At noon today in Rome (6:00am EDT), the Holy Father, Pope Francis appeared at the window of his study inside the Vatican Apostolic Palace to recite the Angelus with the faithful and with pilgrims gathered in Saint Peter's Square.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
In today's gospel passage (cf Lk 11:1-13), Saint Luke narrates the circumstances in which Jesus teaches the Our Father. They - the disciples - already know how to pray, reciting formulas according to the Jewish tradition, but they also want to be able to experience the same quality of prayer that Jesus does. They can see that prayer is an essential dimension of the life of their Master; in fact every one of his important actions is characterized by prolonged periods of prayer. Moreover, they are fascinated because they see that He does not pray like the other masters of the time, but his prayer is an intimate bond with the Father, so much so that they themselves want to participate in these moments of union with God, in order to fully savour their sweetness.
So it is that one day, they wait for Jesus to conclude his prayer in a secluded place, and then they ask: Lord, teach us to pray (Lk 11:1). Responding to the explicit question of the disciples, Jesus does not give an abstract definition of prayer, nor does he teach an effective technique for praying and getting something. Instead, he invites his followers to experience prayer, placing them directly in communication with the Father, arousing in them a longing for a personal relationship with God, with the Father. This is the novelty of Christian prayer! It is dialogue between people who love each other, a dialogue based on trust, supported by listening and open to solidarity. It is a dialogue between the Son with the Father, a dialogue between children and their Father. This is Christian prayer.
In this way, he gives them the prayer of the Our Father, perhaps the most precious gift left to us by the divine Master during his earthly mission. After having revealed to us his mystery as Son and brother, with that prayer Jesus helps us to penetrate into the paternity of God; I want to emphasize this: when Jesus teaches us, the Our Father makes us enter into the fatherhood of God and shows us the way to enter into a prayerful and direct dialogue with Him through the path of filial confidence: a dialogue between the father and his son, between the son with his father. What we ask in the Our Father is already all done for us in the Only-begotten Son: the sanctification of the name of God, the advent of the Kingdom, the gift of bread, forgiveness and liberation from evil. As we ask, we open our hands to receive: to receive the gifts that the Father showed us in the Son. The prayer that the Lord has taught us is the synthesis of every prayer, and we always address it to the Father in communion with our brothers and sisters. Sometimes it happens that in prayer there are distractions but many times we feel the desire to stop on the first word: Father, and we feel that paternity in the heart.
Then Jesus tells the parable of the importunate friend, and he tells us: we must insist on prayer. I am reminded of what children do when they are three, three and a half years old: they begin to ask for things they do not understand. In my land it is called the age of whys, I believe that even here it is the same. Children begin to look at their dads and say, Dad, why? Dad, why? They ask for explanations. They pay attention: when the father begins to explain why, they ask another question without listening to the whole explanation. What is happening? It happens that children feel insecure about many things: they begin to understand halfway. They just want to attract their father's gaze upon them and this is the reason for the: Why, why, why? In the Our Father, if we stop at the first word, we will do the same as when we were children, attract the gaze of the father upon us by saying Father, Father, and also by saying: Why? And He will look at us.
Let us ask Mary, the prayerful woman, to help us pray the Our Father united with Jesus in order to live the gospel, guided by the Holy Spirit.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
With sadness, I have learned the news of the dramatic shipwreck that occurred in recent days in the waters of the Mediterranean, as a result of which dozens of migrants, including women and children, have lost their lives. I renew a heartfelt appeal for the international community to act promptly and decisively in order to avoid the repetition of similar tragedies and to guarantee the safety and dignity of all. I invite you to pray with me for the victims and their families. And also to ask in our hearts: Father, why?
They observed a minute of silence
I greet all of you, Romans and pilgrims from Italy and from various parts of the world: families, parish groups and associations.
In particular, I greet the Sisters of Saint Elizabeth who have come from various countries, the AVART International Organization for Mexican Art and Culture of the People and the young people from the Parish of Santa Rita da Cascia in Torino. I see a Uruguayan flag but I don't see any mate (a favorite drink of the Holy Father)! Welcome! I also greet the many Poles who I see here with their flag and also the group of Spaniards.
I wish you all a good Sunday and, please, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye!
Testo originale nella lingua italiana
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
prior to the recitation of the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
In today's gospel passage (cf Lk 11:1-13), Saint Luke narrates the circumstances in which Jesus teaches the Our Father. They - the disciples - already know how to pray, reciting formulas according to the Jewish tradition, but they also want to be able to experience the same quality of prayer that Jesus does. They can see that prayer is an essential dimension of the life of their Master; in fact every one of his important actions is characterized by prolonged periods of prayer. Moreover, they are fascinated because they see that He does not pray like the other masters of the time, but his prayer is an intimate bond with the Father, so much so that they themselves want to participate in these moments of union with God, in order to fully savour their sweetness.
So it is that one day, they wait for Jesus to conclude his prayer in a secluded place, and then they ask: Lord, teach us to pray (Lk 11:1). Responding to the explicit question of the disciples, Jesus does not give an abstract definition of prayer, nor does he teach an effective technique for praying and getting something. Instead, he invites his followers to experience prayer, placing them directly in communication with the Father, arousing in them a longing for a personal relationship with God, with the Father. This is the novelty of Christian prayer! It is dialogue between people who love each other, a dialogue based on trust, supported by listening and open to solidarity. It is a dialogue between the Son with the Father, a dialogue between children and their Father. This is Christian prayer.
In this way, he gives them the prayer of the Our Father, perhaps the most precious gift left to us by the divine Master during his earthly mission. After having revealed to us his mystery as Son and brother, with that prayer Jesus helps us to penetrate into the paternity of God; I want to emphasize this: when Jesus teaches us, the Our Father makes us enter into the fatherhood of God and shows us the way to enter into a prayerful and direct dialogue with Him through the path of filial confidence: a dialogue between the father and his son, between the son with his father. What we ask in the Our Father is already all done for us in the Only-begotten Son: the sanctification of the name of God, the advent of the Kingdom, the gift of bread, forgiveness and liberation from evil. As we ask, we open our hands to receive: to receive the gifts that the Father showed us in the Son. The prayer that the Lord has taught us is the synthesis of every prayer, and we always address it to the Father in communion with our brothers and sisters. Sometimes it happens that in prayer there are distractions but many times we feel the desire to stop on the first word: Father, and we feel that paternity in the heart.
Then Jesus tells the parable of the importunate friend, and he tells us: we must insist on prayer. I am reminded of what children do when they are three, three and a half years old: they begin to ask for things they do not understand. In my land it is called the age of whys, I believe that even here it is the same. Children begin to look at their dads and say, Dad, why? Dad, why? They ask for explanations. They pay attention: when the father begins to explain why, they ask another question without listening to the whole explanation. What is happening? It happens that children feel insecure about many things: they begin to understand halfway. They just want to attract their father's gaze upon them and this is the reason for the: Why, why, why? In the Our Father, if we stop at the first word, we will do the same as when we were children, attract the gaze of the father upon us by saying Father, Father, and also by saying: Why? And He will look at us.
Let us ask Mary, the prayerful woman, to help us pray the Our Father united with Jesus in order to live the gospel, guided by the Holy Spirit.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
With sadness, I have learned the news of the dramatic shipwreck that occurred in recent days in the waters of the Mediterranean, as a result of which dozens of migrants, including women and children, have lost their lives. I renew a heartfelt appeal for the international community to act promptly and decisively in order to avoid the repetition of similar tragedies and to guarantee the safety and dignity of all. I invite you to pray with me for the victims and their families. And also to ask in our hearts: Father, why?
They observed a minute of silence
I greet all of you, Romans and pilgrims from Italy and from various parts of the world: families, parish groups and associations.
In particular, I greet the Sisters of Saint Elizabeth who have come from various countries, the AVART International Organization for Mexican Art and Culture of the People and the young people from the Parish of Santa Rita da Cascia in Torino. I see a Uruguayan flag but I don't see any mate (a favorite drink of the Holy Father)! Welcome! I also greet the many Poles who I see here with their flag and also the group of Spaniards.
I wish you all a good Sunday and, please, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye!
Testo originale nella lingua italiana
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