, the very plenitude of being and of love, eternally regards His Own Self. Out of this contemplation He brings forth His Word, the Word that is His Son, distinct from, yet in all things equal to Him, His own living and substantial image. He loves that Son and is in turn loved by Him; and from this mutual love proceeds the Holy Ghost, distinct from the Father and the Son yet equal in all things to Both. And this is the life wherein we share! 439\. b) Because He is infinitely good, God wills to communicate Himself to other beings. This He does by creating and above all by sanctifying men. By creation we are God’s servants, which already constitutes a high honor. Indeed, what a cause for wonder, for gratitude, for love, that God should have thought of me from all eternity, that He should have chosen me out of billions of possible beings in order to bring me into existence and bestow upon me life and intelligence! But what shall I say of His calling me to share in His own divine life? Of His having adopted me as a child, having destined me for the clear vision of His essence and for His undivided love? Is not this the consummation of charity? Is not this a great motive-power urging us to love Him without measure or stint? 440\. c) Through the fault of our first parents we lost our right to this participation in the divine life, and of ourselves we had not the power to regain it. But behold! The Son of God sees our plight, becomes a man like ourselves and is thus constituted the Head of a mystical body whose members we are; He atones for our sins by His sorrowful Passion and His death on the Cross, reconciles us to God and makes that life He has drawn from the bosom of His Father flow once more into our souls. Can there be a stronger appeal to make us love the Word-made-Flesh, to urge us to unite ourselves to Him and through Him to the Father? 441\. d) To facilitate this union, Jesus remains among us. He abides with us through His Church, that transmits and explains His teachings; through His Sacraments, mysterious channels of grace, giving the life divine. He dwells among us, above all, in the Holy Eucharist wherein He at once perpetuates His Presence, His merciful action, and His Sacrifice : His Sacrifice through the Holy Oblation of the Mass, wherein in a mysterious manner He renews His immolation; His merciful action, through Holy Communion, wherein He comes to us with all the treasures of grace to perfect our souls and impart to them His own virtues; His abiding Presence, willingly imprisoned day and night within the Tabernacle, where we can visit Him, converse with Him, glorify with Him the Most Blessed Trinity, find health for all our spiritual miseries, and consolation in sorrow and discouragement : “Come to me all you that labour and are burdend : and I will refresh you.” [1] 442\. e) This is but the dawn of the noonday light of eternity, wherein we shall see God face to face, as He sees Himself, and shall love Him with a perfect love. In Him we shall behold and love whatever is good, whatever is noble. We came from God by creation; we return to Him by glorification. In glorifying Him we find perfect happiness. Dogma is, then, the true source of real devotion. 2° MEANS OF ARRIVING AT THIS KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 443\. Three principal means are at our disposal in order to acquire this affective knowledge of God : 1° the devout study of philosophy and theology; 2° meditation or mental prayer; 3° the habit of seeing God in all things. A) The Devout Study of Theology.[1] One may study philosophy and theology in two ways : merely with the mind, as one would study mathematics or any other secular science, or with mind and heart. It is the latter that begets godliness. When St. Thomas plunged into the depths of the great philosophical and theological questions, he studied them not as a Greek sage would, but as a disciple and lover of Christ. According to his expression, theology treats of divine things and of acts inasmuch as they lead us to a perfect knowledge of God, in which eternal happiness consists.[2] This is why his piety was even more wonderful than his knowledge. The same was true of St. Bonaventure and other great theologians. Of course, the most of them have not gone into devout considerations concerning the great mysteries of our faith which they sought but to explain and prove, yet it is from these very truths that godliness springs. Whoever studies them in the spirit of faith, cannot but admire and love Him Whose grandeur and goodness theology reveals. This holds especially if we know how to avail ourselves of the gifts of knowledge and of understanding. The former lifts us up from creatures unto God, disclosing to us their relations with the Divinity; the latter makes us penetrate to the very heart of revealed truths, to discern their marvelous harmony. With the aid of these lights, the devout theologian will know how to rise from the contemplation of the most speculative truths to acts of adoration, of wonder, of gratitude and of love, which spring spontaneously from the study of Christian dogmas. These acts, far from paralyzing his intellectual activities, will but quicken and sharpen them; for one studies better, with more diligence and greater perseverance, whatever one loves. One discovers depths which the intellect alone could not sound, and draws inferences which broaden the field of theology, whilst nourishing piety. 444\. B) Meditation must accompany study. We do not meditate sufficiently upon Christian dogmas, or we confine our consideration to their secondary aspects. We must not hesitate to take the very essence of these dogmas as the subject of our meditations. Then it is that the light of faith, under the influence of grace, reaches such heights and pierces such depths as the intellect alone could never discern. We find proof of this fact in the writings of unlettered persons, who having been raised to contemplation, have left us appreciations concerning God, Christ our Lord, His doctrines and Sacraments, that actually rival those of the most exalted theologians. And did not St. Thomas say that he had learned more from his Crucifix than from the works of Doctors ? The reason for it is that God speaks more readily in the silent peacefulness of prayer; and that His Word, then better understood, enlightens the mind, enkindles the heart and sets the will in action. Then it is, likewise, that the Holy Spirit deigns to impart, over and above the gifts of knowledge and understanding, that of wisdom, which gives a relish for the truths of faith, causes us to love these truths and live by them, and thus establishes a very close union between God and the soul. This is well described by the author of the Imitation in the following words : “Happy is the soul that heareth the Lord speaking within her, and receiveth from His mouth the word of comfort.” [1] The repeated and affectionate remembrance of God is but the prolongation of the happy effects of our mental prayer. The frequent thought of God increases our love for Him, and this love deepens and refines our knowledge. 445\. C) Then it is that we acquire the habit of rising more easily from the creature to the Creator, and of seeing God in all His works, in things, persons and events. The basis of this practice is “the divine exemplarism ,” taught by Plato, perfected by St. Augustine and St. Thomas, elucidated by the school of St. Victor, and taken up by the French school of the Seventeenth Century. [1] All beings have existed in the divine thought before their creation. God has begotten them in His mind before bringing them forth and He has willed that they reflect, in various degrees, His divine perfections. If, therefore, we regard created things, not only with the eyes of the body, but with the eyes of the soul, by the light of faith, we shall see there three things : a) All creatures, according to their degree of perfection, are an image, a likeness of God; all proclaim God for their Maker and bid us join in praise of Him, since their own being, all their beauty and goodness, is but a created and finite participation in the divine essence. b) Intelligent creatures in particular, raised as they are to the supernatural order, are images, living likenesses of God, sharing, though in a finite way, in His intellectual life. Since all the baptized are Christ’s members, it is Christ that we must see in them : Christ in all. c) All events, propitious or adverse, are designed in the mind of God to perfect the supernatural life wherewith He has endowed us, and to facilitate the recruitment of the elect; so much so, that we can profit by everything unto sanctification. We must add, however, that in the order of time, souls go first to Jesus Christ. It is through Him that they go to the Father, and once they have reached God, they never cease to hold themselves in the closest bonds of union with Jesus. CONCLUSION : THE EXERCISE OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD [2] 446\. The affective knowledge of God leads us to the holy exercise of the presence of God. We shall now note briefly the foundation, the practice, and the advantages of this exercise. A) Its foundation is the doctrine of God’s omnipresence. God is everywhere, not only by His all-contemplating vision and His all-pervading action; but likewise, by His substance. As St. Paul told the Athenians : “In Him we live, and move, and are.” [1] This is true from both the natural and the supernatural point of view. As creator, after having given us our being and our life, He preserves us and quickens our faculties by His concurrence. As Father, He begets us unto the supernatural life, which is a participation in His own, He co-operates with us as principal cause in its preservation and its growth, and He is thus intimately present in us, within the very center of our soul, yet without ceasing to be distinct from us. As we have said above (n. 92), it is the Triune God that lives in us : the Father, Who loves us as His children, the Son Who deals with us as His brethren, and the Holy Ghost Who gives us both His gifts and Himself. B) The Practice of This Exercise. To find God, then, we need not seek Him in the heavens, a) We find Him close by in the creatures round about us. It is there that we look for Him at the outset. One and all suggest to us some divine perfection, but it is especially so of those creatures which, endowed with intellect, are the dwellingplaces of the Living God (n. 92). These constitute for us the steps, as it were, of a ladder by which we ascend to Him. b) We know, moreover, that God is near those that confidently invoke Him : “The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him,”[2] and our soul delights to call to Him now by ejaculatory prayers, now by long supplications. c) Above all we recall the fact that the Three Divine Persons dwell within us [3] and that our heart is a living tabernacle, a Heaven, wherein They give Themselves to us even now. It is enough, then, simply to recollect ourselves, to enter within the inner Sanctuary of our soul, as St. Catherine of Sienna calls it, and contemplate with the eyes of faith the Divine Guest Who deigns to abide there. Then shall we live under His gaze, under His influence; then shall we adore Him and co-operate with Him in the sanctification of our souls. 447\. C) It is easy to see the advantages of this exercise for our sanctification. a) It makes us carefully avoid sin. Who shall dare offend the majesty of God while realizing that God actually dwells within him, with His infinite holiness that cannot endure the least blemish, with His infinite justice obliging Him to punish the slightest fault, with His power to punish the guilty, above all with His goodness, forever seeking our love and our fidelity! b) It stimulates our zeal for perfection. If a soldier fighting under the eyes of his commander is inspired to multiply his feats of valor, should we not be ready to undergo the most strenuous labors, to make the greatest efforts when conscious that not only does the eye of God watch us in our struggle, but that His victorious arm ever sustains us? Could we lag, when encouraged by the immortal Crown He holds out to us, and above all, by the greater love He bestows on us as a reward? c) What great trust does not this thought inspire in us! Whatever may be our trials, our temptations, our weariness and our weakness, are we not assured of final victory, when we recall that He, Who is All-powerful, Whom nothing can resist, dwells within us and invests us with His power? Doubtless, we may sustain partial reverses and experience excruciating anguish, yet we are certain that, supported by Him, we shall conquer, and that even our crosses will but make us grow in God’s love and multiply our merits. d) Lastly, what a joy for us is the thought that He Who is the Joy of the Elect, and Whom we shall see one day face to face, is even now our portion, Whose presence and conversation we may enjoy all day long! The knowledge and the habitual thought of God are, therefore, most sanctifying. The same is true of the knowledge of self. II\. Self-knowledge [1] The knowledge of God leads us directly to love Him, since He is infinitely lovable. The knowledge of self helps us indirectly to love God by disclosing to us the absolute need we have of Him, in order to perfect the qualities with which He has endowed us and to heal our deep miseries. We shall explain : 1° the necessity of self-knowledge, 2° its object, 3° the means of obtaining it. 1° THE NECESSITY OF SELF-KNOWLEDGE A few words will convince us of this. 448\. A) If we lack self-knowledge, it is morally impossible to perfect ourselves. The reason is that we then entertain illusions concerning our state, and, according to our character or our changing moods, we fall either into a presumptuous optimism that makes us believe we are already perfect, or into discouragement that causes us to exaggerate our faults. In either case, the result is almost identical — inaction, lack of sustained effort, carelessness. Besides, how can we correct faults with which we are not acquainted or of which we have at best but an imperfect knowledge? How undertake the cultivation of virtues, of qualities of which we have but a vague and confused notion? 449\. B) An honest and accurate knowledge of ourselves on the contrary, is an incentive to perfection. The good qualities we discover move us to thank God and to show our gratitude by generous co-operation with His grace. Our defects and the realization of our helplessness show us how much we have yet to accomplish, and how important it is to lose no opportunity of advancing. Then we profit by all occasions to uproot or, at least, to weaken, mortify, overcome our vices and to foster and further the growth of our good qualities. Conscious of our weakness, we humbly beg of God the grace of advancing each day; and, upheld by trust in Him, we cling to the desire and the promise of success. This is what excites and steadies our efforts. 2° THE OBJECT OF SELF-KNOWLEDGE 450\. General Remarks. That this knowledge be more profitable, it should extend to all that is ours, qualities and defects, natural and supernatural endowments, likes and dislikes, our personal history, our faults, our efforts, our progress; all this to be studied, not in a pessimistic frame of mind, but with due impartiality, with a right conscience enlightened by faith. a) We should then candidly, without any sort of false humility, ascertain what are the good qualities that Almighty God has dealt out to us, not, indeed, to glory therein, but to thank the Giver and to cultivate His gifts. These are the talents He has entrusted to us and of which He will ask an account. The field to be explored, then, is vast indeed, comprising as it does all our natural and supernatural gifts : those things which we hold directly from God, and those we have received from our parents; those we owe to our Christian education and those that are the results of our own efforts sustained by grace. 451\. b) We must, at the same time, face with courage the sight of our miseries and our faults. Drawn forth from nothing, thither forever we tend. We can neither subsist nor act, except by the ever-present concurrence of God. Drawn to evil by a threefold concupiscence (N. 193 and foll.), we have added new strength to our evil tendencies by our actual sins, and by the evil habits resulting from them. We must humbly acknowledge this fact and, without losing heart, set to work with the help of divine grace to heal these wounds by the practice of Christian virtue and thus approach the perfection of Our Heavenly Father. 452\. Practical Applications. To guide ourselves in this study we may examine successively our natural and supernatural endowments, following a sort of questionnaire that will facilitate our task. A) Our Natural Gifts. Regarding the natural gifts, we may ask ourselves, before God, what are our outstanding tendencies. In this we may adopt the following practical, if not strictly philosophical order.[1] 453\. a) As regards the sensitive appetites. Is feeling predominant with us, or is it reason and will? There is within all of us this mixture of the higher and the lower, but not in the same proportion. Is our love a matter of sentiment rather than of devotedness and will? Do we control our exterior senses, or are we under their sway? What power do we hold over our imagination and our memory? Are not these faculties excessively flighty and often engaged in empty daydreaming? Are our passions properly directed and controlled? Is sensuality our ruling passion, or is it pride or vanity? Are we apathetic, soft, listless, sluggish? If we are slow by nature, do we, at least, persevere in our efforts? 454\. b) As regards the mind. What sort of mind do we possess ? Is it quick and clear but superficial, or slow but deep? Do we belong to the intellectual, reflective type, or do we belong to the class of practical men, who study in order to love and to act? How do we set about the work of cultivating our mind? Do we do so with earnestness or with unconcern; steadily, or by fits and starts? What results do we obtain ? What are our methods of study? Could we improve upon them? Are our judgments biased by our feelings? Are we obstinate in our opinions? Can we listen with an open mind to those who hold views different from ours? 455\. C) As regards the Will. Is our will weak and inconstant, or is it strong and persevering ? What do we do to train it? The will should reign supreme over the other faculties, but it cannot do so unless we use great tact and make great efforts. What do we do to assure the control of the will over our exterior and interior senses, over the activities of our mind ? What do we do to strengthen, to steady the will? Have we strong convictions? Do we renew these frequently? Do we strengthen our will power by fidelity in little things, and by the small sacrifices of daily life? 456\. d) As regards character. Our character is of capital importance in what concerns our relations with the neighbor. A good disposition, the gift of getting along with others, is a powerful asset to zeal, and a bad disposition one of the greatest obstacles. A man of character is one who, having the courage of his convictions, strives resolutely and perseveringly to live up to them. A good character is that harmonious combination of kindness and firmness, of meekness and strength, of frankness and tact that elicits the esteem and the love of those with whom it comes in contact. A bad character is one which is lacking in frankness, in kindness, in tact or in firmness, or which, by allowing egoism to hold sway, is rude in its manner and makes itself repulsive, at times hateful to others. Here then, we have an important element for study. 457\. e) As regards habits. Habits result from a repetition of the same acts, and they make the repetition of these acts easy and pleasant. It is important to study such habits as we have already acquired, in order to strengthen them, if they are good, to uproot them, if they are bad. What we shall say in the second part of this treatise about the capital sins and the virtues, will be of help to us in this inquiry. 458\. B) Our supernatural gifts. Penetrated as our faculties are by the supernatural, we would not gain a complete knowledge of ourselves if we did not take account of the supernatural gifts God has imparted to us. These we have described above (n. 119 and foll.). God’s grace however takes sundry forms in its way of working, [1] and it is important that we study its special action upon our soul. a) We must examine the attraction grace makes us feel for such or such a virtue. Our sanctification, in fact, depends on the docility wherewith we follow these motions of grace. 1\) There are decisive moments in life when God speaks in clearer and more urgent tones. To hearken to His Voice and follow His inspirations is of the utmost importance. 2\) We should ask ourselves whether there be among the attractions we feel, one that is predominant, stronger than the others, oft-recurring, drawing us toward a particular kind of life, toward a certain kind of prayer, toward some determined virtue. We shall thus find the special way wherein God wishes us to walk. It is important that we enter it, for it is there that we shall receive the fulness of grace. 459\. b) Besides discovering our attractions, we must also take cognizance of the resistance we offer to grace, of our failings, of our sins, in order to regret them with all sincerity, make amends and avoid them in the future. This is a painful, humiliating study, especially if carried out honestly and minutely, but it is a most profitable one; for, on the one hand, it is a great aid in the practice of humility, and on the other, it throws us with perfect trust on the merciful love of God, Who alone has the power to heal our weaknesses. 3° THE MEANS OF OBTAINING SELF-KNOWLEDGE 460\. Self-knowledge is difficult to attain, a) Attracted as we are by outward things, we hardly care to enter into ourselves to scrutinize that unseen miniature world ; we care even less, proud as we are, about discovering our faults. b) Our interior acts are extremely complex. There is within us, as St. Paul says, the lower life of the flesh and the higher life of the spirit and often turbulent conflict ensues between them. In order to sift what proceeds from nature, what from grace, what is wilful, and what is not, a great deal of attention is required, a great deal of insight, of honesty, of courage, of perseverance. The light comes but gradually — a bit of knowledge leads to more, and this prepares the way for deeper insight. 461\. Since it is through examinations of conscience that we come to know ourselves, we shall give, in order to facilitate this exercise, some general rules, offer a method, and suggest the dispositions with which these examinations should be made. 462\. A) General Rules, a) In order to perform this examination well, we must first of all invoke the light of the Holy Ghost, Who “searcheth the reins and the hearts” of men, and beg Him to show us the inmost recesses of our soul by bestowing upon us the gift of knowledge, one of whose functions is to help us know ourselves and thus to lead us to God. b) Next, we must bring before us the perfect Exemplar, Jesus, Whom we must resemble more and more every day, and we must adore and admire not only His exterior acts, but above all, His interior dispositions. By the light which the contrast between ourselves and our Divine Model will give, our faults and imperfections will be the more clearly discerned. Nor shall we be disheartened at the sight, for Jesus is also the Healer of souls Whose one anxiety is to dress our wounds and heal them. To make our confession to Him, so to speak, and humbly ask His forgiveness is an excellent practice. 463\. c) Then comes the moment to enter into our inmost soul. From outward actions we pass on to the hidden causes from which they spring, our interior dispositions. Thus, if we have failed in charity, we shall ask ourselves whether it was through thoughtlessness, envy, jealousy, talkativeness, or from a desire to be witty. Then to estimate the morality of the act, and to determine our responsibility, we must ask ourselves whether it was actually wilful, or wilful in cause; performed with full consciousness of its malice, or with only a half-advertence; with full consent of the will, or with a half-consent. At the outset, all this is rather obscure, but it gradually becomes clear. To be even more impartial in our judgments, it is good to place ourselves in the presence of the Sovereign Judge, and to hear Him say to us, kindly, indeed, but with supreme authority : “Render an account of thy stewardship.” Then we shall endeavor to answer as frankly as on the last day we shall wish to have done. 464\. At times, it is useful, especially for beginners, to make this examination in writing, so as to concentrate attention better and to be able to compare the results obtained each day and each week. Should anyone do so, however, care must be taken to avoid anything that savors of self-seeking, any studied elegance of style, and the danger of having such memoranda fall under the eyes of others. If we use a record with conventional signs, we must be on our guard against routine or shallowness. At all events, a time generally arrives when the better course is to discard such means and candidly examine ourselves under the eye of God immediately after the performance of the principal actions of the day, and make a general review of these in the evening. 465\. In this, as in all else, we shall follow the counsel of a wise spiritual director, and ask him to help us to come to a better knowledge of ourselves. Experienced and impartial observer, he generally sees better than we do ourselves the depths of our conscience, and thus is more competent to judge the true character of our acts. 466\. B) Methods for the examination of conscience. Every one acknowledges that these have been greatly perfected by St. Ignatius. In his Spiritual Exercises, he carefully differentiates between the general and the particular examination. The former bears upon all the actions of the day, the latter upon one special point, a fault to be corrected, a virtue to be cultivated. Both may, however, be made together. In this case, one will limit the general examination to a summary glance over the day’s actions in order to discover the chief faults, passing directly on to the particular examination which is far more important. 467\. a) The general examination, which every good Christian should make in order to know and to improve himself, comprises five points, says St. Ignatius : [1] 1\) “The first point is to return thanks to God Our Lord for the benefits received.” This is an excellent exercise, at once consoling and sanctifying, for it brings into relief our ingratitude, thus preparing the way for contrition, and at the same time it sustains our confidence in God. [2] 2\) “The second is to ask grace to know the sins and cast them out.” If we want to know ourselves it is in order to reform ourselves, but we accomplish neither without the helping grace of God. 3\) “The third, to demand of the soul an account from the hour of rising to the present examen, taking hour by hour or period by period; and first of thought, then of word, and afterwards of deed, in the same order that has been mentioned for the Particular Examen.” 4\) “The fourth is to ask pardon of God Our Lord for the faults.” In fact, we must not lose sight of this, that sorrow is the principal element of the examination and that this sorrow is mainly the work of grace. 5\) “The fifth is to purpose amendment with His grace.” This resolution, to be practical, should bear upon the means of reform. He who wills the end, wills also the means. The recitation of the Our Father is a fitting conclusion for this examination, bringing before our eyes the glory of God which we must seek, and uniting us to Jesus Christ in our supplication for the pardon of our sins and for the grace of avoiding them in the future. 468\. b) The particular examination,[1] in the judgment of St. Ignatius, is of greater moment than the general one, and of even more importance than meditation itself, because it enables us to run down, one by one, our defects and thus overcome them the more easily. Besides, if we examine ourselves thoroughly on some important virtue, we not only acquire that virtue, but all the others related thereto. Thus, whilst we advance in the practice of obedience, we perform at the same time acts of humility, of mortification, and we exercise ourselves in the spirit of faith. Likewise, to acquire the virtue of humility means that we are perfecting ourselves in the practice of obedience, of the love of God, of charity, since pride is the chief obstacle to the exercise of these virtues. There are, however, rules for the choice of the subject of examination, and for the manner of performing it 469\. The choice of a subject. 1) In general we must attack our predominant fault by striving to practice the contrary virtue. This fault is, as a matter of fact, the great stumbling block, the great leader of the opposing forces. If it is conquered, the entire host is routed. 2\) Once the subject is determined upon, we must attack first the outward manifestations of the particular fault so as to do away with whatever offends or scandalizes the neighbor. Thus, if charity be the subject chosen, we must begin by suppressing words and actions contrary to this virtue. 3\) Then, we must without great delay pass to the subject of the hidden cause of our faults. This may be, for instance, feelings of envy, a desire to be brilliant in our conversation, etc… 4\) It is important not to limit our efforts to this negative side, that is, to the struggle against faults, but we must carefully cultivate the opposite virtue. Here, to suppress means to replace. 5\) Lastly, in order to make more certain of our progress, we should carefully divide the subject of our examinations in accordance with the different degress of a virtue, so as not to cover the whole field, but merely those acts that more exactly correspond to our individual needs. Thus, as regards humility, one should practice, first, what may be called self-effacement or forgetfulness of self; speaking but little, giving others the opportunity to speak by means of discreet questions, loving to be unnoticed, to lead a hidden life, etc… 470\. The manner of performing: the particular Examen.[1] St. Ignatius tells us that this particular examen involves three periods of the day and two examinations of conscience. The first time is that in the morning, as soon as the man rises, he ought to purpose to be carefully on his guard against that particular sin, or defect, of which he wishes to correct and amend himself. The second, after dinner, the man ought to beg of God what he wants, to wit, the grace to remember how often he has fallen into that particular sin or defect, and to amend himself in future; and thereupon let him make the first examen, taking account of his soul of that particular thing proposed, whereof he wishes to correct and amend himself, ranging through the time hour by hour, or period by period, beginning from the hour that he rose even to the hour and moment of the present examen; and let him score on the top line of the figure as many dots as are the times that he has fallen into that particular sin or defect; and afterwards let him purpose anew to amend himself until the next examen that he shall make. The third time, after supper, the second examen shall be made also from hour to hour, beginning from the first examen until the present second examen; and let him score on the second line of the same figure as many dots as shall answer to the times that he has fallen into that particular sin or defect. 471\. HERE FOLLOW FOUR ADDITIONS FOR THE SPEEDIER REMOVAL OF THAT SIN OR DEFECT. The first Addition is that, as often as the man falls into that sin or particular defect, he puts his hand to his breast, grieving that he has fallen, — which may be done even in presence of company without their noticing what he is doing. The second, since the first line of the figure represents the first examen, and the second the second examen, let him observe at night whether there is any improvement from the first line to the second, that is, from the first examen to the second. The third; to compare the second day with the first, that is, the two examens of the second day with the other two of the day previous, and see whether from the one day to the other there has been improvement. The fourth Addition; to compare one week with another, and see whether there has been improvement in the present week upon the former. We must observe that the first great ![[at-sl-img-07.jpeg]] which follows signifies Sunday; the second smaller signifies Monday; the third Tuesday, and so of the rest. ![[at-sl-img-08.jpeg]] 472\. This method may, at first sight, appear somewhat complex; in actual practice, it proves less so. Should one be unable to devote to it such a notable space of time as indicated above, one can condense the essential features of these acts within a shorter period, for instance, ten minutes at night. If one foresees that it cannot be performed in the evening, a part of the time given to visiting the Blessed Sacrament may be set apart for it. 473\. C) The Dispositions that should attend this examination. That the examination of conscience, general or particular, may be effective in uniting us more closely to God, it must be accompanied by sentiments or dispositions that are, so to speak, its soul. We shall note the principal ones : gratitude, sorrow, purpose of amendment, and prayer. a) First in order is a lively sense of gratitude toward God, Who all through the day has encompassed us about with His paternal Providence, protected us against temptation, and guarded us from innumerable sins. Without the aid of His grace, we should have fallen into many a fault. We should overflow with gratitude, thanking Him in a practical way — by putting His divine gifts to better use. 474\. b) Such a sentiment will beget a sincere sorrow, all the more profound, as we have abused so many benefits received, offending so good and so merciful a Father. Out of this sorrow a sincere humility is born. Realizing from our own experience our frailty, our helplessness, our unworthiness, we accept with joy the confusion we feel at the sight of our repeated failures; we are happy to exalt the boundless mercies of a Father ever ready to forgive; and we rejoice that our misery serves to proclaim the infinite perfection of our God. These dispositions are not a passing mood; rather they abide with us through the spirit of penance, calling often to mind the thought of our faults : “My sin is ever before me!” [1] 475\. c) The firm determination to atone for sin and to reform our lives will follow : to atone by acts of penance, which we take care to impose upon ourselves in order to deaden in us the love of pleasure, the source of our sins; to reform our lives by determining the means we shall employ, in order to lessen the number of our faults. Such determination must carefully exclude presumption, which by having us rely too much on our own will and our own strength, would deprive us of manifold graces and expose us to additional imprudences and further falls. On the other hand, our determination must rest confidently upon the omnipotence and the infinite goodness of God, ever willing to come to our aid when we acknowledge our weakness. 476\. d) It is to implore this divine help that we conclude the examination with a prayer, all the more humble, all the more earnest, now that the sight of our sins has made us more distrustful of self. Realizing that of ourselves we are incapable of avoiding sin and still more incapable of rising up to God by the practice of virtue, we rely on the infinite merits of Jesus Christ, and cry out to God from the depths of our wretchedness, to come unto us, to lift us from the mire of our sins, and to raise us up to Himself. It is through these dispositions rather than by a minute scrutiny of our faults that our souls are gradually transformed under the influence of grace. CONCLUSION 477\. In this way, then, the knowledge of God and of self cannot but promote the intimate and affectionate union between the soul and God. He is infinite perfection, and we are absolute poverty. Hence, there is between the two a certain contact. — He has all that we need, and we need what He has. He stoops down to us to surround us with His love and His favors, whilst we tend toward Him as toward the One Being Who alone can supply for our deficiencies, the One Who alone can make up for our weakness. Our thirst for happiness and for love is quenched only in Him, Who with His love satiates our heart and all its longings, giving us at once both perfection and bliss. Let us repeat these well-known words : “May I, know Thee, O Lord, that I may love Thee; may I know myself, that I may despise myself.” ### § III. Conformity to the Divine Will [1] 478\. The knowledge of God not only unites our mind to that of God, but it also leads to love, because all in God is lovable. By showing us the need we have of God, the knowledge of self makes us ardently long for Him and throws us into His arms. Conformity to the divine will, however, unites us even more intimately and directly to Him Who is the source of all perfection. In fact, it subordinates and unites our will to God, thus placing our ruling faculty at the service of the Sovereign Master. It may be said that our degree of perfection corresponds to the extent to which we conform to the will of God. In order that this be better understood we shall explain : 1° the nature of this conformity, 2° its sanctifying power. I. Nature of Conformity to the Will of God 479\. By conformity to the divine will we understand the absolute and loving submission of our will to that of God, whether it be His “signified will” or His will of “good pleasure.” As a matter of fact, God’s will manifests itself to us under a twofold aspect : a) as the moral norm of our actions, clearly intimating what we must do in virtue of His commandments or His counsels; b) as the ruling principle that governs all things with wisdom, directing the course of events so as to make them work together unto His glory and the salvation of men, and made known to us by the providential events that take place in or about us. The first is called the signified will of God, since it proclaims in clear terms what we must do. The second is called the good pleasure of God in the sense that God’s will is here manifested by providential events to which we must submit. In practice, then, conformity to God’s will means doing God’s will and submitting to God’s will. We shall explain : 1° what is the signified will of God; 2° what is His will of good pleasure; 3° what degree of submission this latter includes. 1° THE SIGNIFIED WILL OF GOD OR OBEDIENCE TO GOD’S WILL 480\. Conformity to God’s signified will consists in willing all that God manifests to us of His intentions. Now, says St. Francis de Sales : “Christian doctrine clearly proposes unto us the truths which God wills that we should believe, the goods He will have us hope for, the pains He will have us dread, what He will have us love, the commandments He will have us observe and the counsels He desires us to follow. And this is called God’s signified will, because He has signified and made manifest unto us that it is His will and intention that all this should be believed, hoped for, feared, loved and practiced.” [1] This will of God, then, according to the holy Doctor[2] includes four things : the commandments of God and of the Church, the counsels, the inspirations of grace, and, for Religious, the Constitutions and the Rules. 481\. a) God, being our Sovereign Lord, has the right to give us commands. Since He is infinitely wise and infinitely good, He commands nothing that is not conducive at once to His glory and our own happiness. We must, then, willingly and unquestioningly submit ourselves to His laws : the natural law, the positive divine law, ecclesiastical law, or a just civil law; for as St. Paul says, all lawful authority comes from God, and to obey Superiors within the limits of their authority is to obey God Himself, just as to resist them would be to offer resistance to Him : “Let every soul be subject to higher powers. For there is no power but from God : and those that are, are ordained of God. Therefore he that resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God. And they that resist purchase to themselves damnation.” [1] We do not inquire here in what cases disobedience to the various laws constitutes a grave or a light sin; this we have done in our treatise on Moral Theology. Suffice it to say that from the point of view of perfection, the more faithful and Christlike is our observance of law, the closer is our approach unto God, since law is the expression of His will. We may add that duties of state come within the category of commandments. They are, as it were, particular precepts incumbent upon us by reason of our special vocation and the special offices God has confided to us. Sanctification, then, is impossible without the observance of the commandments and the fulfilment of the duties of our state. To neglect them under the pretext of performing works of supererogation is a dangerous illusion, a veritable aberration, for it is evident that commands take precedence over counsels. 482\. b) The observance of the counsels is of itself not necessary for salvation, nor does it fall under a direct and explicit command. But, as we have already said in speaking of the obligation of striving after perfection (n. 353), in order to remain in the state of grace, we must at times perform certain good works over and above the strict requirements of the law, that is to say, exercise ourselves in the practice of the counsels. This constitutes an indirect obligation based upon the principle that he who wills the end, wills also the means. When it is question of perfection, however, we proved in n. 338, that one cannot sincerely and effectively seek it without observing some counsels, such as are in accord with our condition in life. Thus, a married person may not carry out in practice those counsels which would go counter to the discharge of marital or parental duties. A priest in the ministry may not lead the life of a Carthusian. However, when we aim at perfection, we must be resolved to do more than that to which we are strictly bound. The more generous we are in giving ourselves over to the practice of the counsels compatible with the duties of our state, the closer we draw unto Our Lord, for such counsels are the expression of His designs upon us. 483\. c) The same must be said of the inspirations of grace, when they are clear and are submitted to the control of our spiritual director. One may say that these are so many particular counsels addressed to individual souls. No doubt, care must be taken to refer them in the main to the judgment of our spiritual director lest we should become an easy prey to illusion. Ardent, passionate souls readily persuade themselves that they hear the voice of God, when in truth it is the voice of their own passions suggesting such or such a dangerous practice. Punctilious or scrupulous souls would mistake for divine inspirations what is but the product of a feverish imagination, or even a diabolical suggestion, calculated to induce discouragement. Cassian relates many such instances in his Conferences on Discretion, [1] and experienced directors of souls know how the imagination does at times suggest practices morally impossible and directly at variance with the fulfilment of the duties of state, all colored by the appearance of divine inspiration. Such suggestions create trouble. If we yield to them, we make ourselves ridiculous; we waste and make others waste much valuable time. If we withstand them, we think we rebel against God, we yield to discouragement and end by surrendering to lax ness. A certain control, then, is necessary and the rule to follow is this : if it be question of customary things generally done by fervent persons living under the same circumstances as we do, of things that do not trouble the soul, we may do them without hesitation and later on mention them to our director; but if it is question, on the contrary, of things extraordinary, even in the least degree, of things not usually done by devout souls, let us wait till we have consulted our spiritual adviser and, in the meantime, fulfil with all generosity our duties of state. 484\. With this limitation, it is evident that any one seeking perfection ought to lend a ready ear to the voice of the Holy Ghost speaking within his soul : “I will hear what the Lord God will speak in me,” [1] and he should without delay and without sparing himself comply with God’s demands : “Behold, I come to do thy, 0 God.”[2] This is nothing more than correspondence to grace, and it is precisely this willing and steadfast co-operation that makes us perfect : “And we helping do exhort you that you receive not the grace of God in vain.” [3] This is, in fact, the very characteristic of perfect souls, that they hearken to and carry out in practice these divine inspirations : “I do always the things that please Him.” [4] 485\. d) As to those that live in communities, the more generously they obey their rules and constitutions, the more perfect they are. These rules are means of perfection which the Church has explicitly or implicitly approved and to the observance of which a Religious binds himself on entering the community. Undoubtedly, to fail through weakness in certain details of some rules does not of itself constitute a sin. However, often a more or less sinful motive enters into such wilful negligences, and the violation of rules, even when not sinful, certainly deprives us of a priceless opportunity for the acquisition of merit. It ever remains true that to observe one’s rule is the safest means of accomplishing God’s will and of living for Him : “He who lives by rule, lives unto God.” To fail wilfully in this matter, with no good reason for it, is an abuse of grace. Thus it is that obedience to God’s signified will is the normal way of attaining perfection. 2° CONFORMITY TO GOD’S WILL OF GOOD PLEASURE, OR SUBMISSION TO GOD’S WILL 486\. This conformity consists in submitting oneself to all providential events willed or allowed by God for our own greater good, and chiefly for our sanctification. a) It rests upon this basis, that nothing happens without God’s order or permission, and that God, being infinite Perfection and infinite Goodness, cannot will or permit anything but for the good of the souls He has created, although this is not always apparent to our eyes. This is what Tobias said in the midst of his afflictions and the reproaches of his wife : “Thou are just, O Lord… and all thy ways mercy and truth and judgment.” [1] This is what Wisdom proclaims : “But thy Providence, O Father governeth… She reacheth therefore from end to end mightily and ordet’eth all things sweetly.” [2] This is also what St. Paul teaches : “To them that love God, all things work together unto good.” [3] But in order to understand this teaching we must take the point of view of faith and of eternity, of the glory of God and the salvation of men. If we look only at the present life and its earthly happiness, we cannot understand the designs of God, Who has willed that we undergo trials here below in order to reward us in Heaven. All things are subordinated to this end. Present evils are but means of purifying our soul, of grounding it in virtue, and occasions of acquiring merits, all in view of God’s glory, the ultimate end of all creation. 487\. b) It is our duty, then, to submit ourselves to God in all the events of life, happy or unhappy, midst public calamities or private ills, whether we are lashed by the hand of nature or gripped by that of want and suffering, in sorrows or in joys, in the unequal distribution of gifts natural and supernatural, in failure or success, in desolation or in consolation, in sickness or in health, in life or in death with its attendant suffering and uncertainties. In the words of holy Job : “If we have received good things at the hand of God, why should we not receive evil?” [4] Commenting upon these words, St. Francis de Sales [5] cannot but admire their beauty O God! How this word is great with love! He ponders, Theotimus, that it was from the hand of God that he had received the good, testifying that he had not so much loved goods because they were good, as because they came from the hand of the Lord; whence he concludes that he is lovingly to support adversities since they proceed from the hand of the same Lord, which is equally to be loved when it distributes afflictions and when it bestows consolations.” And, indeed, it is affliction that enables us to offer the more genuine proof of our love for God. To love Him when He lavishes His favors upon us is an easy task; but it is only a perfect love that accepts ills at His Hands, for they cannot be loved except for the sake of Him Who sends them. 488\. The duty of submission under trial to the good pleasure of God is a duty of justice and obedience, for God is Our Supreme Lord and Master, Who wields all authority over us. It is a duty inspired by wisdom, since it would be folly to wish to elude the action of Providence, whilst in humble resignation we find our peace. It is a duty urged by our own interest, because God’s will merely puts us to the test that we may be exercised in virtue and acquire merit. It is a duty imposed, above all, by love, which is the gift of self, even to immolation. 489\. c) To facilitate this submission to the divine will for souls who are not as yet schooled in the love of the Cross, it is always good to offer them some means of assuaging their sufferings. We can point out two remedies, the one negative, the other positive, l) The first is not to aggravate sufferings by employing false tactics. There are persons who occupy themselves in gathering together in their minds all their ills, past, present, and to come, until their weight seems insupportable. It is the contrary that we must do : “Enough for the day is the evil thereof.”[1] Instead of reopening past wounds, we must never give them a thought, unless it be to note the profit derived from them : increase of merit, growth in virtue, more strength to bear pain. Thus is suffering soothed, for ills only vex us when we heed them : slander, calumny, injuries hurt us only as long as we brood over them. As to the future, it is irrational to let it prey upon the mind. True, it is the part of wisdom to foresee it and provide for it, in the measure that we are able, but to brood in advance over the ills that may befall us, to be saddened by them, is a loss of time and sheer waste of energy. Such ills may never come to pass; if they do come, then will be the time to bear them with the help of grace which will be given us for that purpose. Just now, we have not such grace and, left to our own forces, we shall surely succumb under the weight of a self-imposed burden. Is it not wiser to abandon ourselves into the arms of Our Heavenly Father, and to drive out relentlessly any wicked thought or evil fancy that would force upon our minds the ills of the future and of the past? 490\. 2) The positive remedy consists in reflecting, when we suffer, upon the great advantages of suffering. Pain is a teacher and a source of merit. As a teacher, it is a source of light, a source of power : of light, for it reminds us that we are exiles on the way home and that we cannot entertain ourselves gathering the flowers of consolation, since our true bliss is in Heaven; of power, for while pleasure-seeking dulls activity, undermines courage, and leads to disgraceful surrenders, suffering, not indeed in itself, but by reason of the reaction it produces, tends to reinforce our energies, and develops in us manly virtues. 491\. Suffering is also a source of merit for us and for others. Patiently borne for God’s sake and in union with Jesus Christ, it merits for us an eternal recompense, a fact which St. Paul forever kept before the eyes of the early Christians : “For I reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come that shall be revealed in us… [1] …that which is momentary and light of our tribulation worketh for us an eternal weight of glory.” [2] For the benefit of generous souls he adds that in suffering with Jesus, they fulfil what is wanting to His passion and contribute with Him to the welfare of the Church : “I fill up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ, in my flesh, for His body, which is the Church.” [3] This is a consequence of the doctrine of our incorporation into Christ (n. 142 and foll.). These thoughts, indeed, do not deliver us from pain, but they do lessen in no small measure its bitterness, by making us realize its fruitfulness. Everything, then, invites us to conform our will to that of God, even in the midst of trials. 3° DEGREES OF CONFORMITY, OF SUBMISSION TO GOD’S WILL 492\. St. Bernard distinguishes three degrees of this virtue, corresponding to the three stages of Christian perfection : “The beginner, moved by fear, patiently bears the Cross of Christ; the one who has already made some progress on the road to perfection, inspired by hope, carries it cheerfully; the perfect soul, consumed by love, embraces it ardently.” [4] A) Beginners, upheld by the fear of God, do not indeed love pain, but rather seek to escape it. However, they choose to suffer rather than to offend God and, though groaning under the weight of the Cross, they endure it in patience, they are resigned. B) Those who have already made some progress, are sustained by the hope and the desire of heavenly things, and, though they do not yet seek the Cross, they willingly carry it with a certain joy, knowing that each new pang represents an additional degree of glory : “Going they went and wept, casting their seeds. But coming, they shall come with joyfulness carrying their seed.” [1] C) The perfect, led by love, go further. To glorify the God they love, to become more like our Lord, they go forth to meet the Cross, they long for it and embrace it lovingly, not because it is in itself lovable, but because it offers them the means of proving their love for God and for Christ. Like the Apostles, they rejoice that they are counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name of Jesus. Like St. Paul, they rejoice in their tribulations. [2] This last degree is called holy abandonment, to which we shall return later when we speak of the love of God. [3] II\. The Sanctifying Power of Conformity to the Will of God 493\. From what has already been said, we reach the evident conclusion that conformity to God’s will cannot but sanctify us, since it makes our will one with God’s and, by that very fact, unites all our other faculties to Him, Who is the source of all sanctity. The better to realize this, let us see how it purifies us, reforms us, and make us like unto Jesus Christ. 494\. 1° This conformity to the divine. Will purifies us. Already in the Old Dispensation God often said that He is ready to forgive all sins and to restore the soul to the stainless splendor of its pristine purity, if it but undergo a change of heart or will : “Wash yourselves : be clean. Take away the evil of your devices from my eyes. Cease to do perversely. Learn to do well… If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made white as snow.” [4] Now, to conform our wills to that of God, is assuredly to cease to do evil, and to learn to do good. Is not this the meaning of that oftrepeated text : “For obedience is better than sacrifices.” [5] In the New Law, Our Lord declares from the very moment of His entry into the world that it is with obedience that He will replace all the sacrifices of the Ancient Law : “Holocausts for sin did not please thee. Then said I : Behold, I come… that I should do thy will, O God.”[1] And, in truth, it is by obedience unto the immolation of self that He has redeemed us : “He was made obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross.” [2] In the same way, it is through obedience and through the acceptance of God-ordained trials in union with Christ that we shall atone for our sins and cleanse our soul. 495\. 2° This conformity works out our reformation. What has deformed us is the disordered love of pleasure, to which through malice or through weakness we have yielded. Conformity to the divine will cures this malice and weakness. a) It cures our malice. This malice is the result of our attachment to creatures and, especially, of our attachment to our own judgment and our own will. Now, by conforming our will to that of God, we accept His judgments as the standard of ours, His commandments and His counsels as the rule of our will. Thus we wean ourselves from creatures and from self and rid ourselves from such attachments. b) It cures our weakness, the source of so many failings. Instead of relying on our own frail selves, we make through obedience the Omnipotent God our support : He gives us His own strength enabling us to overcome even the severest temptations : “I can do all things in Him Who strengtheneth me.” [3] When we do His will, He takes His good pleasure in doing our own by granting our petitions and helping our weakness. Thus freed from our malice and weakness, we no longer sin deliberately against God and we gradually effect the reformation of our lives. 496\. 3° Through this conformity, we make our wills one with Christ’s, a) The truest, the closest, the most far-reaching union that can exist is that between two wills. Through conformity to the divine will, we unite our will to that of Jesus Christ Whose food was to do the will of His Father. [4] Like Jesus and with Jesus we desire but what He wills and that all the day long. This is the fusion of two wills. We are one with Him, we adopt His views, His sentiments, His choices : “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus;”[1] and soon we can make our own the word of St. Paul : “I live, now not I, but Christ liveth in me.” [2] 497\. b) In submitting our will, we yield and unite to God all the other faculties which are under its sway; hence, we yield and unite unto Him our whole soul, which by degrees conforms itself to the will and wishes of the Master. Thereby the soul acquires one by one all the virtues of Our Lord. What we have said of charity, n. 318, can also be said of conformity to the divine will; that like charity it embodies all other virtues. In the words of St. Francis de Sales : “Abandonment is the virtue of virtues. It is the cream of love, the fragrance of humility, the merit, it seems to me, of patience and the fruit of perseverance.” [3] Hence, Our Lord calls by the tender names of brother and sister and mother those who do the will of His Father : “For whosoever shall do the will of my Father that is in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother.”[4] He repeatedly declares that the true test of love is doing God’s will : “If you love me, keep my commandments… not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he that doth the will of my Father who is in Heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.”[5] CONCLUSION. 498\. Conformity to the divine will, then, is one of the most effective means of sanctification. Hence, we cannot but end with these words of St. Theresa : “The sole concern of him who has but entered into the way of prayer, — keep it in mind, it is very important — must be to strive courageously to conform his will to that of God… Herein lies, whole and entire, the highest perfection to which we can attain. The more perfect this accord is, the more do we receive from the Lord and the greater is our progress.” [6] She adds that she herself had wished to live in this way of conformity without being raised to rapturous transports and ecstasies, so firm was her conviction that the path of conformity was all-sufficient to the most exalted perfection. ### § IV. Prayer [1] 499\. Prayer embodies and completes all the preceding acts. It is itself a desire for perfection, since no one would sincerely pray who did not wish to become better. It presupposes some knowledge of God and of self, since it establishes relations between the two. It conforms our will to that of God, since any good prayer contains, explicitly or implicitly, an act of submission to Our Sovereign Master. Prayer, moreover, perfects all these acts, by bringing us in all humility before the Majesty of God, in order to adore Him, and to implore new graces that will enable us to grow in perfection. We shall, then, explain : 1° the nature of prayer; 2° its efficacy as a means of perfection; 3° the way in which our lives are transformed into a habitual prayer. I. The Nature of Prayer 500\. We use the word prayer here in the widest sense of the term, as an elevation of the soul to God. We shall explain : 1° The notion of prayer. 2° Its various forms. 3° The perfect prayer, The Lord’s Prayer. 1° WHAT PRAYER IS 501\. In the Fathers we find three definitions of prayer that complete one another. 1) In its broadest signification it is, says St. John Damascene, [2] an elevation of the soul to God. St. Augustine had stated before him that prayer is the soul’s affectionate quest of God.[3] 2) In a narrower sense it has been defined as the asking of seemly things from God.[4] 3) To set forth the relations that prayer establishes between God and the soul, it has been represented as a familiar conversation with God.[5] All these aspects of prayer are true and, by uniting them, we may define prayer as an elevation of our soul to God to offer Him our homage and ask His favors, in order to grow in holiness for His glory. This definition we shall explain. 502\. The term elevation is a metaphor indicating the effort we make to detach ourselves from creatures and from self in order to fix our thoughts on God Who not onlysurrounds us, but dwells in our inmost soul. As we are only too prone to let our faculties roam over a multitude of subjects, it requires an effort to snatch them away from these vain and alluring goods and center them on God. Such elevation is termed a colloquy, because prayer, whether it takes the form of worship or of petition, calls for an answer on the part of God and thus implies a sort of conversation with Him, even if it be of the briefest duration. Our first act in this conversation, evidently, must be to render to God religious homage, just as we begin by saluting those persons with whom we hold converse. It is only after having acquitted ourselves of this fundamental duty that we may present our requests. Many forget it, and this is the reason why their petitions are less favorably answered. Even when we ask for the graces of sanctification and salvation, we must not lose sight of our principal purpose, the glory of God. Hence, the last words of our definition “for His glory.” 2° THE VARIOUS FORMS OF PRAYER 503\. A) Considering the twofold end of prayer, we distinguish the prayer of worship, and the prayer of petition. a) Prayer of Worship. This includes adoration, due to God as our Sovereign Master; thanksgiving, because God is likewise our Benefactor; and reparation, because we have offended Him. 1\) The first sentiment that imposes itself when we raise our soul to God is that of adoration, that is to say, an acknowledgment of God’s supreme dominion and of our absolute dependence. All creation adores God after its own manner, but inanimate nature lacks both an intellect to grasp Him, and a heart to love Him. It must be content to display before our gaze its own harmony, its activities, its beauty : “It cannot see — it reveals itself; it cannot adore — it brings us to our knees, loath to have us ignore the God it cannot apprehend… But man, a breath divine within a body of clay, possessed of reason and intelligence and capable of knowing God, both through his natural powers and through the agency of creation, is urged by his own self and by all creatures to bow before God in humble adoration. For this reason is man, himself a microcosm, placed in this world, that contemplating this universe and, as it were, gathering it all up in himself, he may refer himself and all things to God alone. So much so, that man is made to contemplate the visible things of this creation, only in order that he may adore the Invisible Being Who brought them out of nothing by the omnipotence of His power.”[1] In other words, man is the pontiff of creation, upon whom it devolves to glorify God in his own name and in that of all creatures. This duty man fulfils by acknowledging “that God is perfection itself and hence incomprehensible; that God is Supreme; that God is Goodness… We are instinctively drawn to revere what is perfect,… to depend on that which is supreme,… to cling to what is good.” [2] 504\. Thus it is that mystics delight to adore in creatures the power, the majesty, the beauty, the activity, the fecundity of God hidden in them : “My God, I adore Thee in all Thy creatures, Thou the real, the sole strength that bears this mighty world. Without Thee, nothing would be; nothing does subsist outside of Thee. I love Thee, O my God, and praise Thy Majesty shown forth in all creation. All that I behold, O God, but reveals to me the mystery of Thy beauty unknown to mortal eyes… I adore the splendour of Thy glory, the grandeur of Thy majesty that outshines the noon day sun a thousand times. I adore the fecundity of Thy power, more wonderful by far than that disclosed by the starry skies.” [3] 505\. 2) Adoration is followed by thanksgiving. God is not merely Our Lord and Master but our great Benefactor, to Whom we owe all that we are, all that we have, whether in the order of nature or of grace. Therefore, He has a right to everlasting gratitude from us who forever receive new favors at His Hand. Hence, the Church daily calls upon us, just before the Canon of the Mass, to thank Almighty God for all His gifts, and chiefly for that which embodies all others, the Holy Eucharist : “Let us give thanks to the Lord Our God. It is truly meet and just, right and salutary to offer thanks…”[4] Hence, the Church also places on our lips formulas of thanksgiving : “We give Thee thanks for the greatness of Thy glory.”[5] In so doing, she but follows the example of Christ, Who often gave thanks to the Father; she but carries out the instructions of St. Paul, who invites us to give thanks to the Most High for all His blessings : In all things give thanks, for this is the will of God…[1] Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift.” [2] Generous souls need not be reminded of this duty. They feel themselves impelled by the thought of the divine favors to give vent again and again to the gratitude that overflows their heart. 506\. 3) In our present state of fallen nature, a third duty forces itself upon us — that of expiation and of reparation. We have but too often offended God’s infinite majesty, using His gifts to offend Him. This constitutes an injustice requiring as full a reparation as we are able to offer. It consists of three principal acts : the humble acknowledgment of our faults; a sincere sorrow for them; the courageous acceptance of the trials God in His goodness may see fit to send us. If we desire to act with generosity, we shall add thereto the offering of ourselves as expiatory victims in union with the Victim of Golgotha. Then we may humbly beg and hope for pardon and ask for further graces. 507\. b) The Prayer of Petition. Asking of God for what we need is itself homage rendered to Him, to His power, to His goodness, to the efficacious operation of His grace; it is an act of confidence that honors Him to Whom it is offered.[3] The reasons for prayer of petition are, on the one side, the love God bears His creatures, His children, and, on the other, the sore need we have of His help. Inexhaustible source of all good, God longs to communicate it to souls : goodness tends to communicate itself. Being our Father, God desires nothing so much as to give us His life and increase it in our souls. The better to attain this purpose He sent to earth His Only-Begotten Son, Who came full of grace and truth purposely to fill us with His treasures. Nay more, He invites us to ask for His graces, and promises to grant them : “Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you.” [4] We are, therefore, certain of pleasing God by presenting our requests to Him. 508\. Besides, we stand in sore need of God’s help. Whether in the order of nature or in the order of grace, we are poor, steeped in poverty. Depending of necessity upon God, even in the order of nature, we cannot so much as preserve the very existence He has given us; we are at the mercy of physical causes, themselves depending on God. In vain we may protest that we possess brain and sinews, and that we are well able with our strength and our energy to draw from the earth the things we need for our subsistence. That brain, those sinews, are sustained by God; they can work only with His concurrence. The earth flowers not, save when watered by the rain He sends; it produces nothing, save when quickened by the warmth of His glowing sun. And how many forces of destruction can wreck the fruit of man’s work and man’s care! Our dependence upon God in the supernatural order is more absolute still. We need light to guide us, and who will give it to us if not the Father of lights? We need courage and strength to fellow the light; who will give these except He Who is All-Powerful? What else then can we do but implore the help of Him Whose one desire is to succor us? 509\. Let no one say that His omniscience is aware of all that is necessary and useful to us. St. Thomas answers that no doubt, out of pure liberality, God does bestow upon us innumerable benefits unasked, unsought, but that there are some which He will grant only at our request, and this for our own good, namely, that we should place our confidence in Him and come to acknowledge Him as the source and origin of all our goods.[1] When we pray, we cherish the hope of being heard and we are less exposed to forget God. As it is, we forget Him all too often; what would it be, if we should never feel the need of recurring to Him in our distress? It is for very good reasons then that God demands of us prayer in the form of petition. 510\. B) From the point of view of form, we can distinguish between mental and vocal, private and public prayer. a) From the point of view of expression, prayer is mental or vocal, according as it takes place wholly within the soul, or is given outward expression. 1\) Mental prayer is a silent intercourse of the soul with God. “I will pray with the spirit, I will pray also with the understanding.”[1] Every interior act of the mind or of the heart that tends to unite us to God, such as recollection, consideration, reasoning, self-examination, the loving thought of God, contemplation, a longing of the heart for God — all these may be called by the name of mental prayer. All these acts, even our examination of conscience, the purpose of which is to make our soul less unworthy of Him Who dwells in it, raise us up to God. All of these deepen our convictions, exercise us in virtue, and constitute our training for that heavenly life that is nothing else but an eternal, loving contemplation of the Godhead. Mental prayer is likewise the very food and the soul of vocal prayer.[2] 511\. 2) Vocal prayer finds expression in word and act. It is frequently mentioned in our Sacred Books, which call upon us to proclaim God’s praises by word of mouth, with lip and tongue : “I have cried to the Lord with my voice… O Lord, thou wilt open my lips : and my mouth shall declare thy praise.”[3] But why thus express our sentiments, since God reads them in the depths of our heart? It is in order to honor Him not only with the soul, but also with the body, and, above all, with that word which He has given us to express our thought. This is the teaching of St. Paul, who after showing that Jesus died for us outside the walls of Jerusalem, invites us to come out of ourselves and join our Mediator, in order to offer unto God a sacrifice of praise, the homage of our lips : “By him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise always to God, that is to say, the fruit of lips confessing to His name.”[4] Vocal prayer, moreover, stimulates devotion by the very utterance of the words : “That man may rouse himself by word of mouth to devout prayer.”[5] Psychology, indeed, shows that gestures intensify the acts of the heart. Finally, it works unto the edification of our neighbor; for, seeing or hearing others pray devoutly increases our own devotion. 512\. b) Vocal prayer may be private or public, according as it is offered in the name of an individual or of society. We have elsewhere proved that society as such owes God social homage, since it must acknowledge Him as its Sovereign Master and Benefactor. This is why St. Paul urged the early Christians to unite, not only with one heart, but with one voice in praising God with Jesus Christ : “That with one mind and with one mouth, you may glorify God and the Father of our Lord fesus Christ.”[1] Our Lord had already exhorted His disciples to come together in order to pray, promising to come to them and sponsor their requests : “For where there are two or three gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them.”[2] If this is true of the gathering of one or two, how much truer is it when a multitude comes together to thank God in an official manner! St. Thomas says that the power of prayer is then irresistible : “The prayers of the many cannot go unheeded, when they unite in one.”[3] Just as a father who would not yield to the request of a son is moved by the united requests of all his children, so Our Heavenly Father cannot resist the sweet violence of the united prayers of a great number of His children. 513\. It is important, therefore, that Christians should often join in common prayer and worship. This is why the Church calls them on the Lord’s Day and on holy days to assist at the great public prayer, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and at other religious services. 514\. Since, however, the Church cannot gather her faithful children every day, and since nevertheless God deserves perennial praise, she commits to her priests and religious the discharge of this grand duty of public prayer. This they fulfil several times a day through the recitation of the Divine Office, which they perform, not in a private capacity, but in the name of the entire Church, and on behalf of all mankind. Hence, it is important that they unite themselves to the perfect worship offered to God by the Incarnate Word, in order to give glory to God through Him, with Him, and in Him, and ask at the same time all the graces that the Christian people need. 3° THE LORD’S PRAYER --- ![[maps/bibliography#^biblio-tan]] > [[at-sl-09|← Ch. IV]] | [[at-spiritual-life-toc|TOC]] | [[at-sl-11|Ch. V cont. →]]