The Pontiff insisted on the need for constant prayer: “To pray continually throughout the day, even while working or carrying out the many tasks of life”.
Vatican City (09/06/2021 18:15, Gaudium Press) At the General Audience of Wednesday 9 June, held in the St. Damascus courtyard, the pope continued the sequence of catechesis on prayer. Pope Francis insisted on the need for constant prayer: “To pray continually throughout the day, even while working or carrying out the many tasks of life.
How can we pray at all times?
“But how do you manage to pray at all times? St. Paul, in his Letter to the Thessalonians, gives the key: It is ‘the prayer of the heart,’ which consists in repeating with Faith: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, who am a sinner!'” he stressed.
This “very beautiful” prayer can be repeated constantly and “adapts to the rhythm of breathing and extends throughout the day. Indeed, breathing never stops, not even when we sleep. Prayer is the breath of life.
God always remembers each one of us
“Certainly, putting these principles into practice is not easy. A father and a mother, caught up in a thousand tasks, may feel nostalgia for a time in their life in which it was easy to find regular times and spaces for prayer. Then come children, work, family life, aging parents… One has the impression of never being able to finish everything. One has the impression that it will never be possible to get through it all. And so it is good for us to think that God, our Father, who must take care of all the universe, always remembers each one of us. Therefore, we too must always remember Him!” Francis explained.
It is inhuman not to have time to pray
Prayer—which is the “breath” of everything—remains as the living backdrop of work, even in moments in which this is not explicit. It is inhuman to be so absorbed by work that you can no longer find the time for prayer. It is inhuman to be so absorbed in work as to find no time for prayer. At the same time, a prayer that is alienated from life is not healthy.
Finally, the Pontiff drew attention to the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to be celebrated on Friday, in which “the love of God [that] has made itself known to all mankind” is highlighted. Inviting the faithful “to look with trust at the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to repeat often, especially during June: ‘Jesus, meek and humble of heart, transform our hearts and teach us to love God and neighbour generously”. (EPC)
The post “A oração é o respiro da vida”, assegura o Papa Francisco appeared first on Gaudium Press.
