Of other motives to Prayer adopted by many; namely, many Ceremonies,

The useless joys and the imperfection of attachment, in which many persons are involved, in the matter of Prayer,

- are perhaps in some degree excusable, because they are

indulged in somewhat innocently. But the great reliance which some have on a variety of Ceremonies invented by persons of unenlightened minds, deficient in the simplicity of faith, is utterly intolerable. I pass by those ceremonies which comprise certain strange words or phrases signifying nothing, and other matters, not of a sacred character, which. an ignorant, rude, and suspicious people intermingle with their prayers. These are clearly evil and involve sin, and many of them imply a secret compact with Satan, whereby men provoke God to anger and not to mercy. I donot mean to speak of these, but only of those ceremonies, which being

not of this suspicious class, many persons nowadays adopt

in their prayers through an indiscrete devotion. People attribute such efficacy to them; and have such faith in the forms and ceremonies which they throw round their prayers and spiritual exercises, that they imagine their prayers are useless, and unheard by God, if they fail in any one of these singularities, or overstep these arbitrary limitations. They have much more confidence in these forms than they have in real earnest prayer; and this is a great dishonour and insult offered unto God. For instance a Mass must be said with so many candles, neither more nor fewer; by such a priest, at such an hour, neither earlier nor later; on such a day, neither before

nor after. Prayers must be offered up, or visits made to a church so often, in such a way, at such a time, with such ceremonies or gestures, neither earlier nor later, nor in any other way. The person who is to undertake this must have such and such qualities. They believe that if any one of these ceremonies be neglected all is to no purpose. There are a thousand other absurdities of the same kind.

What is still worse, and not to be borne, is, that some people will have it that they have felt the effects of this, or that they have obtained what they asked for, or that they know they shall obtain it when all these ceremonious practices have been duly observed. This is nothing less than to tempt God, and grievously to provoke Him to wrath, so much so that occasionally the evil spirit is permitted to deceive such people, and to make them feel or see things utterly at variance with the welfare of their soul. They bring this upon themselves by the self-love which they manifest in their prayers, and by their desire to fulfil their own will rather than the Will of God. Such" persons, because they do not place their whole trust in God, will never come to any good.