The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1915-05-01
ADoRATIoN, PRAISE AND PETL
TON.

bOu Is u UO duOFGu. All TdIlOILdl
natures are in duty bound to pay that
tribute to their Creator There are
too few of us who pay heartfelt adora-
ton to God. We are too superficial
in our worship and are quite satisfied
with a veneer or an appearance of
alteration, says the Catholic Uni
verse"
We pray, "Thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven" In heaven they
rest not day or night. The prayer is
as ST. John tells as: Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God Almighty, Who was and
Who is and Who is to come. /.
Thou art worthy, o Lord our God, to
receive glory and honor and power,
because Thou hast created all things,
and for Thy will they were and have
been created"
At Bethlehem we have an illustra-
ton of alteration in the example of the
Magi: "And entering into the house,
they found the Child with Mary, His
Mother, and, falling down, they adored
Him, and opening their treasures, they
offered Him gifts, gold, frankincense
and myrrh.'' When we really adore
God we are glad to contribute to the
beauty of His temple and to the en-.
richment of His worship.
The better we realize who we are
and who God is, the more disposed
we are to throw the spirit of worship
into our prayers. We get away from
/ dry formulas or we do not permit our
prayers to be mere formulas or cut
land dried petitions. The words of ouI
prayers glow with sense and meaning
and directness. We take aim and are
at least as much on the alert as the
marksman in the forest. Some such
thought must have inspired the Psalm
list when he wrote: Come let us
adore, and fall down and weep before
the Lord that made us; for He is the
Lord our God, and we are the people
of His pasture and the sheep of His
hand" Cps. xciv:6).
i Praise springs from alteration. Thi:
, is the great work of all Gods crea
| lures. All should heartily join in the
OnOI I'D OO QO " 1AdhC 4uhlfCA Dol
, The Church leads us in these words
1--WE praise Thee, we bless Thee. We
/ give Thee thanks for Thy great glory
! 10 Lord God, Heavenly King, God thu
Father Almighty"
: All creatures should give praise t.
: God. THE heavens and the eartl
are full of Thy glory" The infinite
J majesty of God, His infinite perfec
tions, His glory and power call fort1
: praise from all who realize something
J of His attributes. Since we are Hi!
, creatures, since without Him we coulC
have had no existence, since He made
/ Ius for Himself, we should tent
/, towards Him as every stream anC
: torrent tends towards the ocean. :"
: have glorified Thee on earth; have
r finished the work which Thou caves
: me to do" John xvii:4.)
r When the faithful soul has passed
to her eternal reward she joins tn,
angels and saints in alteration ant
I. praise. The blessed in heaven, beins
in the possession of glory, have n,
further need of petition for them
2 selves. The sojourners on earth, bein,
in the midst of temptations and fight
! ing the good fight, need assistanc,
: since our Lord has said, without NJ,
: you can do nothing" For us petition
Ills necessary. st. Paul says: "B,
nothing solicitous; but in everything
7 Iby prayer and supplication witt
: thanksgiving, let your petitions b
made known to God" (Phil iy:6).
Petition shows our dependence upo1
God. Men who do not pray mus
teither be filled with their self-sufi
/ cheney or they do not realize how es
t lsential prayer is. God has made praye
b "a condition to obtain His gifts. HI
e knows our needs. Our Lord says
$ Your Father knoweth that you hav
0 Ineed of all these things" (St Matt
+ lvi:521. He wishes us to know tina
we need them and that they are tt
: Ebe obtained through prayer. "Asl
9 land you shall receive" is the Father
E lily direction He gives us.
al Petition or prayer. is necessary 70
i IAN yet on earth to complete the wor
+ lship of God.
hl The flowers Of alteration, of praise
--Iof petition, of worship and of seryic
: are gathered together in the virtue o