REVIEW OF PRAYER—THE KEY TO SALVATION BY FR. MICHAEL MÜLLER


Imprimatur 1867. Published by TAN. Bought from St. Bonaventure Publications for $5.85 plus shipping. (226 pgs).


Ebook of an older edition can be found here: https://ia800505.us.archive.org/35/items/PrayerTheKeyOfSalvation/PrayerTheKeyOfSalvation.pdf


Length of Review: 2,821 words



DEDICATED TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS, THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY, AND THE HOLY SOULS IN PURGATORY


IN MEMORY OF KATHLEEN DONELLY (donkath) AND MATTHEW O’HARE (Matto), BELOVED MEMBERS OF THIS FORUM



This book is a lost gem in our benighted age, as its message that fervent and consistent prayer being morally necessary for salvation is something lost on us today. If you want proof of this, observe how little even the lukewarm pray, even when the kind of dire circuмstances arise that would have forced the proud in previous ages to their knees in petition.

During the present paranoia, see where the faith of many has been placed. They believed, starting in March 2020, that through accepting sanitary scrupulosity as a temporary, but acceptable norm that they could go back to living their “normal” lives. What blindness it was, and what blindness it still is! They have, in the words of the Psalmist, “trembled with fear, where there was no fear” (Psalm 54:6). This is ultimately on account of the sad truth that modern man values his perversely asserted independence from God so highly that he would rather obey the ridiculous dictates of psychopathic politicians and elites than to humbly implore God’s assistance when facing uncertainty.

But even among the faithful, I think that we do not pray enough, especially considering how easy it is for us to become attached to distractions and undue forms of recreation. I speak firstly of myself, but it seems to me that this is quite a common problem among today’s Catholics.

Therefore, the message of this little book is more valuable in our age than the age it was originally composed in. This work, despite its clear language and concise nature, is more profound and edifies more than the dense and eloquent teachings of the pagan philosophers, pre-Christian and post-Christian. It teaches that path of true wisdom that was either unknown, ignored, or outright blasphemed by those wise men of the world, be they a Plato or a Theodore Kaczynski, and reduces their high-sounding articulations to mere sounding brasses and tinkling cymbals in comparison.


Philosophy, of course, is not useless. Let us see how Academia handled this question in a time when it truly was Catholic. The later German Humanists of the 14th century saw the natural wisdom of Antiquity's great thinkers and poets as “…most precious material for cultivating the mind, an inexhaustible field of noble sentiment”, yet believed that such works “…should not be studied merely to achieve intellectual greatness, but as a means towards Christian ends” (Janssen, History of the German People, Vol. I, 63). Such ends were to gain “a fuller understanding of Christianity” and “the purification of the moral life”. One can see that the role of Virgil as Dante’s guide in the Inferno and Purgatorio reflects this well-founded sentiment. One such scholar from this era was the eminent Rudolph Agricola, who left for us these words of wisdom when he cautioned a friend of his against the danger of neglecting the reading of Holy Writ to study the ancients:

For the ancients either did not know the true end of life at all, or only guessed at it dimly—seeing it as through a cloud, so that they rather discoursed about it than were persuaded of it. We must therefore ascend a step higher, to the Holy Scriptures, which scatter all darkness, perplexity, and bewilderment; on them we must order our lives according to their teaching, and build up our salvation by their guidance (Janssen, History of the German People, Vol. I, 67).

This kind of advice ought to be taken in regard to modern philosophers as well, if their writings have anything useful pertaining to the moral or intellectual life. Though, it is to be said that they are worse than the ancients, for these modern philosophers had the privilege of being born after the Incarnation. Of course, it is acceptable to read a work that is actually against the Faith (ex. The Communist Manifesto) if one reads it with the end that one may better understand the errors it contains so as to better refute them and thereby defend Our Holy Religion. This latter kind of study is not fit for everyone, and even for the more intellectually inclined, I would say it is better to stick to studying what is good and true. We must be “wise as serpents and simple as doves” (Matthew 10:16) when it comes to the matter of how we spend our precious time. For example, say I only have time next month in my spare time to read Industrial Revolution and Its Future or the book presented here in this interview. Evidently, I should read Prayer—The Key to Salvation as it will be more conducive to my spiritual life. After all, a healthy spiritual life will result in far more wisdom than the world could ever provide. Fr. Müller cites the example of St. Thomas Aquinas, who “…confessed publicly that he owed his wisdom more to prayer than to his efforts in studying” (66).


Fr. Müller, touching on this theme in the chapter On The Necessity of Prayer For Seminarians writes of St. John Marie Vianney (to whom I have a tender devotion) in such beautiful terms, who had only passed away some years before the this work was written. He addresses the reader, but in particular seminarians, regarding the temptation of wanting to become learned, and enlightens them to the very same truth that I have just touched on. He writes of St. John Marie Vianney in a wonderfully poetic manner; I think that if I were to write a poem dedicated to the Curé and attempted something as vivid as his descriptions I would fall short, even if I put in a decades’ worth of work into it. He illustrates the Curé’s life as a great painter does his masterpiece, showing to his reader in real terms how true wisdom manifests itself:

Views and sentiments which are imparted to the soul by God produce a far different impression from those which are acquired by study. Doubt gave way, even in the most darkened minds, to the absolute certainty of faith. The words of the Curé of Ars were the most efficacious, because he preached from his inmost heart. His very appearance was a living proof of the truth of what he said. It could truly be said of him, that he was able to convince men even by his silence. When you saw that pale and emaciated face in the pulpit—when you heard that shrill, piercing voice uttering such sublime thoughts, clothed in the most simple and popular language—you naturally fancied yourself in the presence of one of those great characters spoken of in the Bible (69).

This is only one passage in which Fr. Müller speaks of St. John Marie Vianney. It was difficult for me to select one to represent his praise of this great saint; you will have to read the book yourself to discover the rest.


Much of the power of this work is due not only to the author’s humility, but also on account of his incredibly well-interwoven quotations from Holy Scripture and from the saints. When listening to this book for the first time, I found the style of Fr. Müller’s explanations of these words from Holy Writ to be a source of fascination and clarity. Whenever I return to this book by reading it or listening to it, these explanations do not fail to lose their hold on me, as I am pleased to revisit them over and over again so that I may not forget their insight. Here is a glimpse of what I mean:

Holy Scripture says of those who pray to God in earnest and in fervor, that they cry to the Lord. Thus holy David says of himself: “In my trouble I cried to the Lord, and he heard me.” (Ps. 119:1). And the Lord has promised to hear such a prayer. “He shall cry to me, and I will hear him.” (Ps. 90:15). Now to cry to the Lord means, according to St. Bernard, to pray with a great desire to be heard. The greater this desire is, the more piercing is this cry of prayer to the ears of God (118).

Every writer is said to have their own “voice” when they write, and Fr. Müller’s writing is clearly that of a holy priest. Whenever I listen to or read this book, I get a strong sense that he is speaking to me, as a spiritual father to a spiritual son, which is precisely the tone a priestly author ought to have. I can almost picture myself transported back in time to his day, sitting in a pew hanging on his every word while he preaches from the pulpit. In fact, his fatherly approach to providing the reader instruction concerning the matters presented in this book are some of its most touching and memorable moments. Here is one such example:

To pray for those who wish us evil is an extremely difficult act, and one of the most heroic charity. It is an act free of self-love and self-interest, which is not only counselled, but even commanded by Our Lord. (Matt. 5:44).  The insults, calumnies, and persecutions of our enemies relate directly to our own person; wherefore, if we forgive, nay, even beg God also to forgive our enemies, we give up our claim to our right and honor, thus raising ourselves to the great dignity of true children of God, nay, even an unspeakably sublime resemblance to His Divinity, according to what Jesus Christ says: “If you pray for those who hate, calumniate, and persecute you, you will be children of your Father who is in heaven, who maketh his sun to rise upon the good and the bad, and raineth upon the just and the unjust.” (Matt. 5:45). For with God nothing is more characteristic, nothing more honorable, than to have mercy and spare; to do good to all His enemies, thus converting them to become His friends, His children, and heirs of His everlasting glory (133).

An earnest Catholic cannot help but be moved by such words. The more he is moved, the more he will be motivated to act on this profound guidance. Humble words have a way of striking the heart of even the proud; and certainly I think it does souls well to read such passages as these, that do not give into mere sentimentalism. Instead, Fr. Müller pierces our sinful hearts in the proper manner by reminding us of our duties as Christians and the example of Our Savior, which we are called to emulate.

Here is another example of his priestly wisdom finding its expression in this work, in the chapter entitled On The Necessity of Prayer for Sinners. This excerpt is so powerful that I find it essential to quote it in its entirety, notwithstanding its length:

Ah, would to God that I could stand on a high mountain, surrounded by all the sinners in the world! I would cry aloud, at the top of my voice: “Pray, pray, pray! You will not die in your sins; you will be forgiven; you will be saved, if you only pray! God does not require that you should sell everything and give it to the poor; or be put to the rack, or to be nailed to a cross, in order to save your soul; conditions so painful as these He does not require of you; He requires the easiest in the world; all that He asks is that you should pray, and sincerely entreat Him to save you. He is still the same God; He is still as powerful to help you, just as merciful to forgive you, and to receive you again into His friendship, as He was when He said to the good thief; ‘This day thou shalt be with Me in Paradise.’” He will be to you the same powerful, the same merciful God, that he was to St. Margaret of Cortona, to St. Mary of Egypt, and to many other souls whom He has delivered from their sins, and even changed into saints. But you must avail yourself of His promise: “Amen, amen I say unto you, whatever you ask the Father in my name, he shall give it unto you.” (John 16:23). Jesus Christ has made this promise, and He will never fail to keep it. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but His word shall never pass away.” He alone is lost who does not pray; he alone will be saved who preserves in prayer. On the Last Day, all the saints in Heaven, as well as also all the damned souls of Hell, will bear witness to this truth; on that great day you, too, will bear witness to it, either with the elect on the right, if you have prayed during life, or with the damned on the left, if you have neglected to pray. Choose whichever lot you prefer, but choose in time (32).

Here is a superb proof of God’s pledge of His Love for you. If anyone has temptations to despair, or if you know anyone who is in danger of despair, heed these words laid out by this priest, who clearly had a great love for souls. Commit them to memory; read them over and over again, or have them read to you.


Another excellent spiritual direction given in this book is this next passage. The author, after relating the great number of times that saints have prayed throughout the day (he records St. Leonard of Port Maurice, for example, as having recommended himself to the Blessed Virgin two hundred times daily) adds these words to the reader, who will likely see it impossible for themselves to imitate such towering giants of prayer:

But how is it possible, you ask, for one to pray so often during the day? St. Alphonsus himself will answer this question. “Give me”, says he, “a soul that truly loves God, and she will know how to do it.” For a loving soul to think of her Beloved, and to converse frequently and familiarly with Him, is sweet and agreeable. But you will say: “I cannot pray as much as the saints have done; in order to do this, I should be a saint myself. If I cannot acquire the spirit of prayer unless I do as much as they have done, I must give up all hope of ever acquiring it.” Softly my friend; have a little patience! Rome was not built in one day. The saints did not acquire the spirit of prayer all at once; the practice of prayer was not natural to them either, at first; but they preserved in it in spite of every obstacle, and were at last raised to a high degree of contemplation (173-174).

Moreover, he provides clear and practical advice on how to achieve the aim of frequent prayer:

Should you have resolved to say five times in the day the “Our Father,” or “Hail Mary,” or “Lord, come to my aid,” or “Jesus, have mercy on me,” or “Jesus, give me the spirit of prayer,” or any other aspiration of the kind, you should be careful to make the number of ejaculations you have imposed on yourself; and as soon as you have acquired a facility in making the proposed number in an hour, raise this number to ten; and, after having succeeded in regularly making ten in an hour, increase this number again, and so go on until this manner of prayer has become natural to you, and even a real want of your soul. Should you at first feel no relish in making these ejaculations, continue, nevertheless, and by degrees you will, like the saints, be raised to a higher and more perfect form of prayer and contemplation (175).

We often read of the saints, and see in them the great heights of sanctity; but it is hard for ourselves to picture us as truly imitating their lives. At least in my case, I have found it inspiring to learn about the saints, but there always seemed to be something “missing” in my knowledge concerning them: How could I really live like one of them? Where was the “bridge” from my “normal” life to their lives, so intimately tied up with the things of God? It is simple enough, and this book has shown me that bridge; it is through fervent and consistent prayer.



I highly recommend this book; I cannot express further how it should be more widely known and read. Another thing worth mentioning about the TAN edition of this book is that the excellent work Conversing Continually With God (also called How to Converse With God) by St. Alphonsus Liguori comes with it, so you get two great spiritual books for the price of one.


God bless you all and I thank you for taking the time to read this review. Feel free to leave me feedback and suggestions.

Great post!

This bolded reminded me of some people I knew who undertook the reading of V2 docuмents to see for themselves "what errors?" and try to better understand "why the crisis?" - and lost their faith in the process. 

I downloaded the pdf and found audios of the book and am looking very forward to listening to this one - thanks for posting this!

(Also, looks like the video in your post is a bad link)

Glad you enjoyed it!

Excellent point about the V2 docuмents. The best and only guide I would recommend for a thorough analysis of those docuмents is the late Fr. Hesse. I was inspired to write those words after remembering what Last Tradican said in his analogy of people who are trained to differentiate from real and fake dollar bills by the Federal Reserve. He said that as they are shown only legitimate bills so that when they see fake ones they'll immediately spot the difference, so should we study Our Faith so that when we see what is false, we'll immediately see what's wrong with it. 

Yes, the issue with the video got sorted out. Thanks Matthew!