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RAYER is a communing with God. It is sweet converse held between the soul and its Maker, whether by means of words or thoughts only. It is a lifting of our minds and hearts to the loving and almighty Father Who made us, in order to praise and adore Him for all His greatness and goodness, to thank Him for the unbounded and numberless benefits we have received from Him, to petition His bounty for the many favors we need and to ask His pardon for our offenses. As a child goes to its father to express its filial love and devotion and to obtain the satisfaction of its wants, as a friend talks to a friend, so in prayer the pious soul speaks to God and communes with its Creator.

HERE are two general kinds of prayer, mental and vocal. The first consists in thought only, as when we think reverently of God, of His eternity, immensity, power, goodness, mercy, and the like; or whenever our mind dwells with pious reflection on divine things, such as the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Sacraments, the Blessed Virgin or the saints, the future state of souls, heaven, purgatory, and the life to come. The contemplation of God, of His xxvi