3/19/2024 0 Comments St lar saint lazarus prayerThe second spiritual lesson from Pope Francis: silence. Looking to God, we offer our first step, an indication of our desire to draw closer to Him and, like Thérèse, we may be assured that God already looks at us with love and "always understands" us, whatever our silent or vocal prayer may be. Thérèse likely would have understood our modern expression, "Out of sight, out of mind," perhaps changing the phrase to "in sight, in mind,"-or even more appropriately, "In sight, in heart." Her simple gaze nourished her heart-to-heart friendship with God. For me, prayer is an aspiration of the heart, it is a simple glance directed to heaven…." St. Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897) describes in her autobiography, Story of a Soul, "I say very simply to God what I wish to say, without composing beautiful sentences, and He always understands me. Prayer can be so simple that it requires only a look directed to heaven as St. 2672) the Holy Spirit: "Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love" (CCC, no. 18:9-14), or the prayer to the "interior Master of Christian prayer," (CCC, no. At times, just a word will suffice at others, a sentence, such as the prayer of the publican: "Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner" (Lk. From his window, he yelled, "Help!" The circumstances did not call for an eloquent or lengthy speech, but rather, just a single word. The anonymous fourteenth century author of The Cloud of Unknowing illustrated this point by giving us an image of a man whose house was burning. Our Lord reminds us: "When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases…." (Mt. The first lesson about prayer that Pope Francis witnessed to that March evening: simplicity. As they put into words the ineffable mystery of Divine intimacy, they, along with Pope Francis, paint a portrait of our loving God who seeks us out and desires our ever-deepening friendship. These have been articulated in similar ways through the centuries by saints such as Augustine, Benedict of Nursia, Teresa of Avila, Thérèse of Lisieux, Edith Stein, Pope John Paul II, and countless holy men and women who present prayer's panorama-glimpses of the heavenly light they beheld and the expressions of Divine love they encountered. Before wishing us a good night, he asked again, "Pray for me."Īlthough the Holy Father's request and prayers lasted only briefly, they presented us with enduring images and lessons about the meaning and importance of prayer. As we fixed our gaze on our new Holy Father, he, in turn, requested that we redirect our attention to God: "I ask that you would pray to the Lord that he bless me…Let us say in silence this prayer of you over me." Pope Francis humbly bowed to receive the gift of our prayers, and, as if buoyed by our quiet petitions, he stood upright and blessed us. The Encounter with God in Prayer Today and Throughout the Centuriesįor a few moments on March 13, 2013, the whole world seemed to draw silent.
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