The Book of Divine Consolation of the Blessed Angela of Foligno

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Chapter XXII. How That We Should Submit Our Wills Unto the Will of God, and How That Prayer Is Necessary for the Obtaining of All Mercies


Thou seest, therefore, that when our Saviour Christ prayed, He did submit His will unto that of the Father. Do thou follow His example. Afterwards He prayed again when He said, "Father, into Thy hands I commit My spirit." But wherefore should I repeat more things, seeing that His whole life was a prayer, inasmuch as He was continually engaged in making known and manifesting both God and Himself. Shall we say that Christ prayed in vain? Then wherefore art thou neglectful, seeing that nothing is obtained without prayer? Forasmuch as Christ, true God and Man, prayed not for Himself, but that thou mightest have an example of true prayer, it is needful that thou shouldst pray if thou desirest aught. For without prayer canst thou obtain nothing. If He who was actually God would accept nothing without having prayed and asked for it, how darest thou, miserable creature, hope to receive without supplication and prayer?

Now thou knowest well that without the divine light and grace none are saved; through the divine light doth man start out and progress upon the right way. Therefore if thou desirest this divine light thou must pray; and if thou hast begun to make progress and desirest the light to be increased in thee, thou must pray; and if thou hast attained unto the highest perfection and desirest to be yet more enlightened in order that thou mayest remain in that state, thou must pray. Pray, if thou desirest faith; pray if thou desirest hope; pray if thou desirest charity, or poverty, or obedience, or chastity; pray if thou desirest any virtue whatsoever.

The way in which thou must pray is this: thou must read the Book of the Life of Christ Jesus, which life was poverty, suffering, contempt, and true obedience. When thou shalt be fully entered into this life and shalt have profited thereby, thou wilt be afflicted by many tribulations of the world, the flesh, and the devil. In many divers ways will they molest thee and horribly persecute thee, and if thou wilt overcome thou must pray. When thy soul desireth to pray it behoveth thee to be both mentally and bodily clean, and thou must bethink thyself well of all the evil and the good which thou hast done, examining the intention of thy good deeds, thy fastings, prayers, tears, and other things, and reflecting how that thou hast done but little of God's work, and even that little without reverence and faultily, and hast done evil with great diligence. Confess thy sins and acknowledge them readily, repenting of them abundantly. And through this confession of the heart and contrition of the soul thou wilt find cleanliness, and thus wilt thou pray like unto the publican and not like unto the Pharisee, and by prayer thou shalt be enlightened.

All who desire to receive the Holy Spirit must pray; for on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit descended not upon the disciples save when they were at prayer.