Prayer, the Great Means of Salvation and of Perfection
Anonymous English translation, in The Great Means of Salvation and of Perfection, vol. III of the Centenary Edition of the ascetical works, ed. Eugene Grimm, C.SS.R. (1835–1891), New York: Benziger Brothers, 1886.
The treatise on prayer St Alphonsus thought the most useful of his books. Part II defends, against the Jansenists, that God gives all men the grace to pray. The other works printed in the same volume are not included. The footnotes give the Latin of his quotations.
- Introduction, necessary to be read
- Part I. The necessity, power, and conditions of prayer
- Chapter I. The necessity of prayer
- Chapter II. The power of prayer
- Chapter III. The conditions of prayer
- Part II. The grace of prayer is given to all
- Introduction to the second part
- Chapter I. God wishes all men to be saved, and therefore Christ died to save all men
- Chapter II. 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. Exposition and confutation of jansenius’ system of “delectation relatively victorious.” *
- Chapter IV. God gives all men 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: prayers