Continuing his catechesis on prayer in the general audience on Wednesdays, Pope Francis reflects on “the prayer of praise”, which is possible in any circumstance because God is always faithful.
By Christopher Wells
Pope Francis reflected on the dimension of praise in prayer on Wednesday in the General Audience, taking as a starting point “a critical moment in the life of Jesus.”
At the beginning of his ministry, when he had already begun to preach the Kingdom of God and to perform miracles, “the mission of the Messiah goes through a crisis,” the Pope said: John the Baptist expresses doubts, while the people he had preached showed hostility towards Jesus and his message.
But “precisely at this disappointing moment,” Pope Francis said, “Jesus raises no lamentation to the Father, but a hymn of retirement … in the midst of a crisis, Jesus blesses the Father, the Praise.”
God is praised by who He is
Jesus praises God for who He is, calling Him “Father, Lord of heaven and earth.” Jesus recognizes his Father as Lord of the universe and, on the contrary, recognizes “the Lord of all that exists,” as his Father. “Praise is born of his experience of feeling that he is the ‘Son of the Most High,'” the Pope said.
God favors the little ones
In his prayer, Jesus continues to praise God “for the benefit of the little ones.” Pope Francis explained that in his ministry, Jesus saw how those who were considered “wise” and “scholars” reacted to his preaching with suspicion, while the “little ones” were open to his message. “This can only be the will of the Father,” said the Pope, “and Jesus rejoices in this. We too must rejoice and praise God so that humble and simple people may receive the gospel.”
Jesus ’prayer of praise“ in that moment of apparent failure ”leads us to see our own failures in a different light, Pope Francis continued. He explained that praising God, especially “when evil seems to prevail and there is no way to stop it,” is necessary not for God, but for ours.
Praising God in times of trial
The Pope quoted the catechism, which says that the prayer of praise “shares the blessed happiness of the pure in heart who love God with faith before seeing him in glory.”
Paradoxically, he said, not only in moments of happiness, when we feel blessed, but especially “in difficult times”, we must praise God, precisely because, ascending to God, we can “see a new panorama, a wider horizon.”
The example of the Saints
St. Francis, in his song of creatures – Praised yes – offers an excellent example of praising God in times of difficulty.
The prayer was composed at the end of Francis’ life, when he was besieged by difficulties. However, at this moment, Pope Francis said, the saint “praises God for everything, for all the gifts of creation and even for death, which he courageously manages to call” sister “.
The example of the saints, said Pope Francis in conclusion, shows us “that we can always give praise, in good and bad times, because God is the faithful friend. This is the foundation of praise: God is the faithful friend and his love never fails.