The pontiff pointed out that “prayer is one of the most striking characteristics of Jesus’ life. Jesus prayed, and He prayed a lot.
Vatican City (16/06/2021 20:42, Gaudium Press) At the General Audience on Wednesday 16, concluding the cycle of catecheses on Christian prayer, Pope Francis dealt with the theme “Jesus’ Easter prayer for us”.
Prayer is one of the most striking characteristics of Jesus’ life
The Pontiff emphasized that “prayer is one of the most striking characteristics of Jesus’ life. Jesus prayed, and prayed a lot” and that “the Gospels testify that Jesus’ prayer became even more intense and dense at the hour of his passion and death”.
According to the Holy Father, these events are part of the core of Christian preaching. “The last hours experienced by Jesus in Jerusalem are the heart of the Gospel not only because the Evangelists devote proportionately more space to this narration, but also because the event of his death and resurrection – like a flash of lightning – sheds light on all the rest of Jesus’ life.”
Our Lord Jesus Christ totally immersed in prayer
“He was not a philanthropist who cared for human suffering and illness. He was and is much more. In him there is not only goodness: there is salvation, and not an episodic salvation – the type that might save me from an illness or a moment of discouragement – but a total, messianic salvation, which gives hope in the definitive victory of life over death,” he stressed.
The Pope then recalled that in the days of His last Passover, Our Lord Jesus Christ was totally immersed in prayer and also prayed on the cross “enveloped in the dark silence of God.” This “is the most audacious prayer, because on the cross Jesus is the absolute intercessor: he prays for others, for everyone, even for those who condemn him, even though no-one apart from a poor sinner takes His side. All were against him, or indifferent, only the evildoer acknowledges the power”.
On the Cross Jesus prayed for each one of us
Francis assures us that our salvation is accomplished on the Cross and that “everything is prayer in the three hours of the Cross. Jesus prays in the decisive hours of his Passion and death. With the resurrection, the Father will answer his prayer. Jesus’ prayer is intense, Jesus’ prayer is unique, and it becomes the model for our prayer”.
Jesus “prayed for me, for each one of us. Each one of us can say: ‘Jesus on the Cross prayed for me. He prayed! Jesus can say to each one of us that he prayed for me at the Last Supper and on the wood of the Cross. Even in the most painful of sufferings we are not alone, the prayer of Jesus is with us.
Conclusion of the cycle of catechesis on prayer
In concluding this cycle of catechesis dedicated to the theme of prayer, Pope Francis stressed that the most beautiful aspect to remember is “remember the grace that we do not only pray, but that, so to speak, we have been “prayed for”, we have already been received in Jesus’ dialogue with the Father, in communion with the Holy Spirit.”
“We have been willed in Christ Jesus, and also at the hour of passion, death and resurrection everything was offered to us. And so, with prayer and with life, we must have courage, hope and with this courage and hope feel strong the prayer of Jesus and go forward,” he concluded. (EPC)
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