Today is the feast of Holy Mother St. Teresa of Avila.
My favorite quote from her is, "Prayer is the trap door out of sin."
So many times people are told that if they are in a state of mortal sin they cannot merit any grace and their prayers and good works are not efficacious.
Nevertheless, it is important that the sinner should pray, pray as best as he knows how and as often as he can - even when he feels he cannot quit his sins. God never fails to hear prayer, especially the prayer to be free of one's sins, placing all of one's confidence in the mercy of God - one doesn't have to be perfect to pray. The idea of merit? Leave that to the Blood of Christ.
Pray, pray, pray without ceasing, this is how you will attain eternal life.
St. Teresa, teach us to pray.
Absolutely. And when one is so stuck in the mire of sin as to be unable to pray as one would want to to pray, one should have recourse to the Blessed Virgin in a prayer of humble supplication. Souls hemmed in on all sides by sin should pick up the rosary and quite simply begin to recite it, even if, at first, the recitation seems mechanical and forced. The simple repetition of the Aves will have its effect on the heart.
ReplyDeleteThe intercession of the saints should not be underestimated either. I often think of the prostitutes, all friends of the "maman" of Edith Piaf, who went on pilgrimage to Lisieux to ask Saint Thérèse to heal the little Edith. Piaf prayed all her life to "la petite Thérèse." Mystery.
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