The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1916-09-16

of a great privilege they may enjoy,
but rather take advantage of every
opportunity of exercising it. So it is
with prayer Our whole lives; every
year, every month, every day should
be filled to overlooking with prayers
often repeated.
No day of human life should be
begun without a prayerful dedication
of it to the Author of life and the
Master of time. Morning prayer is
the creatures greeting to his Creator.
1t is hymn of thanksgiving for pro-
lection and conservation during the
preceding night. 1t is mans Offering
to Heaven of the thoughts, words and
actions of the day just beginning.
And as we would not think of failing
in courtesy by neglecting or refusing
to greet our relatives, friends and
acquaintance whom we meet at home,
on the street or at business, with a
cordial morning salutation, so we
! should not be remiss in lifting our
| hearts and souls for a few minutes to
the God who made us and to whom
we shall be indebted for all the good
that the day has in store for u.s. 1t is
surprising that the blessing of what
is commonly called good luck falls
upon those who are thoughtless or
careless about wishing the Divine
benediction upon their days work
How many misfortune, how many
an accident might have been avoided
by prevention if they who suffer them
had given their God few moments
of their first waking thoughts! What
an embarrassment for one of these
to be hurried into eternity and be
forced to admit to his Divine Judge
that the morning of that day had not
been hallowed by as much as a
whisper of prayer to his Maker. The
habitual neglecter of morning prayer
is depriving himself of countless
graces, helps and blessings which are
not granted him because he is either
too lazy or too Indifferent to ask for
them.
Ii morning prayer is necessary and
of vital Importance night prayer is
| OdNdAAJ oO' hC IlSHI Is d llulG OI
darkness and terror. Man never feels
so completely dependent upon a
Being higher and greater than himself
as at night when darkness clouds the
sun and leaves the world in blind
helplessness. There is something akin
to death about sleep. Dropping off
into unconsciousness with no certainty
OF ever awakening renders us more
and more appreciative of how little
power over life we ourselves possess
and how much our existence in this
world is in the hands of God. Never
should we close our eyes in sleep
without first entrusting our souls to
the God who created them. We may
never view the light of another day
If we pray not we are not different
from the brute without a soul which
sleeps as relief from the fatigue OF
the day and as a means of recuperat
ing it's strength, not knowing and
therefore unable to pray to, its Maker
We must pray. Morning and night
especially must find us on our knees
addressing our petitions and thanks
giving to. Him who watches over us
and whose haads are filled with bless
ings for us we. will but ask fol
them. We may be able to accom-
plish very little in life. We may have
only a negligible amount of power
talents, ability. But no one of us is
too weak, too ignorant or too helpless
to pray. Our days dedicated to God
by morning prayer; our nights sancti
fed by fervent invocations of Divine
! benediction and protection will form a
, lltany of petitions, link of prayers
: which will bind us to Gods throne
preserve and pretect us from evil and
lead us through the dangers of this
earthly life to the safety and security
OF eternal life in Heaven.