St. Augustine, What Else Helps Me to Pray?
Question 030.
It sounds as if humility is a prerequisite for prayer. Are there other virtues that prepare the way for effective prayer?
Faith, hope, and love, therefore, lead the man of prayer to God. That is the man who believes, hopes, and desires is guided with regard to what he should ask the Lord by study of the Lord’s Prayer.
from […]
St. Augustine, How Can I Ensure That God Hears My Prayers?
Question 029.
How can I guarantee that God will hear my prayer?
[God] does indeed bow down his ear, if you do not lift up your neck; for the Lord draws near to the humble man. But from the exalted man he distances himself, unless he himself has exalted that man for his humility. God then bows down his ear towards us. For […]
St. Augustine, Are “The Elect” In Need of Prayer?
Question 028.
Does this mean that Augustine counts himself among “the elect,” and therefore not in need of prayer?
When you find me in these books, pray that I might not fail, but reach perfection. Pray, my son, pray…You would cheat me of great help if you were not to do so. But not only you, but anyone who by your witness should […]
Divine Mercy
In her Diary, St. Faustina records a special promise given to her by Jesus. He told her to communicate it to the whole world:
My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those […]
A Prayer to Our Lady of Mercy
Madonna della Misericordia, Simone Martini, 1308
Prayer to Our Lady of Mercy
St. Augustine
Blessed Virgin Mary,
who can worthily repay you with praise
and thanks for having rescued a fallen world
by your generous consent!
Receive our gratitude,
and by your prayers obtain the pardon of our sins.
Take our prayers into the sanctuary of heaven
and enable them to make our peace with God.
Holy Mary, help the miserable,
strengthen the […]
St. Augustine, How Does Prayer Work With Predestination?
Question 027.
How does our prayer play a part in predestination?
It is precisely by our prayer that [God] wants to remind us from whom we receive such benefits. For from whom do we receive but from him who it is fitting to ask… [The Church] prays that the incredulous might believe; hence, God converts them to […]
St. Augustine, How Should One Pray for Unbelievers?
Question 026.
What about non-believers?
For God, who has fulfilled all that he predestines, wants us to pray for the enemies of the faith, too, so that we would in turn see that it is he who gives to the unbelievers, too, the gift of faith. And it is he who makes men who formerly were unwilling, to become men who do will it.