Pray, Pray Always!
I.
HE who prayeth shall certainly save his soul; he who prayeth not shall certainly lose it. This justly celebrated sentence finds a fitting place at the commencement of a book which contains "the most beautiful prayers" of our modern Doctor, of him who may well be called the Doctor of Prayer.
May these words be borne in mind by all who are called to life everlasting; in other words, by all still living on the face of the earth! May they be indelibly graven on all hearts! Especially may prayer be the dearest occupation of all men's lives! For it cannot be too often repeated that: He who prayeth shall certainly save his soul; he who prayeth not shall certainly lose it.
It was neither lightly nor by chance that St. Alphonsus wrote these grave and solemn words: their truth had been impressed upon his mind during his long experience as a missionary priest, and in confirmation of it he has adduced many irrefragable proofs taken from Holy Writ and from tradition. We will give a few examples.
II.
Prayer is a sure and indispensable means of obtaining salvation and all the graces leading thereto. Convinced as I am of the necessity of prayer, I say that all books treating of spiritual subjects, all preachers in their sermons, all confessors in every confession which they hear, should attach the greatest importance to inculcating the necessity of constant prayer on the minds of their
