Dist. 15, Part 2, Art. 2, Q. 3
Book IV: On the Sacraments · Distinction 15
Quaestio III. Utrum contingat satisfacere oratione.
Tertio quaeritur, utrum contingat satisfacere oratione; et cum duplex sit oratio, scilicet mentalis et vocalis, quaeritur, quae magis sit satisfactoria. Et videtur, quod mentalis:
1. Quia veraciter orare est, ut dicit Gregorius1, «amaros in compunctione gemitus, non ornata verba resonare»: ergo videtur, quod vera oratio et satisfactoria non sit in verbo et cantu, sed in lacrymis et fletu.
2. Item, Matthaei sexto2: Orantes nolite multum loqui, sicut ethnici faciunt; sed si vocalis oratio adderet ad satisfactionem, non esset parum loquendum, sed multum: ergo etc.
3. Item, oratio facit hominem tendere sursum3; sed ratio non potest ferri sursum, quamdiu sollicita est circa ea quae sunt deorsum; sed quando profert sermonem, intenta est circa quid creatum: ergo si oratio, quae magis fert sursum, est oratio mentalis, et ista est magis placita: haec est magis satisfactoria.
Contra:
1. Oratio est satisfactoria, quae est poenalis; sed haec non est oratio mentalis, sed vocalis; nam mentalis oratio est suavis, sicut dicitur Ecclesiastis decimo4: Muscae morientes perdunt suavitatem unguenti.
2. Item, illa quae est praecipue satisfactoria praecipue debet imponi a sacerdote; sed sacerdos imponit orationem vocalem, non mentalem: ergo etc.
3. Item, oratio mentalis, si qua est satisfactoria, est illa qua oratur cum gemitibus; sed haec est contritionis, scilicet plangere peccatum, et contritio dividitur contra satisfactionem: ergo talis oratio non est5 pars satisfactionis.
4. Item, plus laborat qui laborat corde et lingua, quam qui corde tantum; sed laborare primo modo est in oratione vocali, corde vero tantum in mentali: ergo videtur, quod vocalis sit magis satisfactoria.
Conclusio. Quaelibet oratio est satisfactoria, prae ceteris autem ea, in qua accenditur homo ad gemitum.
Respondeo: Dicendum, quod vocalis oratio ordinatur ad mentalem, et non e converso. Secundum hoc intelligendum, quod quaedam oratio est pure mentalis, quaedam pure vocalis, quaedam media: pure mentalis, quando labia non moventur, sed cor ad Deum loquitur6; pure vocalis, quando nihil cogitat in his quae dicit, nec in generali nec in speciali, ita quod referat intentionem ad sensum verborum, vel finem, sed cum orat, fabricat castra; et sic mentalis simpliciter excedit vocalem.
Alia est mixta, in qua scilicet orat mentaliter et vocaliter; et de ista distinguendum: quia aut verba illa impediunt affectum, quia sic inflammatus est, quod immediate fertur in Deum, et tali utilior est oratio mentalis; si autem iuvatur, utilior est vocalis; et multimaxime illi qui non sunt tales, et sunt viri spirituales, ad quorum affectus provocandos institutae sunt vocales orationes.
Si quaeratur, quae oratio sit satisfactoria; credo, quod omnis, quia nulla est, in qua non laborent virtutes animales; et quantum delectatur spiritus, tantum caro frequenter tabescit, et virtutes animales minus sunt intentae regimini corporis. Credo tamen, quod illa inter ceteras est satisfactoria magis, in qua accenditur homo ad gemitum, quia haec est, in qua Deus maxime delectatur. — Unde quia illud est gratiae specialis, ideo non imponitur a sacerdote, sed praeambulum ad illud, scilicet oratio vocalis. Et quia non est status in vocibus, sed ordinantur ad intellectum; hinc est, quod Dominus et Gregorius mittunt a vocali oratione ad mentalem.
Ad illud quod obiicitur, quod impedit, ne sursum feratur; dicendum, quod falsum est, immo excitat affectum tepidum, nec est homo divisus, immo vis inferior superiori cooperatur7.
Ad 1, 2. Ad illud quod obiicitur ad oppositum, quod vocalis magis est poenalis; dicendum, quod verum est, ceteris paribus.
Ad 3. Ad illud quod obiicitur, quod oratio gemebunda spectat ad contritionem; dicendum, quod verum est; sed super illam addit postulationem, sicut publicanus petebat a Domino in templo remissionem8. Et sic patet illud.
Sit igitur haec summa dictorum, quod omnis oratio ex caritate facta, si recte fiat, poenalis est et satisfactoria potest esse, quia nunquam est ita delectabilis, quin sit poenalis antecedenter, vel consequenter, vel concomitanter. Illa tamen inter omnes praecipue satisfacit, quae est magis gemebunda, et in qua maior clamor cordis est ad Deum pro venia peccatorum; haec autem in aliquibus est mentalis, in aliquibus vocalis.
Unde notandum, quod triplex est ratio, quare vocalis oratio est instituta. Prima et potissima est ad affectus accensionem. Unde Beda super illud Matthaei sexto9: Pater noster etc. «Non his solis verbis oratur, sed aliis contentis sub eodem sensu, intentione cordis, affectu simplici; quae enim dicimus non eum docemus, sed nos temporis orandi recordamur». — Secunda ratio est ad intellectus instructionem. Unde Beda ibidem: «Orationem brevibus verbis composuit, quibus nec opus esset loqui ad eum qui omnia novit, sed ut noster affectus, qui cum Deo agit, disceret res, quas oraret, non verba, quae diceret». — Tertia ratio est ad faciliorem recordationem. Unde Glossa super illud Matthaei sexto: Nolite assimilari eis «Non apud Deum agendum est verbis, sed rebus».
Et sic patet ratio institutionis orationis vocalis, quia propter mentalem est, quam Deus praecipue acceptat et illam magis ad remissionem et satisfactionem, in qua cor magis contra peccatum intenditur. Ideo perutile est peccatoribus orationes frequentare, in quibus fiat mentio de male commissis, sicut fuit oratio Manassae.
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Question III. Whether one can make satisfaction by prayer.
Thirdly it is asked whether one can make satisfaction by prayer; and since prayer is twofold, namely mental and vocal, it is asked which is the more satisfactory. And it seems to be the mental:
1. For to pray truly is, as Gregory says1, «to sound forth bitter groans in compunction, not ornate words»: therefore it seems that true and satisfactory prayer consists not in word and song, but in tears and weeping.
2. Likewise, in Matthew chapter six2: When you pray, do not speak much, as the heathen do; but if vocal prayer added to satisfaction, one ought not to speak little but much: therefore etc.
3. Likewise, prayer makes a man tend upward3; but reason cannot be carried upward, so long as it is occupied about the things which are below; but when it utters speech, it is intent upon some created thing: therefore if the prayer which carries one more upward is mental prayer, and that one is more pleasing: this is the more satisfactory.
On the contrary:
1. That prayer is satisfactory which is penal; but this is not mental but vocal prayer; for mental prayer is sweet, as is said in Ecclesiastes chapter ten4: Dying flies spoil the sweetness of the ointment.
2. Likewise, that which is chiefly satisfactory ought chiefly to be imposed by the priest; but the priest imposes vocal, not mental prayer: therefore etc.
3. Likewise, mental prayer, if any is satisfactory, is that by which one prays with groans; but this belongs to contrition, namely to bewail sin, and contrition is divided against satisfaction: therefore such prayer is not5 a part of satisfaction.
4. Likewise, he labors more who labors with heart and tongue than he who labors with the heart alone; but to labor in the first way is in vocal prayer, but with the heart alone in mental prayer: therefore it seems that the vocal is the more satisfactory.
Conclusion. Every prayer is satisfactory, but beyond the rest that one in which a man is kindled to groaning.
I respond: It must be said that vocal prayer is ordered to mental prayer, and not the reverse. Accordingly it must be understood that a certain prayer is purely mental, a certain purely vocal, and a certain one intermediate: purely mental, when the lips are not moved, but the heart speaks to God6; purely vocal, when one thinks nothing in the things he says, neither in general nor in particular, so as to refer his intention to the meaning of the words, or to the end, but while he prays, he builds castles; and thus the mental simply surpasses the vocal.
The other is mixed, namely in which one prays both mentally and vocally; and concerning this a distinction must be made: for either those words impede the affection, because it is so inflamed that it is borne immediately into God, and for such a one mental prayer is more useful; but if it is helped, the vocal is more useful; and most of all for those who are not such, and are spiritual men, for the stirring of whose affections vocal prayers were instituted.
If it be asked which prayer is satisfactory; I believe that every one is, because there is none in which the animal powers do not labor; and as much as the spirit is delighted, so much does the flesh frequently waste away, and the animal powers are less intent upon the governing of the body. I believe nevertheless that that one among the rest is the more satisfactory in which a man is kindled to groaning, because this is the one in which God is most delighted. — Whence, because that belongs to special grace, therefore it is not imposed by the priest, but the preamble to it, namely vocal prayer. And because there is no resting-place in the words, but they are ordered to the understanding; hence it is that the Lord and Gregory send one from vocal prayer to mental.
To that which is objected, that it impedes one from being borne upward; it must be said that this is false, rather it stirs up a lukewarm affection, nor is the man divided, rather the lower power cooperates with the higher7.
To 1, 2. To that which is objected on the opposite side, that the vocal is more penal; it must be said that this is true, other things being equal.
To 3. To that which is objected, that groaning prayer pertains to contrition; it must be said that this is true; but upon it it adds petition, as the publican sought remission from the Lord in the temple8. And thus that is clear.
Let this therefore be the sum of what has been said, that every prayer made out of charity, if it be rightly made, is penal and can be satisfactory, because it is never so delightful that it is not penal antecedently, or consequently, or concomitantly. That one nevertheless among all chiefly makes satisfaction which is the more groaning, and in which there is the greater cry of the heart to God for the pardon of sins; and this is in some men mental, in some vocal.
Whence it must be noted that there is a threefold reason why vocal prayer was instituted. The first and most powerful is for the kindling of the affection. Whence Beda on that text of Matthew chapter six9: Our Father etc. «It is prayed not with these words alone, but with others contained under the same meaning, with intention of heart, with simple affection; for the things which we say we do not teach Him, but we put ourselves in mind of the time of praying». — The second reason is for the instruction of the understanding. Whence Beda in the same place: «He composed the prayer in brief words, with which there was no need to speak to Him who knows all things, but that our affection, which deals with God, might learn the things which it should pray for, not the words which it should say». — The third reason is for easier remembrance. Whence the Gloss on that text of Matthew chapter six: Do not be made like to them «It is not with God to be acted by words, but by deeds».
And thus the reason for the institution of vocal prayer is clear, because it is for the sake of mental prayer, which God chiefly accepts, and that prayer more for remission and satisfaction in which the heart is more bent against sin. Therefore it is most useful for sinners to frequent prayers in which mention is made of the evils committed, as was the prayer of Manasses.
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- 1Vide supra pag. 368, nota 3. Gregor., X. Moral. c. III. n. 27. ait, quod mentem levare est in Deo animum per studia orationis attollere.See above, p. 368, note 3. Gregory, Morals bk. X, c. 3, n. 27, says that to lift up the mind is to raise the soul up to God through the pursuits of prayer.
- 2Vers. 7. Vulgata omittit faciunt.Verse 7. The Vulgate omits faciunt ("do").
- 3De minori cfr. Luc. 10, 41. seq.On the minor premise cf. Luke 10:41 ff.
- 4Vers. 1. Sensus est: cogitationes peccatorum sibi succedentes (morientes) perdunt suavitatem internae devotionis [cfr. I. Ioan. 2, 20. et 27.], ut S. Bonav. in Comment. super hunc loc. explicat. Cfr. Bernard., Serm. 44. in Cantic. n. 5. seqq. — De maiori vide a. 1. q. 3. seq.Verse 1. The sense is: the thoughts of sinners succeeding one another (dying) destroy the sweetness of inner devotion [cf. 1 John 2:20 and 27], as St. Bonaventure explains in his Commentary on this passage. Cf. Bernard, Sermon 44 on the Canticle, n. 5 ff. — On the major premise see a. 1, q. 3 ff.
- 5Codd. F G addunt satisfactoria sive.Codices F G add satisfactoria sive ("satisfactory, or").
- 6Libr. I. Reg. 1, 13: Porro Anna loquebatur in corde suo, tantumque labia illius movebantur, et vox penitus non audiebatur. Cfr. Serm. 283. in appendice Sermon. August. n. 2.1 Kings (1 Samuel) 1:13: Now Anna spoke in her heart, and only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard at all. Cf. Sermon 283 in the appendix of Augustine's Sermons, n. 2.
- 7Superius ante feratur ex cod. O supplevimus sursum.Above, before feratur ("be borne"), we have supplied from codex O the word sursum ("upward").
- 8Luc. 18, 13. — Inferius pro delectationis ex codd. O U X bb substituimus delectabilis.Luke 18:13. — Below, for delectationis, we have substituted from codices O U X bb the reading delectabilis.
- 9Vers. 9. — Glossa est ordinaria apud Strabum et Lyranum; attribuitur ab ipsis Bedae, qui tamen neque hoc loco neque in Luc. 11, 1. seqq. haec verba habet. Sententiam primae Glossae exhibet August., Epist. 130. (alias 121.) c. 12. n. 22; sententia secundae Glossae invenitur apud ipsum in lib. II. seqq., et Isidor., III. Sent. c. 7. n. 1. seqq. — Inferius verbis fabricat castra Alex. Hal., S. p. IV. q. 26. m. 3. a. 2. § 6, addit in Hispaniis.Verse 9. — The Gloss is the Ordinary Gloss in Strabo and Lyra; it is attributed by them to Beda, who however has these words neither in this place nor on Luke 11:1 ff. The sense of the first Gloss is given by Augustine, Letter 130 (otherwise 121), c. 12, n. 22; the sense of the second Gloss is found in him in book II ff., and Isidore, Sentences bk. III, c. 7, n. 1 ff. — Below, at the words fabricat castra ("builds castles"), Alexander of Hales, Summa pt. IV, q. 26, m. 3, a. 2, § 6, adds in Hispaniis ("in Spain"). ---