Page:Prayerbookforrel00lasa 0.djvu/53

 necessary or  useful  for  his  salvation),  obtains  it,  for  God is  bountiful  and  generous,  and  readily  bestows  His  gifts.' 'When  you  pray,'  says  St.  Ambrose,  'ask  for  great  things; ask  not  for  what  is  transitory,  but  for  what  is  eternal.' 'We  should  pray,'  says  St.  Augustine,  ' in  the  name  and through  the  merits  of  Jesus  Christ.  When,  however, we  pray  for  what  is  injurious  to  our  soul,  we  do  not  pray in  the  name  of  Our  Redeemer.  In  praying  for  temporals we  should  be  moderate  and  timid,  asking  God  to  give them  to  us  provided  they  are  really  beneficial,  and  to withhold  them  if  they  should  prove  hurtful.  Many, when  they  pray,  invoke  God,  but  not  as  God,  for  the object  of  their  prayer  is  opposed  to  His  glory  and  favorable to  their  passions. They seem  to  consider  God  as  a mere  servant  of  themselves  and  of  their  passions,  such  as pride,  covetousness,  and  lust. Let us  pray,  not  for  temporals, but  for  heavenly  glory  and  the  means  of  attaining it. The most  precious  and  excellent  of  temporal  things are but  insignificant  trifles  in  comparison  to  what  is eternal.'

"Rohrbacher relates  in  his  'Church  History'  that, among  the  pilgrims  who  flocked  to  the  tomb  of  St. Thomas  of  Canterbury  to  seek  favors  through  the  saint's intercession,  there  was  a  blind  man  who  prayed  so  fervently for  the  recovery  of  his  lost  sight  that  he  was  perfectly cured.  After  returning  home,  however,  he  began to  reflect  that  the  restoration  of  his  sight  might,  perhaps, prove  an  obstacle  to  his  salvation.  He  accordingly  returned to  the  tomb  of  the  saint,  and,  after  fervently praying  that  were  his  sight  ever  to  be  injurious  to  his soul  he  should  again  lose  it,  he  became  totally  blind  once more.  He  acted  most  wisely,  for  it  was  much  better  for him  to  be  blind  than  run  the  risk  of  losing  his  soul.  Unguarded looks  are  often  the  cause  of  grievous  sin,  as  is shown  by  the  example  of  David  and  of  many  others.

"When our  prayers  for  temporal  favors,  either  for ourselves  or  in  behalf  of  others,  are  not  granted,  we  should