As he continues his catechesis on Christian prayer, Pope Francis reflects on why and how we should pray in all events of daily life.
By Robin Gomes
In last week’s General Audience, Pope Francis spoke of how Christian prayer is “anchored” in the liturgy. In this week’s audience, streamed live from the Library of the Apostolic Palace, he explains how prayer returns from the liturgy to the everyday situations of life, such as on the street, in offices and on public transport.
Basically, everything becomes part of this dialogue with God, which is prayer. “Every joy becomes a cause for praise, every trial is an opportunity to ask for help,” he says. “Prayer,” said the Pope, “always lives in life, like embers of fire … Even when the mouth does not speak, the heart speaks.”
Every thought, even apparently “worldly,” can be permeated with prayer, “which illuminates the few steps for us and then opens itself to all the reality that precedes and surpasses them.”
“Christian prayer instills an invincible hope in the human heart,” the Pope said, adding, “whatever experience we touch on our journey, God’s love can turn it into a good thing.”
Pray in the present, today
In this regard, Pope Francis quotes the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which says, “We learn to pray at times by hearing the Word of the Lord and sharing in His Paschal Mystery, but His Spirit is offered to us at all times, in the events of every day, to let prayer arise from us ”. “Time is in the hands of the Father,” says the Catechism, emphasizing, “It is in the present that we meet Him, not yesterday or tomorrow, but today.”
The Pope notes that there are those who look to the future without taking the present as it comes. They live in a fantasy world and do not know how to experience the concrete reality of today.
Prayer changes us
The Pope says that prayer turns the present life into grace – or rather, it changes us.
Prayer “calms anger, sustains love, multiplies joy, and gives the strength to forgive.” Grace lives and works in us; the problems we face no longer seem to be obstacles to our happiness, but a call from God, opportunities to meet Him.
“If you have an angry or unfortunate thought that brings bitterness,” urges the Pope, “you must stop and turn to God. The Lord who is there will give you the right word and advice to continue without negative bitterness. When a person is accompanied by the Lord, he or she feels more courageous, freer, and also happier. “
Who should you pray for?
The Holy Father invites Christians to pray always, not only for our loved ones but for everyone, even those we do not know. “Let us pray even for our enemies, as the Scriptures often invite us to do,” he says, adding “prayer tends us to love abundant.”
He invites us to pray for those who are sad, and for those who cry in loneliness and despair, wondering if anyone else loves them. Pope Francis points out that a Christian’s prayer works wonders by presenting Christ’s compassion for the poor.
In fact, Jesus looked with great tenderness at the weary and lost multitude who were like sheep without a shepherd. Compassion, closeness and tenderness, he emphasizes, are the “style” of the Lord.
We are all sinners beloved by God
Pope Francis goes on to explain that prayer helps us to love others despite their mistakes and sins, and emphasizes that the person is always more important than their actions. And Jesus did just that. He didn’t judge the world, but saved it.
The Holy Father wonders how bad and unhappy life must be for those who always judge and condemn others. Instead, open your heart, forgive, justify others, be close to others, have compassion and tenderness like Jesus, he urges.
“We must love every person,” continues the Pope, and to remind ourselves that we are all sinners and “individually loved by God at the same time.” In this way, “we will find that every day and everything contains a fragment of God’s mystery.”
God’s kingdom of justice and peace
The Catechism further points out that “it is right and good to pray that the coming of the kingdom of justice and peace may influence the march of history.” But for this to happen, “it is important to bring the help of prayer into humble everyday situations; all forms of prayer can be the leaven with which the Lord compares the kingdom. ‘
Finally, Pope Francis notes that we are vulnerable beings, but we know how to pray, which is both our greatest dignity and our strength. “Pray anytime and in any situation, for the Lord is near,” he urges.
“And when a prayer is uttered according to the heart of Jesus, that prayer obtains miracles.”