God, yet in this our mortal condition, in this corruptible body which
weigheth down the soul, our reason does not perfectly control our vices,
and hence such prayer as this is needful for the righteous (_Of the City
of God_, xix. 27).

"Father, the hour is come; glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son may
glorify Thee. As Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that
He may give life everlasting to all whom Thou hast given Him.
And this is life everlasting, that they may know Thee, the only
true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom Thou hast sent."[187]

Rhythm in Honour of the Blessed Sacrament, said to have been composed by
S. Thomas on his Death-Bed.[188]

Adoro Te devote, latens Deitas,
Quae sub his figuris vere latitas;
Tibi se cor meum totum subjicit,
Quia Te contemplans totum deficit.

Visus, tactus gustus, in Te fallitur,
Sed auditu solo tuto creditur;
Credo quidquid dixit Dei Filius,
Nil hoc verbo veritatis verius.

In cruce latebat sola Deitas,
At hic latet simul et humanitas;
Ambo tamen credens atque confitens,
Peto quod petivit latro poenitens.

Plagas, sicut Thomas, non intueor,
Deum tamen meum Te confiteor;
Fac me Tibi semper magis credere,
In Te spem habere, Te diligere.

O memoriale mortis Domini,
Panis vivus, vitam praestans homini,
Praesta meae menti de Te vivero,
Et Te illi semper dulce sapere.

Pie Pellicane Jesu Domine,
Me immundum munda Tuo Sanguine,
Cujus una stilla salvum facere
Totum mundum quit ab omni scelere.

Jesu Quem velatum nunc aspicio,
Oro fiat illud quod tam sitio,
Ut Te revelata cernens facie,
Visu sim beatus Tuae gloriae!

(An Indulgence of 100 days for the recitation of this rhythm. _S. Congr.
of Indulgences_, December 20, 1884.)

X

Is Prayer Peculiar to Rational Creatures?

Prayer is an act of the reason, as we have shown above. And rational
creatures are so termed because of the possession of reason.
Consequently prayer is peculiar to them.

As we have said above, prayer is an act of the reason by which a person
pleads with his superior, just in the same way as a command is an act of
the reason by which an inferior is directed to do something. Prayer,
then, properly pertains to one who has the use of reason and who also
has a superior with whom he can plead. The Persons of the Trinity have
no superior; the brute animals have no reason. Hence prayer belongs
neither to the Divine Persons nor