The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1914-10-17
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truce, that the deadly eruption would
break forth again when the breathing
pause was over, nevertheless the
grace of God can subdue the hearts
of men. And when the darkness of
earth is blackened the light of hope
from Heaven shines brightest.
Those who pray, says the Brooklyn
Tablet, rarely or with little fervor,
moved by some emergency, storm the
Gates of Heaven. It is presumed that
Heaven, disturbed from its equipoise
by the unexpected, should acknowl-
edge the favor of being addressed and
grant the request. But sometimes
Heaven doesn't. For reasons. And
they who have made the prayer are
Prayer is an elevation of the mind
and heart to God. In being that, it is
in great measure its own answer.
God has given us intelligence that we
may know Him. Knowing Him, we
have new and better knowledge of
worthlessness, of our entire depend
ence upon Him. Service follows
knowledge. So God has given us will
that, in our dependence upon Him,
we may voluntarily turn to Him.
ASK and you shall receive" Saliva
ton waits upon prayers; and whether
or not our several prayers be specif-
ically answered so that we may know
that they have been heard, we have
been created that we may pray, and
in praying we are doing our part in
the fulfilling of our destiny. A whole
nation simultaneously engaged in
prayer must give immense pleasure to
God
Father Faber says that prayer is
always answered and we have no need
to question his statement, his mind
and heart were so pure that he could
look into the mind and heart of God;
and despite the fact that many times
the thing we ask for is apparently
denied us we may submit our
opinion to his better judgment. He
tells us that, when we get to Heaven,
we shall find all our prayers there
ahead of us.
Our ideas of our own importance
warp our judgment and destroy the
proper sense of proportion. We can
not fathom the mind of God. It's many
ramifications are beyond our means
of exploring. Having an exaggerated
opinion of ourselves, we do not al
ways know what is good for us. But
God does know, and because He does
know, accepting the homage of our
prayers, He answers them in the man
ner the best possible for our interests.
Nor are we always sure that we
pray in the name of Christ. The
absolute assurance of the granting of
our petitions has the condition that
we do pray in His name. There are
other conditions, that of fervor, for
instance, that are Indispensable. We
may be sure that when opr.4 prayers,
nave not otytafffed 'tEe~ answer we de-
sired, our asking has been amiss.
God is. He dwells not in the
divisible moment that constitutes our
existence, but in the indivisible
moment of His own. His decisions
are not for today as distinguishable
from the day. of a hundred years
hence, but for eternity. Having per-
mitted this war, for whose cessation
we now pray, He knows the conse-
quences of it to nations and individ-
uals And though it may not be
brought to an end Immediately on
our supplications, our prayer will
be heard, and, at the time when
it's cessation will be of the most
benefit to those in whose behalf we
pray, peace will reassert itself. And
whether we can see for ourselves the
answer to our prayers, our souls will
know one day the effect of the prayers
and the future of our lives will have
been bettered.