He should lie, or as the son of man, that He should be changed.1 Oh, how great, then, is our happiness, to have in our hands an instrument so noble, and of such power and efficacy, to obtain from heaven all blessings and graces! 'Prayer,' says Theodoret, 'is but one thing, but it procures for us all things.' 'Prayer ascends to the throne of God,' says St. Augustine, 'and it draws down upon us the heavenly blessings.' 'A man of prayer,' says St. John Chrysostom, is all-powerful, and may say with the Apostle: All things are possible to me, through the help of Him who strengtheneth me.'

How shall we number the graces which the servants of God have obtained from Him at all times by means of prayer! Elias, by prayer, opened and shut up the floodgates of heaven, and called down fire from on high to consume the sacrifice. Eliseus restored life to a dead body; Moses enabled the Israelites to defeat the army of the Amalekites; Aaron arrested the course of a pestilence; Ezechias obtained a sword from heaven to exterminate his enemies. It was by prayer that Daniel was preserved unhurt in the lions' den, and the three Hebrew children were saved from death in the fiery furnace of Babylon. When the shepherd David ventured on the fierce combat with the haughty Goliath, he called on the God of armies, and the giant lay prostrate and vanquished at his feet. When Josaphat was surrounded by a sudden irruption of the Moabite army, he had recourse to God by His holy prophet, and the Moabites were slaughtered.3 Asa, being suddenly attacked by a powerful army of Ethiopians, implored the aid of heaven, and they were drowned in a sea of blood.*

1 Numb. xxiii. 19.

3 4 Kings iii.

2

4 Kings xix.

4

2 Para. xiv.

But what are such victories gained over temporal enemies compared to those which a man of prayer obtains over his spiritual foes? 'However great may be the temptation,' says St. Bernard, 'if we know how to use the weapon of prayer well, we shall come off conquerors at last; for prayer is more powerful than all the devils. He who is attacked by the spirits of darkness, needs only to apply himself vigorously to prayer, and he will beat them back with great success; for, as St. John Chrysostom says, prayer is a rock most terrible and fearful to the infernal powers.'

What, then, O Christian soul, is it that makes you so cold in your prayers? Ah, let us approach the throne of mercy with a generous and willing heart, and God will not fail to grant us our request. 'How should the Lord fail,' says St. John Chrysostom, to grant His graces to him who asks for them from his heart, when He confers so many blessings even on those who do not call upon Him! Ah, He would not so urge, and almost force us to pray to Him, if He had not a most eager desire to bestow His graces on us. St. Augustine says, 'that He is more anxious to communicate His blessings to us, than we are to receive them.-Plus vult ille dare quam nos accipere, plus vult misereri quam nos a miseria liberari.' Some persons, by way of finding some pretext by which they may justify their own faults, complain that they do not receive the Divine aid. But have they not rather reason to complain of themselves, because they neglect to implore, by prayer, the Divine assistance? 'Multi conqueruntur deesse sibi gratiam,' says St. Bernard; 'sed multo justius gratia conqueritur deesse sibi multos. The Lord feels such pleasure in communicating His favours to us, that St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi goes so far as to say

that He feels Himself obliged, as it were, to those who pray to Him, and grants them what they ask from their heart.

Such being the power and efficacy of prayer, what can we say of those Christians who continue negligent in the observance of the Divine laws, cold in the practice of piety, and who yield to slight temptations to sin? To whom but to themselves must they attribute their misery? to what but to their own fault, to their neglect of holy prayer, must they ascribe their ruin? Can Jesus Christ fail in His word? Can He prove unfaithful to His promise, that He will come to our help whenever we have recourse to Him by devout and humble prayer? What would you think of a beggar who, knowing that a prince was ready to provide him a home to shelter him, clothes to cover him, and food to supply his necessities, if he would only ask for them?-what would you think or say of him, if he should prefer to continue in his poverty, rather than apply to his willing benefactor? What would you say if you saw him in his ragged clothes, trembling with cold, and half dead with hunger? Would you not reproach him most severely? Would you not say that he deserves to suffer, and to languish and die?—because he is the sole cause of his own miseries. But, alas, still worse is the case of those persons who prefer to live devoid of all virtues, naked, wretched, and poor, rather than to cast themselves at the feet of the Lord, and implore His heavenly blessings!

Learn, then, O Christian soul, to set the greatest value on prayer, and resolve to avail yourself of this inestimable privilege whereby to attain to eternal life. Imagine that you hear the voice of the Lord addressing you by the following beautiful words, 'Call on Me, and I will deliver thee; ask of Me, and I will grant thy request.-Invoca

me, et eruam te; clama ad me, et exaudiam te.' Desirest thou, O beloved soul, to break those ties which bind thee to creatures? to escape from those snares which the devil has laid to effect thy ruin? Pray to Me for help, and I will tear them asunder, and deliver thee from all dangers. Whoever wants support under his evils, assistance in his trials, and aid in his labours, needs only to open his heart to Me, to appeal with sincerity to My mercy, and I will come to his assistance, and grant his request.

ARTICLE IV.

ON THE SWEETNESS OF PRAYER.

By the practice of holy prayer we elevate our minds and hearts to the God of all consolation; we draw near to the fountain of life; we apply ourselves to the source of all happiness. Who can, then, express the ineffable sweetness which this holy intercourse with God must bring to pious souls! It cannot be denied that as long as we live in this mortal pilgrimage, -as long as we travel through this vale of tears, and are surrounded by the earthly tabernacle of our flesh, which weighs down the spirit, we cannot enjoy perfect happiness. We must acknowledge that perfect joy cannot be attained upon earth, but that the possession of this blessing is reserved to those pure souls, who, having fought the good fight, and gained the victory over their enemies, have left the prison of their bodies, and entered into the eternal kingdom. Yet it is also certain that, even in this life, the nearer we approach to our sweet and merciful Lord, the closer our communication is with His Divine Majesty, the more we partake of his happiness, and the greater is the joy which

He pours into our hearts. “Taste and see," says holy David, "how the Lord is sweet.' The lovers of this world, seeing that the persons addicted to prayer mortify their passions, chastise their body with its concupiscence, abstain from sensual pleasures, despise all worldly enjoyments, cultivate the spirit of recollection, and strive to detach themselves from all sensible objects, and to fix their heart and mind in God alone, imagine that their life is full of sadness and sorrow, and can conceive but very faintly, how they can be said to enjoy true and real delight. But the lovers of God know how greatly they are mistaken who think thus. For the practice of prayer, which to them would be a source of affliction and weariness, is to pious souls the purest fountain of comfort and delight. "Taste and see how the Lord is sweet." Here the holy prophet does not invite us to apply to the corrupted sources of the world in order to find our joy. He does 'Taste and see how sweet and delightful to thẻ heart are riches, honours, and worldly pleasures;' but he invites us to withdraw from the deceitful joys of this world, and to draw near to God. He says, "Taste and see how the Lord is sweet."

not say,

And oh, how many persons who had drunk deep of the bitter cup of misery under the slavery of their passions, have found, when converted to God, that, by giving themselves devoutly to holy prayer, they have become entirely changed, and have passed from the state of the deepest affliction to that of the sweetest consolation, to the enjoyment of the peace of God which surpasseth every understanding. What man ever indulged himself more freely in the enjoyment of earthly pleasures, and especially of the delights of the flesh, than St. Augustine? And what were his sentiments after the blissful moment