“Whoever prays is certainly saved. He who does not is certainly damned”
—St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori
Teachers of the spiritual life never tire of emphasizing the importance of prayer. It is the “great dialogue with God,” as St. Teresa of Avila calls it. In today’s quote, St. Alphonsus strongly recommends it to us and even assures us that if we do not pray, we condemn ourselves. He knows very well that once prayer is neglected—which is already a temptation in itself—all kinds of temptations will follow, and it will become increasingly difficult for us to resist them.
At first, it may seem inconsequential, but we gradually become accustomed to praying less. We may replace our times of prayer with other activities and justify it, but therein lies the deception! If we reduce prayer to the point that it becomes a mere trickle in our lives, we will eventually abandon it altogether. Then our living relationship with God, whom we address in prayer, is cut off. Consequently, He can no longer properly communicate His grace and all that we need for our spiritual lives to unfold.
Perhaps in the early stages, we still have reserves of oil accumulated through previous prayer, but these will run out, and when the Bridegroom comes, we will not be ready.
If we analyze why religious vocations are abandoned, in many cases we will find that prayer was neglected and the rules were not followed.
Therefore, we must listen carefully to St. Alphonsus’ exhortation in both senses: as long as we pray, we will be safe on the path to salvation; if we stop praying, we run the grave danger of condemning ourselves forever.