7. Continual Prayer
APROPOS of the Apostleship of Prayer, a few words on continual prayer will not be out of place. The Gospel says: " We must always pray and not faint," and St. Paul exhorts us 'Ho pray without ceasing." What does this mean? The Gospel seems to enjoin continual prayer. How can we "pray without ceasing"? We can not be always engaged in either vocal or oriental prayer. Father Grou, S.J., has a chapter on this subject in his book "How to Pray." He says: "The words of the Gospel ought to have opened our eyes to see the necessity of another kind of prayer, which is of such a nature that every Christian can apply himself to it continually. And what is this prayer? It is the essential, the most absolutely necessary part of prayer, that which alone draws God's attention on us, that which gives value to all the rest; in one word, it is the prayer of the heart. This can be made without any interruption. No other can. So it is evidently this that is of precept, and there is no need of making any restriction of which the words do not seem to admit. It is the prayer of the heart, unknown to the Jews, for which Jesus Christ upbraids them, and that God
