VATICAN CITY (EWTN News/CNA)—Pope Benedict XVI says that people should trust in God’s loving plan for their lives even when events do not meet their expectations.
“When we ask the Lord for something in prayer, we must not expect an immediate fulfillment of our requests, of our will,” he said at his Dec. 14 general audience.
“Rather, we should entrust ourselves to the will of the Father, reading events in the perspective of his glory, of his plan of love, which is often a mystery to our eyes.”
The Pope continued his focus on the theme of prayer in his comments to the 7,000 pilgrims gathered in the Vatican’s Paul VI audience hall.
“In our prayer,” he said, “request, praise and thanksgiving should fuse together, even when it seems to us that God does not respond to our expectations.”
He added that “abandoning ourselves to the love of God” is a “fundamental principle in our dialogue with him” and leads to the “the greatest gift he can give us,” which is “his friendship, his presence, his love.”
To illustrate his point, the Pope reflected on two scenes from the Scriptures: Jesus healing a deaf man in the Gospel of St. Mark and the raising of Lazarus, as recounted in the Gospel of St. John.
Pope Benedict highlighted the individual care and love Christ gave the deaf man, noting that Jesus took the man away from the crowd and created “a unique relationship” with him.
He then cured the man with a particular “intensity of attention,” using his own fingers and saliva on the specific location of the disability. Then, Jesus looked up to heaven, sighed and said, “Ephphatha,” meaning “Be opened” in Aramaic.
The “central point” of the episode is “the fact that Jesus, at the very moment he works the cure, directly seeks his relationship with the Father” by looking up to heaven.
“The narrative shows, then, that human involvement with the sick man led Jesus into prayer,” said the Pope. In that moment of prayer, Jesus’ “unique relationship with the Father emerges once again, his identity as only begotten Son.”
Pope Benedict also saw the two-way relationship between Christ’s union with his Father and his individual love for each person at work in the raising of Lazarus from the dead. In fact, Jesus was so “deeply moved at the sight of the suffering of Martha and Mary and of all Lazarus’ friends” that he himself wept.
As with the deaf man, Christ again “prays directly to the Father,” this time in front of the tomb. The Gospel of St. John recounts how “Jesus looked upward and said, ‘Father, I thank you for having heard me.’”
This episode “shows us that Jesus had not for a moment ceased his prayer for Lazarus’ life,” said Pope Benedict. “That prayer was continuous; indeed, it strengthened Jesus’ bond with his friend and, at the same time, confirmed his decision to remain in communion with the will of the Father.”
Despite the apparent disaster of his friend’s death, it is in Christ’s “plan of love” that the glory of God was displayed, the Pope observed.
He concluded his discourse by teaching that while Christ’s concern for humanity “causes him to turn to the Father,” conversely, it is also this “communion with the Father” that leads him to be “attentive to the real-life situations of man.”
When Christians pray, the Pope said, they must share in this “profound bond between love for God and love for others.” This will allow them to “open the door to God” and learn “how to abandon our own selves in order to come close to others, especially in moments of trial, bringing them consolation, hope and light,” he said.
Before leading pilgrims in praying the Our Father and imparting his apostolic blessing, Pope Benedict also bestowed a particular Advent blessing.
“As we prepare to celebrate the Savior’s birth at Christmas, I cordially invoke upon you and your families his abundant blessings of joy and peace!”
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Maybe God will answers our prayers & Pope & others if they start to wake up & do things right. Abolish in churches Statues, images, respect the Sabbath day not sunday, Change birth date of Christ as the proper day etc, ect,,ect & live holy !
May JHY learn to overome his hostility, to love, and to be open to the truth of Christ’s One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.
To JHY ...
From your anger I can surmise you have no idea of what you speak. For if you did you would have had more charity in leaving a comment. Obviously you have some angst toward the Father not the Church. A child only strikes at what the parent has to get their attention. … Prayerfully look within yourself and re-think why you have said what you said. Do you truly know the Father? Do you truly know how Our Blessed Lord willed to set up His Church? Have you really sought out the truth or are you just repeating anti-Catholic bigotry from those who also have no knowledge? Have you learned at the feet of the Master? Or have you learned from the feet of the worlds master who dispenses lies to steer the children of God away from Him. If there is discord within the body of Christ, who is the author of that? … Remember look within yourself and pray to the Father and ask Him to guide you not what others have told you. Let the Lord Jesus show you, not those who want to rip the very fabric He has intended us. Let the Holy Spirit show you and not your own spirit which is filled with anger, hate and ignorance. I pray that you will see this comment you left was not by accident, for it is the Lord calling you to be closer to Him. My response to you is show His Love and compassion to those who choose to spit in His face. He blesses us both and in that we should rejoice!
May this season of joy in knowing Our Savior, being born of a woman, born in flesh and blood, will draw you closer to the full understanding of Our Father and His Church.
Merry Christmas to you and your family!
At JHY…
From your anger I can surmise you have no idea of what you speak. For if you did you would have had more charity in leaving a comment. Obviously you have some angst toward the Father not the Church. A child only strikes at what the parent has to get their attention. … Prayerfully look within yourself and re-think why you have said what you said. Do you truly know the Father? Do you truly know how Our Blessed Lord willed to set up His Church? Have you really sought out the truth or are you just repeating anti-Catholic bigotry from those who also have no knowledge? Have you learned at the feet of the Master? Or have you learned from the feet of the worlds master who dispenses lies to steer the children of God away from Him. If there is discord within the body of Christ, who is the author of that? … Remember look within yourself and pray to the Father and ask Him to guide you not what others have told you. Let the Lord Jesus show you, not those who want to rip the very fabric He has intended us. Let the Holy Spirit show you and not your own spirit which is filled with anger, hate and ignorance. I pray that you will see this comment you left was not by accident, for it is the Lord calling you to be closer to Him. My response to you is show His Love and compassion to those who choose to spit in His face. He blesses us both and in that we should rejoice!
May this season of joy in knowing Our Savior, being born of a woman, born in flesh and blood, will draw you closer to the full understanding of Our Father and His Church.
Merry Christmas to you and your family!
JHY,
God does answer the prayers of Catholics and has for 2000 years. The Pope is showing us that God does not always answer our prayers when they do not fit His Will. This is the same thing found in the Bible when Paul prays to God in 2 Cor. 12. God does not give Paul what he prays for.
It has nothing to do with all the things you list.
God does not always answer our prayers when they do not fit His Will.
For sure I believe that & it’s always in my prayers, God knows better what is good for us.
I am Catholic by the way & did Bible studies in Mtl University & read about it, more than I learned from University. I am not angry but do know well why many lost faith & left churches fo many reasons & some did for reasons I said that you did not like.I felt I should say it, because I did say it before & even many christians did say it to Catholics priests & many did write about it to Pope. We can all read now in Catholics sites etc, why things are as in history.
I pray daily God to help & guide Christians & Christians leaders & Pope.
churches Statues, images according to you is allowed? not in any Old testament or New testament. Revelations of St-John are for churches or not? Hope you can be humble & accept the truth of what I said.
Merry Crhritmas to you & to all Christians that do believe that Jesus is the way!
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