Wednesday, 20th of June, in the general audience at in the Paul VI hall, at the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI continued his cycle of Catechesis on prayer according to the Letters of St. Paul. The Pontiff stressed that the Letter of St.Paul to the Ephesians shows that prayer should be over all a gratefulness for blessings received.
“Our prayer many times is a request for help in necessities. And itis also normal for the man, because we need help, we need others, we need God. It is normal that in prayer we ask for something, but it should not be exclusively this. It exists still motive of thankfulness and we should be a little attentive to see that from God we receive so many good things.”, he said.
Thus, the Holy Father, stressed that prayer should be also praise, after all is the heart is open, it should be possible to see, even before all the problems, also the beauty of His creation. Therefore, it is necessary not only to ask, but also to praise and to thank, only thus is prayer complete.
“In constant prayer, in daily relation with God, we learn also ourselves, as St Paul, to see each day more clearly the signs of this project of this action: in the beauty of the Creator that created all”, stressed the Pope.
Benedict XVI reminded that it is important to be attentive now, in vacation time, to the beauty of creation and to see transparency in this beauty the face of God.
Also in prayer, “We should accustom ourselves to being with God. This is very important, that we learn to be with God and, thus, we see the beauty of being with Him that is redemption.”, stressed the Pontiff.
In this way, the Pope concluded, prayer generates men and woman inspired not through selfishness, nor the desire to possess, not the seat of power, but through gratitude, through the desire to love, through the seat of service, inspired, this is, for God, and only this way can light be brought to the darkness of the world.
Canção Nova Portugal