Pope Francis closed the weekly General Audience in St Peter’s Square with an invitation to pray for peace and for Valencia under the protection of La Virgen de los Desamparados, Our Lady of the Poor, patron saint of Valencia, the city most affected by the DANA disaster. The Pope began by praying to a small statue of the Holy Virgin, a gift from Spain.
“Today, in a special way, let us pray for Valencia and for the other areas of Spain that are suffering because of the water”,
he said after placing a rose at the foot of the small statue of the Holy Virgin, placed beside the papal podium. “We pray to receive the Holy Spirit, and we receive the Holy Spirit in order to truly pray, that is, as children of God, not as slaves”, Francis remarked in the catechesis devoted to the Holy Spirit and to prayer. “One must always pray with freedom”, he added off-text: “’Today I have to pray for this. Otherwise, I will go to hell’: No, that is not prayer! Prayer is free. You pray when the Spirit helps you to pray. You pray when you feel the need to pray in your heart, and when you do not feel anything, you stop and ask: ‘Why do I not feel the wish to pray? What is happening in my life?’. But always, spontaneity in prayer is what helps us the most. This is what is meant by praying as children, not as slaves.” “First of all, we must pray to receive the Holy Spirit,” the first step suggested by the Holy Father, for whom prayer “is the only ‘power’ we have over the Spirit of God.”
“We do not know how to pray. We must learn every day”,
the Pope said to the faithful: “The reason for this weakness of our prayer was expressed in the past in just one word, used in three different ways: as an adjective, as a noun and as an adverb”, ha explained: “It is easy to remember, even for those who do not know Latin, and it is worth keeping it in mind, because it contains in itself an entire treatise. We human beings, according to that saying, “mali, mala, male petimus”, which means, being bad (mali), we ask for the wrong things (mala) and in the wrong way (male).” “Jesus says” – Francis remarked – “Seek first the kingdom [of God] … and all these things will be given you besides” “Instead, we seek the extra, namely, our interests – many times – and we completely forget to ask for the kingdom of God. Let us ask the Lord for the kingdom, and everything comes with Him.”.
“We cannot say “Father, Abba” without the strength of the Holy Spirit”, Francis remarked. He added:
“Christian prayer is not man at one end of the telephone, speaking to God on the other;
no, it is God who prays in us! We pray to God through God.” It is precisely in prayer that the Holy Spirit is revealed as the “Paraclete”, that is, advocate and defender”: “He does not accuse us before the Father, but defends us. Yes, He defends us, He convinces us of the fact that we are sinners, but He does so in order to make us able to savour the joy of the Father’s mercy, not to destroy us with fruitless feelings of guilt. Even when our heart reproaches us for something, He reminds us that ‘God is greater than our hearts’, God is greater than our sin.” “We are all sinners – the Pope added in unscripted remarks – but think: perhaps some of you are very afraid because of the things they have done, afraid of being reproached by God, afraid of many things and unable to find peace. Pray, call to the Holy Spirit, and He will teach you how to ask for forgiveness.”
“God does not know much grammar”, the Pope said, “and when we ask for forgiveness, He does not let us finish! He forgives us first, He always forgives, and He is always beside us to forgive us, before we complete the word forgiveness. We say ‘For…’ and the Father always forgives us.”
“The Holy Spirit intercedes and He also teaches us how to intercede, in turn, for our brothers and sisters. He teaches us the prayer of intercession”, Francis said inviting to pray “for this person, praying for that sick person, for the one who is in prison, praying… even praying for one’s mother in law! And pray, always. Always.” “When someone prays for everyone, it happens – as Saint Ambrose used to say – that everyone prays for someone; prayer multiplies.” “This is a task that is so precious and necessary in the Church, particularly during this time of preparation for the Jubilee”, the Pope’s exhortation: “to unite ourselves to the Paraclete who ‘intercedes for all of us according to God’s plans’.” “But do not pray like parrots, please!”, Francis added off-text: “Say ‘Lord’, but say it with your heart. ‘Help me, Lord’, ‘I love you, Lord’. And when you pray the Lord’s Prayer, pray with the heart, not the lips; don’t be like parrots. May the Holy Spirit help us in prayer, which we need so much.”
