Breviloquium

Concerning the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer, this must be held: although God is most generous and more ready to give than we are to receive, he nevertheless wills to be prayed to by us, so that he may have an occasion for bestowing the gifts of the grace of the Holy Spirit. But he wills to be prayed to not only by mental prayer¹, which is “the ascent of the intellect into God,” but also by vocal prayer, which is “the petition of fitting things from God,” not only through ourselves but also through the Saints as divinely given helpers, so that what we are less worthy to obtain through ourselves we may be able to obtain through the Saints. And because we do not know what to pray for as we ought, lest we wander uncertainly, he handed down to us the form in the prayer that he composed; in it, the whole of what is to be sought is comprehended under the number seven of the petitions.

The reason for understanding the foregoing is this: the first principle, just as it is supremely true and good in itself, is likewise merciful and just in its work. And because it is most merciful, it most willingly condescends to human misery through the infusion of its grace. But because it is also just, it does not give the perfect gift² except to one who desires it, does not give grace except to one who gives thanks, and does not bestow mercy except on one who recognizes his misery, so that the liberty of free choice may be preserved, the nobility of the gift not be cheapened, and the integrity of divine worship endure. Since, therefore, it belongs to one who prays to seek divine assistance, allege his own defect, and give thanks for a benefit freely given, prayer consequently disposes one to receive divine gifts, and God wills to be prayed to in order to bestow his gifts.

Again, for desire to rise effectively toward obtaining divine gifts, it is necessary that our affection be fervent, our thought collected into one, and our expectation certain and firm. But because our heart is often tepid, often scattered, and often fearful because of the remorse of sin, not daring to appear by itself before the divine presence, the Lord willed us to pray not only mentally but also vocally: by words, to arouse our affection, and by the sense of the words³, to recollect our thoughts. He also willed us to pray through the Saints, and the Saints for us, to give confidence to the fearful, so that those who do not dare or cannot obtain through themselves may obtain through suitable intercessors. Thus humility is preserved in those who pray, dignity is declared in the Saints who intercede, and charity and unity are shown in all the members of Christ, by which the lower have recourse in confidence to the higher, and the higher generously condescend to the lower.

Finally, because God, being just and merciful, ought to hear only those things that concern his honor and our salvation, and these concern the reward of the homeland and the provision for the journey, with the first three and the following four respectively, the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer, which teach what we ought usefully to ask for, are seven.⁴ Those that concern divine honor and the reward of the homeland are three: namely, the understanding of truth, reverence for majesty, and harmony of will. In other words, it is either the vision of the highest truth, which is seen only by the clean and holy; this is requested when it is said, “Hallowed be thy name,” that is, may knowledge of thy name be granted to the perfect, holy, and clean. Or it is the possession of the highest eminence, which makes kings and through which the kingdom is possessed; this is requested when it is said, “Thy kingdom come.” Or it is enjoyment of the highest good, which is given only to those whose wills they have conformed to the divine will; this is requested when it is said, “Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth,”⁵ But those that concern the passage through the journey either regard the conferral of a beneficial good or the removal of a harmful evil. The conferral of beneficial good is requested in daily or supersubstantial bread, in which whatever is necessary for preserving the present life is requested, whether according to the spirit or according to the body. The removal of harmful evil is requested in the three last petitions, because every evil either has the character of the past, the future, or the present; or, otherwise, has the character of the evil of fault, of struggle, or of punishment. The first is requested to be removed in the forgiveness of debts, the second in victory over temptations, and the third and last in liberation from the oppression of evils. Thus there are seven petitions in all, in which whatever is to be asked is universally requested; and this quite rightly, so that the sevenfold number of the petitions may correspond to the sevenfold number of the divine charisms and the gifts of sevenfold grace.⁶

For this reason, it should be noted that Sacred Scripture sets before us a sevenfold septenary to be considered: namely, of the capital vices, Sacraments, virtues, gifts, beatitudes, petitions, and glorious dower-gifts, three spiritual and four bodily, as will appear below.⁷ The septenary of vices is first, from which we ought to withdraw; the septenary of Sacraments is second, through which we ought to walk; the septenary of dower-gifts is last, which we ought to desire; the septenary of petitions is penultimate, through which we ought to ask; while the septenary of virtues, gifts, and beatitudes is the threefold middle, through which we ought to pass. Thus, praising the name of the Lord and praying seven times a day,⁸ we may obtain the sevenfold grace of virtues, gifts, and beatitudes, by which we may conquer the sevenfold battle of the capital vices and arrive at the sevenfold crown of glorious dower-gifts, aided nevertheless by the sevenfold medicine of the Sacraments divinely established for the restoration of the human race.