The Great Means of Salvation and of Perfection

Introduction 8 Part I The Necessity, Power and Conditions of Prayer Chapter I 11 The Necessity of Prayer Chapter II 34 The Power of Prayer Chapter III 46 The Conditions of Prayer Part II Which Proves That the Grace of Prayer is Given to All and Which Treats of the Ordinary Mode in Which This Grace Operates Introduction 83 Chapter I 84 God Wishes All Men to be Saved and Therefore Christ Died to Save All Men Chapter II 104 God Commonly Gives to All the Just the Grace Necessary for the Observance of the Commandments and to All Sinners the Grace Necessary for Conversion Chapter III 124 Exposition and Confutation of Jansenius' System of "Delectation Relatively Victorius Chapter IV 157 God Gives All the Grace to Pray if They Choose, as the "Sufficient Grace" Which is Common to All Men is by Itself Enough for Prayer Devout Practices 190 Mental Prayer and Exercises of a Retreat Chapter I Mental Prayer 203 Chapter II The Exercise of a Retreat 235 The Choice of a State of Life and the Vocation to the Religious State 341 Counsels Concerning a Religious Vocation 341 Considerations for Those Who are Called to the Religious State 375 Answer to a Young Man Who Asks Counsel on the Choice of a State of Life 419 Advice to a Young Person in Doubt About the State of Life She Ought to Embrace 426 Discourse to Pious Maidens 432 Vocation to the Priesthood 445 Appendix 460 Hymn 463 Introduction Necessary to be read I have published several spiritual works, on visiting the Blessed Sacrament, on the Passion of Jesus Christ, on the Glories of Mary, and, besides, a work against the Materialists and Deists, with other devout little treatises. Lately I brought out a work on the Infancy of our Saviour, entitled Novena for Christmas; and another entitled Preparation for Death, besides the one on the Eternal Maxims, most useful for meditation and for sermons, to which are added nine discourses suitable during seasons of Divine chastisements. But I do not think that I have written a more useful work than the present, in which I speak of prayer as a necessary and certain means of obtaining salvation, and all the graces that we require for that object. If it were in my power, I would distribute a copy of it to every Catholic in the world, in order to show him the absolute necessity of prayer for salvation. I say this, because, on the one hand, I see that the absolute necessity of prayer is taught throughout the Holy Scriptures, and by all the holy Fathers; while, on the other hand, I see that Christians are very careless in their practice of this great means of salvation. And, sadder still, I see that preachers take very little care to speak of it to their flocks, and confessors to their penitents; I see, moreover, that even the spiritual books now popular do not speak sufficiently of it; for there is not a thing preachers, and confessors, and spiritual books should insist upon with more warmth and energy than prayer; not but that they teach many excellent means of keeping ourselves in the grace of God, such as avoiding the occasions of sin, frequenting the sacraments, resisting temptations, hearing the Word of God, meditating on the eternal truths, and other means, all of them, I admit, most useful; but, I say, what profit is there in sermons, meditations, and all the other means pointed out by masters of the spiritual life, if we forget to pray? Since our Lord has declared that he will grant his graces to no one who does not pray. "Ask and ye shall receive." (John 16:24)