temptation came he was deservedly left to his own weakness and helplessness, and denied Our Lord in the most cowardly and shocking manner. A sad experience records the fall of many formerly holy personages into degrading vices, because of their neglect of prayer in time of temptation. Had St. Peter prayed, had they prayed, God would have given them most efficacious graces to cope victoriously with temptation. The same misfortune will happen to us, if we, too, neglect prayer in temptation.
Prayer is also absolutely necessary to obtain the most excellent and necessary grace of final perseverance. What will all other graces avail us, if we do not obtain that of final perseverance? But we need, says the Council of Trent, a special grace of God to persevere finally in His friendship and die a good death. But this grace can not be merited even by the greatest saints. No one can claim a right to it. This is a terrible truth; for many who had a long time led a holy life and edified the whole Church did not persevere, but fell into sin and died in sin! But that grace of graces — final perseverance, which we can not merit or lay claim to on account of previous good works, we can surely obtain, says St. Augustine, "by daily prayer." But "we must pray for
