Theological Foundations new file

191 The Eschatological Direction “in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17, 28). 56 True prayer can be, therefore, reduced to the acts of faith, hope and love which flow to God from the altar of the human heart. They rise to the Creator like the pleasing odor of Noah’s sacrifice which he offered to God after he had left the ark (cf. Gen 8, 20-22). 57 Father Papczynski sheds some light on understanding and types of prayer when he speaks about feelings rising from inside of the Mystical Temple. He compares them to the singers’ voices: “Feelings that are well controlled give best praise to God like a harmonious symphony. Allow me to introduce a certain practice here, borrowed from the Royal Psalter itself, which is often used for this purpose. Look, how beautifully all the feelings make their way to the same God, even though they do so along different paths or, should I say, in different tones.” 58 In the psalms Father Stanislaus hears the voice of feelings rising to God in a choir. They resound with love (cf. 18[17], 2-3) and regret (51[50], 6), joy (20[19], 6) and sadness (6, 4-5), hope (31[30], 2-3) and fear (119[118], 120), desire (38[37], 10), resignation (143[142], 8-11) and gratitude (34[33], 2). The psalms give voice to the sighs of the afflicted (25[24], 17), the penitent (32[31], 5), the tempted (70[69], 2), the defamed (71[70], 13), the besieged (27[26], 1) and the deceived (13[12], 4-5). 59 As he concludes his poetic call to constant prayer, the Founder of the Marians brings to our attention the short ardent prayers composed by various saints. He also states that in our need, God Himself teaches us such prayers, too. Finally, he admonishes us: “Therefore, let the pious soul be on guard only so that it would not reject God by some grave fault. And let it not be overly concerned about similar matters because a king is followed by his musicians everywhere. If I should admit some- thing good to the ancient masters of good philosophy and accept some of their admonishments, allow me to make this confession with Tullius: There is nothing sweeter than a concert of virtues. This harmony is most pleasing to God, the Most High, who wants us to be perfect just as He is perfect.” 60 As we ponder the author’s thoughts on vigilance and prayer, we