On Sunday June 25, Pope Benedict XVI appeared at the balcony overlooking the inner courtyard of the Apostolic Palace of Castelgandolfo to pray the Angelus with the people gathered there.He commented on the Gospel reading in which the disciples ask Christ to teach them how to pray.
"Jesus raised no objections, He used no strange or esoteric formulae but with great simplicity said: 'When you pray, say: Father ... And he taught them the Our Father".
"These are the first words of Sacred Scripture we learn as children. They are impressed in the memory, they mould our lives, they accompany us unto our last breath", said Benedict XVI.
"This prayer also comprehends and expresses the material and spiritual requirements of human beings. ... And precisely because of our everyday needs and difficulties, Jesus exhorts us forcefully: ... 'Ask and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you'.
"This is not a request for our own desires to be satisfied, but for our friendship with God to be kept alive", the Pope added.
"This was the experience of the ancient Desert Fathers, and of contemplative people in all times who, through prayer, became friends of God".
In this context he quoted words of St. Teresa of Avila who encouraged her nuns to "beseech God to deliver us from these perils for ever and to keep us from all evil! And although our desire for this may not be perfect, let us strive to make the petition. What does it cost us to ask it, since we ask it of One Who is so powerful?"
"Each time we pray the Our Father", the Pope concluded, "our voice mingles with the voice of the Church, because one who prays is never alone. ... May the Virgin Mary help us rediscover the beauty and profundity of Christian prayer".
The pontiff also expressed his sorrow over "the tragedy of Duisburg, Germany, where many young people were among the victims. I commend the dead, the injured and their relatives to the Lord in my prayers", he said.
Turning then to address Spanish-speaking visitors, the pope mentioned the Feast of James the Apostle, who has been "venerated since time immemorial at Compostela" and whose cult is "so deeply rooted in your countries.
In this Compostela Holy Year", the Pope went on, "I too hope to go there to join pilgrims in the month of November, on a trip during which I will also visit Barcelona. Following the footsteps of St. James, let us continue the journey of our lives while bearing constant witness of faith, hope and charity".
SIC: SperoNews