The third disposition is Confidence in the Divine Goodness and the Power of God to grant our requests. "All things whatsoever you ask when ye pray, believe that you shall receive; and they shall come unto you.' These are the words of our Blessed Lord himself.

The fourth disposition is Conformity to God's Will. We must be resigned to God's Will, if he does not think fit to give us exactly the thing we ask, knowing that if he sees that what we ask will be hurtful to us, he will be sure to give us something which is really for our good. "Which of you," said our Blessed Lord to his disciples, "if he ask his father bread, will he give him a stone? or a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or, if he ask an egg, will he reach him a scorpion? If you, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father, who is in heaven, give the good spirit to them that ask him!" †

The fifth and last disposition necessary is Perseverance, or "continuing to pray," for sometimes Almighty God does not grant us our requests at once, in order to try our faith, and that we may acquire fresh merit by the love and confidence we show in repeating them. For as a man, says our Blessed Lord, who asks his neighbour to lend him a loaf will not always get it the first time he asks, but if he continue asking, will in the end get it,nay, his friend will press it on him in order to be rid of him, so our Heavenly Father will grant us what we ask if we persevere in prayer, not to be rid of us, indeed, but to reward our humble confidence and perseverance.‡

Listen, my dear children, while I tell you again the conditions which our prayer must have in order to be sure to be heard by Almighty God.

* Mark xi. 24. † Luke xi. 11-13.

Luke xi. 5, &c.

They

are five:-Attention, Humility, Confidence in God's Goodness and Power, Conformity to his Will, and Perseverance.

ST. BERNARD AND THE COUNTRYMAN.

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St. Bernard was one day travelling with a poor, simple countryman, who, noticing that the holy man kept his eyes modestly cast down on the ground during the journey, asked him why he did not look around at the country. The saint answered that it was to avoid distractions in time of prayer. "Well," said the countryman, "when I pray I pray, and when I walk I look about." Have you, then, no distractions at your prayers?" said St. Bernard. "None at all," answered the countryman. "I do not believe it," said St. Bernard. "Now, let me make a bargain with you; if you can succeed in saying an Our Father without a distraction, I will give you this mule on which I am riding; but if you do not succeed, you will come to Clairvaux and become a monk." The agreement was made, and the countryman began to recite the Our Father, but, after a few words, he interrupted it and said, "Pray, father, will you give me the saddle and bridle too?" Yes, I should have given you mule, saddle, and bridle," said St. Bernard; "but because you have been distracted, you have lost all, and you must come with me to Clairvaux and become a monk."

TWENTY-SECOND INSTRUCTION.

The Lord's Prayer. Who made it. Its Division into

Seven Parts. The Introduction.

and Third Petitions.

Q. Which is the best of all prayers?

A. The Lord's prayer.

Q. Who made this prayer?

A. Christ our Lord.

First, Second,

Of all prayers, my dear children, the Lord's prayer is the best, both because it was made by our Blessed Saviour, and is therefore more pleasing to God than any other form of prayer, and because it is the most beautiful and complete prayer that was ever made, containing, in a very few words, acts of the most perfect virtue and the expression of all our wants. It was given to his disciples by our Blessed Lord himself, in answer to a question addressed to him by one of them, who said to him one day, "Lord, teach us to pray as John also taught his disciples." Our Blessed Lord, answering, said to them, "When you pray, say

"Our Father, who art in heaven, "Hallowed be thy name,

"Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. "Give us this day our daily bread,

"And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.

"And lead us not into temptation,

"But deliver us from evil.

"Amen."*

From that day to this, the Our Father has been always on the lips of our Blessed Lord's disciples. The Catholic child is taught to utter it as soon as he can lisp; young and old, rich and poor, learned and unlearned, all repeat it at their morning and evening prayers; the priest recites it many times in his daily office, and it forms part of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We must not forget, however, that, in order to say it in a manner that will please Almighty God, we must repeat it with the heart, and not with the lips only. Listen, therefore, attentively while I explain to you the meaning of it, in order that you may understand what you so often

*Luke xi. 1, &c.; Matt. vi. 9, &c.

repeat, and that, when you say it, the desires of your hearts may go up to the throne of God along with the words of the prayer. But, first, say it for me yourselves slowly and distinctly.

Say the Lord's prayer.

A. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Now that you have repeated the Lord's prayer can you tell me into how many parts it is divided? Yes, into seven. And what are they called? They are called petitions, that is to say, requests, which we make of Almighty God, or, in other words, things which we ask for. For the word petition means a "request," or "asking for something; " so that, for example, if any of you sent a letter to the Queen to ask her for some favour, I should say that you had sent a petition to her Majesty. But, notice, in the Our Father, before the petitions or requests begin, there is a short address to Almighty God, to show whom we are going to speak to, and to fill our hearts with confidence in his Goodness and Power. This address is as follows:—

"Our Father, who art in heaven."

Then come the petitions. The three first relate to God, and the four last to ourselves and our neighbour. Thus you see, the Our Father is divided into two parts. When we say it together, I say the first three petitions and you the four last.

Before I go on to speak of the meaning of these petitions, I will first of all, explain to you the few words which come at the beginning, "Our Father, who art in heaven."

Q. Who is it that is here called Our Father?
A. God.

You see, then, my dear children, that it is God whom we here call by the loving title of "Father." This one word is sufficient to fill our hearts with the tenderest love and the most lively confidence. For what have we not to hope for when it is our Father we address, and that Father is Almighty God? We speak, therefore, to a Father who loves us with an infinite love, and is consequently most willing to grant our requests, and who, being the great God of Heaven, is able to do for us whatever we ask of him. "Our Father, who art in heaven." In these two words are contained every ground for a Christian's hope. For in asking a favour from any one, on what ground is it that we ever hope to obtain it? It is only because the person we ask is good and willing to grant it, and also because he is able to give it us. If either of these two conditions is wanting, if we know that the person is either not able or not willing to give us what we ask, we do not think it of any use asking him. But when we say the Our Father, there is no room for any doubt of this kind. In the word Father we see at once the Fatherly Goodness and Mercy of God; and when we add, who art in heaven, we are reminded of his Infinite Wisdom and Power.

Q. Why is He called our Father?

A. Because He made us all, and loves and preserves us all.

It is Almighty God, then, whom we here address by the name of Father. But is it true that he is really our Father? Yes, it is most true, otherwise our Blessed Lord would not have bidden us call him "When you shall pray, say Our Father," &c. But in what way is it that God is Our Father? In

So.