Mueller Prayer The key to Salvation

1. Auflage 2021
ISBN: 979-10-299-1292-4
Verlag: FV Éditions
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 230 Seiten

There is an important truth of which thousands of men are ignorant; or if they know it, they reflect upon it seldom, and with but little fruit. Yet the knowledge of this truth is almost as necessary for all those who have attained the age of reason, as the knowledge of the mysteries of the Trinity and Incarnation. The importance of this great truth seems to be a mystery not merely to the heathen, Jews and heretics, but even to the greater part of Christians; nay, even to many of those who have consecrated themselves to God. We often hear in sermons, and read in pious books, of the necessity of avoiding bad company, of hating sin, of forgiving injuries, and of being reconciled to our enemies; but seldom are we taught this great truth, or, if it is sometimes spoken of, it is rarely done in a manner calculated to leave upon our minds a lasting impression of its great importance and necessity. Now this important truth is, that according to the ordinary course of Divine providence, man cannot be saved without prayer.

Fr. Michael Müller C.Ss.R. was a prolific Catholic writer of the 19th century in the United States.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Mueller, Michael

Leseproben

ON THE NECESSITY OF PRAYER IN GENERAL

There is an important truth of which thousands of men are ignorant; or if they know it, they reflect upon it seldom, and with but little fruit. Yet the knowledge of this truth is almost as necessary for all those who have attained the age of reason, as the knowledge of the mysteries of the Trinity and Incarnation. The importance of this great truth seems to be a mystery not merely to the heathen, Jews and heretics, but even to the greater part of Christians; nay, even to many of those who have consecrated themselves to God. We often hear in sermons, and read in pious books, of the necessity of avoiding bad company, of hating sin, of forgiving injuries, and of being reconciled to our enemies; but seldom are we taught this great truth, or, if it is sometimes spoken of, it is rarely done in a manner calculated to leave upon our minds a lasting impression of its great importance and necessity. Now this important truth is, that according to the ordinary course of Divine providence, man cannot be saved without prayer.

In order to understand this truth in its full extent, we must consider:

• First. That we cannot be saved unless we fulfill the will of God.
• Secondly. That we are unable to do God's will unless we are assisted by Divine grace.
• Thirdly. That we obtain this grace by prayer alone; that consequently we must pray in order to be saved.

First. I say we cannot be saved unless we fulfill the will of God. The Lord declared His will in express terms when He said to Adam: "And of the tree of knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat; for in what day soever thou shalt eat of it, thou shalt die the death." (Gen. 2:17).

By this commandment man was clearly given to understand that the continuation of his happiness, for time and eternity, depended upon his obedience to the will of God. To be free from irregular affections and disorderly passions, and to transmit his happiness to his posterity, was entirely in his power. If he made a right use of his liberty, by always following the law of God; if he preserved unsullied the image and likeness of his Creator and heavenly Father; if, in fine, he made a proper use of the creatures confided to his care, he would then receive the crown of life everlasting in reward for his fidelity. But if he swerved even for a moment from this loving will of God, he would subject himself to the law of God's justice, which would not fail to execute the threatened punishment.

But did God, perhaps, afterwards, in consideration of the abundant merits of the Redemption, lay down other and easier conditions for man's happiness and salvation? No. He did not change these conditions in the least. Man's happiness still depended on his obedience to the Divine will. "Now if thou wilt hear the voice of the Lord thy God, to do and keep all his commandments, the Lord thy God will make thee higher than all the nations of the earth, and all these blessings shall come unto thee and overtake thee, yet so if thou hear his precepts." (Deut. 28:1-2). And our Divine Saviour says: "You are my friends, if you do the things that I command you." (John 15:14). And again: "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 shall enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matt. 7:21). He Himself gave the example, having been obedient even unto the death of the Cross, thereby teaching all men that their salvation depends on their persevering obedience to the will of their heavenly Father.

Jesus Christ, the Redeemer, appointed the Apostles, and especially Peter, to succeed Him in His office of teaching the will of God. Where Peter and the other Apostles are found in their lawful successors, there only is the true and entire will of God taught; and those only who embrace and follow it faithfully, have well-founded hopes of salvation. They who follow any other rule in acquiring salvation deceive themselves. Instead of God's will, they do their own, or they follow the suggestions of the devil, or those of evil-minded, perverse teachers, who substitute their own will and opinions for the will of God; they imitate Adam and Eve, who believed the devil's suggestions rather than the infallible word of God.

But to be always mindful of God's will; always to honor, appreciate and love it above all things; always to embrace and follow it punctually and promptly; always to understand clearly, that whatever is contrary to God's will can never be good or meritorious, but must bring death to the soul; to return to His Divine will after having strayed away from it - all this is not the work of our weak nature, but is entirely the effect of Divine grace; for, if faith teaches us that God made all things very good, it also teaches us that they cannot remain so without God's assistance; otherwise they would cease to be dependent on Him. This is true of all God's creatures, but especially of man who, being endowed with free will, has it in his power to obey or transgress the law of God.

On this account Jesus Christ says: "Without Me you can do nothing." On these words, St Augustine remarks that Jesus Christ did not say: "Without Me you cannot bring anything to perfection"; but He said: "You cannot even do anything." He means to say that without His grace we are not even able to commence any good work. "If this light of faith," said Our Lord to St. Catherine of Siena, "shineth on thee, thou wilt understand that I, thy God, know better how to promote thy welfare, and that I have a greater desire to do so than thou thyself, and that thou, without My grace, neither wouldst nor couldst promote it. " This very thing is taught by St. Paul. In his Second Epistle to the Corinthians he writes thus: "Not that we are sufficient to think anything of ourselves, as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God." (2 Cor. 3:5). The Apostle means to say that of ourselves we are not even able to think of any good or meritorious thing. Now, if we are not able to think of anything good, how much less able are we to wish for anything good. "It is God," he writes, in his Epistle to the Philippians, "who worketh in you, both to will and to accomplish, according to his good will." (Phil. 2:13).

The same thing had been declared by God long before, through the mouth of the prophet Ezechiel: "l will cause you to walk in my commandments, and keep my judgements and do them." (Ezech. 36:27).

Consequently, according to the teachings of St. Leo I, man works only so much good as God, in His grace, enables him to do. Hence it is an article of our holy faith that no one can do the least meritorious work without God's particular assistance.

But shall we, then, say that our first parents could not help losing the grace of God, and the many natural and supernatural gifts which they had received? Shall we say that when we sin, the fault lies not so much in us as in God, who neglects to assist us? No! By no means; such an assertion would be a blasphemy. It is therefore certain:

1. That man is good in the sight of God, and has well grounded hopes of salvation, only in proportion as he lives up to the will of God.

2. That man cannot, by his own strength, keep his will good, so as always to follow God's will under all circumstances.

3. That God must therefore have given man an infallible means, by the use of which he can preserve his innocence, and by the neglect of which he will certainly fall into sin.

The use of this means must be considered as an essential truth in the way of salvation. Our reason tells us that we should call upon the assistance of another, when we are unable to help ourselves. Adam and Eve knew this truth very well; but neglecting to call upon God's assistance in the hour of temptation, they lacked the grace necessary to enable them to keep the commandments of God. Hence they fell through their own fault. We may, therefore, fairly conclude that the whole mystery of man's salvation and sanctification depends entirely on the constant and proper use of this great means of prayer. "As God, in the natural order," says St. Alphonsus, "ordained that man should be born naked, and in want of many of the necessaries of life, and as at the same time He has given him hands and understanding to provide for all his wants, so also in the supernatural order man is born incapable of remaining good, and obtaining salvation by his own strength; but God, in His infinite goodness, grants to everyone the grace of prayer, and wishes that all should make constant use of this grace, in order thereby to obtain all other necessary graces." Prayer is a universal and infallible means of maintaining our relations with God. These relations are manifold.

The first is our dependence on God's goodness. By prayer we acknowledge our dependence on God. As the subjects of a king acknowledge their dependence on their sovereign by paying the taxes he lays upon them, so also, by offering up to the Almighty the tribute of our prayer, we acknowledge ourselves to be constant mendicants before the gate of His Divine mercy.

The second relation by which we are united to God is faith. In this life we do not see God face to face; yet we must not, on that account, believe in Him less firmly. By prayer, we profess...