A Reflection from St. Robert Bellarmine

From one of the mailing lists I am blessed to participate in.

from "The Art of Dying Well"
St. Robert Bellarmine

To live well, thus to die well, one has to pray well. "Ask and it shall be
given to you. Everyone who asks receive," on condition that one prays well.
"You ask and do not receive because you ask amiss."

Those who pray well for the gift of living well certainly will receive it,
and those who ask well to die well will without doubt receive it. Let us
learn to pray well that we may live well and die well.

We must pray with faith: "Let us ask Him with faith." This faith should not
be understood that we believe with certitude that God will do what we ask.
This would be false faith and we shall receive nothing at all. Faith is
believing that God is able, knows and ready to do what we ask, if it is
fitting for Him to give and expedient for us to receive what we ask for.

Thus Christ asked the blind man: "Do you believe that I can do this to
you?" David prayed with faith when he said: "Who knows whether the Lord may
not give him to me." And God did not give him. Certainly Paul prayed with
faith when he said: "Remove the thorn from my flesh." And he did not get
it.

We must pray with hope and trust. Though through faith we should not hold
with certitude that God will grant us what we ask for, through hope and
trust we cling to the certitude that God might just really grant us what we
ask for; "Let us draw near the throne of His grace." Trust is born of
perfect faith: "Whoever says to this mountain, arise...and does not waver
in his heart, but believes that whatever he says will be done, it shall be
done for him."