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Chapter 36GenevaCat.1.36

III. D'oraison — Le 35e dimanche

The Necessity of the Heart in Prayer

True prayer requires the engagement of the mind and heart rather than mere vocal repetition.

240. M: Let's talk now about how to pray to God. Is it enough to just use your tongue, or are your mind and heart required as well? E: The tongue isn't always necessary for it. But there must be understanding and affection. We must pray from the heart. M: How can you prove that? E: Since God is Spirit, He always requires the heart, especially in prayer, where it's a matter of communicating with Him. Yet He doesn't promise to be near anyone except those who call on Him in truth (Psalm 145:18); on the contrary, He curses all who do so with hypocrisy and without affection (Isaiah 29:13-14). 242. M: So, are all prayers said with the mouth alone useless? E: They aren't just useless; they're also displeasing to God.

The Role of Grace and Human Effort

While the Spirit of God must move us to pray, we are still called to seek and cultivate that disposition.

243. M: What affection should there be in prayer? E: First, that we feel our misery and poverty, and that this sense of them produces in us distress and anguish; then, that we have an intense desire to obtain grace before God—a desire that inflames our hearts and kindles in us a fervor for prayer.1 244. Minister: Does this come from our own nature, or from the grace of God? Student: God must perform that work.2 We are far too dull, but the Spirit of God moves us to unutterable groanings and forms in our hearts the affection and zeal God asks for, just as Saint Paul says (Romans 8:26; Galatians 4:6).✦3 245. M: Does that mean we shouldn't stir ourselves up and urge ourselves to pray to God? S: No.4 But on the contrary: so that when we don't feel that disposition in ourselves, we would plead with the Lord to put it there, to make us able and fit to pray to him as we ought.5

The Proper Use of the Tongue

Vocal prayer is a valid aid to the spirit when used with understanding, but praying in an unknown language is a mockery.

246. Master: You don't mean, though, that the tongue is completely useless in prayer? Student: Not at all. Sometimes it helps the spirit and holds it steady, strengthening it so it doesn't wander away from God so quickly. Furthermore, since it was created to glorify God above all other parts of the body, it’s only right that it should be used for that purpose in every way; and the zeal of the heart, through its ardor and intensity, often compels the tongue to speak even without us thinking about it. 247. Minister: If that's the case, what about praying in a language you don't understand? Student: It's a mockery of God and a perverse hypocrisy (1 Corinthians 14).

Read the original Latin

240. M : Disons maintenant de la manière de prier Dieu. Suffit-il le faire de langue ou si l'esprit et le coeur y est requis? E : La langue n'y est pas toujours nécessaire. Mais il faut qu'il y ait intelligence et affection.

Il faut prier de coeur 241. M : Comment le prouveras-tu? E : Puisque Dieu est Esprit, il demande toujours le coeur, et singulièrement en oraison, où il est question de communiquer avec lui. Pourtant, il ne promet d'être prochain, sinon à ceux qui l'invoqueront en vérité (Psaumes 145:18) ; au contraire, il maudit tous ceux qui le font par hypocrisie et sans affection (Ésaïe 29:13-14).

242. M : Toutes prières donc faites seulement de bouche sont superflues? E : Non seulement superflues, mais aussi déplaisantes à Dieu.

243. M : Quelle affection doit être en la prière? E : Premièrement, que nous sentions notre misère et pauvreté, et que ce sentiment cause en nous une fâcherie et angoisse ; puis, que nous ayons un désir véhément d'obtenir grâce devant Dieu, lequel désir enflambe nos coeurs et engendre en nous une ardeur de prier.

244. M : Cela procède-t-il de notre nature, ou de la grâce de Dieu? E : Il faut que Dieu y besogne. Car nous sommes trop stupides, mais l'Esprit de Dieu nous incite à gémissements inénarrables et forme en nos coeurs telle affection et tel zèle que Dieu demande, comme dit saint Paul (Romains 8:26 ; Galates 4:6).

245. M : Est-ce à dire que nous ne devions pas nous inciter et solliciter à prier Dieu? E : Non. Mais au contraire, afin que quand nous ne sentons pas en nous telle disposition, que nous suppliions le Seigneur qu'il y mette pour nous rendre capables et idoines à le prier dûment.

246. M : Tu n'entends pas toutefois que la langue soit du tout inutile en prières? E : Non pas. Car quelquefois elle aide l'esprit et le retient, le fortifiant à ce qu'il ne se détourne pas si tôt de Dieu. Davantage, puisqu'elle est formée pour glorifier Dieu, pardessus tous les autres membres, c'est bien raison qu'elle s'y emploie en toutes sortes, et aussi le zèle du coeur, par son ardeur et véhémence, contraint souvent la langue à parler sans qu'on y pense.

247. M : Si ainsi est, qu'est-ce de prier en langue inconnue? E : C'est une moquerie de Dieu, et une hypocrisie perverse (1 Corinthiens 14).

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Gal.4.6 — And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba, Father.'

Notes

  1. 1 ↩fâcherie: older French spiritual usage for grief/distress of spirit, not mere irritation; paired with angoisse as distress and anguish.
  2. 2 ↩French besogne (older verb 'to work/labor') is rendered as God's active work producing the prayerful disposition just described; not mere busy activity.
  3. 3 ↩stupides here is spiritual dullness/insensibility (16th-c. sense), not the modern pejorative 'stupid'.
  4. 4 ↩Speaker label E (Écolier/Enfant) rendered as S (Student) for modern catechetical dialogue clarity; M retained as Minister/Master.
  5. 5 ↩French idoines = fit/suitable/apt; paired with capables as dual fitness for right prayer. 'Telle disposition' points back to the Spirit-formed affection and zeal for prayer in the previous section.

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