Volume III, Treatise I, Chapter IX

Of Prayer, Which Is the Second Means to Produce Fruit in Souls

Tue second means St. Ignatius assigned to render us useful to our neighbour, is prayer. ‘Our neighbour is also helped”, says he, “by the fervour of prayer” —7 P. Const.,c.4. For, since the affair. of converting souls is purely supernatural, we do it better by fervent prayers, by tears and sighs of heart, than by eloquence and force of words. The prayer of Moses had a greater share in the victory the Israelites gained against Amalec, than all the lances and swords they made use of against them. So long as Moses was able to keep his hands lifted up towards Heaven, the advantage was on the side of the Israelites, but as soon as he let them fall down they began to give way to their enemies; so that during the fight it was necessary to have two men to sustain him, the one on the one side, and the other on the other, that his hands might always be lifted-up, and that the Israelites might gain a complete victory. It was in this manner the people of God defeated their enemies by prayer; and it was this the Midianites meant, when, astonished at the great victories the Israelites had gained, they said: “This people will destroy all those that live around them, like the ox which is accustomed to bite the grass to the very roots’ (Numbers 22:4) They intended hereby, say Origen and St. Austin, that as the ox feeds upon the grass with its mouth, and bites it to the very root, so the people of God destroyed their enemies with their mouth, © that is to say, by virtue of their prayers. Now, if even in war, where the success seems to depend upon human forces, God accords the victory to the merit of prayer, what shall it be in this spiritual warfare which we have undertaken for the conversion of souls, and where our forces. are so far short of the end we propose to ourselves? It is then by our prayers and by sighs we must endeavour to gain the victory; it is by them we must endeavour to appease the wrath of God, and to obtain his grace for the conversion of our brethren.

St. Austin, writing upon these words which God said to Moses, “let me alone, that my fury may be inflamed against them, and that I may destroy them” (Exodus 32:10),—takes occasion to — speak of the merit of prayer, and to let us see how efficacious and

powerful a means it is to obtain anything of God. God intends to destroy the children of Israel because they had adored a golden calf; Moses intercedes for them, and says to God, “Why is thy anger inflamed against this people, whom thou hast brought out of Egypt by the force and power of thy hand? Give not, I beseech thee, an occasion to the Egyptians to say, he has brought them well hither to destroy them in the mountains and to erase ‘them from the earth! Let thy anger cease, and permit thyself to be appeased for this sin of thy people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, thy servants, to whom thou hast sworn by thyself, that thou wouldst multiply their seed as the stars of Heaven, and that thou wouldst give them and their posterity all this land thou spokest of” (Exodus 32:11,12) ‘Let me alone”, says our Lord, “TI will destroy them”. But what dost thou mean by this, O Lord? says St. Austin; why dost thou say, “let mealone”? Who hinders thee, or who is able to do so? Who can tie thy hands? ‘ Who can resist thy will?” (Romans 9:19) How comes it to pass then that thou sayest, “let me alone”? You will see from whence it proceeds, continues this father. It is certainly because the force of prayer hinders the effect of his anger: and it is this he would have us to understand by these words, “let me alone”, which are not words of command; because, had they been so, Moses would have done very ill to disobey them. Nor are they words of petition, because God does not beg of his creatures; but they only show that the prayers of the just are capable of appeasing God’s wrath. St. Jerom says the same thing upon these words of our Lord to Jeremias, ‘ Do not thou therefore pray for this people, nor elevate thy voice and prayers for them, and do not resist me” (Jeremias 7:16) God, says this father, makes us hereby to understand that the prayers of the saints are able to resist his anger; and he more expressly declares this to us by the words of David, “and he had resolved to destroy them, if Moses had not stood before him in the breach to avert his anger, and to hinder him from destroying them” (Psalms 105:23) When God had his hand already lifted up to strike and destroy his people, Moses withheld him by his prayers, “and the Lord was appeased”, says the Scripture, “so that he did not that evil with which he had threatened his people”— (Exodus 32:14) The same thing happened in the sedition which had been raised against Moses and Aaron on account of the death of Core, Nathan, and Abiron, which the people of Israel imputed to them.

God was so-angry hereat, that he intended to destroy all the people, and had already killed more than fourteen thousand by fire, when Aaron advancing by the order of Moses into the middle of the dead and dying, with a thurible in his hard, and having offered incense and prayers to God for the people, the plague ceased. Hence the wise man, speaking of this plague and of the manner that it came to cease, calls prayer a buckler. “But thy anger, O Lord, lasted not long; for a man without reproac made haste to pray for the people, offering thee his prayer, which was the sole buckler he had to resist thee, and joining incense to his prayers, he stopped thy anger and put an end to that desolation” (Wisdom 18:20,21) Another version has, “making haste to fight for the people”; so that to pray is in effect to fight, and it is by fighting in this manner that Aaron disarmed God’s anger. ‘OQ how admirable a buckler is prayer’, says St. Ambrose; “it repels all the darts which our adversaries shoot against us”.

But what is more than all this is, that when God has his hand lifted up to punish us, he wishes that some one would seize his hand, and hinder him from striking. A father who exceedingly loves his son, is not inclined to chastise him as often as he deserves it, but on the contrary wishes to find some one that will prevent him, and sometimes even makes a sign to one of his friends to do it. It is the same with God. He is a father that tenderly cherishes us, and lets us see he does so, because he has given even the last drop of his blood for us. When, therefore, there is question of chastising us, he does not wish to do it in effect. His wish is that his friends should ward off his blows;

“he seeks out some one that will do so; and when he finds none that will do it, he is troubled and complains severely. “I sought”, says he, “amongst them a man that might put a hedge between us, and would take part with the earth against me, that I might not destroy it, and I was able to find none” (Ezechiel 22:30) | “You have not come up”, says he in another place, “‘nor opposed a wall against me for the defence of the house of Israel” —Ezech., mi. 5. On this St. Jerom says, that as the walls and ramparts of a city serve to repel the attacks of the enemy, “so do the prayers of saints serve to repulse the effects of God’s threats”. Isaias complains also, that there is no one who makes an effort to stop and appease him: “There is no one”, says he, “‘O Lord, who calls upon thy name, who raises himself against thee, and holds

thee back”— (Isaias 64:7) There is no Jacob to be found to wrestle with the angel of the Lord, and say to him, “I will not let thee go till thou hast blessed me” (Genesis 32:26) All this shows us how exceedingly meritorious the prayers of the just are in the sight of God; because they have power to hold back his hand, and to disarm his wrath. It likewise confirms whatI have said in the preceding chapter, that we ought to bein favour with God to be profitable to our neighbour, and that it is the best means we can make use of for this effect. For it is of very great importance that he who negotiates with any one for the pardon of another, should be very much in favour with him whom he entreats, otherwise he would rather irritate than appease him. In a word, sanctity of life is of so great advantage for the help of souls, that if we should do nothing else for our neighbour than labour to become saints, we.should always do very much for him. What God said to Abraham relative to the destruction of Sodom proves this truth very well. The abominations of Sodom and Gomorrah were come to such a height, that God resolved to destroy these two cities. He discovers his intention to Abraham on the way to Sodom, “and Abraham being already near the city, said to him: Alas! O Lord, wilt thou destroy the just with the wicked? If there are fifty just persons in the city, shall they perish with the rest? Or rather if there be found fifty just | persons, wilt thou not pardon the rest for their sakes? Take heed of doing such a thing as to destroy the just with the wicked, and to cause the just to be treated like them; this is not to act like thyself, who dost render justice to all the world: thou wilt not therefore treat them after this manner. If I find fifty just persons in Sodom, answers our Lord, I will pardon the whole city for love of them. Since I have begun once to speak, I will speak again, O Lord”, says Abraham, “though I be but dust and ashes. If there should want five of fifty, wouldst thou destroy the city for want of these five? No, answers our Lord, I will not destroy it, if I find five-and-forty. Abraham replies again, But if there should be only forty found, what wouldst thou do? I will pardon the whole city for the sake of these forty, answers our Lord. I beseech thee, O Lord, adds Abraham, be not displeased if I speak once more: what if thirty only should be found?” Where by the way take notice that Abraham in the beginning diminished only five at a time; but finding the Spirit of God disposed to grant him what he asked, afterwards diminishes ten at a time.

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“T will not destroy it, answers our Lord, if I find thirty. Since T have once begun to speak to my Lord, pursues Abraham, I will go on: what if there be found only twenty? I will not destroy it, says the Lord, for the love of these twenty. I humbly beseech thee, O Lord, says Abraham, not to be angry if I speak only once more:. what if perchance only ten should be found? Well, says our Lord, for the love of these ten I will not destroy it”— Gen., xviil. 23, etc. Now there were not ten just persons found; and, in consequence, God destroyed it by fire, with four other cities; and this makes us clearly see how profitable the sanctity of life in just persons is to the rest of mankind. For what an advantage would it not have been to these miserable wretches, to have had ten virtuous men amongst them!

At another time God intending to chastise the city of Jerusalem, by reason of the enormity of its crimes, and to deliver it into the hands of the Chaldeans, that they might destroy it and put all its inhabitants to the sword: “Go”, says he, “through all the streets of Jerusalem, see, consider, and search in every corner thereof, whether thou canst find a man that can do justice and that will keep his word, and I will pardon the city”’—Jerem., v. 1. Who is there, says St. Jerom upon this passage, but must needs admire the esteem God has for a just man? He says not here as he did at ancther time to Abraham, that he would pardon the city if he could find ten just men in it; but he says, if even one can be found amongst such an infinite number of sinners, he will pardon them all for the love of this one. The love of God for a just man ought to be very great and tender, since in consideration of him he will show mercy to so many sinners. This shows us how great an esteem we ought to have for good and virtuous men, and how very serviceable they are to the commonwealth they live in, though they do nothing else than live virtuously. And here one of the reasons which the saints and divines allege, to prove that religious persons ought,to be maintained at the public expense, though they should render no exterior service to the public, but should remain retired in their cells, is, that even in this retreat in their cells, they render a very great service to the state. For it is through love of a small number of virtuous persons that God bears with so many wicked men in the world; it is because of the good seed that for some time he lets thecockle grow up, “lest”, says he, “while you gather the cockle you should also root up the wheat. Let them both grow till the harvest” — Mat., xiii. 29.

With respect to the destruction of Sodom, we are likewise to observe that the Scripture adds, that “when God overthrew the cities of this country, he remembered Abraham, and delivered Lot from the ruin of the cities in which he lived” —(en., xix. 29. Yet there is no mention made that Abraham prayed for Lot; how therefore comes it to pass that God delivered Lot for the love of Abraham? It was because he loved Abraham so tenderly, that he took care of all related to him, without waiting to be prayed to do so. Lot was the nephew of Abraham, and for this reason God presses him to save himself: “Make haste, go to the city for which thou hast spoken”, says the angel of God, “and save thyself there, for I can do nothing until thou art entered into it” (Genesis 19:22) O bounty, O infinite mercy of God! How tender a love hast thou for a just man, and what is there that thou dost not do for him? Thou tiest the hands of thy ministers of vengeance, and wilt not permit them to do anything till he be in security. Wherefore, my brethren, take care to be just; take care to gain God’s favour; and for this end do everything in your power, and be assured that God will take care of whatsoever belongs to you. He will be mindful of your parents, of your friends, and of all your relations, though you should not so much as think to pray forthem; andthe more he sees that the care you take to give yourselves entirely to him hinders you from thinking of them, and of asking anything for them, the more he will pour down his benedictions and graces upon them. For the voice of actions urges God more to hearken to them, than the voice of words; ‘and if the crimes of the wicked cry to God for vengeance, according to the words of Scripture, “the voice of thy brother’s blood cries out to me from the earth” (Genesis 4:10),—ought we not believe that the piety and good works of virtuous persons cry out for mercy more efficaciously to God, who is so ready to do us good, and “to whom it belongs to pardon and to have mercy”? Behold therefore a very holy means to obtain of God whatsoever our parents and friends stand in need of.

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