St. Alphonsus Liguori taught that without prayer it is impossible to resist temptations and to keep the Commandments. The saint believed that the fall of Adam and the downfall of the rebel angels were due to lack of prayer. According to St. Thomas Aquinas Adam sinned “because he had not recourse to the divine assistance.”
St. Gelasius said the same of the rebel angels: “Receiving the grace of God in vain, they could not persevere, because they did not pray.”
St. Alphonsus pointed out: “St. Charles Borromeo, in a pastoral letter, observes, that among all the means of salvation recommended by Jesus Christ in the Gospel, the first place is given to prayer; and he has determined that this should distinguish his Church from all false religions, when he calls her ‘the house of prayer:’ My house is a house of prayer (Mt 21:13). St. Charles concludes that prayer is ‘the beginning and progress, and the completion of all virtues.’ So that in darkness, distress, and danger, we have no other hope than to raise our eyes to God, and with fervent prayers to beseech his mercy to save us: As we know not, said king Josaphat, what to do, we can only turn our eyes to Thee. (2 Chr 20:12)”
According to St. Augustine, due to human weakness, a person might be unable to fulfil some of God’s commands with his present strength and the ordinary grace given to all, but he can easily, by prayer, obtain such further aid as he requires for his salvation. The saint wrote, “In virtue of our strong conviction ‘that the good and just God could not have prescribed impossibilities,’ we are admonished both what to do in easy things and what to ask for in difficult ones.”
St. Alphonsus emphasized the importance of praying to God in the fight against impure temptations of the flesh. The saint wrote: “No one can resist the impure temptations of the flesh, without recommending himself to God when he is tempted. This foe is so terrible that, when he fights with us, he, as it were, takes away all light; he makes us forget all our meditations, all our good resolutions; he makes us also disregard the truths of faith, and even almost lose the fear of the divine punishments. For he conspires with our natural inclinations, which drive us with the greatest violence to the indulgence of sensual pleasures. He who in such a moment does not have recourse to God is lost. The only defence against this temptation is prayer, as St. Gregory of Nyssa says: ‘Prayer is the bulwark of chastity’.”
St. Alphonsus advised, “When you are tempted, do not trust yourself, and do not trust all the good resolutions and promises you have made, but rely completely on divine assistance. Have immediate recourse to God and the Blessed Virgin.”
St. John Chrysostom said, “As water extinguishes fire, so prayer extinguishes the heat of the passions.” St. Mary of Egypt, who suffered many temptations during her forty-seven years in the desert, but found relief in prayer, especially to the Virgin Mary. Praying to Our Lady is a very powerful means of combating temptation.
St. Paul of the Cross advised, “Pay no attention to any assaults of temptations you may encounter, no matter how filthy and disgusting they may be. Say that you would rather die than consent sent to them, and then don’t be afraid. Leave the thoughts alone, and don’t worry about them.”
St. Alphonsus said, “As soon as we become aware of a thought that has an evil look about it, we must dismiss it immediately. We must, as it were, slam the door in its face, denying it admittance into the mind, without stopping to decipher its meaning or intention. We must shake off such wicked suggestions as quickly as we would shake off fiery sparks that landed on our clothes.”
用祈禱擺脫誘惑
聖亞豐索訓誡我們，沒有祈禱，不能抵抗誘惑，和守好誡命。聖人相信，亞當的跌倒和天神的叛逆，是因為缺乏祈禱。根據聖多瑪斯解釋，亞當犯罪，「因為他沒有向天主求助」。聖格拉修斯對天神的叛逆，亦有相似的見解：「白白地領受天主的聖寵，他們沒有堅持，皆因他們沒有祈禱。」
聖亞豐索指出：「聖嘉祿在他的牧函觀察到，耶穌基督在福音中提出得救的方法，首推祈禱，是祂所立的教會與其它偽宗教不一樣之處。祂稱祂的教會為『祈禱之所』（我的殿宇，應為祈禱之所 ── 瑪竇福音 20:13）。聖嘉祿歸納，祈禱是『全部聖德的起點、過程及滿全』。無論在黑暗、憂傷和危難的情況下，沒有比我們仰望天主來得更有希望，用熱切的懇禱尋求祂憐憫的救助：可不是嗎？約沙法特王哀禱道：『我們也不知道該作什麼，我們的眼睛惟有仰望祢。（編年紀下20:12）』」
按聖奧斯定認為，人性的軟弱，只靠自身的力量和一般的聖寵，未能滿全一些天主的誡命，但祈禱卻能使我們很容易地領受得救所需的進一步幫助。聖人寫道：「我們堅信，『美善公義的天主，絕不會規定的不可能事』，我們被告誡在簡單的事情中應該做什麼，在困難的事情中應該要求什麼。」
聖亞豐索強調，抵抗邪念不潔的誘惑，向天主祈禱更形重要。他寫道：「面對不潔的誘惑，沒有把自己交付給天主是不行的！此種仇敵是可怕：牠攻擊我們時，把所有的光取去，讓我們忘掉我們以往的默想，把本來定好的意向拋諸腦後，把信德及真理旁落，甚至對天主要施行的懲罰，置於不理。牠和我們天生的欲慾合作，推向追尋強烈的觀感歡愉。假如我們還不醒覺，仰賴天主，便會敗陣下來。要知道，我們那時唯一反抗的武器，就是祈禱！正如聖國瑞尼沙說：『潔德的防禦，就是祈禱。』」聖亞豐索續勸戒說：「當遇上誘惑時，別相信自己的能力，也不要相信以往定下的意志和承諾，只一心完全信靠天主的助佑，立即投奔天主和童貞聖母。」
聖金口若望說：「水能滅火；同樣，祈禱能熄滅我們的欲慾。」埃及的聖瑪利亞在她四十七年的沙漠隱修時，經歷無數次的誘惑，祈禱每次總能帶給她徹底的舒解 ── 特別是向童貞瑪利亞祈求。向聖母求助，常產生對誘惑強大的戰鬥力。
十字聖保祿建議：「對於你所遇到的誘惑的襲擊，那怕是多麼污穢、多麼厭惡，你清楚向牠說明：寧死不予任何允許！不用感到懼怕。把這些想法放在一邊，不要擔心它們。」聖亞豐索道：「當我們覺察到思想有凶惡的面孔時，立刻抹去它，給它迎面大力關上門，拒絕它進入我們的腦海，不要探討它的意義或意圖。有如我們趕快抖去衣服上灼熱的星火一樣，毫不猶疑地擺脫那些思想。」
