This morning's General Audience began at 9:30am (3:30am EST) in the Paul VI Hall, where the Holy Father, Pope Francis met with groups of pilgrims and the faithful from Italy and from every corner of the world.
In his speech, the Pope began a new cycle of catecheses on the Our Father, focusing his meditation on the theme: Teach us to pray (Biblical passage: Luke 11:1).
After having summarized His catechesis in various languages, the Holy Father offered particular greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance.
The General Audience concluded with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the Apostolic blessing.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today, we are beginning a new cycle of catecheses on the Our Father.
The Gospels have given us very vivid portraits of Jesus as a man of prayer: Jesus prayed. Despite the urgency of his mission and the urgency of so many people who attempt to lay claim on him, Jesus feels the need to seclude himself in solitude and to pray. The Gospel of Mark tells us this detail from the first moment of the public ministry of Jesus (cf Mk 1:35). Jesus' first day in Capernaum ended triumphantly. As the sun was setting, multitudes of sick people came to the door where Jesus was staying: the Messiah preached and healed. The ancient prophecies and expectations of so many suffering people were realized: Jesus was and is God with us, God who frees us. But that crowd was still small compared to many other crowds that would gather around the prophet of Nazareth; at times it was about humongous assemblies, and Jesus was at the centre of everything, the one who was expected by the people, the outcome of the hope of Israel.
Yet He disengaged himself; he did not end up a hostage to the expectations of those who had elected him as a leader. That one of the dangers for those leaders: they got too attached to people, they were not able to distance themselves. Jesus noticed this trait and did not take people hostage. From the first night he spent in Capernaum, he proved to be an original Messiah. In the latter part of the night, when dawn was breaking, the disciples were looking for him, but they could not find him. Where was he? Their search continued until Peter finally found him in an isolated place, completely absorbed in prayer. And he said to him: Everyone is looking for you! (Mk 1:37). This exclamation seems to be the clause affixed to a plebiscite success, the proof of the success of his mission.
But Jesus told his disciples that he had to go elsewhere; that it was not up to people to seek Him, but that He has always been the first to look for them. For this reason, he could never be rooted, but he had to remain continually on a pilgrimage through the streets of Galilee (Mk 1:38-39). He too was a pilgrim on his way to the Father, which is to say: he prayed. He was on a journey of prayer. Jesus prayed.
It all took place during a night of prayer.
In some pages of Scripture it seems above all to be the prayer of Jesus, his intimacy with the Father, that governed everything. For example, this was the case above all on the night of Gethsemane. The last part of Jesus' journey (absolutely the most difficult of the experiences that he had encountered up to that point) seems to find its meaning in the continuous listening that Jesus accorded to the Father. Prayer is certainly not easy, indeed, truly an experience of agony in the sense of an athletes' agony, and yet prayer is capable of supporting our path even to the cross.
This is the essential point: at such moments, Jesus prayed.
Jesus prayed intensely at public moments, sharing in the liturgy of his people, but he also sought out places to gather, places that were separated from the whirlwind of the world, places that allowed him to descend into the secret of his soul: Jesus was the prophet who knew the stones in the desert and who climbed up high on the mountains. The last words of Jesus, before he died on the cross, were words taken from the psalms, that is to say that they were a prayer, taken from the prayer of the Jews: he prayed with the prayers that his mother had taught him.
Jesus prayed like every man in the world prays. Yet, in his way of praying, there was also a mystery, something that certainly did not escape the eyes of his disciples. We find evidence of this in the gospels, a simple and immediate supplication: Lord, teach us to pray (Lk 11:1). They saw Jesus praying and they wanted to learn to pray: Lord, teach us to pray. And Jesus did not refuse their request, he was not jealous of his intimacy with the Father; he came precisely to introduce us into this relationship with the Father. And so he became a teacher of prayer for his disciples, as he certainly wants to be for all of us. We should also say, Lord, teach me to pray. Teach me.
Even if we have been praying for many years, we must still learn! The prayer of mankind, this yearning that is born so naturally in the depth of his soul, is perhaps one of the most dense mysteries of the universe. And we do not even know if the prayers we address to God are actually those that He wants to hear. The Bible also gives us testimony of inopportune prayers, which are eventually rejected by God: remember the parable of the Pharisee and the publican. Only the latter, the publican, returns home from the temple justified, because the Pharisee was proud and he liked the fact that people saw him praying, even if he was pretending to pray: his heart was cold. And Jesus says: this is not justified because whoever exalts himself will be humiliated, whoever humbles himself will be exalted (Lk 18:14). The first step to praying is to be humble, going to the Father and saying: Look at me, I am a sinner, I am weak, I am bad, everyone knows what to say. But we must always start with humility, and the Lord listens. Humble prayer is heard by the Lord.
Therefore, beginning this cycle of catechesis with the prayer of Jesus, the most beautiful and best thing that we all should do is to repeat the invocation of the disciples: Teacher, teach us to pray!. In this time of Advent it would be beautiful to repeat these words: Lord, teach me to pray. We can all go a little further and pray better; but just ask the Lord: Lord, teach me to pray. We do this in this season of Advent, and He certainly will not let our invocation fall on empty ears.
The Holy Father's catechesis was then summarized in various languages and His Holiness offered greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance. To English-speaking pilgrims, he said:
I welcome all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, especially those from Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America. My greeting also goes to the many groups of students and teachers present. Upon all of you, and your families, I invoke the Lord’s blessings of joy and peace. God bless you!
In his speech, the Pope began a new cycle of catecheses on the Our Father, focusing his meditation on the theme: Teach us to pray (Biblical passage: Luke 11:1).
After having summarized His catechesis in various languages, the Holy Father offered particular greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance.
The General Audience concluded with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the Apostolic blessing.
Catechesis of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the General Audience
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today, we are beginning a new cycle of catecheses on the Our Father.
The Gospels have given us very vivid portraits of Jesus as a man of prayer: Jesus prayed. Despite the urgency of his mission and the urgency of so many people who attempt to lay claim on him, Jesus feels the need to seclude himself in solitude and to pray. The Gospel of Mark tells us this detail from the first moment of the public ministry of Jesus (cf Mk 1:35). Jesus' first day in Capernaum ended triumphantly. As the sun was setting, multitudes of sick people came to the door where Jesus was staying: the Messiah preached and healed. The ancient prophecies and expectations of so many suffering people were realized: Jesus was and is God with us, God who frees us. But that crowd was still small compared to many other crowds that would gather around the prophet of Nazareth; at times it was about humongous assemblies, and Jesus was at the centre of everything, the one who was expected by the people, the outcome of the hope of Israel.
Yet He disengaged himself; he did not end up a hostage to the expectations of those who had elected him as a leader. That one of the dangers for those leaders: they got too attached to people, they were not able to distance themselves. Jesus noticed this trait and did not take people hostage. From the first night he spent in Capernaum, he proved to be an original Messiah. In the latter part of the night, when dawn was breaking, the disciples were looking for him, but they could not find him. Where was he? Their search continued until Peter finally found him in an isolated place, completely absorbed in prayer. And he said to him: Everyone is looking for you! (Mk 1:37). This exclamation seems to be the clause affixed to a plebiscite success, the proof of the success of his mission.
But Jesus told his disciples that he had to go elsewhere; that it was not up to people to seek Him, but that He has always been the first to look for them. For this reason, he could never be rooted, but he had to remain continually on a pilgrimage through the streets of Galilee (Mk 1:38-39). He too was a pilgrim on his way to the Father, which is to say: he prayed. He was on a journey of prayer. Jesus prayed.
It all took place during a night of prayer.
In some pages of Scripture it seems above all to be the prayer of Jesus, his intimacy with the Father, that governed everything. For example, this was the case above all on the night of Gethsemane. The last part of Jesus' journey (absolutely the most difficult of the experiences that he had encountered up to that point) seems to find its meaning in the continuous listening that Jesus accorded to the Father. Prayer is certainly not easy, indeed, truly an experience of agony in the sense of an athletes' agony, and yet prayer is capable of supporting our path even to the cross.
This is the essential point: at such moments, Jesus prayed.
Jesus prayed intensely at public moments, sharing in the liturgy of his people, but he also sought out places to gather, places that were separated from the whirlwind of the world, places that allowed him to descend into the secret of his soul: Jesus was the prophet who knew the stones in the desert and who climbed up high on the mountains. The last words of Jesus, before he died on the cross, were words taken from the psalms, that is to say that they were a prayer, taken from the prayer of the Jews: he prayed with the prayers that his mother had taught him.
Jesus prayed like every man in the world prays. Yet, in his way of praying, there was also a mystery, something that certainly did not escape the eyes of his disciples. We find evidence of this in the gospels, a simple and immediate supplication: Lord, teach us to pray (Lk 11:1). They saw Jesus praying and they wanted to learn to pray: Lord, teach us to pray. And Jesus did not refuse their request, he was not jealous of his intimacy with the Father; he came precisely to introduce us into this relationship with the Father. And so he became a teacher of prayer for his disciples, as he certainly wants to be for all of us. We should also say, Lord, teach me to pray. Teach me.
Even if we have been praying for many years, we must still learn! The prayer of mankind, this yearning that is born so naturally in the depth of his soul, is perhaps one of the most dense mysteries of the universe. And we do not even know if the prayers we address to God are actually those that He wants to hear. The Bible also gives us testimony of inopportune prayers, which are eventually rejected by God: remember the parable of the Pharisee and the publican. Only the latter, the publican, returns home from the temple justified, because the Pharisee was proud and he liked the fact that people saw him praying, even if he was pretending to pray: his heart was cold. And Jesus says: this is not justified because whoever exalts himself will be humiliated, whoever humbles himself will be exalted (Lk 18:14). The first step to praying is to be humble, going to the Father and saying: Look at me, I am a sinner, I am weak, I am bad, everyone knows what to say. But we must always start with humility, and the Lord listens. Humble prayer is heard by the Lord.
Therefore, beginning this cycle of catechesis with the prayer of Jesus, the most beautiful and best thing that we all should do is to repeat the invocation of the disciples: Teacher, teach us to pray!. In this time of Advent it would be beautiful to repeat these words: Lord, teach me to pray. We can all go a little further and pray better; but just ask the Lord: Lord, teach me to pray. We do this in this season of Advent, and He certainly will not let our invocation fall on empty ears.
The Holy Father's catechesis was then summarized in various languages and His Holiness offered greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance. To English-speaking pilgrims, he said:
I welcome all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, especially those from Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America. My greeting also goes to the many groups of students and teachers present. Upon all of you, and your families, I invoke the Lord’s blessings of joy and peace. God bless you!
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