Pope Francis offers prayer for Advent

Pope Francis proposed to Christians that during Advent, they invite God to be present in their life with this prayer: “Come, Lord Jesus”.

It is, explained the Pontiff, a simple prayer that “we can say it at the beginning of each day and repeat it often, before the meetings, the study, the work and the decisions that we have to make, at important times. and when difficult ”.

The Holy Father made this proposal during the Mass he celebrated this Sunday, November 29, the first Sunday of Advent, in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican with 11 of the 13 cardinals created yesterday at the Ordinary Public Consistory.

Francis underlined that through this prayer “Come, Lord Jesus”, pronounced every day, “by invoking your proximity, we will exercise our vigilance”. “It’s a little prayer, but it comes from the heart. Let us say it, let us repeat it in this time of Advent: “Come, Lord Jesus” “.

In his homily, Pope Francis reflected on two key words suggested by today’s readings: Closeness and Vigilance. “The closeness to God and our vigilance. While the prophet Isaiah says that God is close to us, Jesus in the Gospel invites us to watch, to wait for him ”.

He explained that “Advent is the time to remember the closeness of God, who has come down to us”.

“It is also the first message of Advent and of the Liturgical Year, to recognize that God is near, and to say to him: ‘Come near!’ He wants to get closer to us, but he offers himself, he does not impose himself. It is up to us to constantly say: “Come!” Advent reminds us that Jesus came to us and will return at the end of time, but we ask ourselves: what good are these arrivals if he does not come into our life today? Let’s invite him ”.

Therefore, “it is important to be vigilant, because a mistake in life is to get lost in a thousand things and not be aware of God”.

The Pope drew attention to the fact that if God asks Christians to look, “it means it is dark. Yes, now we do not live in the day, but in expectation of the day, in the midst of darkness and work ”.

However, the invitation to look also contains a call to hope, for it also implies that “a day will come when we will be with the Lord. It will come, let’s not be discouraged. The night will pass, the Lord will appear; He, who died on the cross for us, will judge us. To be vigilant is to wait for this, it is not to let oneself be carried away by discouragement, it is to live in hope ”.

The Pope explained the nature of this vigil with this example: “Just as before our birth, those who loved us were waiting for us, now Love itself is waiting for us. And if they are waiting for us in Heaven, why live with earthly pretensions? Why worry about getting a little money, fame, success, all things fleeting? Why waste time complaining about the night when the light of day awaits us?

“Staying awake, however, is difficult. Sleep is natural at night. The disciples of Jesus, whom he had asked to watch “at dusk, at midnight, at the crowing of the cock, at dawn” did not succeed. And precisely at that time, they weren’t vigilant. “

In this sense, he warned that “there is a dangerous dream: the dream of mediocrity. It comes when we forget our first love and move on through inertia, only worrying about having a quiet life. “

“But without impulses of love for God, without waiting for his novelty, we become mediocre, lukewarm, worldly. And that eats away at faith, because faith is the opposite of mediocrity: it is the ardent desire of God, it is the persevering courage to be converted, it is the courage to love, it is always going to go ‘before’.

So, “how do we wake up from the dream of mediocrity?” With the vigilance of prayer. To pray is to turn on a light at night. Prayer awakens us to the warmth of a horizontal life, lifts our gaze upwards, grants us to the Lord ”.

“Prayer enables God to be close to us; therefore, it frees us from loneliness and gives us hope. Prayer oxygenates life: just as we cannot live without breathing, we cannot be a Christian without praying ”.

There is also a second inner dream, warned the Pope: “the dream of indifference. Whoever is indifferent sees everything the same, like at night, and does not care who is nearby. When you turn only around yourself and your needs, indifferent to those of others, night falls on your heart ”.

“We quickly start complaining about everything, then we feel victimized by others and in the end we plot everything. Today, it seems that tonight has fallen on many, who only demand for themselves and are uninterested in others ”.

Likewise, “how can we wake up from this sleep of indifference? With the supervision of charity. Charity is the beating heart of the Christian. Just as you cannot live without the beating of your heart, you cannot be a Christian without charity ”.

Pope Francis finished his homily: “Pray and love, here is vigilance. When the Church worships God and serves others, she does not live at night. Even though she is tired and downcast, she walks towards the Lord ”.