Catechesis of the Pope: prayer is the first way to love

Vatican News

In his catechesis this morning, in the field of General audience Held in the library of the Apostolic Palace, Pope Francis reflected on the relationship between prayer and the communion of saints. And he explained that “when we pray, we never do it alone: ​​even if we don’t think about it, we are immersed in a majestic river of invocations which precedes us and continues after us”.

When we pray we never do it alone

The Holy Father also affirmed that in the prayers that we find in the Bible – and which usually resonate in the liturgy – we see the traces of old stories, of prodigious releases, of deportations and of sad exiles, of moved returns. , of praise made before. the wonders of creation. In this way, Francis said, these voices “have spread from generation to generation, in an ongoing relationship between personal experience and that of the people and humanity to which we belong.” In addition, the Bishop of Rome underlined that “in the prayer of praise, especially in that which springs from the hearts of the small and the humble, something from the canticle of Magnificent that Mary raised God before her relative Elizabeth ”. In the same way – he continued – happens with “the exclamation of old Simeon who, taking the Child Jesus in his arms, says thus:

Good sentences are diffusive

On the other hand, the Pope added that good prayers are “diffusive”, that is to say “they spread continuously, with or without messages on social networks”. So it can be “hospital rooms”, or the various festive gatherings and even those “times when one suffers in silence”.

Prayers are always reborn

The Pontiff also recalled that “prayers are always reborn” because “every time we join hands and open our hearts to God, we find ourselves in the company of anonymous and recognized saints who pray with us, and who intercede for us. , as brothers and sisters, elder sisters who have lived the same human adventure ”.

For this reason, he said that it is not by chance that in the old churches, the tombs were in the garden around the sacred building, as if to say that the multitude of those who preceded us participated in one way or another at each Eucharist.

Naturally, Francis emphasized that the saints “are witnesses” that “we do not worship”, but rather “that we revere and that in a thousand different ways they refer us to Jesus Christ”, who is the “only Lord and mediator between God and man. “After recalling that in our lives marked by sin too, holiness can flourish, the Pope said:

At the same time that it showed that the Catechism explains that the saints “contemplate God, praise him and never cease to take care of those who remain on earth”, because “their intercession is their greatest service to the plan of God. “. For this reason, “we can and must ask them to intercede for us and for the whole world”. “We live communion in prayer when we pray for one another, said the Pope, and when we ask and offer prayers for various needs.” This is why “the first way to pray for someone is to talk to God about that person”. And if we do it frequently, every day, “our hearts are not closed, but remain open to others”. Meanwhile, speaking spontaneously in Italian, Francisco said:

Greetings in Spanish

By cordially greeting the faithful of our language, Francis invited, in this octave of Easter, to ask the Risen Christ, through the intercession of all the saints “to grant us the graces we need most to overcome difficult times. and to make our life, in communion with the whole Church, a praise pleasing to Him ”.

Feast of divine mercy

At the end of his catechesis, addressing the Polish-speaking faithful, the Pope recalled that next Sunday the Church will celebrate the Feast of Divine Mercy, instituted by Saint John Paul II. In this regard, Francis declared that his predecessor had recalled “that the liturgy of this Sunday seems to trace the path of mercy which, while rebuilding the relation of each one with God, also gives rise to new relations of fraternal solidarity between men” . And he added that man, indeed, receives the mercy of God, “but he is also called to” have mercy “with others.” And he invited us to ask “for the grace of forgiveness and concrete love for our neighbor”.