And he spoke a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
All Commentaries on Luke 18:1 Go To Luke 18
Cornelius a Lapide
AD 1637
s6 , 7.—And the Lord said, hear what the, &c. "God," says Theophylact, "is the leader, the judge and the vindicator of all righteousness." So David on Psalm 34:17, "The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth." The Arabic has, "Hear what the unjust judge said; and shall not God more rightly avenge His own elect who cry to Him day and night?" So Sirach 35:21 , 22; Revelation 6:9-10, where the souls of the slain for Christ cry to God demanding vengeance. They hear from Him that they must rest yet a little while until the number of their fellow servants is completed. See what I have commented on the place.
Morally. Behold how great is the dignity, the need, and the power of prayer. The need, that by it we may be delivered from all the temptations and tribulations by which we are every where, and always, surrounded. The dignity, because by means of prayer we converse with God, as do the angels. The power, because by it we overcome all adversities and hardships. "To pray always," says S. Chrysostom (Book ii. of Prayer) "is the work of angels, who, wholly intent upon God, teach us while we pray to forget our human nature, and to have no regard to things present, but to conceive of ourselves as standing in the midst of angels, and performing the same sacrifice with them." He adds, "Satan does not venture to come too near to a soul fortified by prayer, for he fears the strength and fortitude which prayer confers. Prayer supports the soul more than food supports the body." And (Book i.), "As the sun gives light to the body, so does prayer to the soul. If it be a loss to a blind man not to see the sun, how much greater a loss is it to a Christian not to pray assiduously, nor to introduce the light of Christ into his soul by prayer! By it we attain to this end, that we cease to be mortal and of time. By nature we are mortal, but by pray and our life with God, we pass to the life immortal. For it is inevitable that he who holds communion with God, should come out superior to death and to all that is subject to corruption."
