Pope urges faithful to keep on praying as he concludes catechesis on prayer

Pope Francis urged the faithful to keep on praying even in difficult times as he concluded his catechetical cycle on prayer, which began in May 2020, on Wednesday, June 16.

He said even as Jesus prayed while he was dying on the cross, adding that “even in the most painful of our sufferings, we are never alone.”

“Jesus prays for me: each one of us can take this to heart. We must not forget,” he said.

“Even in the worst moments. We are already welcomed into Jesus’ dialogue with the Father in the communion of the Holy Spirit,” added Pope Francis.

He said “the most beautiful thing to remember” is “the grace that we do not only pray, but that, so to speak, we have been ‘prayed for.’”

The pontiff said Jesus “was not a philanthropist who took care of human suffering and illness: He was and is much more.”

He offered “total salvation, messianic salvation, that gives hope in the definitive victory of life over death,” said Pope Francis.

He said Jesus’ prayer “is intense” and “unique” and should be “the model for our prayer.”

“Jesus prayed for everyone, He also prayed for me, for each one of you. Each one of us can say: ‘Jesus prayed for me on the Cross.’ He prayed. Jesus can say to each one of us: ‘I prayed for you, at the Last Supper, and on the wood of the Cross,’” Pope Francis added.

He urged the faithful to never forget that Jesus prayed for everyone.

“We were willed by Jesus Christ, and even in the hour of His Passion, Death, and Resurrection, everything was offered for us.”

“With prayer and with life,” he said, “all that is left for us is to have courage, hope, and with this courage and hope to experience strongly the prayer of Jesus and go forward.”

The general audience, which was held in the Vatican’s San Damaso Courtyard, was Pope Francis’ final catechesis on prayer before starting a new theme next week. - LiCAS.news