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Pillar 1

Prayerful

Breathing is made up of two stages: inhaling, the intake of air, and exhaling, the letting out of this air. The spiritual life is fed, nourished, by prayer and is expressed outwardly through mission: inhaling—prayer—and then exhaling. When we inhale, by prayer, we receive the fresh air of the Holy Spirit. When exhaling this air, we announce Jesus Christ risen by the same Spirit. No one can live without breathing. It is the same for the Christian: without praise and mission there is no Christian life.

— Pope Francis ⁵

When we think of the saints, we imagine them as spiritual giants. Some, like St. Vincent Ferrer, cast their nets far and wide and converted thousands. Some, like St. Boniface and St. Patrick, transformed entire nations from paganism to Catholicism. Others, like St. Thérèse of Lisieux, cast their nets and rescued thousands without setting foot out of their convents. Martyrs, like St. Stephen and St. Ignatius of Antioch, won souls in every land by freely giving up their lives for Christ. As saints cast their nets, they performed wonders. Some, like St. André Bessette, worked miracles; and some, like martyr St. Thomas More, forgave their persecutors.

But we must remember that the saints, even though they did extraordinary things, were ordinary women and men just like you and me. They were effective evangelizers because they grounded their lives on faithful prayer. They enjoyed a deeply prayerful relationship with Jesus produced by grace. Saints accomplished so much because they knew where the source of their strength lay: “I can do all things in him who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13). The axiom “you cannot give what you do not have” fits the saints well. They could give Christ to others because their lives overflowed with him (see Ps 23:5). For two thousand years, the prayer life of saints around the world has been the source of countless conversions. Therefore, if we are going to evangelize well, then our prayer life must become a wellspring overflowing with the life of Christ.

St. Vincent Ferrer (1350–1419) was a Spanish Dominican. Like many in the Order of Preachers, Vincent overflowed with a talent to communicate the Gospel. As a faithful son of St. Dominic, he did not take his natural gift for granted but prepared himself before every sermon with study and reflective prayer. Before one of his sermons Vincent received word that a prestigious nobleman would be in the congregation. Perhaps because of nerves or anxiety, Vincent spent all his valuable time studying to prepare for the sermon and left no time to pray. When the nobleman heard the sermon, he was unimpressed. By the grace of God, the nobleman came to hear Vincent again, but this time his presence was unknown to the saint. Vincent’s preparation was his normal study and prayer. This time when the prestigious man of the world heard Vincent, he was profoundly moved. When Vincent was told of the two different responses to his preaching, he humbly and truthfully responded, “In the first sermon it was Vincent who preached. In the second sermon, it was Jesus Christ.” You cannot give what you do not have.

The story of St. Monica praying for her morally lost son, Augustine, has brought hope to parents for many centuries. Monica’s example demonstrates what prayer for conversion must look like—the prayer must have passion, purpose, and perseverance. For seventeen years Monica offered daily prayers to the Lord of Mercy with tears. As St. Ambrose told her, “It is impossible for the son of such tears to perish!” She focused singly on the conversion of her son. St. Augustine described the answer to his mother’s prayers as the Lord “called, shouted and broke through my deafness.” St. Monica could be the patroness of all prayers for the New Evangelization.

Passion must impel evangelistic prayers for conversion. The word “passion” comes from the Latin passio, which means “to suffer.” If you have family and friends not practicing the faith, which is probably everyone reading this book, have you felt pain and suffering and even cried over their loss of faith? If the answer is “yes,” then let me share some good news … it is precisely in that pain and suffering that we are nearest to the heart of our Savior. As much as you long for them to come to Christ, you can be assured that he wants it even more. As Jesus said to St. Faustina, “The loss of each soul plunges Me into mortal sadness. You always console Me when you pray for sinners. The prayer most pleasing to Me is prayer for the conversion of sinners.”⁶ So do not shy away from that pain or those tears; instead, let them make your prayers even more passionate.

A fourth-century Egyptian monk and disciple of St. Pachomius named St. Abraham⁷ (d. 372) was a man whose prayers were full of passion. After the death of his brother, Abraham was put in charge of the care of his niece Mary. With diligence Abraham raised Mary in the faith, but after twenty years her faith lapsed. Mary left Abraham and plunged into a life of sin. (It is amazing how all too familiar this story seems to be today.) For two years straight, Abraham prayed and cried for his niece. His sorrow was turned to joy when he found Mary, and they had a passionate conversation that led to her repentance. Mary returned with her uncle with the grace of not only forgiveness but also the ability to work miracles. She is now recognized as a saint. Let your passion fill your prayers for the lost.

Evangelistic prayers must have a real purpose. These are not prayers for health or material needs (of course we should pray for these intentions as well), but for the salvation of souls. They are passionate prayers offered for the grace of conversion. This might seem to be a no-brainer, but we must refocus our attention on what is truly important in our works of evangelization. While on earth Jesus did works of mercy, worked miracles, and taught often, but what was his mission? Jesus came to establish the kingdom of heaven. He came for the salvation of souls. If we are his disciples, then his purpose is our purpose. Our prayers should reflect this mission as well. Jesus told St. Faustina, “Call upon My mercy on behalf of sinners; I desire their salvation. When you say this prayer, with a contrite heart and with faith on behalf of some sinner, I will give him the grace of conversion. This is the prayer: ‘O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You.’”⁸ Do not let a prayer time end without offering up this purpose.

The young, beautiful Italian St. Gemma Galgani (1878–1903) understood the purpose of praying for conversions. Fr. Germanus Ruoppolo was with Gemma during one of her mystical encounters with the Lord. Gemma begged for the salvation of a stranger she had met in her home town. The Lord informed her that this soul was lost, and justice would be required for his sins. The young saint would not take no for an answer and continued to plead, “You have shed Thy Blood for him as well as for me. Will You save me and not him? I will not rise from here. Save him. Promise me that You will save him.” This exchange went back and forth with neither side giving in. Finally, Gemma won the Lord’s heart when she invoked the intercession of his Blessed Mother. Fr. Germanus heard Gemma cry out, “He is saved, he is saved! You hast conquered, Jesus.” Soon after there was a knock at the door requesting Father to hear a confession. The astonished priest reported, “I thought my heart would burst. It was Gemma’s sinner, converted that hour.” Our prayers for the lost will be filled with hope if they are strengthened with perseverance. As with most things in life, we do not achieve our desired ends with brief efforts; instead, success typically follows long-endured efforts. When we sincerely pray for the salvation of souls, we will face distractions, struggles, despair, and temptations to quit. The Apostle of Divine Mercy, St. Faustina shared a temptation she faced when Satan told her, “‘Do not pray for sinners, but for yourself, for you will be damned.’ Paying no attention to Satan, I continued to pray with redoubled fervor for sinners. The Evil Spirit howled with fury, ‘Oh, if I had power over you!’ and disappeared.”⁹ Do not give in! Push through, persevere with your daily prayers for souls are on the line!

An Italian Dominican nun, St. Catherine de Ricci (1522–1589) taught about persistent prayer by word and example. A well-known despicable criminal who had been sentenced to death was brought to the attention of Catherine. The thief had fallen into despair, was angry and hateful. He was closed off to any attempts to reconcile him to the Divine Judge before he met him face-to-face. The saint pleaded for the salvation of the criminal’s soul. She offered her prayers and to take on herself whatever inflictions were justly due for his sins. The sinner was so thoroughly changed that he went to confession in tears, was peaceful with his punishment, and even preached to the assembled crowd at his execution that they should flee from their own sins. St. Catherine taught, “We must bring to prayer a great confidence that we shall be heard…. When we desire to obtain a favor from Almighty God, we must go on asking for it until we get it; because He has determined the number of times we are to ask for it; and He will not grant our petition till that number is complete.” We must be like the persistent widow (cf Lk 18:1–8) with our noble supplication for souls. For the price of salvation might be our perseverance.

If our prayers for the grace of conversion for family, friends, coworkers, and even strangers have passion, purpose, and perseverance, then we can bring them to repentance. Pray for a heart like the Divine Redeemer, a heart for the lost. Have confidence that the Lord hears your prayers. Our Lord told St. Faustina, “By your entreaties, obtain for them trust in My mercy, because they have most need of trust, and have it the least. Be assured that the grace of eternal salvation for certain souls in their final moment depends on your prayer.”¹⁰ What a noble task the Lord has entrusted to us! Our prayers are the essential part of a soul’s invitation to come to Christ.