But, as we have explained above, the _Lord's Prayer_ is spoken in the name of the whole Church. Consequently, if a man--while unwilling to forgive his neighbour his debts--yet says this prayer, he does not lie; for while what he says is not true as regards himself, it yet remains true as regards the Person of the Church outside of which he deservedly is, and he loses, in consequence, the fruit of his prayer. Sometimes, however, sinners are ready to forgive their debtors, and consequently their prayers are heard, in accordance with those words of Ecclesiasticus[252]: _Forgive thy neighbour if he hath hurt thee, and then shall thy sins be forgiven to thee when thou prayest._ "With the Lord shall the steps of a man be directed, and he shall like well his way. When he shall fall, he shall not be bruised, for the Lord putteth His hand under him. I have been young, and now am old; and I have not seen the just forsaken, nor his seed seeking bread."[253] XVII Can We rightly term Supplications," "Prayers," "Intercessions," and "Thanksgivings," parts of Prayer? The Apostle says to Timothy[254]: _I desire therefore first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made by all men._ For prayer three things are required: first of all, that he who prays come nigh to God; and this is signified by the name _prayer_, for prayer is "the uplifting of the mind towards God." Secondly, petition is required, and is signified by the word _postulation_; now a petition may be set forth in definite terms--and this some term _postulation_, properly so called; or it may be set forth in no express terms, as when a man asks for God's help, and this some call _supplication_; or, again, the fact in question may be simply narrated, as in S. John[255]: _He whom Thou lovest is sick_, and this some call _insinuation_. And thirdly, there is required a reason for asking for what we pray for, and this reason may be either on the part of God or on the part of the petitioner. The reason for asking on the part of God is His holiness, by reason of which we ask to be heard: _Incline Thine ear and hear ... for Thine own sake, O my God_;[256] to this belongs _obsecration_--namely, an appeal to sacred things, as when we say: _By Thy Nativity, deliver us, O Lord_! But the reason for asking on the part of the petitioner is thankfulness, for by giving thanks for benefits already received we merit to receive still greater ones, as is set forth in the Church's _Collect_.[257] Hence the Gloss[258] says that in the Mass "_Obsecrations_ are the prayers which precede the Consecration," for in them we commemorate certain sacred things; "in the Consecration itself we have _prayers_," for then the mind is especially uplifted towards God; "but in the subsequent petitions we have _postulations_, and at the close _thanksgivings_." These four parts of prayer may be noticed in