PRAY
345
PRAYER
Pudentiana are probably Potentiana and Praxedes.
The veneration of these martyrs therefore was in the
fourth century connected in a particular manner with
the "Titulus Pudentis". About that time a new
church, "titulus Praxedis", was built near Santa
^Iaria Maggiore, and the veneration of St. Praxedes
was now especially connected with it. When Paschal
I (817-824) rebuilt the church in its present form he
translated to it the bones of Sts. Praxedes, Poten-
tiana, and other martyrs. St. Pudentiana's feast is
observed on 19 May, St. Praxedes's on 21 July.
Ada SS., IV May, 299 sq.; Bibl. hagiogr. lat.. II, 1007, 1017; DUFOURCQ. Les Gesta marlyrum romains, I (Paris, 1900). 127-30; De Waal, Der Titulus Praxedis in Rom. Qtmrtalschrift, XIX (1905). Arch., 169 sqq.; De Rossi, Musaici delle chiese di Roma (Rome. 1899). plate X (Santa Pudenziana). plate XXV (Santa Prassede) ; Marucchi, Basiliques et iglises de Rome (Rome, 1909), 323 sqq., 364 sqq.
J. P. KiRSCH.
Pray, George, abbot, canon, librarian of the Uni- versity library of Buda, and important Hungarian his- torian, b. atfirsekujvdr, 11 Sept., 1723; d. in Pesth, 23 Sept., 1801. His family came from the Tyrol. He studied in Pozsony, entered the Society of Jesus in 174.5, .spent two years in the Jesuit college (St. Ann's) in Vienna, and completed his higher studies at Nagy- Szombat. He taught at Nagy-Vdrad, Trencsen, Nagy- Szombat, and Pozsony. In 17.54 he was ordained and continued teaching in Rozsnyo and in the Theresianmn at Vienna, where he was professor of political science and, at the same time, tutor to the Princes of Salm. He was professor in Gyor (1758), Nagy-Szorabat (1759), and Buda (1760), where, among other subjects, he lectured on moral theology. After the suppression of the Jesuits (1773) he went to the Archdiocese of Gran, and Maria Theresa appointed him imperial historiographer, with a yearly income of 400 florins. When the University of Nagy-Szombat was transferred to Pesth (1777), Pray was given charge of the library; he resigned this position in 1780, but resumed it in 1784. During this year he surrendered his manuscripts and collection of documents to the university library for a life annuity of 400 florins. He became canon in Grosswardein (1790), and was sent by the chapter as its representative to the Hungarian Reichstag. Later he became Abbot of Tormowa. His literary activity embraced the hi.story of Hungary, especially the earlier centuries, the history of the Catholic Church in Hun- gary, and editing the sources of Hungarian history. He was the first to draw attention to the oldest coherent text in the Hungarian language, "Oratio funebris", dating probably from 1199, which was called after him "The Pray-codex". Among his works maybe men- tioned: "Annales veteres Hunnorum, Avarorum et Hungarorum, 210 ad 997" (Vienna, 1761); "Annales regum Hungaria;, 997-1564" (5 vols., Vienna, 1763- 70); "VitaS. Elisabethse " (Vienna, 1770); "Specimen Hierarchia; Hungarise" (2 vols., Presburg, 1776-9).
Szi.vNVEi in MngyaT irdk llele H munkdi (Life and works of Hungarian writers), XI. where the bibliography of his works and matter concerning him are collected. ,
A. AldAsy.
Prayer, Apostleship of. See Apo.stle.ship of Prayer.
Prayer (Gr. eixecOat, Lat. precari, Fr. prier, to plead, to beg, to ask earnestly), an act of the virtue of religion which consists in asking proper gifts or graces from God. In a more general sense it is the application of the mind to Divine things, not merely to acquire a kno%vledge of them but to make use of such knowledge as a means of union with God. This may be done by acts of praise and thanksgiving, but petition is the principal act of prayer. The words used to express it in Scripture are: to call upon (Gen., iv, 26); to intercede (,Job, xxii, 10); to meditate (Is., liii, 10); to consult (I Kings, xxviii, 6); to beseech (Ex., xxxii, 11); and, very commonly, to cry out to. The Fathers speak of it as the elevation of the mind
to God with a view to asking proper things from Him
(St. John Damascene, "De fide", III, xxiv, in P. G.,
XCIV, 1090) ; communing and conversing with God
(St. Gregory of Nyssa, "De oratione dom.", in P. G.,
XLIV, 1125); talking with God (St. John Chrysos-
tom, "Hom. xxx in Gen.", n. 5, in P. G., LIII, 280).
It is therefore the expression of our desires to God
whether for ourselves or others. This expression is
not intended to instruct or direct God what to do,
but to appeal to His goodness for the things we need ;
and the appeal is necessary, not because He is igno-
rant of our needs or sentiments, but to give definite
form to our desires, to concentrate our whole attention
on what we have to recommend to Him, to help us
appreciate our close personal relation with Him. The
expression need not be external or vocal; internal
or mental is sufficient.
By prayer we acknowledge God's power and good- ness, our own neediness and dependence. It is there- fore an act of the virtue of religion implying the deep- est reverence for God and habituating us to look to Him for everything, not merely because the thing asked be good in itself, or advantageous to us, but chiefly because we wish it as a gift of God, and not otherwise, no matter how good or desirable it may seem to us. Prayer presupposes faith in God and hope in His goodness. By both, God, to whom we pray, moves us to prayer. Our knowledge of God by the light of natural reason also inspires us to look to Him for help, but such prayer lacks supernatural inspiration, and though it may avail to keep us from losing our natural knowledge of God and trust in Him, or, to some extent, from ofTending Him, it cannot positively dispose us to receive His graces.
Objects of Prayer. — Like every act that makes for salvation, grace is required not only to dispose us to pray, but also to aid us in determining what to pray for. In this "the spirit helpeth our infirmity. For we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit himself asketh for us with unspeakable groanings" (Rom., viii, 26). For certain objects we are always sure we should pray, such as our salvation and the general means to it, resistance to temptation, practice of virtue, final perseverance; but constantly we need light and the guidance of the Spirit to know the special means that will most help us in any par- ticular need. That there may be no possibility of misjudgment on our part in such an essential obliga- tion, Christ has taught us what we should ask for in prayer and also in what order we should ask it. In response to the request of His disciples to teach them how to pray. He repeated the prayer commonly spoken of as the Lord's Prayer (q. v.), from which it appears that above all we are to pray that God may be glorified, and that for this purpose men may be worthy citizens of His kingdom, living in conformity with His will. Indeed, this conformity is implied in every prayer: we should ask for nothing unless it be strictly in accordance with Divine Providence in our regard. So much for the spiritual objects of our prayer. We are to ask also for temporal things, our daily bread, and all that it implies, health, strength, and other worldly or temporal goods, not material or corporal only, but mental and moral, every accom- plishment that may be a means of serving God and our fellow-men. Finally, there are the evils which we should pray to escape, the penalty of our sins, the dangers of temptation, and every manner of physical or spiritual affliction, so far as these might impede us in God's service.
To whom may u'e prai/.— Although God the Father is mentioned in this prayer as the one to whom we are to pray, it is not out of place to address our pr.ayers to the other Divine persons. The special appeal to one does not exclude the others. More commonly the Father is addressed in the beginning of the prayers of the Church, though they close witn
