St. Alphonsus Liguori: On the Efficacy of Prayer

Albrecht Dürer, Praying Hands (detail)

St. Alphonsus Liguori (1696–1787) wrote many works, but considered none more valuable than his Short Treatise on Prayer.  In the Introduction to the Reader (which he calls “highly important”), he writes: “Were it in my power, I would publish as many copies of this little work, as there are Catholics on earth, and would give to each a copy, that each might be convinced of the absolute necessity of prayer for salvation.”  Below is Chapter 2, On the Efficacy of Prayer.

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SO DEAR are our prayers to God, that He has destined His angels to present them to Him as soon as they are offered. ‘The angels,’ says St. Hilary, ‘preside over the prayers of the faithful, and offer them daily to God.’ The prayers of the saints are that sacred smoke of incense which St. John saw ascending before the Lord from the hands of the angels.—Rev. 8. The same apostle, in the fifth chapter of the Apocalypse, compares the prayers of the saints to golden vials full of odours, which are exceedingly sweet and acceptable to God. But, to be convinced of the efficacy of prayer before God, it is sufficient to read the numberless promises which He has made in the old as well as in the New Testament, to all who invoke His aid.

‘Call upon Me and I will hear.’—Job.

‘Call upon Me in the day of trouble, I will deliver thee.’—Psalm 49:15.

‘Ask and it shall be given unto you: seek and you shall find: knock and it shall be opened to you.’—Matt. 7:7.

‘how much more will your Father who is in heaven, give good things to them that ask.’—Matt. 7:11.

‘for every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth.’—Luke, 11:10.

‘Whatsoever they shall ask, it shall be done for them by my Father.’—Matt. 18:19.

‘All things whatsoever you ask when you pray, believe that you shall receive, and they shall come unto you.’—Mark, 11:24.

‘If you shall ask any thing in my name, that I will do.’—John, 14:14.

‘You shall ask whatsoever you will, and it shall be done to you.’—John, 15:7.

‘Amen, Amen, I say to you; if you ask the Father any thing in my name, He will give it to you.’—John, 16:28.

A thousand similar passages might be cited, which for the sake of brevity, I omit.

God ardently desires our salvation, but for our greater good, He wishes that we should be saved by our victories. While on this earth we must live in continual warfare, and to be saved, we must fight and conquer. ‘No one, ‘ says St. Chrysostom, ‘can be crowned without victory.’—S Chry. Ser. 1 de Mart. We are very weak; our enemies are numerous and exceedingly powerful; how shall we be able to combat and defeat them: Let each one animate his courage, by addressing to himself the words of the apostle, ‘I can do all things in Him who strengthen me.’ We can do all things by prayer, which will procure for us from God strength which we do not possess. Theodoret says that prayer is omnipotent; it is one, but it can do all things: ‘Oratio cum sit una, omnia potest.’ St. Bonaventure teaches, that ‘by prayer, is obtained possession of every good, and deliverance from every evil.’ St. Lawrence Justinian says, by the practice of prayer we can construct an impregnable citadel, in which we shall be securely protected against all the snares and violence of the enemy.—S Lau. Just de Casto. connub. Cap. 22. The powers of hell are strong, but St. Bernard says, prayer is much stronger. ‘Prayer,’ he says, ‘is more powerful than all the devils;’ because by prayer the soul obtains the divine assistance, which is infinitely superior to every created power. It was this that encouraged David in all his fears and dangers. ‘Praising,’ he said, ‘I will call upon the Lord: and I shall be saved from my enemies.’—Psalm 17:4. ‘Prayer,’ says St. Chrysostom, ‘is a great armour, a strong defense, a safe harbour, an inexhaustible treasure.’—S Chry. In Psalm 145. Prayer is an armour capable of resisting all the assaults of the devil; it is a defense which preserves us in every danger, a port which saves us in every storm, and a treasure which supplies us with every good.

Knowing the great advantages which we derive from the necessity of prayer, God permits the enemy to assail us, that we may seek the assistance which He offers and promises to us. But the neglect of prayer is as displeasing to God, as the invocation of His name in the time of danger, is acceptable in His sight. As, says, St. Bonaventure, a king considers a general to be unfaithful, who, when besieged by the enemy, does not seek assistance, so God regards as traitors those Christians who, when beset by temptations, do not apply to Him for aid. For He desires to succour them abundantly, and only waits to be asked for support. The willingness of almighty God to grant us the protection we stand in need of, was strikingly evinced in His conduct to the faithless Achaz. He told that king, by the mouth of the prophet Isaias, to ask a sign of the readiness and eagerness of the Lord to come to his assistance. ‘Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God.’—Isaias, 7:11. Trusting in his own strength, and expecting to defeat the enemy without the divine aid, the impious king answered, ‘I will not ask, and I will not tempt the Lord.’—Isaias, 7:12. But to show how much Go is offended by the neglect of those who ask not the graces which He offers, the prophet exclaimed, ‘Hear you therefore, O house of David: is it a small thing for you to be grievous to men, that you are grievous to my God also.’—Isaias, 7:13.

‘Come to me all you that labour and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you.’—Matt 11:28. My dear children, says the Redeemer, do not lose courage, when assailed by your enemies, and oppressed by the weight of your sins, have recourse to me by prayer, and I will give you strength to resist their attacks, and will repair all your losses. In another place He says by the mouth of Isaias, ‘come and accuse me, saith the Lord: if your sins be as scarlet they shall be made white as snow.’—Isaias, 1:18. O ye children of men, He says, have recourse to me; however burdened your consciences may be, do not cease to supplicate my mercy: if, after having called upon me, I do not give you my grace, and make you white as snow, I shall patiently submit to your reproaches. What is prayer? ‘Prayer,’ says St. Chrysostom, ‘is an anchor to those who are tossed by the tempest, it is the treasure of the poor, the remedy of sickness, and the safeguard of health.’—S. Chry. Hom. 31. Ad. Pop. An. In the time of storm, prayer is a secure anchor; in poverty, an inexhaustible treasure of riches; in infirmity, a most efficacious remedy; and in health, an infallible preservative. What is the effect of prayer? ‘It appeases God,’ says St. Laurence Justinian, ‘it obtains what is asked, it subdues adversaries, it changes men.’—S. Laur. Just. de Perf. cap. 12. Prayer pacifies the anger of God, who immediately pardons all who humbly ask forgiveness; it obtains every grace which is sought; it overcomes all the forces of the enemy; and changes men, by giving light to the blind, strength to the weak, and sanctity to sinners. If any one stand in need of light, let him ask from God, and it will be given to him. As soon as I had recourse to God, says Solomon, He granted me wisdom. ‘I called on the Lord, and the spirit of wisdom came upon me.’—Wisd. 7:7. If any one is weak, let him ask for strength, and it will be given to him. As soon as I opened my mouth to pray, says holy David, I obtained succour from God. ‘I opened my mouth and panted.’—Ps. 118:131. And how, except by prayer, which procured strength to overcome torments and death, were the holy martyrs enabled to withstand the persecutions of tyrants.

‘Whoever,’ says St. Chrysostom, ‘practices prayer, fears not death, leaves the earth, enters heaven, and lives with God.’—S. Chrys. Ser. 43. He sins not; and divested of every earthly affection, he begins to dwell in heaven, and to enjoy the conversation of God. Why then should such a one be disturbed by vain apprehensions that his name may not be written in the book of life; that God may not give him efficacious graces, or the gift of final perseverance. ‘Be not,’ says St. Paul, ‘solicitous about any thing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your petitions be known unto God.’—Phil. 4:6. Do not allow yourselves to be agitated by groundless fears: banish all uneasiness and solicitude, which only lessen confidence, and increase tepidity and sloth, in the work of salvation. Pray always, make your prayers acceptable to God, thank Him continually for His promises to grant to your prayers efficacious graces, perseverance, salvation, and whatsoever may be necessary for you. The Lord has placed us in battle array to contend with powerful enemies; but He is faithful to His promises, and will not permit their attacks to surpass our strength. ‘And God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able.’—1 Cor 10:13. He is faithful, and instantly affords succour to all who call upon Him. The learned Cardinal Gotti asserts, that ‘when in our temptations we fly to the divine protection, God is bound to grant strength, by which we can and will actually resist; for we can do all things in Him who strengthens us by grace, provided we ask it with humility.’—Gotti. Theol. Tom. 2. de grat. tract. 6. q. 2 § 3. n. 30. Being able to procure by humble prayer the divine aid, which will enable us to do all things, we are inexcusable if we yield to temptation. It is our own fault if we be vanquished: our defeats are the result of the neglect of prayer. By prayer we might repel all the attacks of the enemy. ‘By Prayer,’ says St. Augustine, ‘all evils are put to flight.’—S. Aug. Ser. de Orat.

St. Bernadine of Sienna says, that prayer is a most faithful ambassador, well known to the King of heaven, accustomed to enter His chamber, and by its importunity to incline His pious will to grant every assistance to us miserable sinners, who groan amidst combats, and under the weight of our miseries in this valley of tears.—S. Ber. Serm. In Dom. 3. Isaias assures us, that as soon as the Lord hears our prayers, He is moved to compassion; that He does not allow our sorrows to continue long, but instantly grants what we ask from Him. ‘Weeping thou shalt not weep; He will surely have pity on thee: at the voice of thy cry, as soon as He shall hear, He will answer thee.’—Isa. 30:19. The Lord complains of His people by the Prophet Jeremiah, saying, ‘Am I become a wilderness to Israel, or a lateward springing land? Why then have my people said, we are revolted, and we will come to thee no more?’—Jer. 2:31. Why, says the Lord, do you say you will have recourse to me no more? Is my mercy a barren land, which can produce no fruits of grace in your behalf? Or a soil which gives its fruit too late? Such is the tender and affecting language in which our loving Lord represents His immediate and unceasing attention to our supplications, and in which He sharply rebukes the tepidity of those who, through diffidence of being heard, abandon prayer.

To be permitted once in the month to present our petitions before the throne of God, would be a great favour. Earthly monarchs seldom give audience to their subjects; but God is ready at all times to listen to the petitions of His servants. St. Chrysostom says, that ‘God is always prepared to hear our prayers, and that a petition presented to Him, and accompanied with the necessary conditions, never fails to attain its object.’ In another place he says, that what we ask is obtained before the conclusion of our prayers.—S. Chry. Hom. 52. in Matt. This is confirmed by God’s own promise: ‘As they are yet speaking I will answer.’—Isaias, 65:24. The Lord, says David, is near to all who pray to Him, and ready to console, to favour, and save them. The Lord is night to all them that call on Him, to all that call upon Him in truth. He will do the will of them that fear Him, and He will hear their prayer and save them.’—Ps. 144:19. It was in the privilege of constant access to the Lord, that Moses gloried. ‘Neither,’ said he, ‘is there any other nation so great, that hath God so nigh them, as our God is present to all our petitions.’—Deut. 4:7. The gods of the gentiles being miserable and impotent creatures, disregarded the prayers of their votaries; but the God of Israel being omnipotent, is not inattentive to our cries, but is nigh to us, and ready to grant all the graces ask from Him. ‘In what day soever says the Psalmist, ‘I shall call upon thee, behold I know thou art my God.’—Ps. 55:11. As if he said, Lord, in this I know you are to me a God of goodness and of mercy, that whensoever I have recourse to you, I shall obtain immediate relief.

We indeed are poor, but by prayer our wants may be speedily supplied. If we are poor, God is rich, and liberal beyond measure, to all who invoke His assistance. ‘He is rich,’ says St. Paul, ‘to all who call upon Him.’—Rom. 10:12. Since, then, our petitions are presented to a God of infinite power, and of infinite riches, let us ask not for trifles, but for valuable and important favours. ‘You ask from the omnipotent,’ says St. Augustine, ‘ask for something grand and magnificent.’ He that asks the king for a trifle, casts an imputation on his power and generosity, and dishonors his majesty. But we honour God, we adore His mercy and liberality, when, notwithstanding our misery and our unworthiness to receive any favour from Him, we ask His graces with confidence in His goodness, and in the fidelity of His promises to grant whatever is sought in the name of Jesus Christ. ‘You shall ask whatever you will, and it shall be done unto you.’—John 15:7. St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzis says, that God feels honored and consoled, and even grateful, when we ask His graces; because, by praying to Him we afford Him an opportunity of pouring out His benefits, and manifesting His bounty, which prompts Him to bestow His favours on all. We may be persuaded that He always grants more than we ask. ‘But if any one,’ says St. James, ‘want wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men abundantly, and upbraided not.’—St. James 1:5. St. James speaks in this manner to denote, that God does not, like man, dispense His favours with a parsimonious hand. Human riches being finite, are diminished by every contribution to the poor; and therefore men, however opulent, compassionate, and liberal, are always sparing of their alms, and seldom grant the full prayer of their petitioners. But the treasures of God being infinite, the more He bestows, the more He still has to give; and therefore He distributes His graces with a liberal hand, always granting more than is sought. ‘For thou, O Lord are sweet and mild, and plenteous to all that call upon thee.’—Ps. 85:5. You, O my God, said holy David, are sweet and liberal beyond measure to all who invoke you; the superabundant mercies which you pour down upon your servants, far exceed their demands.

Being assured, then, that prayer opens all the treasures of heaven, we should be careful, to pray with unbounded confidence. ‘Let us attend to this,’ says St. Chrysostom, ‘and we shall open heaven to ourselves.’ Prayer is a treasure from which each derives advantages in proportion to the frequency and fervour of his supplications. St. Bonaventure says that a Christian, as often as he has recourse to God by fervent prayer, obtains graces which are more valuable than the entire world.—S. Bon. In Luc. 18. There are some fervent souls who devote a great deal of time to reading and meditation, but attend very little to prayer. Spiritual reading and meditation are certainly very profitable; but St. Augustine says that prayer is much more beneficial to the soul. Spiritual reading and meditation teach us our obligations, but prayer obtains grace to fulfill them. ‘Prayer’ says St. Augustine, ‘is better than reading; by reading we learn what we ought to do, by prayer we receive what we ask.’—S. Aug. in Ps. 75. To know our duties and not perform them, only renders us more guilty before God. Though our spiritual lectures and meditations should be very long and frequent, we shall never discharge our duties, unless we ask God’s assistance to fulfill them.

Hence, observes St. Isidore, the devil is never so vigorous in his efforts to suggest to our minds worldly thought, as when we are employed in seeking God’s grace by holy prayer. And why?, because the enemy sees that it is by prayer we procure the choicest gifts of heaven. The principal advantage of meditation is, that it stimulates us to ask of God the graces necessary for perseverance and for eternal salvation. Hence, the chief reason of the moral necessity of mental prayer to preserve the life of grace is, that he who is not reminded by meditation of his obligation to pray for the helps necessary for perseverance and eternal life, will never remember it: unless he meditates he will never think of the necessity of seeking assistance from above, and therefore will never ask it. But he that meditates every day, perceives his own wants; he sees the dangers by which he is encompassed, and the absolute necessity of prayer to save his soul. The lights received in meditation teach him to pray, and by prayer he will obtain grace, which will ensure his perseverance and salvation. Father Segneri said that in the beginning of his mental prayer, which was long and frequent, he was accustomed to direct his efforts more to the excitation of pious affections than to humble petition; but being convinced in the course of his reflections, of the necessity and immense advantages of prayer, he then generally devoted the remainder of his meditation to fervent supplication of God’s mercy.

‘I will cry like a young swallow,’ (Is. 38:14) said the devout king Ezechias. As the young swallow is continually crying to its mother for help and food, so should our prayers and tears, if we desire to preserve the life of grace, be constantly poured forth to God for protection against the death of sin, and for assistance to advance in His holy love. Father Rodriguez relates that the ancient Fathers, the first spiritual masters, having consulted together, came to the conclusion that the best and most indispensable means of salvation consisted in the frequent repetition of the short prayer of holy David. ‘Incline unto my aid, O God.’ With them Cassian [Conferences 10.10] agrees; he says that whoever desires to be saved, should be continually occupied in reciting the following prayer: Assist me, O my God; assist me, O my God. [Ps. 70.1] We ought to begin the day by reciting that prayer the instant we awake; we should repeat it, in all our necessities, in all our occupations spiritual as well as temporal, and especially when we are molested by any passion or temptation. St. Bonaventure says that sometimes grace is more readily obtained by one short prayer than by many good works.—S. Bon. de Prof. rel. lib. 2. c. 68. ‘Sometimes’, he says, ‘a person very easily procures by a short prayer what he would scarcely obtain by pious works.’ St. Ambrose declares that he who asks receives whilst he is praying, because to pray and to receive are one and the same! S. Am. 84. ad. Demet. Hence, St. Chrysostom asserts that ‘nothing is more powerful than a man who prays,’ because he partakes of the power of God. St. Bernard teaches that to arrive at perfection, prayer and meditation are necessary; by meditation we see our wants, and through prayer we receive what is necessary for us. ‘Let us,’ he says, ‘ascend by meditation and prayer; the former points out what is wanted, and the latter obtains it.’—S. Ber. ser. 1. de S. Andrea.

In a word, to be saved without prayer, is, as we have seen, most difficult, and in God’s ordinary providence, impossible. But prayer renders salvation most easy and secure. To be saved, it is not necessary, like the martyrs, to expose our lives for the faith; nor, like the holy anchorets, to retire into the desert, and live on wild herbs. No; it is sufficient to send forth our cries frequently to heaven, saying, Assist me, O Lord; O my God, assist me and have mercy on me: and what more easy than continually to invoke the Lord? St. Laurence Justinian exhorts us to make an effort to pray at least at the beginning of all our actions. ‘We should,’ he says, ‘endeavour to pour forth our prayer in the beginning at least of every work.’ Cassian says, that the ancient Fathers recommended, in a particular manner, the practice of having recourse to God by short but frequent prayers. ‘Let no person,’ says St. Bernard, ‘make little of his prayer, since God sets a high value on it; He will give what we ask, or what He knows will be more useful to us.’—S. Ber. Serm. 5. de Quad. If we do not pray, we shall certainly be without excuse; for the grace of prayer is given to all; it is in our power to pray whenever we wish. ‘With me,’ says David, ‘is prayer to the God of my life; I will say to God, thou art my support.’—Ps. 41:9-10. This point is fully discussed in the second part of this work, in which it is clearly demonstrated, that God bestows on all the grace of prayer, to enable them by pious supplications to obtain abundant aid to observe the divine law, and to persevere unto death in God’s service. For the present, I will only say, that if we be not saved, it will be our own fault: we shall be lost, only because we shall not have prayed.

Source: St. Alphonsus Liguori. A Short Treatise on Prayer (Chapter 2); tr. A Catholic Clergyman.

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Bibliography

St. Alphonsus Liguori. A Short Treatise on Prayer (On The Great Means of Prayer). Tr. A Catholic Clergyman. Dublin, 1834.

St. Alphonsus Liguori, The Great Means of Salvation and of Perfection. In: Complete Works of Saint Alphonsus de Liguori, The Ascetical Works, Volume 3, ed. Eugene Grimm, New York, 1886 (repr. 1927).  Audiobook version.

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Philo on Heavenly Inspirations

Manna, Maciejowski Bible (13th C.)

PHILO here, in one of his most famous passages, gives us insight into the personal experiential basis of his exegesis of the patriarchs.  First he presents Abraham as the type of man who directs his mind away from thoughts associated with worldly and carnal concerns (Egypt) to the “father’s land” of Wisdom from which heavenly inspirations flow.  This orientation gives birth to a new disposition of mind, Isaac — whom, Philo elsewhere explains, symbolizes spiritual Joy. He then describes the nature of his own experiences, noting with regret intervening periods of aridity. (FIRST DRAFT)

(28) … Nay, thou must change thine abode and betake thee to thy father’s land, the land of the Word that is holy and in some sense father of those who submit to training: and that land is Wisdom, abode most choice of virtue-loving souls.

(29) In this country there awaiteth thee the nature which is its own pupil, its own teacher, that needs not to be fed on milk as children are fed, that has been stayed by a Divine oracle from going down into Egypt (Gen. 26:2) and from meeting with the ensnaring pleasures of the flesh. That nature is entitled Isaac.

(30) When thou hast entered upon his inheritance, thou canst not but lay aside thy toil; for the perpetual abundance of good things ever ready to the hand gives freedom from toil. And the fountain from which the good things are poured forth is the companionship of the bountiful God. He shews this to be so when to set His seal upon the flow of His kindnesses, He says “I will be with thee.”

VII. (31) What  fair thing, then, could fail when there was present God the Perfecter, with gifts of grace, His virgin daughters, whom the Father that begat them rears up uncorrupted and undefiled? Then are all forms of studying, toiling, practising at rest; and without come forth all things in one outburst charged with benefit for all.

(32) And the harvest of spontaneous good things is called “Release,” [άφεσις; aphesis] inasmuch as the Mind [νους; nous] is released from the working out of its own projects, and is, we may say, emancipated from self-chosen tasks, by reason of the abundance of the rain and ceaseless shower of blessings.

(33) And these are of a most marvellous nature and passing fair. For the offspring of the soul’s own travail are for the most part poor abortions, things untimely born; but those which God waters with the snows of heaven come to the birth perfect, complete and peerless.

(34) I feel no shame in recording my own  experience, a thing I know from its having happened to me a thousand times. On some occasions, after making up my mind to follow the usual course of writing on philosophical tenets, and knowing definitely the substance of what I was to set down, I have found my understanding (διάνοιαν; dianoia) incapable of giving birth to a single idea, and have given it up without accomplishing anything, reviling my understanding for its self-conceit, and filled with amazement at the might of Him that is to Whom is due the opening and closing of the soul-wombs.

(35) On other  occasions, I have approached my work empty and suddenly become full, the ideas falling in a shower from above and being sown invisibly, so that under the influence of the Divine possession I have been filled with corybantic frenzy and been unconscious of anything, place, persons present, myself, words spoken, lines written. For I obtained language, ideas, an enjoyment of light, keenest vision, pellucid distinctness of objects, such as might be received through the eyes as the result of clearest shewing.

Source: Philo, On the Migration of Abraham 6.28−7.35 (tr. Colson & Whitaker, pp. 149−153)