VERBUM SERAPHICUM
PAX ET BONUM SEPTEMBER -- 2000 A. D. AVE MARIA
"If thou wilt
be perfect, go, sell what thou hast, and give to the poor,
. . . and come follow Me." Matthew 19:21
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INTRODUCTION This is the sixth issue of VERBUM SERAPHICUM: a newsletter for vocations to traditional Franciscan life. The purpose of this publication is to provide information that assists in the discernment of a supernatural vocation to religious life and to the priesthood. O Mary, Mediatrix of every Grace, pray for us! On the Necessity of Praying The Apostle St. Paul taught clearly what Christ Jesus, Our Lord, wants us to do. He writes: Pray without stopping. (1 Th. 5:17). What seems extreme appears normal when one considers what the Apostle says about the imminent spiritual danger that besets all mankind: Put on the armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the rules of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places. Therefore take unto you the armor of God — which is prayer — that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and to stand in all things perfect. (Eph 6:11-13) Indeed we live in an age which more than all others is so wicked and corrupt that the only hope for it is found in these words of Christ: But this kind of devil is not cast out, except by prayer and fasting. (Mt 17:20) How proud we are if we, who live in such an age, consider ourselves free from the influence of the spirit of this age! For this reason, St. Luke the Evangelist exhorts us to continuous prayer: Watch ye, therefore, praying at all times, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things which are to come, and to stand before the Son of Man. (Lk 21:36) And St. Peter, the first Pope concurs, saying: But the end of all is at hand. Be prudent therefore, and watch in prayers. (1 Pt 4:7) To be constant in prayer is therefore a work of the virtue of prudence, of supernatural prudence. Prudence as a virtue draws from our knowledge of the truth and directs our actions in accord with counsel. It is therefore a very |
good thing to learn more about our Faith and to put it into practice. That constant, continuous prayer is the prudent way of life is a statement whose truth is clearly seen by considering the present state of mankind. A man is not a statue. He is a living organism, a living spiritual and corporal organism. He has a body, but it is governed by a soul, by a will and intellect. But his soul is not static; it too is alive ever subject to change. There are the constant influences of his senses, his decisions, his understanding, his surroundings. All these influence him spiritually. The senses are constantly bombarding his soul with information, feelings, emotions, sensations. His intellect is constantly mulling over things he senses and things he remembers, considering now this, now that aspect of everything. His will is constantly making a great number of decisions in regard to this problem or that, this choice or that. His culture, society, and neighbors are constantly offering this choice or that, this information or that, this way of doing or that. In all this the individual human being is at the central point, moved and impelled from all directions. It is clear then that since "no man is an island unto himself" that no individual by himself can hope without God to remain steadfast in the Truth, persevering in Charity, or in the state of grace. With man it is impossible; but with God all things are possible. Hence the necessity of prayer. Prayer is necessary to the individual man on account of its nature, its purpose, its fruits and its qualities. First of all, prayer by its nature is a communion with God, a communication of man with God. Since God alone is the Author and Creator of All, the Sustainer of All, and the Restorer of All, the Maker of Man, His First Beginning and His Last End, it follows that without God man is nothing; and that with God man can be what God intended him to be. Hence the communion of man with God in prayer is an absolute metaphysical necessity. Prayer is also necessary on account of its purpose. For the purpose of prayer is ultimately one: the love of God. And since man cannot remain united to God unless he love Him, and since he cannot love Him unless he St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle! |
VERBUM SERAPHICUM
PAX ET BONUM SEPTEMBER -- 2000 A. D. AVE MARIA
"If thou wilt
be perfect, go, sell what thou hast, and give to the poor,
. . . and come follow Me." Matthew 19:21
|
shares His company; prayer is absolutely necessary in the practical order as the only way for man to remain united to God. Prayer is also necessary on account of the tremendous fruits it brings to the one who undertakes it with humility and penitence. For prayer is the conduit of all good things, which God holds out for those who hope in Him. According to the doctrine of the Saints, one can obtain in one short prayer something worth more than all the riches of earth, worthy more than all the riches in the universe. This great reward and pearl which only prayer can obtain is this: grace. Sanctifying Grace is the participation in the life of the Most Holy Trinity; and it is the chief object and fruit of a worthy, humble, and persevering prayer. If a man seeks God, he rests only when He finds and obtains Him. And this can only be by grace and sacrament in this life. But even a Sacrament is powerless to confer grace upon a man if he resists God. Now God resists the proud, as Sacred Scripture teaches. And it is clearly the proud who do not pray; for the proud man thinks he can stand by his own power. The infused virtues of faith, hope, charity, prudence, temperance, fortitude, justice, wisdom, counsel and understanding are also gifts of prayer. True we receive them all in baptism; but what is lost by sin can be regained by prayer, and what is even in a good condition can always be improved by an increase. It is clear then, that by prayer alone can a man grow in the spiritual life and persevere unto the end. But prayer is also necessary on account of its qualities. For man was not made to dwell in solitude; and God wills that in salvation man ultimate come to enjoy His company eternally and perfectly. Prayer therefore is the ultimate conditioner for a life of divine community. And this is why the great men of prayer have been great men in the Church, which is the Communion of the Saints. BUT MOST OF ALL PRAYER IS NECESSARY AT ALL TIMES. This is a simple logical consequence of the nature of prayer and the dire straits that man finds himself in this world, ruled by the spirits of darkness. Just as a man's body must continually breathe, just as a man's heart must continually beat; so a man's soul must be continually immersed in prayer, lest he die a spiritual death. |
And thus it is, why so many today are dead and live their lives in a continual state of mortal sin. Since those in a state of sin are subjects of the Devil; it is clear that the man who does not pray is to be as much pitied as he is to be feared. O woe is he, who does not pray! He is the most deceived of men! Let nothing hinder you from praying always, and fear not to remain just until death: for the reward of God lasts forever. (Ecclus. 18:22) The very best way to dedicate oneself to a life of constant prayer is to leave the world and become a religious; to consecrate oneself, soul and body to God; and to spend the rest of one's life praying. It is religious orders dedicated to the primacy-of-prayer-over-action which have given the Church the greatest number of canonized Saints. This is so, because it is God who makes saints, and not deeds. Hermits, Monks, Benedictines, Franciscans, Dominicans, Carmelites, Augustinians, Canons Regular, and Cloistered nuns of every kind. We often forget that Christ did not command His disciples to transform the world, but to rather transform themselves. The very vitality of mankind, of the Church and of every Catholic depends on a life dedicated to prayer. And this is just as Our Lord said: Without Me you can do nothing! St. Francis of Assisi, pray for us! A Prayer for Perseverance by St. Francis of Assisi Omnipotent, Eternal, just and merciful God, * grant to us wretches that doing for Thy very own sake, what we know Thou doest want, * and always wanting, what pleases Thee, * as ones interiorly cleansed, interiorly illumined, and inflamed with the fire of the Holy Spirit, * we may be able to follow the footsteps of Thy Beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, * and attain to Thee, Most High, by Thy grace alone, * who in perfect Trinity and simple Unity live and reign and are glorified as the omnipotent God, through all the ages of ages. Amen. Published by The Franciscan
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